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f<minated the Latin tongue; and tlle people bcing af–
t~rwards governed by laws wrimn in Lalin, mufl ne–
eelfarily nMke " mixture of languages. This feems !O
have oeen the firfl mutation the language of Britain
fuJFered.
'fhus the Britifh tongue eominued, for fome time,
mixed witb the provincial Latin, till, the Roman I<gi–
oos being eallcd home, the Seots and Piéls took the
• opportunity to auaekand harrafs England: upon whieh,
K. Vortigen, abaut the year 440, caBed ¡he Saxons
1'0 his al\i(Jaoee. who came over with feveral of lheir
neighbours, and having repulfed lhe Seots aod Pias,
were rewarded for their ferviees with the iOe of Tha–
net, aod the whole eounty of Kem; but growing toO
powerful, and no~ being eontented with their allot–
ment, difpolfefI'ed the inhabitan!s of all the eountry
Qn this fide of the Severn: tho! the Britifh tongue
was in a great meafure deflroyed, aod the Saxon io–
trodueed in its fiead.
Whal th!! S~){on tongue was long befare the con–
quell, about the year 700, IVe may obferve in the mofl
aneieot manuferipti of that tanguage, whieb is a gloCs
00 the Evangelifis, by bifhop EdfriJ, io whieh the
tbree firfl anicles of the Lord's prayer runs thus.
" Ureo fader thieanb in heornas, fie gehalgud tbin
u noma, fo eymetb thin rie. Sic ¡bio willa Cue is
" heofoas, aod io eortho, {Je."
In the beginnin~ of the ointh eentury theDanes io·
vaded'England; and geuiog a footing in (he northero
and eafiero part of lhe eoumry, their power gradual·
Iy inereafed, aod they beeame fole maners of it in a·
baut two hundred years. By this means tbe aneient
Britifh obtained a tina ure of the Danifh language: but
their govemment being of no long eontinuanee, did
nOI make fo grw an alteration in tbe Anglo·Saxoo,
3S the next revolution, when the whole land, A. D.
1067, was fubdued by William the Conquerór, duke
of Normandy in Franee: for the Normans, as amo–
nument oClhe;r eonquefi, endeavoured lO make their
Ianguage as genera/ly reeeived as their commands,
and thereby rendered the Britiíh language an eotire
medley.
About tbe year 900, the Lord's prayer, iD tbe ao–
cient Anglo·Saxon, ran lhus :
.. Thue ur fader the eart on heofeoum, Gthio na–
" ma gehaJgod; eume thinrice fi thio lVilla on eonhan
" fwa, flVa on heofenum, &e."
About the year 11 60, under Henry n. it was ren-
dered thus by pope Adrian, ao Englifhmao, io rhyme:
" Ure fader in heaven riche,
.. Thy ,name be halyed em lieh,
" Thou bl ing us rhy mic1lell blifI'e:
u Ah hit in heaven y·doe,
" Enr in yeanh beene it alfo, &c."
Dr Hicks gives us an eXl laordinary fpceimen ofihe
EngliOI as fpoken in the year 1385, upoo the wy
fubjea of the EnAllOI longlle.
.. As it is knolVe how meny maner peple beeth io
'( this lc·nJ; ther bcuh ,tifo fo many Gyvers longages
.. an~ tor ges Norhel& W.tlfehemen an~ SeOls that
.. becth Doug!;t medl~d with other ¡lation, holdetb wd
E N G
u nyil hir lirlle loogage and fp~eht ; bm yif tlle ScOt!f!,
.. that were COmetiOle eonfedenteaod 1V0ned wilil lhe
.. Piaes', drawe fomclVhat after hir fpeche j bllt the
" fl~mynge" Ihat won~th on theIVefie r.deofWales,
" havctll lol! her nrange fpeeh, and fpeketh Sexon·
" liehe nl'w. Alfo EogliOleD1~n, they had (rom the
u bygynoynge lhre maner fpeehe: nonhern.g, fou–
u theroe, and middel Cpeehe in the middel of the
u lood, as they come of thre m.ner of peple of Ger·
.. mania: notheleCs by eomm)'xtioo "nd mellyoge fir/!
u with Dan..s, and afterwards with Normans, in meny
.. the eontrary longage is .payred (corrupltd.)
u This apayryoge of the bUI th of lhetpnge is byeaufe
.. of tweie lhioges; oon is for ehildren in [eole . ~enl!
" the uCuage anJ maner of all other nation!, beeth
.. eompelled for tOleve hire own longage, aod for tO
eonfirue hir lefI'ons and here thyoges in Freneh, and
" Co lheyhaveth Cethe Normans come 6rn into Eoge·
u lond , Alf" gentleoten ehildren beeth taught \O
" Cpeke frenrehe from the tyme that they becth rok–
.. ked io here eradel, and xunocth fpeke aod play
" with a ehildes broche; and uploodiO'che men will
" l~kDe hymfelf to gentilmen, and fnndelh IVith grea!
" ~efyoe(fe for to fpeak Frcofehe tO be told of.-Hit
" Ceemeth a greet \Vonder how Englifehemen a?d h~r
" own longage and tonge·is fo dyverre of Cown 10 thlS
" oon ilond : and the longage of Normandie is eom–
" Iynge of apolher lond, and hath oon maner fouo
" amonge alle meo that fpeketh hit arigt in Eogelood.
" Alfo of the foreCaid Saxon tonge rhal is deled (di.
" viduf) a three, and is abide fcareeliehe with fewe
" uploodifI'ehe meo is greet wooder. For meoof t~e
" ell, Wilh men of the wen, is, as it were, nodlr
" the fame partie of hevene aeordeth more i? fowo·
" yoge of fpeehe, than men of the nonh, IVI.:h o,leo
" of the CODth. Therefore it is lhat Mereu, tnat
" beeth men of myddel Engelond, as it were, par·
" teners of the endes, undert!ondelh beme the fide
" longages nonherne and Coulherne, thao oortberne or
" foutfierne underrlondeth either other.-AJllhe loo·
" gage of the Nonhumbers nnd Cpechialliche at York,
" is forcharp. Oining and frolynge, and nnfchap,e, th¡t
" we Coutherne meo may thal loogage uo~el,le uo·
u derfionde, &e." Hicli'¡ Tht!Q/If.IIlt., NI.
In the ym 1'537, the Lord's r .was pnntcdas
follows : " O oure Falher whieh arte JO he,eo, ha·
.. lowcd be thy naOle: let thy kiogdo.m~ ~ome, ,h~
.. will be fulfilcd as well in enh as u IS JO '
.. ge.e us lhis daye in d,yly bred, &{." Wher~ It
may be obCervcd that the di~ion is brought ~Imofi tO
the preCen! f1andard, the ehief variations o~JOg ooly
in the onh:oglaphy. By lhefl inflances, and many .o–
thers that might be gi<cn, it appears, that lheEoghlh
Saxon language, of whleh the Normans dlfpoiled u~
in a great lIle.Cure, had its beauties, w~s r.gOlficant aD
emph~tie d, and preferable to IVhal theyimpored o( uS.
.. Great verily" C~mden ., IVas the glory o our
., 'n ' b' 1-1 the
" tongue before lhe Norman eonquell, lot 11, IU
.. old Englilh eould exprefs. mofl apdy, all the eoocep'
u tions oi die mind in thei rown toogue, withe,ut ~r.
.. rOv.'ino from ?ny " Ofthis he giresf¡ mal
0,. HavIO&