[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.79,0:00:23.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ choral music]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.73,0:00:25.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: This is the South Bank in London.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.70,0:00:29.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,2,000 years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.51,0:00:31.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you'd heard a human voice around here,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.56,0:00:35.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the language would have been incomprehensible.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.36,0:00:37.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,1,000 years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.94,0:00:42.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the English language has established it's first base camp.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.02,0:00:45.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today, English circles the globe.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.67,0:00:48.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It inhabits the air we breathe.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.43,0:00:50.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What started as a guttural, tribal dialect,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.71,0:00:53.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,seemingly isolated in a small island,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.03,0:00:56.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is now the language of well over a 1,000 million people,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.63,0:00:57.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.00,0:01:25.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ instrumental]
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.10,0:01:26.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The story of the English language
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.48,0:01:28.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is an extraordinary one.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.18,0:01:29.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has the characteristics
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.45,0:01:32.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a bold and successful adventure,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.98,0:01:36.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tenacity, luck, near extinction on more than one occasion,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.94,0:01:38.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dazzling flexibility,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.35,0:01:40.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and an extraordinary power to absorb,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.83,0:01:42.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's still going on.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.79,0:01:45.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,New dialects, new Englishes,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.09,0:01:46.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are evolving all the time,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.62,0:01:47.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all over the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.83,0:01:50.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ instrumental]
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.99,0:01:52.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Successive invasions introduced,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.58,0:01:55.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then threatened to destroy our language.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.24,0:01:58.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our first program tells that story.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.60,0:02:02.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For 300 years,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.48,0:02:04.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,English was forced underground.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.76,0:02:06.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our second program tells how it survived,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.98,0:02:08.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how it fought back.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.10,0:02:13.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ instrumental]
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.01,0:02:14.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our third program will tell
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.20,0:02:15.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how the English language took on
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.62,0:02:18.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the power blocks of church and state.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.90,0:02:22.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our fourth, how it became the language of Shakespeare.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.04,0:02:25.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In later programs,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.01,0:02:26.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're going to leave these shores
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.28,0:02:29.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as English did, to tell the story of how in America,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.42,0:02:31.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the language of one great empire,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.29,0:02:32.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,became that of another.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.42,0:02:35.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'll go to the Caribbean,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.83,0:02:39.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where a variety of new part-English dialects took root.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.18,0:02:42.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,India, where English became
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.54,0:02:44.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a commanding, unifying language,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.51,0:02:46.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a country of a 1,000 tongues.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.52,0:02:49.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Australia,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.58,0:02:50.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where a confident new English
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.94,0:02:52.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was invented by a people,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.59,0:02:55.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many of whom had been expelled from their mother country.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.46,0:03:01.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'll travel through time too,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.04,0:03:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to explore how English in the 21st century
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.32,0:03:06.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has become the international language of business.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.36,0:03:09.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The language in which the world's citizens communicate.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.30,0:03:14.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ instrumental]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.39,0:03:15.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over the last 1,500 years,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.95,0:03:19.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these small islands have achieved much that is remarkable.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.54,0:03:21.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, in my view,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.66,0:03:23.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,England's greatest success story of all,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.100,0:03:25.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the English language.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.61,0:03:29.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These programs are about the words we think in,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.92,0:03:32.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,talk in, write in, sing in.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.49,0:03:35.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The words that describe the life we live.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.43,0:03:48.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ soft, ethereal music]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.71,0:03:50.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is where we can begin.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.68,0:03:51.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just after dawn,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.54,0:03:52.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a foreign country,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.79,0:03:53.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on a flat shore,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.87,0:03:55.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the North Sea.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.13,0:03:58.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In what we now call, The Netherlands.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.89,0:04:02.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is Friesland,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.25,0:04:03.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's in this part of the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.80,0:04:05.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we can still hear,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.54,0:04:07.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the modern language that we believe,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.51,0:04:09.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sounds closest to what the ancestor
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.71,0:04:10.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the English sounded like,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.93,0:04:12.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,1,500 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.18,0:04:22.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.98,0:04:23.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: In Friesland,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.79,0:04:25.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many people start their day,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.16,0:04:26.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,listening to the weather forecast,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.75,0:04:27.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from popular weatherman,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.68,0:04:29.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Piet Paulusma.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.46,0:04:33.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.21,0:04:34.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Some of his words might sound familiar,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.72,0:04:35.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like three and four,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.90,0:04:37.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,frost and freeze.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.79,0:04:43.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.24,0:04:44.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Mist and blue.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.56,0:04:50.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.83,0:04:53.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The reason we can recognize these words,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.04,0:04:53.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that modern Frisian,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.95,0:04:54.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and modern English,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.94,0:04:58.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can both be traced back to the same family,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.23,0:05:00.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Germanic family of languages.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.37,0:05:00.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And some words,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.99,0:05:02.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have stayed more or less the same
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.26,0:05:03.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,down the centuries.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.03,0:05:07.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Butter.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.23,0:05:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bread.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.38,0:05:09.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cheese.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.70,0:05:10.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meal.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.03,0:05:11.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sleep.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.32,0:05:13.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Boat.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.73,0:05:14.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Snow.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.04,0:05:15.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sea.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.18,0:05:16.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Storm.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.57,0:05:22.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ ethereal music]
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.33,0:05:23.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The west Germanic tribes
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.75,0:05:24.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who invented these words
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.95,0:05:27.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were a war-like, adventurous people.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.62,0:05:30.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They'd been on the move through Europe
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.23,0:05:31.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the best part of a 1,000 years,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.76,0:05:33.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and now has settlements in what we would call
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.63,0:05:35.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the lowlands of Northern Europe,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.78,0:05:37.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Holland, Germany, and Denmark.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.95,0:05:41.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they were still greedy for land, ready to move on.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.27,0:05:44.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the island of Terschelling.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.97,0:05:48.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The English coast is about 250 miles to the southwest behind me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.33,0:05:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is from these islands,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.58,0:05:52.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the low lying Frisian mainland,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.84,0:05:54.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that in the 5th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.12,0:05:55.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a Germanic tribe,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.34,0:05:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,part of the family that also contained
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.02,0:05:58.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jutes, Angles and Saxon's,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.81,0:06:01.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made sail to look for a better life.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.50,0:06:02.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they took their language,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.49,0:06:04.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our language, with them.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.91,0:06:07.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ adventurous music]
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.96,0:06:28.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.19,0:06:31.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Germanic tribes weren't the first to invade our shores.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.30,0:06:33.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,More than 500 years before,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.89,0:06:36.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Romans had also come by sea to impose their will.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.54,0:06:39.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, their empire had crumbled,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.31,0:06:40.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they'd abandoned these islands,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.99,0:06:42.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leaving the native tribes,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.58,0:06:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Britains, or Celts to their fate.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.71,0:06:50.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is Pevensey Castle.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.10,0:06:51.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,An ancient Roman fort that used to stand
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.73,0:06:55.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the very shoreline of the south coast.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.61,0:06:56.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The chronicle of the period,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.94,0:06:59.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reported that in the year 491,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.11,0:07:01.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Germanic invaders laid siege
