What Language Did Henry V Speak?



What language indeed? This is where it gets interesting.

The Norman invasion occured in 1066. William the Conquerer set up Normans (that is, French) barons, etc, in public offices; England itself was divided up, with English nobility gettinghalf the land, and French nobility the other half.

From 1066 on, English is virtually silent. Government is conducted in French, religious ceremonies in Latin. English was suitable only for the lower classes.

William encouraged intermarriage between the French nobles and English folk. Many historians postulate that within a generation or two, French was no longer learned at home, it had to be taught to children. Still, French persisted.

Of course, English French was looked down upon, it was very uncouth. English writers started to rebel--they lived in England, they should read and speak English! Geoffrey Chaucer probably started with French, and several of his forms are French, but essentially he wrote was in English, some three hundred years after the invasion.

Henry IV's campaign for the throne was conducted in English; his use of the local language made him popular. Richard II's deposition was English. Many of Henry IV's documents are in English, and pretty much all of Henry V's are.

So, what languages did Henry V speak? A nobleman, he probably was fluent in French, and knew at least some Latin. And of course, he spoke English. But not English we know. He speak Middle English...

Middle English, 1066-1500
Middle English was very much a transitional language. It is definitely familiar to modern readers, but it is different enough to be rather off-putting. As Shelley Hatfield put it, "Everything got all messed up."

--Without a written standard, everything changed very quickly--words could be spelled a multitude of ways, often depending on a speaker's accent.

--Grammar simplified

--With the influx of Latin as well as French, there were now three ways to express one concept.

--Genders were dropped

--Modal verbs (shall, will) were introduced

--The yogh was dropped. Yogh was a symbal that looked like "3" and represnted a "y" sound.

--"I" and "J" were interchangeable, as were "U" and "V"

--Common nouns were capitalized

--Apostrophes were used

--Surnames came into use

--There was a distinction between "you" and "thee." You was used for superiors, thee for the lower orders and equals.

But, What Did It Sound Like?
--"R"'s were rolled, like in Spanish

--Aitches ("H") were dropped

--N/EN replaced TH for second-person verbs ("She loveth" to "She loven" which becomes "She loves.")

--"N" drifted from the beginnings of words to the preceding article: "A napron" became "An apron."

--All consonants were pronounced. "Knife" would have sounded like "kuh-nee-fuh."

--Which takes us to vowels. Prior to the Great Vowel Shift, English vowels sounded "continental": Ah, eh, ee, o, oo.


Henry V Shrine

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