How Elite French Transformed Anglo-Saxon
JUDE MONTAGUE
14 October 2026 is the 950th anniversary year of the Battle of Hastings. From that point on, modern English would be permanently changed through the imposition of French. Ways of naming, writing and speaking evolved into the mixed syntax we have today. Grammatical roots have remained Germanic. The law and the church adopted Latin for formal occasions and French technical vocabulary, and French became the preferred language of the elite.
Since then, language speakers have benefitted from the contrasting associations of the two systems. Clever use of Anglo-Saxon words, say in a satirical monologue, can pack a punch, especially after a French or Latin set up.
Sam Davey, author and chair of the Hastings Writers Group, is editing an anthology of work by local writers that explore this linguistic shift. 36 writers, 66 pieces. “The French and Latinate words represent the paved tarmac of modern civilisation, corporate systems, but no matter how much polite, multi-syllabic refinement is laid over our modern lives, the raw, heavy, Anglo-Saxon mud is always waiting just an inch beneath the surface,” says Sam.
Dialect terms from ancient Germanic and local Sussex (fyrd, burh, twitten, lane, Stade) have been embedded inside contemporary narratives, creating vivid literary landscapes. Ben Bruges, whose poem Talking English introduces the collection, describes English as “the world’s greatest word-hoard”.
The themes are varied and surprising. Edith Swan-Neck, King Harold’s handfasted (non-church wedded) wife was depicted in medieval art gathering up his body parts from the battlefield. She appears in the book repeatedly, a metaphorical ghost with resonance for our times.
The anthology analyses the language roots of each piece. The standard split in contemporary English, in normal day-to-day usage, is roughly 65-70% Anglo-Saxon to 20-25% French, the remainder influenced by other sources such as Arabic, Indian, Greek, and many others. The writers consciously play with this vocabulary, and the balance tilts and shifts.
The anthology has been funded by the Norman Heritage Fund (HBC) and the Magdalen and Lasher Educational Trust.
Any monies raised from sales will
go to the Hastings Community of Sanctuary.
It showcases at Hastings Book Festival on 19 September, and will be launched on 16 October during Hastings Week.
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