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.17,0:07:03.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and slaughtered the Celts who had taken refuge here.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.96,0:07:06.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not one of them was left alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.04,0:07:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Other Celts did survive the invasion,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.20,0:07:09.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a million or more of them in England,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.77,0:07:11.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they were a broken people.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.49,0:07:12.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The clue to their fate,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.85,0:07:14.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lies in the word the Germanic tribe
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.94,0:07:16.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,used to describe them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.38,0:07:17.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was "walhaz,'
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.78,0:07:20.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a name that lives on in our modern language as Welsh,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.51,0:07:24.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,1500 years ago, it meant both foreigner and slave.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.14,0:07:27.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Celts became servants and followers,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.22,0:07:28.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,second-class citizens,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.18,0:07:29.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the only way up,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.03,0:07:31.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was to become part of the invader's tribes.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.64,0:07:34.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To adopt their culture, and their language.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.96,0:07:37.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ meditative music]
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.68,0:07:40.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Celt's and their language were pushed to the margins.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.51,0:07:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only a handful of words from the Celtic language
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.88,0:07:48.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has survived into modern English.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.36,0:07:51.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the north, where I come from,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.80,0:07:54.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have crag, meaning rock,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.67,0:07:57.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,combe, meaning deep valley,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.97,0:08:01.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and dialect words like brat and brock for badger.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.22,0:08:10.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ meditative music]
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.35,0:08:12.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are traces in place names,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.52,0:08:14.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the "tor" in Torpenhow,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.80,0:08:16.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spelled as tor-pen-how,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.51,0:08:17.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a neighboring village to my own,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.78,0:08:20.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that comes from the Celtic for peak.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.90,0:08:27.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The "caer" of Carlisle, means a fortified place.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.68,0:08:33.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the south, they left us the names of
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.11,0:08:36.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thames and Haven, Dover and London,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.85,0:08:38.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but these were fragments,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.56,0:08:39.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the language that prevailed
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.80,0:08:41.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that of the victors.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.40,0:08:47.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the end of the 6th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.99,0:08:51.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these Germanic tribes occupied half of mainland Britain.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.92,0:08:55.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They had divided into a number of kingdoms,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.23,0:08:59.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kent, Sussex, Essex, and Wessex,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.18,0:09:00.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,denoting the settlements of
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.30,0:09:03.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,southern, eastern, and western Saxon tribes.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.71,0:09:07.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,East Anglia, names after the Angles
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.24,0:09:08.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who gave England it's name.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.35,0:09:11.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mercia in the midlands,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.54,0:09:13.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Northumbria in the North.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.23,0:09:16.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Throughout these areas,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.38,0:09:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many modern place names come from that settlement,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.36,0:09:21.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or use the words they brought,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.17,0:09:24.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we live with them, we live in them, everyday.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.10,0:09:29.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ pop music]
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.10,0:09:30.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The "-ing" in modern place names
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.92,0:09:32.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,means the people of.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.55,0:09:35.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.47,0:09:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"'Ton" as in Wigton where I come from,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.08,0:09:39.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,means enclosure, or village.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.63,0:09:47.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Ham" means farm,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.12,0:09:50.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which might surprise one or two Tottenham supporters.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.48,0:09:52.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.27,0:10:10.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ Battle Hymn of the Republic tune]
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.79,0:10:13.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Germanic tribes now settled around the country,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.09,0:10:14.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all spoke their own dialects,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.88,0:10:16.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from among them,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.23,0:10:17.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would emerge one language,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.04,0:10:19.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Anglo-Saxon, or Old English,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.38,0:10:21.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we all speak it every day.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.59,0:10:22.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: They've got five strikers,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.75,0:10:23.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,none of them can really finish
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.93,0:10:25.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(mens voices overlapping)
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.92,0:10:27.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: We just need some youth from (overlapping voices) really.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.88,0:10:30.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Examine the language you use today,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:30.18,0:10:32.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you'll still find hundreds of words
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.16,0:10:35.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from a language over 1500 years old.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.20,0:10:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Keywords, ranging from the names we give family members,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.12,0:10:39.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to numbers.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.14,0:10:41.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(male voices overlapping)
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.32,0:10:42.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: I think we'll win 2-1 today.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.75,0:10:43.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: I'll drink to that.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.37,0:10:47.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: I live in like a Westham area,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.39,0:10:48.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I've got a lot of Westham friends,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.95,0:10:51.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but for this game, we'll be enemies.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.01,0:10:52.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: The home games,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.02,0:10:53.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would go with the guys,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:53.79,0:10:56.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we meet up from the (indecipherable) website,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.01,0:10:58.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or with my daughter, to other games,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.30,0:10:59.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she's five at the moment,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.33,0:11:02.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she loves it, she loves singing the songs,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.10,0:11:03.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the nice ones anyway.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.38,0:11:04.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: I was coming with my son,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.62,0:11:06.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we just go in to get something to eat first,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.57,0:11:09.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,go into the grounds, stay with the atmosphere,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.76,0:11:10.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and watch the game.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.18,0:11:13.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There has been a few high scoring games over the years,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.08,0:11:15.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think the highest we ever beat them was 6-1.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.53,0:11:17.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A repeat today wouldn't go amiss.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.55,0:11:20.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Most of those words were from Old English,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.29,0:11:23.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nouns like "youth, son, daughter,"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.67,0:11:26.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"field, friend, home," and "ground."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.66,0:11:30.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Prepositions like "in, and on, into, by and from,"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.58,0:11:33.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"and" and "the" are from Old English,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.68,0:11:34.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all the numbers,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.72,0:11:38.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and verbs like "drink, come, and go"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.09,0:11:40.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"sing, like, and love."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.19,0:11:43.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But would these words have sounded different all those years ago?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.98,0:11:45.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a slightly quieter pub,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.83,0:11:48.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I ask language expert Katie Lowe.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.62,0:11:49.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Katie: They sound a little different,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.87,0:11:51.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean the Old English for "son"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.36,0:11:52.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is (pronunciation) "sunu."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.83,0:11:54.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's not so very different.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.10,0:11:55.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Game" is (pronunciation) "gamen,"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:55.90,0:11:58.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"ground" is (pronunciation) "grund."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.54,0:12:00.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I notice that Steve says that
Dialogue: 0,0:12:00.41,0:12:03.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his daughter loves singing songs,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.06,0:12:04.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you said that in Old English,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.58,0:12:05.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it would be
Dialogue: 0,0:12:05.09,0:12:08.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[speaks sentence in Old English]
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.82,0:12:12.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you can see that sounds pretty much like modern English.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.26,0:12:14.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: So in fact, you can have a good conversation in Old English.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.19,0:12:15.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Katie: Oh, yes you can indeed.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.61,0:12:18.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, each word I'm saying now,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.45,0:12:20.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is from Old English.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:20.03,0:12:21.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Do you have any estimate of how many words
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.48,0:12:23.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there were swirling around,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.11,0:12:24.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,compared with how many words we have now?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.54,0:12:27.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Katie: We think it was in the region of around 25,000 words.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.56,0:12:29.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Compare that with an average desk dictionary,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.54,0:12:31.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which maybe contains something like 100,000 words,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.85,0:12:33.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it sounds pretty small.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.40,0:12:34.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if you think about the fact that
Dialogue: 0,0:12:34.65,0:12:36.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an average educated person
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.55,0:12:38.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would probably have about 10,000 words
Dialogue: 0,0:12:38.44,0:12:39.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in their active vocabulary,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.65,0:12:41.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are plenty of words to go round.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.09,0:12:46.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ choral music]
Dialogue: 0,0:12:46.19,0:12:48.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: English took it's first steps away from it's tribal roots
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.74,0:12:51.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the revival of Christianity.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:51.97,0:13:00.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language)
