| Old Norman | |
|---|---|
 Duchy of Normandy between 911 and 1050. In blue the areas of intenseNorse settlement. | |
| Region | Normandy |
| Era | Early Middle Ages, Developed intoNorman |
Early forms | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
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Old Norman, also calledOld Northern French orOld Norman French (Norman:Ancien Normaund), was one of many varieties of thelangues d'oïl native to northern France. From the region of what is now calledNormandy, the language spread into England, Southern Italy, Sicily and theLevant. It is the ancestor of modernNorman, including the insular dialects (such asJèrriais), as well asAnglo-Norman.Old Norman was an important language of thePrincipality of Antioch during Crusader rule in theLevant.[2]
WhenNorseVikings from modern dayScandinavia arrived inNeustria, in the western part of the thenKingdom of the Franks, and settled the land that became known as Normandy, theseNorth-Germanic–speaking people came to live among a localGallo-Romance–speaking population.[3] In time, the communities converged, so thatNormandy continued to form the name of the region while the original Norsemen were largely assimilated by the Gallo-Romance people, adopting their speech but still contributing some elements fromOld Norse language and Norse culture.
Old Norman containedOld Norse loanwords unknown in other Old French dialects at that time.[4]
Old Norman was brought to England byWilliam the Conqueror and his followers in what became known as theNorman Conquest, forming the ruling class ofAnglo-Normans. Over time, their language evolved from the continental Old Norman to a dialect of Old Norman called Anglo-Norman.
Writings of theJersey-born poetWace are among the few records of Old Norman that remain.
Norman, member of those Vikings, or Norsemen, who settled in northern France...The Normans (from Nortmanni: "Northmen") were originally pagan barbarian pirates from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland
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