Thus the two languages， now contending and then mingling with each other， continued for nearly four hundred years side by side in the British kingdom； the Norman-French， an exotic plant， deprived of its native soil and heat， flourishing for a time， but gradually withering and fading away； the language of the subject， like an indigenous tree， trimmed by the rough storm， grafted in many a branch by an unskilful hand， but still giving shade with its wide-spreading foliage， and bearing flowers and fruit in abundance.
they struggled in vain against the language. It conquered them in its turn， and， by its spirit， converted them into Englishmen. In vain did they haughtily refuse to learn a word of that despised tongue， and indignantly asked， in the words of the minister of Henry III.， "Am I an Englishman， that I should know these characters and these laws？" In vain it was that William and his successors filled bishopric and abbey with the most learned and best educated men of France， and deposed English dignitaries， like Wulstan， Bishop of Worcester， because he was an "idiot who did not know the French tongue， and could not aid in the king"s council."Neither sufferings nor death itself， apparently， could teach those haughty Normans the necessity of learning the language of their new home. When in the year 1080 some Northumbrians presented to Vaulcher (Walchere)， Bishop and Lord of Durham (Dunholme)， an humble and submissive request， the proud prelate required， in answer to their request， that they should pay four hundred pounds of silver. Their astonished but determined spokesman asked for leave to consult with his associates， but， knowing the bishop"s entire④ignorance of English， he said to his friends： "Short rèd，g？drèd； Slee ye se bisceop！"⑤ and immediately they fell upon the bishop and slew him and one hundred men of French and Flemish blood！......
Thus we see that conquest cannot exterminate a language， nor drive it from its native soil. The Normans， with all their power and strength， lords of the land， masters of the people， and with every advantage on their side， could not destroy a highly cultivated， ancient and national tongue， like the English. It rose against them and conquered them in its turn……The Normans could， as conquerors， seat their Norman- French on the throne and on the judge"s bench， at the dais of the noble and in the refectory of the monk； but they found the door of manor and of cottage jealously guarded. Theirnumber， moreover， was too small to allow them to spread all over the kingdom. The few Norman soldiers and their families， immured in castles， and too haughty to associate with the despised English， anxiously preserved their connection with France， where many still possessed estates， and held no intercourse but with their own countrymen.
The Norman-French tongue was， therefore， neither carried to all parts of the kingdom， nor supported by the aid of intellectual superiority. The Old English speech， on the other hand， had been carefully guarded and preserved by the people； it had never lost its hold upon their affections； persecution and the necessity of concealment had made it but all the dearer to the suffering race. It now made its way， slowly and almost imperceptibly， but with unerring and unceasing perseverance， from rank to rank， until it finally reached the very court from which it had been so ignominiously driven， and seated itself once more upon the throne of England！
- DE VERE
NOTES
1Defend. conquest.-The words printed in italics in this and the four following paragraphs are of Norman-French origin.
2Home.. Englishman.-The words printed in italics in this and the three following paragraphs are native English (so called Anglo-Saxon ) words.
3Gave lock， a spear or javelin； also a pointed bar of iron used as a crowbar.
4Short red， &；. c.-That is， "Short advice is good advice； Slay ye the bishop."5Bisceop， bishop， though an Old English word， is of classical origin， as is also the office which it names. The English translation of the word is over-seer . [Gr. episkopos ； Lat. episcopus .] The French eveque is from the same root， and the two words show how widely the derivatives of the same word in two languages may differ：-Lat. Episcopus ： O. Eng. bisceop ， Eng. bishop ； Ital. vescovo ； O. FR. evesque ， FT. eveque .
QUESTIONS
What means did the Normans take to impose their language upon the English？ With what result？ Mention things and classes of things bearing Norman names. Where did the dominion of the Norman not extend？ Mention classes of things bearing native English names. How long did the two languages exist side by side？ What is the story of Walchere of Durham？ What prevented the spread of Norman-French all over the kingdom？ What was the result of the struggle between the two languages？