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.94,0:13:02.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: Let us praise the King of Heaven,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.67,0:13:05.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the power of the Creator,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.14,0:13:06.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his conception.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.18,0:13:08.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The work of the Glorious Father,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.70,0:13:11.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who created every wonder,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:11.26,0:13:13.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Eternal Lord.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.34,0:13:27.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:13:27.14,0:13:30.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: In 597, the monk and prior Augustine,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.13,0:13:32.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,led a mission from Rome to Kent.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.35,0:13:34.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Around the same time,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:34.34,0:13:36.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Irish monks of the Celtic church,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.19,0:13:38.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were establishing a presence in the North.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:40.94,0:13:41.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Within a century,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.93,0:13:44.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Christians built churches and monasteries.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.70,0:13:46.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is St. Paul's in Jarrow,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:46.28,0:13:49.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,parts of which, date from the 7th century.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.84,0:13:59.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Faith and stone weren't the only things
Dialogue: 0,0:13:59.51,0:14:01.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Christian missionaries brought to the country.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.44,0:14:04.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They brought the international language of the Christian religion.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:04.69,0:14:05.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Latin.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.81,0:14:08.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Latin terms became part of the English word hoard,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.92,0:14:10.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Altare became alter,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:10.71,0:14:12.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,apostulus became apostle,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.39,0:14:13.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mass, monk, and verse,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:13.95,0:14:16.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and many others, all come from the Latin.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:16.06,0:14:17.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This would become a pattern of English,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.99,0:14:19.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the layering of words,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:19.55,0:14:21.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,taken from different source languages,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:21.69,0:14:23.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and from Latin too,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.34,0:14:25.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the English took their script.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:25.86,0:14:30.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ choral music]
Dialogue: 0,0:14:30.73,0:14:32.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Angles, Saxons, Frisians, and Jutes,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:32.95,0:14:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who would become the English,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.00,0:14:36.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hadn't brought script as we know it,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:36.11,0:14:38.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with them, but Runes.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.16,0:14:47.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Runic alphabet,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:47.16,0:14:48.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was made up of symbols,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.67,0:14:50.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,formed mainly of straight lines,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:50.45,0:14:52.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that the letters could be carved into stone or wood.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:54.52,0:14:55.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those were their media,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.74,0:14:57.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather than parchment or paper.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.17,0:15:01.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Though this is a short poem,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:01.74,0:15:04.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most examples of Runic writing that survived,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:04.11,0:15:05.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,suggests Runes were mainly used for
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.88,0:15:08.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,short, practical messages, or grafiti.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:11.30,0:15:21.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Gregorian monk chanting)
Dialogue: 0,0:15:21.80,0:15:23.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Latin alphabet was different,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.30,0:15:24.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with it's curves and bows,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:24.52,0:15:27.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it allowed words to be easily written using pen and ink
Dialogue: 0,0:15:27.92,0:15:30.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,onto pages of parchment or velum,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:30.10,0:15:31.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which gathered together, into a book,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.94,0:15:33.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could be widely circulated.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:33.75,0:15:49.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:15:49.16,0:15:52.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Christianity brought the book to the east shores.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.51,0:15:56.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Verbum, the word.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:05.24,0:16:08.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Soon a native culture of scholarship began to flower,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:08.01,0:16:10.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a culture based on Latin and on writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:11.09,0:16:15.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ chanting continues]
Dialogue: 0,0:16:15.85,0:16:17.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The magnificent Lindisfarne Gospels
Dialogue: 0,0:16:17.66,0:16:19.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were created in the 8th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:19.03,0:16:22.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the island of Lindisfarne, just off the northeast coast.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.92,0:16:26.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A few miles south,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:26.14,0:16:28.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the monastery of St. Paul's in Jarrow,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:28.41,0:16:31.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the great English monk and scholar, Bede,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:31.28,0:16:33.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,born and educated in Northumbria,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:33.21,0:16:37.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,began writing the first ever history of the English speaking people.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:37.09,0:16:40.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ chanting continues]
Dialogue: 0,0:16:40.45,0:16:41.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wrote, of course in Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.92,0:16:43.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the language of scholarship.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:45.29,0:16:47.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The prevailing language among the people,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:47.02,0:16:48.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was still Old English.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:48.77,0:16:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Latin, this powerful medium,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:50.58,0:16:51.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was now amongst them.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:52.31,0:16:54.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, Old English was written down,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:54.68,0:16:56.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,using the Latin alphabet,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:56.48,0:16:59.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while retaining some of the old Runes as letters.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:59.44,0:17:00.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From the 7th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:00.71,0:17:03.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we find English itself written on parchment,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:03.27,0:17:04.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a language and a script,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:04.47,0:17:07.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can just about recognize as our own.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:08.52,0:17:11.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ chanting continues]
Dialogue: 0,0:17:11.54,0:17:39.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language: The Lord's Prayer]
Dialogue: 0,0:17:39.21,0:17:40.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With writing,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:40.22,0:17:41.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Old English stole a march
Dialogue: 0,0:17:41.66,0:17:44.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on other languages spoken in Europe at the time.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:44.25,0:17:47.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Prayers were recorded, and books of the Bible translated,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:47.49,0:17:49.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the laws of the land were written down,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:49.27,0:17:51.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the language soon became capable
Dialogue: 0,0:17:51.38,0:17:52.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of recording and expressing
Dialogue: 0,0:17:52.89,0:17:56.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and increasingly wide and subtle range of human experience.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:56.77,0:17:59.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ intense music]
Dialogue: 0,0:17:59.11,0:18:00.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in the right hands,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:00.20,0:18:02.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Old English was now powerful and supple enough
Dialogue: 0,0:18:02.86,0:18:06.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to take you to imaginary worlds, fire the blood, be poetry.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:07.61,0:18:15.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language: Beowulf)
Dialogue: 0,0:18:15.50,0:18:19.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: So, the Spear-Danes, and days gone by,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:19.25,0:18:22.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the kings who rule them have courage and greatness.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:22.82,0:18:26.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have heard of those prince's heroic campaigns.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:26.50,0:18:30.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ death-like music]
Dialogue: 0,0:18:30.06,0:18:31.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No one knows who composed
Dialogue: 0,0:18:31.29,0:18:32.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the epic Beowulf, sometime between the
Dialogue: 0,0:18:32.89,0:18:35.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mid 7th and the 10th century.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:35.15,0:18:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the first great poem in the English Language.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:38.00,0:18:39.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The beginning of a glorious tradition
Dialogue: 0,0:18:39.69,0:18:40.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which would lead to Chaucer,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:40.75,0:18:42.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Shakespeare and beyond.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:43.74,0:18:45.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The poem celebrates the glory days
Dialogue: 0,0:18:45.46,0:18:47.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the Germanic tribes,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:47.21,0:18:50.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,optimizing the heroic warrior who gives the poem it's name.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:52.46,0:18:55.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The power of a language can be heard in this passage,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:55.04,0:18:57.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which introduces Beowulf's archenemy,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:57.25,0:18:59.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the monster Grendel.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:01.10,0:19:08.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language: Beowulf)
Dialogue: 0,0:19:08.86,0:19:12.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: In off the moors, down through the mist-bands,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:12.66,0:19:16.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,God cursed Grendel came greedily loping.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:16.04,0:19:19.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language: Beowulf)
Dialogue: 0,0:19:19.29,0:19:21.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: The bane of the race of men roamed forth,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:21.60,0:19:24.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hunting for a prey in the high hall.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:24.74,0:19:27.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language: Beowulf)
Dialogue: 0,0:19:27.43,0:19:29.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: Spurned and joyless, he journeyed on ahead,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:29.66,0:19:32.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and arrived at the bawn.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:32.10,0:19:35.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language: Beowulf)
Dialogue: 0,0:19:35.52,0:19:37.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: Then his rage boiled over,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:37.12,0:19:39.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he ripped open the mouth of the building,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:39.12,0:19:40.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maddening for blood.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:40.91,0:19:43.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ dramatic music]
Dialogue: 0,0:19:43.81,0:19:46.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He grabbed and mauled a man on his bench,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:46.54,0:19:48.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bit into his bone lappings,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:48.85,0:19:50.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bolted down his blood,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:50.49,0:19:53.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and gorged on him in lumps,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:53.01,0:19:56.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leaving the body utterly lifeless,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:56.20,0:19:58.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,eaten up, hand and foot.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:59.19,0:20:01.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: What does that tell us about English at that time, Seamus?
Dialogue: 0,0:20:01.99,0:20:03.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What kind of language was it when you came to it?
Dialogue: 0,0:20:03.88,0:20:05.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do you think this is a fully developed poetic language?
Dialogue: 0,0:20:05.99,0:20:08.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seamus: It's certainly a fully developed poetic language.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:08.68,0:20:12.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's capable of great elaboration.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:12.60,0:20:16.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what struck me generally about Old English
Dialogue: 0,0:20:16.30,0:20:18.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the moment I read the bits of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:18.79,0:20:19.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right through to Beowulf,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:19.84,0:20:23.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is it's terrific for telling what happened.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:23.11,0:20:26.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a wonderful sense of the indicative mood all through it.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:26.71,0:20:30.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's terrific for action, terrific for description.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:30.23,0:20:32.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ light chords]
Dialogue: 0,0:20:32.87,0:20:35.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's a wonderful forthright capacity to make up
Dialogue: 0,0:20:35.77,0:20:38.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,extra language in Anglo-Saxon.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:42.49,0:20:45.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The words are very clear and direct,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:45.22,0:20:47.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"ban and hus" for example, bone-house,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:47.66,0:20:49.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there you have the house for the body,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:49.71,0:20:50.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the word for the body.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:53.46,0:20:55.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beautiful words for instruments,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:55.76,0:21:01.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the harp is called "gleo-bem", the glee-beam.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:01.51,0:21:05.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The happy wood, or else the joy wood,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:05.96,0:21:08.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"gomen-wudu."
