as was the case in Southern Europe; but an immediate substitution of the language of the conquerors for that of the vanquished. The tongue spoken by these German invaders is therefore the real groundwork of our language; a fact well established by history, as well as by the etymological analogies subsisting between English and the various Teutonic dialects.

§ 23. The Invaders.-By which of the German tribes the expeditions alluded to were fitted out, was formerly a subject of doubt, but seems now to be satisfactorily established. The Saxons, Angles, and Frisians, appear to have been the principal ones concerned in them. Of these, the first occupied the valley of the River Weser, their territory, as far as we can now locate it, corresponding with the Kingdom of Hanover, the Duchy of Oldenburg, and part of Holstein. They were a powerful people, and constituted the chief body of the invaders. This is inferred from the fact that the ancient Britons knew their German conquerors by no other name than that of Saxons; and still further because this is the appellation which the Welsh, Armoricans, and Gælic-Celts universally apply to the English of the present day. Yet, though the Saxon element originally preponderated, the Angles were evidently strongly represented; for they enjoy the distinction of having given their name permanently to the island, England being nothing more than a corruption of Angleland.

Who these Angles were, is by no means certain. Tacitus and Ptolemy allude to them; the former, indefinitely, in connection with other tribes, while the latter locates them in the central part of the valley of the Elbe. They seem at one time to have been a distinct and powerful tribe, and were perhaps allied by birth to their Saxon neighbors. Having be

What change took place in the rest of the island? What tongue is the real groundwork of our language? How is this fact established?

$23. What German tribes seem to have taken the principal part in the invasion of Pritain? Where did the Saxons live? With what modern countries did their territories correspond? Whence do we infer that the Saxons constituted the chief body of the invaders? What other tribe was strongly represented? What reason

come reduced in number by war or some other calamity, they were incorporated with the latter, and found their way to Britain along with them. While on the continent, they were far outnumbered by the Saxons, and played so unimportant a part that little mention is made of them in history: the influence of the two nations in Britain was more nearly equal; and the Angles may at length have preponderated over their kinsmen and allies, and thus succeeded in giving name to their new habitation and its language.

The Frisians are not generally thought to have formed part of the German settlers of Britain; but that they were concerned in one or more of the expeditions seems probable from the following considerations :

I. Occupying the whole coast from the Zuyder Zee to the mouth of the Elbe, they must have been situated between the Saxons and the sea, and are therefore likely to have joined the latter tribe, to a greater or less extent, in their maritime expeditions. II. The historian Procopius, speaking of Britain, expressly mentions the Frisians as composing a part of its population.* Hengist himself is represented as a Frisian by some authorities. The Saxon Chronicle, also, alludes to Frisians in Britain.

III. The Frisian language, as now spoken in Friesland, bears a closer resemblance to English than any other known tongue.

* Βριττίαν δὲ τὴν νῆσον ἔθνη τρία πολυανθρωπότατα ἔχουσι, βασιλεύς τε εἰς αὐτῶν ἑκάστῳ ἐφέστηκεν, ὀνόματα δὲ κεῖται τοῖς ἔθνεσι τούτοις 'Αγ. γίλοι τε καὶ Φρίσσονες καὶ οἱ τῇ νήσῳ ὁμώνυμοι Βρίττωνες.—PROCOPIUS, B. G. IV. 20.

have we for supposing this? What early historians allude to the Angles? Where does Ptolemy locate them? What seems to have been their early history? On the continent, how did they compare in power and influence with the Saxons ? How, in Britain? What other tribe seems to have taken part in these incursions? Explain how their position renders this supposition probable. What historian and what work mention Frisians as forming part of the population of Britain! What warrior is by some represented to have been a Frisian? What additional

Dr. Latham, whose researches have thrown much light upon this subject, and whose "Hand-book of the English Language" is replete with scholarship and learning, thus sums up the whole matter: "It was certainly from the Anglo-Saxon, and probably from a part of the Frisian area, that Great Britain was first invaded."

§ 24. The Saxon Language.-The language which thus suddenly superseded Celtic in ancient Britain was, as has been remarked, an offshoot of the great Teutonic stem, which sprang from the same root as the Celtic. The nations that used the Teutonic dialects lived in Northern and Central Europe, having early (though probably after the departure of the Celts) swarmed out thither from the regions already mentioned as the seat of the ancient Aryans. Their bards, whose business it was to recite the exploits of their heroes, agree in assigning to their race an eastern origin; and Herodotus mentions the Germans among the tribes of ancient Persia.* The Teutonic stock is divided into two branches: the Scandinavian, including the dialects of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland; and the Germanic. To this latter division Anglo-Saxon belongs.

