1066 - When England became French

The Battle of Hastings - 1066. William the Conqueror defeated Harold of England and took the throne (as he was promised), thereby changing the course of the English language forever. Fascinating!! French became the language of royalty and the elite in England for many years to come. I am very keen on doing some work with students on the influence of French on the English language, and after taking a course on the history of the English language a couple of years ago, I have wanted very much to see the Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of this battle in a hand embroided tapestry over 200 ft long. It was very exciting to stand in its presence! We moved along the sensitively lit room in single file with our hand held walkie talkies giving us the story panel by panel. Of course no photos were allowed, but I did take some in the museum upstairs which had a great timeline and historical explanations as well as some replicas. It's very interesting, because even though this battle is far back in history, even today debates occur over whether the tapestry was created in France or England!

In Caen, where we are staying this week as a central place to visit Normandy and Brittany, there are many traces of King William. You can visit his former château which, alas, only has ruins left, and two of his abbeys that are now used as government buildings and retain their original splendour from the exterior.