Dialogue: 0,0:21:13.83,0:21:19.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Swords, or shield, a shield is the war-board, wig-bord."
Dialogue: 0,0:21:21.23,0:21:23.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is a specific poetic energy
Dialogue: 0,0:21:23.48,0:21:24.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's in the language.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:24.82,0:21:29.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The ability to make compounds,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:29.05,0:21:30.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is still in German I guess,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:30.91,0:21:33.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it gives it a great beauty.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:33.04,0:21:34.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: How extensive is the vocabulary?
Dialogue: 0,0:21:34.82,0:21:39.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seamus: I think there are 40,000 words recorded in Beowulf.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:39.41,0:21:41.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, a lot of the words repeat themselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:41.54,0:21:45.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in this is more in the poetry than in the prose,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:45.95,0:21:48.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if we heard an Anglo-Saxon speaker speaking,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:48.84,0:21:52.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,under his roof to his companion,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:52.88,0:21:55.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we'd probably hear a very quicker,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:55.22,0:21:58.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a different less elaborate language from Beowulf.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:58.44,0:22:01.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Would you say it is very clearly written to be read aloud?
Dialogue: 0,0:22:01.34,0:22:04.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seamus: It's certainly written to be read aloud,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:04.86,0:22:07.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the question that agitates some scholars
Dialogue: 0,0:22:07.85,0:22:09.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is whether it was written, you know?
Dialogue: 0,0:22:09.74,0:22:13.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, I think the general consensus now is that
Dialogue: 0,0:22:13.94,0:22:15.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the time you get to Beowulf,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:15.47,0:22:20.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you have a writer, dealing with a traditional oral language.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:20.79,0:22:32.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language: Beowulf)
Dialogue: 0,0:22:32.38,0:22:34.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seamus: Certainly, you open the book,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:34.17,0:22:36.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[speaks the first lines of Beowulf]
Dialogue: 0,0:22:36.51,0:22:37.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,asks to be uttered,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:37.67,0:22:39.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are many speeches in it,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:39.17,0:22:43.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it comes off the tongue with terrific directness.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:43.75,0:22:51.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ dramatic music]
Dialogue: 0,0:22:51.69,0:22:54.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Latin and Greek had created great bodies of literatiure
Dialogue: 0,0:22:54.64,0:22:56.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the classical past.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:56.35,0:22:58.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the East, Arabic and Chinese,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:58.41,0:23:00.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were being used in the 8th and 9th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:00.67,0:23:02.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as languages of poetry.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:02.16,0:23:03.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, at that time,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:03.23,0:23:05.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no other language in the Christian world
Dialogue: 0,0:23:05.65,0:23:08.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could match the achievement of the Beowulf poet,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:08.42,0:23:10.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his anonymous contemporaries.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:10.72,0:23:12.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Old English was flourishing.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:12.65,0:23:14.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The adventure was underway,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:14.74,0:23:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but while the siege of English
Dialogue: 0,0:23:16.92,0:23:19.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had come from these Frisian shores in the 5th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:19.85,0:23:22.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so now in the late 8th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:22.48,0:23:25.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a potential destroyer was preparing his battle fleet,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:25.62,0:23:28.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,500 miles or so to the North.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:28.46,0:23:50.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ ominous music]
Dialogue: 0,0:23:50.66,0:23:59.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ music becomes motivated]
Dialogue: 0,0:23:59.78,0:24:01.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the late 8th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:01.38,0:24:03.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Latin based culture of scholarship
Dialogue: 0,0:24:03.03,0:24:05.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which had grown up in places like Lindisfarne,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:05.42,0:24:07.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and which had also been the cradle of Old English
Dialogue: 0,0:24:07.69,0:24:10.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,faced extinction from across the sea.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:10.89,0:24:21.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:24:21.31,0:24:23.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These ruins are of the Medieval monastery
Dialogue: 0,0:24:23.69,0:24:26.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that stood on the island of Lindisfarne.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:30.03,0:24:32.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was the vikings who sacked and burned
Dialogue: 0,0:24:32.14,0:24:34.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the religious center that stood here before.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:36.74,0:24:38.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To these Pagan pirates,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:38.11,0:24:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rampaging out of their longships in 793,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:41.16,0:24:45.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this great center of Christian piety and scholarship,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:45.06,0:24:48.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a pivotal place in the survival of the Word and the Gospels,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:48.55,0:24:51.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was no more than an undefended treasure house.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:51.44,0:24:53.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The jewels that graced the books of the church
Dialogue: 0,0:24:53.56,0:24:56.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,became barbells around a viking's neck.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:56.55,0:25:02.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ intense, motivated music]
Dialogue: 0,0:25:02.90,0:25:04.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today, the vikings may seem romantic,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:04.98,0:25:07.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reenacting their rituals a good day out.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:08.34,0:25:09.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over 12 centuries ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:09.50,0:25:11.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their arrival was not so cheerful.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:11.87,0:25:14.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(bell ringing)
Dialogue: 0,0:25:14.16,0:25:17.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To many, it seemed the signal to the end for civilization.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:17.77,0:25:21.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(fire crackling)
Dialogue: 0,0:25:22.16,0:25:24.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A year after raising Lindisfarne,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:24.26,0:25:27.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the vikings returned, and sacked Jarrow,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:27.28,0:25:29.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the abbey where Bede had been the greatest scholar,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:29.68,0:25:32.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in one of the finest libraries in Christendom.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:36.38,0:25:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This stronghold of the Latin word,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:38.12,0:25:40.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where English was also being written down,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:40.60,0:25:42.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,uniquely among European dialects,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:42.66,0:25:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was burned to the ground,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:44.62,0:25:45.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's books with it.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:45.71,0:25:49.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(fire crackling)
Dialogue: 0,0:25:49.20,0:26:01.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ haunting voices]
Dialogue: 0,0:26:01.97,0:26:03.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a start of 70 years of attack,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:03.93,0:26:08.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,during which the vikings savaged this easten half of the country.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:08.28,0:26:11.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Few stories survive of exactly where and when they attacked,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:11.77,0:26:15.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,perhaps chillingly because few were left to tell the tale.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:15.52,0:26:18.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At first, the raiders went home with their plunder,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:18.83,0:26:21.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then they decided to take the land itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:21.43,0:26:24.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 865, the vikings landed a great army
Dialogue: 0,0:26:24.30,0:26:26.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,south of here, in East Anglia.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:26.82,0:26:31.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:26:31.68,0:26:34.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Within 5 years, the viking invaders who are now called Danes,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:34.76,0:26:37.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,controlled the North and East of the country.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:39.02,0:26:40.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of the old Anglo-Saxon kingdoms,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:40.74,0:26:43.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only Wessex still held out.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:43.72,0:26:45.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Old Norse, the language of the conquerors,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:45.88,0:26:47.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was spreading throughout the land.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:48.33,0:26:51.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Old English, potentially faced the same fate of the Celtic language
Dialogue: 0,0:26:51.69,0:26:53.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it had supplanted,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:53.12,0:26:54.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,virtual oblivion.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:56.14,0:26:58.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,English, was in need of a champion.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:59.39,0:27:01.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it found one.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:01.03,0:27:13.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ triumphant music]
Dialogue: 0,0:27:13.30,0:27:15.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,King Alfred's statue stands here in Winchester,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:15.63,0:27:17.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the capital of his aged kingdom of Wessex.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:18.20,0:27:20.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's the only monarch in our history to be known as "the Great"
Dialogue: 0,0:27:20.98,0:27:23.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he's often been hailed as the savior of England,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:23.75,0:27:27.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that may be debatable as the idea of a single unified England,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:27.79,0:27:30.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,didn't really exist in Alfred's day.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:30.13,0:27:34.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is certain, is that he was a great defender of the English language.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:34.56,0:27:37.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ somber music]
Dialogue: 0,0:27:37.70,0:27:40.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was the Victorians who dubbed Alfred, the Great.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:41.21,0:27:42.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was one of their darlings,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:42.83,0:27:44.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an English hero, whose exploits
Dialogue: 0,0:27:44.36,0:27:47.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were enthusiastically woven into the fabric of national myth.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:49.60,0:27:51.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, he very nearly didn't make it.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:53.80,0:27:55.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He'd come to the throne of Wessex,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:55.15,0:27:58.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,within a year of the first Danish attacks in the Southeast,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:58.40,0:28:01.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and at first, he could hardly hold them back.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:01.91,0:28:04.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 878, the Danes won what appeared
Dialogue: 0,0:28:04.22,0:28:06.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be a decisive battle at Chippenham in Wiltshire.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:06.99,0:28:14.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ mischievous music]
Dialogue: 0,0:28:14.89,0:28:16.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred, with only a few followers,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:16.78,0:28:19.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,went on the run into the marshes of Somerset.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:19.71,0:28:21.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Moving as a contemporary wrote,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:21.58,0:28:24.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Under difficulties, through wood,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:24.03,0:28:26.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and into inaccessible places."
