Another reason
English was spared: the Hundred
Years' War. French--the foe!
English and French kings
Remained friends in spite of War
Ties remained, but weak.
Black Death in England
Catholic clergy helped but
Most priests and nuns died.
Non-French speakers came
To replace dead teachers, so
English thrived in schools.
For all these reasons
English replaced French in the
Country. French had lost.
Thirteen sixtytwo
Par-li-a-ment opened in
English. French statute!
So, Edward began
The war to unite England
And France. A lost dream.
Edward spoke only
French, which was at a great peak
In England just then.
England controlled vast
Amounts of territory
In France. Much income.
Income from the wine
Trade in the French Aquitaine.
All lost at the end.
By the end of War
England had lost all French land
With it, all income
By the end of War
English was used for all needs.
Henry spoke English.
English was used for
All its communication
Most French lands were lost.
Opportunities
In France for military
Action were all gone.
Lucrative trade deals
Were gone. Administrative
Positions were gone.
So, many fewer
Incentives for ambitious
Entrepreneurs there.
Bus-i-ness shifted
To England. Less incentives
For French fluency.
Italian was
Also influenced by French
Leaving lasting mark.
The Middle Ages
And troubadour poetry
Shaped literature.
Eighteenth Century--
The Enlightenment through France
And Napoleon.
(Transformed from Entangled Tongues
by Carol Williams Kisch.)