The Anglo-Normans and a new English

by Carl Muller

The 1066 Battle of Hastings placed William of Normandy on the English throne; and Norman tyranny ruled while the country was portioned out among the Norman captains.

But some bold men took to the woods and waged a predatory war. Of these, we have the famous Robin Hood - a favourite hero of the oldest English ballads, and who was also featured as Locksley in Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe".

It was then that a third type of literary individual surfaced: the minstrel or troubador. Many of these singers were distinguished men, among them even Richard the Lion Heart. The Normans were delighted with these long, rambling love tales that are now called "metrical romances", Of the songs of the minstrels, those of King Arthur and his knights were the most popular.

However, as it now stands, Literature has credited William of Malmesbury (who died about 1143) and Geoffrey of Monmouth (who died about 1154) for introducing these Welsh songs and romances into English Literature.

True, these men did write books, claiming them to be Histories, but the books only contained old Celtic legends that were long familiar to the people.

Sadly enough, there was little real English Literature. Latin was the language of the learned.

The Saxons gave French to the common people... but slowly, English, Latin and French became amalgamated, and there rose a new tongue that became the speech of the nation. It was "Modern English."

In 1250, an unknown poet wrote in this new tongue - showing how verse could be made possible:

"Summer is I-cumen in,

Lhude sing cuccu!

Groweth sed and bloweth med,

And springeth the wde nu,

Sing cuccu!

"Awe bletch after lomb,

Louth after calve cu;

Bulluc sterteth, bucke verteth,

Murie sing cuccu!"

Laughable? Oh no! Such efforts were among the starting points of English literary effort, and verses such as this became possible and also commanded admiration. As the language strengthened, this same poem received a better gloss:

"Summer is coming in;

Sing loud, cuckoo!

Groweth seed and bloweth mede,

And springeth the wood now.

Sing, cuckoo!

Ewe bleateth after lamb;

Loweth after calf cow.

Bullock starteth; buck darteth.

Marrily sing, cuckoo!

In the middle of the 14th century, one "modern English" book became very popular. It was titled "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville". People came to believe that Sir John was a real person, like Columbus, but we now know that the hero of the book, Sir John, was a created character, much like Robinson Crusoe or Sherlock Holmes.

Two other writers dealt with religious and moral topics. John Wickliffe inspired the first complete translation of the Bible into English.

He did not actually write it, but he was also bold enough to denounce the corruption of the medieval clergy and earned the name "The Morning Star of the Reformation." The other was William Langland who contributed to a group of poems that were titled "The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman".

These poems never waned in their popularity until 1600, and were regarded as both inspirational and prophetic.

But the 14th century also saw the birth of Chaucer (about 1344). We know little about his life.

It is said that he was the son of a London Vintner. It was with Chaucer that English Literature found a decided place in the sun.

****

See your words in print....

Email your poems and short stories to [email protected] or post them to "Passionate Pen", Sunday Observer, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, Number 35, D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, Colombo 10.

Please be patient and do not be discouraged if the publication of your poems/short stories is delayed. Most of the poems which we received were subject to rejection because they were too long. Please make an effort to limit your poems to less than thirty lines and short stories to less than 1,500 words, in order to avoid rejection. Keep reading Passionate Pen to learn a lot from professional writers.