Dialogue: 0,0:28:28.51,0:28:30.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Legend has Alfred, unrecognized,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:30.91,0:28:33.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,taking shelter in a poor woman's cottage,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:33.19,0:28:37.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and being scolded for burning the wheaten cakes he'd been set to mind.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:39.84,0:28:42.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, the reality was less cozy.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:42.16,0:28:44.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His situation was desperate,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:44.07,0:28:45.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and if Alfred's kingdom fell,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:45.96,0:28:48.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the whole country would be controlled and settled
Dialogue: 0,0:28:48.45,0:28:52.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by conquerors whose language would inevitably crush English.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:57.79,0:29:01.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, Alfred proved to be an enterprising warrior and strategist,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:01.11,0:29:03.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,running free in the Somerset levels
Dialogue: 0,0:29:03.28,0:29:05.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he discovered the arts of irregular warfare,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:05.84,0:29:08.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and mounted guerrilla attacks against the occupying
Dialogue: 0,0:29:08.46,0:29:11.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forces of Guthrum, the Danish invader.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:11.34,0:29:13.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But he knew that wasn't going to be enough.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:13.16,0:29:14.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For Wessex to be regained,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:14.98,0:29:17.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Danes had to be brought to battle and defeated.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:17.68,0:29:20.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fighting men of Wessex had been scattered,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:20.47,0:29:22.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in the spring of 878,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:22.01,0:29:24.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred sent out a call for the men of the Shirefords,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:24.59,0:29:26.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the county armies, to join him.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:26.78,0:29:29.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Around 4,000 men, many from Wiltshire and Somerset,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:29.98,0:29:32.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,armed only with battle axes and throwing spears,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:32.76,0:29:34.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,responded to the call.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:34.36,0:29:36.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They mustered at Egbert's Stone,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:36.15,0:29:38.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where trackways and rigdeways met.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:38.44,0:29:40.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,48 hours later, they advanced,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:40.72,0:29:44.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shields drumming against the Danish army of 5,000,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:44.44,0:29:46.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,holding high ground at Ethandune,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:46.73,0:29:48.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the western edge of Salisbury Plain.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:49.33,0:29:50.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Contemporary English accounts
Dialogue: 0,0:29:50.69,0:29:52.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,describe the battle that followed
Dialogue: 0,0:29:52.35,0:29:54.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a slaughter, and a route of the Danes,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:54.61,0:29:55.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the West Saxons.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:55.98,0:29:57.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Modern historians question that,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:57.79,0:30:00.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there is no doubt that Alfred prevailed.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:01.27,0:30:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His crown, and his kingdom were secure,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:03.32,0:30:05.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and more importantly for our story,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:05.50,0:30:07.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so was the English language.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:07.21,0:30:14.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ triumphant music]
Dialogue: 0,0:30:14.48,0:30:15.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Danes surrendered,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:15.91,0:30:17.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their leader was baptized as a Chrisitan,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:17.78,0:30:19.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Alfred's crucial victory
Dialogue: 0,0:30:19.65,0:30:21.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was memorialized here in Wiltshire,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:21.46,0:30:24.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in an earlier version of a great white horse,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:24.19,0:30:26.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,carved into the land he'd saved.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:26.60,0:30:36.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:30:36.24,0:30:39.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred left an even more significant mark on the country,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:39.66,0:30:41.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he signed a peace treaty with the Danes,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:41.44,0:30:42.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which established a border
Dialogue: 0,0:30:42.60,0:30:43.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,running up through the country,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:43.78,0:30:47.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the Thames, to the old Roman road of Watling Street.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:48.18,0:30:49.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The land to the north and the east
Dialogue: 0,0:30:49.49,0:30:51.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be known as the Danelaw,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:51.14,0:30:52.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would be under Danish rule,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:52.38,0:30:54.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the land to the south and west,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:54.43,0:30:55.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would be for the English.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:55.89,0:30:57.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No one was to cross the line,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:57.91,0:31:00.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unless to trade.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:01.59,0:31:05.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(street life sounds)
Dialogue: 0,0:31:05.88,0:31:06.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the course of time,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:06.70,0:31:08.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of Alfred's peace treaty,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:08.52,0:31:10.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when Danes and English met,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:10.10,0:31:13.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they didn't do so to fight, but to do business.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:13.42,0:31:14.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even to intermarry.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:17.54,0:31:18.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Communities mixed,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:18.62,0:31:20.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so did the languages,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:20.63,0:31:23.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,English, rather than being engulfed by the Dane's language,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:23.93,0:31:25.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,began to absorb it.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:29.78,0:31:31.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm in the market town of Hexum,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:31.76,0:31:33.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the Northeast of England.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:33.52,0:31:34.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maps of the area,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:34.60,0:31:37.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,show just how widespread the Danish settlement was.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:37.96,0:31:41.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ pompous music]
Dialogue: 0,0:31:41.01,0:31:42.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Place names ending in "-by"
Dialogue: 0,0:31:42.44,0:31:44.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reveal the Danish name for farm,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:47.28,0:31:49.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"-thorpe" denotes a village,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:49.50,0:31:51.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"-thwaite" a portion of land.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:51.63,0:31:58.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:31:58.42,0:32:00.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The births, marriages, and deaths pages of the local paper,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:00.82,0:32:03.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feature lots of names ending in "-son."
Dialogue: 0,0:32:03.44,0:32:05.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was a Danish was of making a name.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:05.49,0:32:07.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By adding to the name of the Father.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:07.38,0:32:08.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just on this page,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:08.47,0:32:13.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can see, Harrison, Gibson-Hudson,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:13.16,0:32:14.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Robson,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:14.44,0:32:15.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sanderson,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:15.39,0:32:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dickinson,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:16.92,0:32:17.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Simpson,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:17.94,0:32:19.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dickinson again,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:19.19,0:32:20.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Watson.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:21.07,0:32:21.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the school where I was,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:21.92,0:32:22.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just across the country,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:22.91,0:32:24.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was a Patterson, a Johnson,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:24.39,0:32:26.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a Rolandson, and another Dickinson.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:26.85,0:32:28.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Outside of the street,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:28.24,0:32:31.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can see the same thing on shop signs everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:34.44,0:32:37.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even given centuries of people moving around the country,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:37.23,0:32:40.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,names ending in "-son" are still far more common,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:40.32,0:32:42.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in what were the Danish territories in the
Dialogue: 0,0:32:42.14,0:32:45.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,North and West in area, and the South and the East.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:45.24,0:32:46.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Above all, you can hear the echos of the
Dialogue: 0,0:32:46.76,0:32:48.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Danes old Norse language,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:48.47,0:32:50.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the way people speak.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:50.55,0:32:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking indecipherable)
Dialogue: 0,0:32:57.00,0:32:58.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: It's a little field on it's own,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:58.52,0:33:00.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Willy says there's a deck down by the side of it,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:00.28,0:33:02.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,goes down through a little wood.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:02.33,0:33:06.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: ...down by, down in that little guard thing is it...
