10.2 Old French

Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300. It was then known as the langue d'oïl (Oil languages) to distinguish it from the langue d'oc (Occitan language, also then called Provençal), whose territory bordered that of Old French to the south.

While the earliest documents said to be written in French are the Oaths of Strasbourg (treaties and charters into which King Charles the Bald entered in 842), it is probable that the text represents an older Langue d'oïl or Gallo-Romance, a transitional stage between Vulgar Latin and early Romance: “Pro Deo amur et pro Christian poblo et nostro commun salvament, d’ist di en avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat, si salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo, et in aiudha et in cadhuna cosa... “ (For the love of God and for the Christian people, and our common salvation, from this day forward, as God will give me the knowledge and the power, I will defend my brother Charles with my help in everything...)

Since Old French did not consist of a single standard, competing administrative varieties were propagated by the provincial courts and chanceries.

The French of Paris was one of a number of standards, including Old Norman, spoken in Normandy, whose principal cities were Caen and Rouen. The Norman conquest of England brought many Norman-speaking aristocrats into the British Isles. Most of the older Norman (sometimes called "French") words in the English language reflect the influence of this variety of Oïl language which became a conduit for the introduction into the Anglo-Norman realm, as did Anglo-Norman control of Anjou and Gascony and other continental possessions. The Anglo-Norman language reflected a shared culture on both sides of the English Channel. Ultimately, this language declined and fell, becoming Law French, a jargon spoken by lawyers, which was used in English law until the reign of Charles II. Norman, however, still survives in Normandy and the Channel Islands as a regional language.

10.3 Norman language

Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oil languages. The name Norman-French is sometimes used to describe not only the modern Norman language, but also the administrative languages of Anglo-Norman and Law French used in England.

Norman is spoken in mainland Normandy in France where it has no official status, but is classed as a regional language.

The Anglo-Norman dialect of Norman was a language of administration in England following the Norman Conquest. This left a legacy of Law French in the language of English courts (though it was also influenced by Parisian French). In Ireland, Norman remained strongest in the area of south-east Ireland where the Normans invaded in 1169. [27]

As for Norman literature, among representative writers of the early Anglo-Norman literary tradition, the Jersey-born poet and chronicler Wace is considered as the founding figure of literature in Jèrriais.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the workers and merchants of Rouen established a tradition of polemical and satirical literature in a form of language called the parler purin. (see app. 6)

In exile in Jersey and then Guernsey, Victor Hugo took an interest in the vernacular literature, associating himself with Island writers and introducing Norman expressions to the wider French-speaking readership.

The boom in insular literature in the early 19th century encouraged production especially in La Hague and around Cherbourg, where Alfred Rossel became active.

Literary production revived in Calvados in the late 19th century, under the influence of Arthur Marye.

The typical medium for literary expression in Norman has traditionally been newspaper columns and almanacs — the topicality and satirical nature is typical of the proverbially deadpan Norman character. Poems, songs and tales often appeared in chapbook form between around 1870–1939. The novel Zabeth by André Louis which appeared in 1969 was the first novel published in Norman. Some works originally published in periodicals have been collected in book form, but the ephemeral nature of the publications in which the bulk of Norman literature appears has led to comparative inaccessibility of much of the oeuvre of important writers. The destruction during the Battle of Normandy of departmental and municipal archives meant the loss of many sources of Norman literature from the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

However, the Norman literary tradition places high value on the written text, as opposed to other cultures (for example, neighbouring Gallo and Breton) which have a livelier tradition of oral performance and spontaneous storytelling. The song tradition is also much less evident than in neighbouring cultures.

An annual festival of the Norman language brings together enthusiasts and performers from insular and continental Normandy. The festival alternates between the islands and the mainland. [28]

Literature in Norman is published in magazines, both in mainland Normandy and the Channel Islands, such as Le Pucheux from the Pays de Caux. (see app.7) This 2005 issue highlights language and literature from across the Norman-speaking regions. (see app. 8)