NORMAN FRENCH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

French dialect that developed in Normandy after Viking (or Norse) invaders settled the region around 911, and the literature written in it. During the three centuries after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, French culture predominated in England; this culture, transmitted by the conquerors and their descendants, is often referred to as Anglo-Norman. Norman French (with the later admixture of Parisian, or standard French) was the official language of the law courts, the church, and polite society in England. A considerable body of Anglo-Norman prose and poetry was produced; much literature was also brought over from France.

In adopting French as a medium of communication the Normans retained for purposes of literary expression many Scandinavian words, which are still, although in a greatly changed form, characteristic of this French dialect; the largest such class is that of proper names of persons and places. During the early period Norman French played a significant part both in French literature and in the development of Middle English and English literature.

Among the most important works written in the Norman French dialect are historical accounts, for it was in Normandy that histories in the vernacular (as opposed to Latin) first appeared. Geoffrey Gaimar (fl. about 1099–1140), an Anglo-Norman poet and historiographer, wrote Estorie des Engles (History of the English), narrating the heroic achievements of the Anglo-Normans. Wace, another 12th-century Anglo-Norman chronicler, wrote Roman de brut, or La geste des bretons (Heroic Achievements of the Bretons). From 1160 to 1174, Wace produced La geste des normands (Heroic Achievements of the Normans), also called Roman de rou, comprising 17,000 decasyllabic and octosyllabic lines.

Other 12th-century works include the Cumpoz (an ecclesiastical calendar) and Bestiaire of the Norman poet Philippe de Thaon or Thaün; the laws of William I the Conqueror; versions of the romances, including the Chanson de Roland (Song of Roland); and the Chançun de Guillelme (Song of William), which probably belongs to the end of the 11th century.

The 13th century was by far the most flourishing epoch. Among the poets belonging to this period are Fantosme, who wrote a chronicle of the invasions of the Scots in 1173–74; Angier, author of a life of St. Gregory the Great; and Guillaume de Berneville, who wrote a life of St. Gilles. The English martyr Thomas à Becket, the legendary English knight Bevis of Hampton (Boeve de Haumtone), St. Auban, and others are the subjects of anonymous poems. Also of interest are versions of the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne (Pilgrimage of Charlemagne), and the mystery play of Adam, as well as a Fabliau du Héron. The 14th century, marking the decline of Norman French literature, is noted for the Contes moralisées (Moral Tales) by the Anglo-Norman author Nicole Bozon and versions of biblical legends.

After the decline of this literature, French continued to be the language of pleadings in the law courts of England until as late as the mid-16th century. By the end of the 18th century, law-court French had completely died out with the exception of a few terms still retained in courts on the Channel Islands.
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