Dialogue: 0,0:33:06.77,0:33:08.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: It's like a little isolation,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:08.32,0:33:12.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feel it's only, it's only a couple of acres the whole thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:12.02,0:33:13.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: Interesting to see if your sheep sort of..
Dialogue: 0,0:33:13.87,0:33:16.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[indecipherable]
Dialogue: 0,0:33:16.26,0:33:18.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Some old Norse words stayed
Dialogue: 0,0:33:18.44,0:33:20.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the local dialects of the North,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:20.68,0:33:22.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,words like beck for stream,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:22.60,0:33:24.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and garth for paddock.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:25.16,0:33:26.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a boy in Wickham,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:26.13,0:33:28.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember hearing amusing dialect words like,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:28.16,0:33:31.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,slattery for shower, slape for slippery,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:31.18,0:33:35.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,yet for gate, lub for leap, yeck for oak, and yam for home,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:35.28,0:33:37.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as in "I's going yam."
Dialogue: 0,0:33:37.14,0:33:40.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Pure Norse, heard in Wickham, every night of the week.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:40.22,0:33:41.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there were many others.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:44.09,0:33:46.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the influence of old Norse wasn't just local,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:46.85,0:33:48.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all around the country, over time,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:48.26,0:33:51.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hundreds of Norse words entered the mainstream of English.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:51.58,0:33:53.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we still use them everyday.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:55.53,0:33:58.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The 'sk' sounds are characteristic of old Norse,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:58.08,0:33:59.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and English borrowed words like,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:59.61,0:34:02.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,skor, and sky, and skifa,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:02.71,0:34:04.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as perhaps a thousand others,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:04.66,0:34:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including anger, bowl, freckle, knife, neck, root, scowl, and window.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:19.38,0:34:21.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes, where both old Norse and old English
Dialogue: 0,0:34:21.100,0:34:23.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had a word for the same thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:23.51,0:34:25.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,both words lived on in English,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:25.37,0:34:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,each taking on a slightly different meaning.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:28.40,0:34:29.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Where old English said craft,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:29.84,0:34:31.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,old Norse said skill.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:32.19,0:34:35.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For an English hyde, the Norse said skin.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:35.19,0:34:36.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In old English you were sick,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:36.71,0:34:38.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Norse you were ill.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:42.45,0:34:44.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here was another example of English's extraordinary
Dialogue: 0,0:34:44.79,0:34:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ability to absorb
Dialogue: 0,0:34:46.00,0:34:48.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to take in words from other languages,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:48.04,0:34:50.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,adding them to its word hoard,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:50.21,0:34:53.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,increasing the richness and flexibility of the vocabulary.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:54.31,0:34:56.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Katie: I think that the point about vocabulary,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:56.40,0:34:59.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is how much it astonishes by its ordinary nature,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:59.67,0:35:07.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,words like, lore, egg, husband, leg, ill, die, ugly,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:07.06,0:35:08.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all these words are from old Norse,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:08.94,0:35:12.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yet you wouldn't necessarily think they were foreign at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:12.15,0:35:13.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most astounding of all,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:13.23,0:35:16.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think are the pronouns: they, there, and then.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:16.27,0:35:18.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those are also from old Norse.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:18.88,0:35:20.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: And in terms of grammar,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:20.33,0:35:22.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a way, they simplified English, didn't they?
Dialogue: 0,0:35:22.63,0:35:24.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They took it away from its Germanic roots.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:24.61,0:35:26.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Katie: I think it's probably true to say that
Dialogue: 0,0:35:26.22,0:35:28.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,old Norse effects the English language
Dialogue: 0,0:35:28.03,0:35:29.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more than any other.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:29.52,0:35:32.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because it actually leads to a restructuring of the language.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:32.48,0:35:34.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Old English forms sentences,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:34.78,0:35:36.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not by word order,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:36.45,0:35:37.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as we do,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:37.55,0:35:40.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but by tacking on endings to the ends of things like,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:40.52,0:35:43.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,articles and pronouns, and nouns,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:43.27,0:35:45.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what happens is,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:45.48,0:35:48.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through contact with a pretty similar language,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:48.21,0:35:50.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot of these inflectional endings
Dialogue: 0,0:35:50.09,0:35:52.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,start to lose their distinctive nature.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:52.32,0:35:53.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And actually this is a process,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:53.41,0:35:55.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can see happening fairly early on
Dialogue: 0,0:35:55.18,0:35:56.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the Anglo-Saxon period,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:56.51,0:35:58.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so the language is prone to do that.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:58.81,0:36:00.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, contact with Norse languages,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:00.15,0:36:04.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,speeded it up, gave it a shove towards modernity.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:04.14,0:36:06.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Can you give us a very simple example of that?
Dialogue: 0,0:36:06.24,0:36:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Katie: Yes. Let's take a simple sentence like,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:08.40,0:36:11.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The king gave horses to his men.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:11.57,0:36:12.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That would be something like in old English,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:12.88,0:36:17.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(speaking in Old English).
Dialogue: 0,0:36:17.70,0:36:18.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now in old English,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:18.65,0:36:21.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you didn't tend to have a preposition like "to"
Dialogue: 0,0:36:21.54,0:36:23.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,instead you could use a special ending,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:23.57,0:36:26.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which kind of meant "to his men."
Dialogue: 0,0:36:26.62,0:36:30.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that would be a "-um" ending.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:30.40,0:36:33.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you just tack that onto the end of the noun for man.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:33.60,0:36:35.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you'd have "gumum."
Dialogue: 0,0:36:35.33,0:36:37.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"-um" ending.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:37.12,0:36:39.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the plural for the word for horse,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:39.56,0:36:41.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you want to say "gave horses to his men,"
Dialogue: 0,0:36:41.64,0:36:43.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would be have an "an" on it,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:43.20,0:36:45.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so it would be "blancan."
Dialogue: 0,0:36:45.60,0:36:47.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now fortunately, towards the end of the old English period,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:47.69,0:36:50.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we start to see that "-um" ending
Dialogue: 0,0:36:50.20,0:36:52.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,becoming more and more indistinct.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:52.100,0:36:57.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we see spellings like "guman," "an."
Dialogue: 0,0:36:57.18,0:37:00.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just the same as blancan, an.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:01.22,0:37:03.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's obvious that the king is more likely to give
Dialogue: 0,0:37:03.93,0:37:07.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more horses to his men, than men to his horses,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:07.32,0:37:10.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you can see that there is a potential there for difficulties.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:10.56,0:37:14.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so we start to see prepositions being used,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:14.61,0:37:18.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in place of those endings which had become indistinct.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:22.67,0:37:25.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Spoken English survived the Danish invasion,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:26.85,0:37:28.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but as the 9th century drew to a close,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:28.78,0:37:31.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the written culture was in a ruinous state,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:31.54,0:37:33.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and King Alfred was concerned.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:36.00,0:37:37.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When Alfred looked at the state of his kingdom,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:37.94,0:37:39.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was appalled.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:39.23,0:37:40.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The scholars in the monasteries
Dialogue: 0,0:37:40.60,0:37:42.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had once made England the greatest powerhouse
Dialogue: 0,0:37:42.75,0:37:44.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Christian teaching in Europe,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:44.46,0:37:47.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but 150 years had passed since the high days of Bede,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:47.62,0:37:50.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the scholarly tradition had declined,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:50.39,0:37:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hastened on its way by a century of Viking reign.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:54.00,0:37:54.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In all the country,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:54.97,0:37:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred could barely find a handful of priests
Dialogue: 0,0:37:57.02,0:37:59.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who could read and understand Latin.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:59.38,0:38:00.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if they couldn't understand Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:00.84,0:38:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they couldn't pass on the teachings of the religious books,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:03.60,0:38:06.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that told people how to lead virtuous lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:06.70,0:38:08.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They couldn't save souls.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:08.23,0:38:10.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Where the written word has once flourished,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:10.54,0:38:14.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred now found only chronic spiritual sickness,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:14.02,0:38:16.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he looked for a cure.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:16.33,0:38:19.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One way was to educate more clergy in Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:19.21,0:38:20.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that wasn't enough.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:20.76,0:38:22.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He needed a more radical solution,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:22.72,0:38:24.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a solution that hinged not on Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:24.68,0:38:26.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but on English.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:26.18,0:38:29.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he took English to new heights of achievement.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:29.47,0:38:32.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ choral music]
Dialogue: 0,0:38:32.31,0:38:33.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the preface to his own translation of
Dialogue: 0,0:38:33.98,0:38:35.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Pope Gregory's pastoral care,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:35.91,0:38:36.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred wrote,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:36.68,0:38:40.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I remembered how, before it was all ravaged and burned,"
Dialogue: 0,0:38:40.91,0:38:43.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I'd seen how the churches throughout all Englands,'
Dialogue: 0,0:38:43.19,0:38:45.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"stood filled with treasures and books."
