What language did the Normans speak at the time of the battle of Hastings?

Answer 1

They spoke a dialect of French known as Norman French. The Normans were Vikings who settled in northern France about a century before 1066 and learned French, but with a certain amount of Viking influence. One of the differences between Norman and Standard French was in the gw sound at the beginning of words. In Norman, this was pronounced w, but in the rest of France as gw (later g). The word "warranty" in English comes from the word in Norman French. We also borrowed the same word from Standard French as "guarantee". Other pairs of words that we borrowed both from Norman and Standard French are "ward"/"guard", "warden"/"guardian", "war"/"guerre". Another difference was the palatalization of velar consonants before 'a' in Standard French, so that we borrowed "candle" from Norman French, but "chandelier" from Standard French. Other pairs are "castle"/"chateau", "catch"/"chase", "cattle"/"chattel". There were also vowel differences, so that we have the Norman French "round", but the Standard French "rondel".

Here is a website with a selection of English words borrowed from Norman French: http://www.krysstal.com/borrow_normanfrench.html

Another good web site is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Norman_language

NOTE: The Normans were NOT from Britain as a previous answer states. They were from Denmark. The Bretons were from Britain. Two completely different groups of people. Also, Anglo-Norman and Anglo-Saxon did not "merge" to become Middle English. Middle English is a natural development out of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) with an infusion of Norman vocabulary.

Answer 2

In 1066, the most famous Norman leader, Duke William II of Normandy, conquered England. The invading Normans and their descendants replaced the Anglo-Saxons as the ruling class of England. After an initial period of resentment and rebellion, the two populations largely intermarried and merged, combining languages and traditions. Normans began to identify themselves as Anglo-Norman; indeed, the Anglo-Norman language was considerably distinct from the "Parisian French", which was the subject of some humour by Geoffrey Chaucer. Eventually, even this distinction largely disappeared in the course of the Hundred Years war, with the Anglo-Norman aristocracy increasingly identifying themselves as English, and the Anglo-Norman and Anglo-Saxon languages merging to form Middle English.

Answer 3

They spoke a Norman language, which eventually became French.

Answer 4

Speaking French & Loving German Culture!

Answer 5

An old type of FreNch

Answer 6

I think it was some kind of old French language.