Part Two

Chapter XI
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FROM THE 11TH TO 15TH C.
LINGUISTIC SITUATION. WRITTEN RECORDS (§ 279-308)

Economic and Social Conditions in the 11th-12th c.

§ 279.The OE period in the history of the language corresponds to the transitional stage from the slave-owning and tribal system to the feudal system in the history of Britain. In the 11th c. feudalism was already well established. According to a survey made in the late 11th c. slaves and freemen were declining classes. The majority of the agricultural population (and also of the total population, which amounted to about 2,000,000 people) were bound to their lord and land. Under natural economy, characteristic of feudalism, most of the things needed for the life of the lord and the villain were produced on the estate. Feudal manors were separated from their neighbours by tolls, local feuds, and various restrictions concerning settlement, travelling and employment. These historical conditions produced a certain influence on the development of the language.

§ 280. In Early ME the differences between the regional dialects grew. Never in history, before or after, was the historical background more favourable for dialectal differentiation. The main dialectal division in England, which survived in later ages with some slight modification of boundaries and considerable dialect mixture, goes back to the feudal stage of British history.

In the age of poor communication dialect boundaries often coincided with geographical barriers such as rivers, marshes, forests and mountains, as these barriers would hinder the diffusion of linguistic features.

In addition to economic, geographical and social conditions, dialectal differences in Early ME were accentuated by some historical events, namely the Scandinavian invasions and the Norman Conquest.

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Stylistic Stratification of the Old English Vocabulary	\|	Effect of the Scandinavian Invasions

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