Dialogue: 0,0:38:45.40,0:38:48.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"And there was also a multitude of God's servants,"
Dialogue: 0,0:38:48.16,0:38:50.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"who had very little benefit from those books,"
Dialogue: 0,0:38:50.08,0:38:52.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"because they couldn't understand anything of them, "
Dialogue: 0,0:38:52.73,0:38:55.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"since they were not written in their own language."
Dialogue: 0,0:38:55.42,0:39:00.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:39:00.38,0:39:02.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Their own language was of course English.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:02.36,0:39:04.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred didn't want to do away with Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:04.51,0:39:06.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he realized that it would be far easier
Dialogue: 0,0:39:06.74,0:39:10.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to teach people to read books written in the language that they spoke.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:10.03,0:39:11.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The best scholars,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:11.27,0:39:12.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could then go on to learn Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:12.91,0:39:14.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an join Holy orders.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:14.59,0:39:17.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The rest, would still have access to scholarship
Dialogue: 0,0:39:17.20,0:39:18.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and spiritual guidance,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:18.40,0:39:20.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it would be written in English.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:20.71,0:39:27.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ triumphant music]
Dialogue: 0,0:39:27.96,0:39:30.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here, in his capital city of Winchester,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:30.12,0:39:32.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred drew up a plan.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:33.28,0:39:35.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was an extraordinarily imaginative project,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:35.86,0:39:38.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to promote literacy, and restore the English language.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:38.82,0:39:50.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:39:50.93,0:39:53.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,," We should," he wrote, "translate certain books,"
Dialogue: 0,0:39:53.95,0:39:56.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"which are most necessary for all men to know,"
Dialogue: 0,0:39:56.21,0:39:58.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"into the language that we can all understand."
Dialogue: 0,0:39:58.78,0:40:01.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"And also arrange it, as with God's help,"
Dialogue: 0,0:40:01.30,0:40:02.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"we very easily can, if we have peace,"
Dialogue: 0,0:40:02.98,0:40:05.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"so that all the youth of free men,"
Dialogue: 0,0:40:05.06,0:40:06.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"now among the English people,"
Dialogue: 0,0:40:06.49,0:40:09.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"will have the means to be able to devote themselves to it,"
Dialogue: 0,0:40:09.38,0:40:14.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"maybe set to study, for as long as they are of no other use,"
Dialogue: 0,0:40:14.09,0:40:17.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"until a time, they're able to read English writing well."
Dialogue: 0,0:40:19.85,0:40:22.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Alfred had 5 books of religious instruction,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:22.29,0:40:23.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,philosophy, and history,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:23.50,0:40:25.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,translated from Latin into English.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:25.50,0:40:27.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A laborious and costly undertaking.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:30.97,0:40:33.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Copies were sent out to the 12 bishops of his kingdom,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:33.79,0:40:36.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for their wisdom to be spread as widely as possible.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:39.81,0:40:40.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To each bishop,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:40.57,0:40:43.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to emphasize the importance and value of the project,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:43.20,0:40:45.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred sent a costly pointer,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:45.14,0:40:47.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,used to underline the text.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:49.42,0:40:51.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the Alfred Jewel,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:51.81,0:40:55.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many historians believe that it formed the head of one of those pointers.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:56.69,0:40:58.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Crafted in crystal, and enameled in gold,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:58.96,0:41:01.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was discovered in 1693, in Somerset,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:01.66,0:41:05.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and is now on show at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:05.44,0:41:08.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's inscribed, "Alfred had me made,"
Dialogue: 0,0:41:08.15,0:41:09.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in English.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:11.96,0:41:14.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred the great, had made the English language
Dialogue: 0,0:41:14.43,0:41:16.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the jewel in his crown.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:17.48,0:41:23.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(church bells ringing)
Dialogue: 0,0:41:23.80,0:41:24.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here in Winchester,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:24.87,0:41:26.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred had established what was effectively
Dialogue: 0,0:41:26.84,0:41:28.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a publishing house.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:28.58,0:41:30.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Other projects he undertook included,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:30.48,0:41:33.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the commissioning of the Anglo-Saxon chronicle,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:33.06,0:41:35.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,detailing hundreds of years of history.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:35.80,0:41:37.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alfred died in 899,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:37.85,0:41:40.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of his legacies was an English language
Dialogue: 0,0:41:40.10,0:41:42.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was more prestigious and widely read,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:42.30,0:41:44.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than ever before.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:44.02,0:41:45.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was nothing to compare
Dialogue: 0,0:41:45.66,0:41:47.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with this range of written vernacular,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:47.78,0:41:49.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,history, philosophy, poetry,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:49.11,0:41:51.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anywhere else in mainland Europe.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:51.34,0:41:53.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,English was out on its own.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:53.77,0:41:55.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the middle of the 11th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:55.35,0:41:57.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,English seemed secure,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:57.22,0:41:59.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but now, other invaders were waiting in the wings,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:59.91,0:42:04.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and English was about to face its greatest threat ever.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:04.30,0:42:21.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:42:21.49,0:42:24.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This place, the old Roman fort at Pevensey,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:24.15,0:42:26.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a fateful one for the English language,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:26.27,0:42:28.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was here, among other places,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:28.09,0:42:30.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the Frisians, and other Germanic tribes,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:30.03,0:42:32.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had made land form in the 5th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:32.03,0:42:34.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and introduced their own language.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:34.05,0:42:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, in 1066, another wave of invaders was landing
Dialogue: 0,0:42:38.12,0:42:39.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Normans.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:41.12,0:42:43.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy
Dialogue: 0,0:42:43.18,0:42:45.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sailed with his army to claim the English throne,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:45.75,0:42:49.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was sure he had right on his side.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:50.12,0:42:52.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The English king, Edward the Confessor,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:52.19,0:42:53.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has spent many years in Normandy,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:53.90,0:42:56.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in that time, contemporary sources say,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:56.01,0:42:58.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had come to regard William as a brother,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:58.74,0:43:02.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or even a son, and had named him as his successor.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:04.48,0:43:06.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sensing his impending death,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:06.14,0:43:07.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and fearing rebellion at home,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:07.83,0:43:09.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the childless Edward had dispatched
Dialogue: 0,0:43:09.68,0:43:11.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Harold Godwinson, his wife's brother,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:11.76,0:43:13.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his Earl of Essex,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:13.19,0:43:15.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the richest and most powerful of the English lords.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:15.52,0:43:18.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to Normandy, to pledge loyalty to William.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:21.09,0:43:25.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This Harold did, swearing on two caskets of Holy relics.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:29.02,0:43:30.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, when Edward did die,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:30.56,0:43:32.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Harold, supported by the English nobility,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:32.83,0:43:35.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had himself crowned in Westminster Abbey,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:35.05,0:43:38.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the very day that Edward was laid to rest there.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:41.23,0:43:43.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To the truculent and ruthless William,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:43.10,0:43:45.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this was an affront.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:45.30,0:43:48.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Invasion with maximum force, the only possible response.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:48.75,0:44:04.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ battle music]
Dialogue: 0,0:44:04.18,0:44:06.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The armies met here, near Hastings.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:11.62,0:44:13.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the spot, where traditionally,
Dialogue: 0,0:44:13.12,0:44:16.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Harold fell, fatally pierced through the eye with an arrow.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:16.86,0:44:22.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ somber]
Dialogue: 0,0:44:22.41,0:44:25.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The site was later named after the engagement.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:25.86,0:44:28.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, it's name, not with an English word, like fight,