§ 25. Norse or Danish Element.-The first introduction of a foreign element into the pure Saxon of England was oc casioned by the invasion of the Scandinavian nations during the ninth and the tenth century. The pirates who effected the conquest of the island are generally called Danes; but the Norwegians seem to have played the principal part in these expeditions. Their supremacy must have caused, to a

* Αλλοι δὲ Πέρσαι εἰσὶ οἵδε, Πανθιαλαῖοι, Δηρουσιαῖοι, Γερμανιοι. HERODOTUS, Clio, 125.

evidence have we in the language now spoken in Friesland? What does Dr. Latham say on the subject?

§ 24. From what great stock did the Saxon language spring? Where did the Teutonic dialects prevail at this time? From what part of the world did the nations using them originally migrate? What corroborative evidence have we of this? Into how many branches is the Teutonic stock divided? What are they? What dialects are included in the Scandinavian branch? To which division does Anglo-Saxon belong?

§ 25. What occasioned the first introduction of a foreign element into the pure Saxon of England? What name is generally given to the pirate-conquerors?

certain extent, a temporary admixture of foreign terms. To decide what words we owe to this era is extremely difficult, on account of the analogy subsisting between the Scandinavian and German dialects, both of which, it will be remembered, belong to the same Teutonic branch. It is certain, however, that very few Danish terms were ultimately incorporated; as the island suffered a change of masters, rather than of people, customs, or laws. The Norsemen have left in our language but little trace of their invasion; and this chiefly in the names of places on or near the coast.

LESSON VIII.

ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (CONTINUED).

§ 26. First Introduction of Norman French Elements.— Not perceptibly affected by the invasions of the Norsemen or even by their temporary usurpation of the throne, Saxon continued to be the language of the island until the Norman Conquest, 1066 A. D. During the six hundred years that elapsed between its introduction and this event, it underwent, indeed, some modifications of greater or less moment; and these are particularly noticeable in the century immediately preceding the battle of Hastings. It was at this period that the first importation of Norman French words took place, under the auspices of Edward the Confessor. Educated in France and prejudiced in favor of all that belonged to that country, this prince, on returning to England, and assuming the throne, surrounded himself with Norman favorites, and sought to introduce French customs into his court and French idioms into his language; much to the disgust of his subjects,

What nation had most to do with the invasion? What effect did their supremacy produce on the language? Were many new terms incorporated? As regards the names of places, where have they left the principal traces of their invasion? What renders it difficult to determine the words introduced by the Norsemen ?

26. How long did Saxon, in comparative purity, continue to be the language

whose affections he estranged by this injudicious course. Inconsiderable as were the changes thus brought about, they served to pave the way for those fundamental modifications which the Norman Conquest was destined to produce.

§ 27. Norman Conquest and its Effects.-William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England 1066 A. D., and, having won the battle of Hastings, seated himself without delay upon the throne. Resolved to wean the people from their ancient institutions, he endeavored, as the most effective means of accomplishing this object, to make them forget their language. With this view, he ordered that in all schools throughout the kingdom the youth should be instructed in the French tongue; and this ordinance was generally complied with, and remained in force till after the reign of Edward III. It was also required that the pupils of grammarschools should translate their Latin into French, and that all conversation among them should be carried on in one of these two languages. Anglo-Saxon was banished from the tribunals of the land, and pleadings were required to be in French; deeds were drawn and laws compiled in the same language; no other tongue was used at court; it was exclusively employed in fashionable society; and the English nobles themselves, ashamed of their own country, affected to excel in this foreign dialect. The lower classes, however, at first vigorously resisted these attempts; and for fifty years all that was done towards changing the language was effected by the hand of power. Yet in spite of this feeling on the part of the people, even during the very period in question, the intercourse necessarily carried on with the Normans introduced not a few of their terms into common con

of England? What was the principal modification it had previously undergone? Who was the author of these changes? For what did they pave the way?

§ 27. By whom was England invaded 1066 A. D.? What battle decided the fate of the country? What was its result? How did the Conqueror endeavor to alienate the people from their ancient institutions? In what were the youth instructed? What was made the language of the courts? By what class were these attempts resisted? Did they succeed in keeping their vernacular unalloyed?