Dialogue: 0,0:44:28.98,0:44:32.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but with a word from the language of the Norman victors,
Dialogue: 0,0:44:32.08,0:44:32.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Battle.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:37.64,0:44:38.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Harold would be the last
Dialogue: 0,0:44:38.55,0:44:41.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,English speaking king of England for 3 centuries.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:42.43,0:44:44.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On Christmas day, 1066,
Dialogue: 0,0:44:44.46,0:44:46.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,William was crowned in Westminster Abbey,
Dialogue: 0,0:44:46.61,0:44:49.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a service conducted in English and Latin.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:49.28,0:44:51.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,William, spoke French throughout.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:56.09,0:44:57.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A new king, and a new language,
Dialogue: 0,0:44:57.92,0:44:59.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were in authority in England.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:02.35,0:45:03.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Enemy.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:04.77,0:45:06.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Castle.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:07.92,0:45:09.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Castle, was one of the first French words
Dialogue: 0,0:45:09.99,0:45:11.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to enter the English language.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:11.98,0:45:13.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Normans built a chain of them,
Dialogue: 0,0:45:13.15,0:45:15.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to impose their rule on the country.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:16.18,0:45:17.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This magnificent castle at Rochester,
Dialogue: 0,0:45:17.70,0:45:20.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was one of the first to be fortified in stone.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:20.52,0:45:26.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ dramatic music]
Dialogue: 0,0:45:26.79,0:45:29.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By blood, the Normans were from the same stock
Dialogue: 0,0:45:29.16,0:45:32.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the Norse men, who'd invaded in earlier centuries.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:32.24,0:45:34.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, they no longer spoke a Germanic language,
Dialogue: 0,0:45:34.66,0:45:37.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather what we call old French,
Dialogue: 0,0:45:37.20,0:45:39.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which had grown from Latin roots.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:39.92,0:45:40.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many of the words they spoke
Dialogue: 0,0:45:40.90,0:45:43.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would have been very strange to the native English,
Dialogue: 0,0:45:43.39,0:45:46.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but would quickly become unpleasantly familiar.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:47.36,0:45:52.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our words, army, archer, soldier, garrison, and guard,
Dialogue: 0,0:45:52.23,0:45:55.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all come from the conquering Norman French.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:55.93,0:45:58.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,French was the language that spelled out
Dialogue: 0,0:45:58.28,0:46:00.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the architecture of the new social order.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:00.67,0:46:05.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Crown, throne, and court, duke, baron, and nobility,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:05.51,0:46:07.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,peasant, vessel, servant.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:07.75,0:46:09.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The word govern comes from French,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:09.40,0:46:13.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as do liberty, authority, obedience, and traitor.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:13.89,0:46:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Normans took the law into their own hands.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:16.00,0:46:19.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Felony, arrest, warrant, justice, judge, jury,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:19.42,0:46:20.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all come from French.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:22.88,0:46:28.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so do accuse, acquit, sentence, condemn, prison, and jail.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:30.20,0:46:31.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's been estimated,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:31.25,0:46:33.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that in the 3 centuries after the conquest,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:33.06,0:46:36.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about 10,000 French words colonized the English language.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:36.94,0:46:38.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They didn't all come in immediately.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:38.76,0:46:41.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, the conquest opened a conduit of French vocabulary,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:41.67,0:46:44.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that should remain open, on and off, ever since.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:44.32,0:46:46.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today, French words are all around us.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:46.84,0:46:48.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ Parisian music]
Dialogue: 0,0:46:48.49,0:46:51.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,City, market, porter,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:52.17,0:46:54.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: Here we are, we've got one fabulous salmon.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:54.08,0:46:55.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Weighs about 14 pounds.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:55.82,0:46:56.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's a fabulous fish.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:56.98,0:46:58.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've got some fabulous mackerel,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:58.07,0:46:59.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they've come out from Aberdeen.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:59.59,0:47:01.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Next, over to the oysters, they come from the Essex coast,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:01.70,0:47:02.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sole.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:02.73,0:47:04.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:47:04.30,0:47:07.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Pork, sausage, bacon.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:07.54,0:47:10.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: Fruit, oranges, the juicy lemons.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:10.98,0:47:15.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Grape, tart, biscuit, sugar.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:15.06,0:47:16.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Man: Creme.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:18.16,0:47:18.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Narrator: Fry.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:21.74,0:47:22.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Vinegar.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:23.75,0:47:25.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nearly 500 words dealing with food,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:25.64,0:47:27.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cooking, and eating alone entered English
Dialogue: 0,0:47:27.76,0:47:29.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from French, just a fraction of the imports
Dialogue: 0,0:47:29.99,0:47:32.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which would enrich the English word hoard,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:32.44,0:47:34.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the centuries after the Norman conquest.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:34.24,0:47:38.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ Parisian music continues]
Dialogue: 0,0:47:42.51,0:47:44.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When in 20 years of taking control of the country,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:44.80,0:47:47.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,William sent his officers out to take stock of his kingdom.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:50.13,0:47:51.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The monks of Peterborough,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:51.21,0:47:53.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who were still recording the events of history,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:53.18,0:47:55.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in English in the Anglo-Saxon chronicle,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:55.15,0:47:56.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,noted disapprovingly,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:56.91,0:47:59.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that not one piece of land escaped the survey,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:59.80,0:48:03.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not even an ox, or a cow, or a pig.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:03.24,0:48:17.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪ somber music]
Dialogue: 0,0:48:17.72,0:48:19.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Doomsday book, there are in fact 2 volumes,
Dialogue: 0,0:48:19.91,0:48:22.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,show us how complete the Norman takeover
Dialogue: 0,0:48:22.65,0:48:24.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the English land was,
Dialogue: 0,0:48:24.38,0:48:27.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how widespread their influence and their language.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:29.99,0:48:31.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Norman settlement
Dialogue: 0,0:48:31.02,0:48:32.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had concentrated the wealth of England
Dialogue: 0,0:48:32.75,0:48:34.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more than ever before or since.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:34.95,0:48:36.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The native ruling class from before the conquest,
Dialogue: 0,0:48:36.91,0:48:39.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had been slaughtered, banished, or disinherited,
Dialogue: 0,0:48:39.74,0:48:41.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in favor of William's followers.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:41.86,0:48:45.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Half of the country was in the hands of just 190 men,
Dialogue: 0,0:48:45.35,0:48:49.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,half of that was held by just 11 men.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:50.58,0:48:53.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And not one of these great land owners spoke English.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:56.08,0:49:01.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language)
Dialogue: 0,0:49:01.94,0:49:03.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When this record of the country was drawn up,
Dialogue: 0,0:49:03.57,0:49:04.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was written in Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:49:04.66,0:49:06.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not Norman French,
Dialogue: 0,0:49:08.38,0:49:10.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and certainly not English.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:11.06,0:49:13.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language)
Dialogue: 0,0:49:13.30,0:49:14.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Between them, French and Latin
Dialogue: 0,0:49:14.63,0:49:15.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had become the languages
Dialogue: 0,0:49:15.75,0:49:19.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of state, law, the church, and history itself, in England.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:19.81,0:49:25.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]
Dialogue: 0,0:49:25.54,0:49:27.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The writing of English became increasingly rare,
Dialogue: 0,0:49:27.84,0:49:30.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even the Anglo-Saxon chronicle
Dialogue: 0,0:49:30.26,0:49:31.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,gutted into silence.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:33.42,0:49:39.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(man speaking in foreign language)
Dialogue: 0,0:49:39.55,0:49:41.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The language of Alfred and the Beowulf poet,
Dialogue: 0,0:49:41.83,0:49:45.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had lost all prestige that it had slowly built up.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:45.62,0:49:47.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a country of 3 languages,
Dialogue: 0,0:49:47.04,0:49:51.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,English was now a poor third, bottom of the pile.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:59.70,0:50:02.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The English language had been forced underground.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:02.75,0:50:05.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It would take 300 years for it to re-emerge,
Dialogue: 0,0:50:05.36,0:50:08.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when it did, it would have changed dramtically.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:09.10,0:50:42.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[♪]