Why do we have two names for some farm animals?

The answer to this question goes right back to the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The Battle of Hastings was the decisive Norman victory in the Norman conquest of Engalnd.

The battle took place on October 14, 106, between the Norman army of Duke William of Normandy, and the English army led by King Harold II. Harold was killed during the battle. It is believed that he got shot in the eye by an arrow. That is why the arrow s so famous. This battle is seen to be the point in which William gained control over England.

Background

Harold had claimed the throne of England for himself in January of 1066 soon after Edward the Conquerer died.

On September 28, 1066, William of Normandy, afer being delayed by a storm in the English Channel, asserted his claim to the English crown b military force, landing unopposed at a marshy, tidal inlet at Bulverhyte.

Legend has it that upon setting foot on the beach, William tripped and fell on his face. Turnimg potential embaressment in front of his troops into a face-saving exercise, he rose with his hands full of sand and shouted "I now take hold of the land of England!"

Upon hearing the news of the landing of the Duke's forces, Harold II, Hurried southward from London. He departed the morning of the 12th, gathering what available forces he could on the way. After camping at Long Bennington, he arrived at the battlefield the night 13 October.

The two Kings and their Countries.

HAROLD THE II:- He was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. He ruled from January 5 to October 14, 1066 when he was killed in the battle of Hastings.

WILLIAM TE CONQUERER:- He was a medieval monarch. He ruled as the Duke of Normandy from 1035 to 1087 and as Kingof England from 1066 to 1087.

Where is Normandy?

It is situated along the coasts of the south of the English Channel between Britanny (to the west) and Picardy (to the east) and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands. The territory is divided between French and British sovereingity. It is divided for administrative purposes into two regiones: Basse-Normandie and Haute-Normandie.

What changed after the Battle of Hastings?

After the Battle of Hastings, William still had to conquer England. He marched from Hastings , crossing the Thames at Wallingford and then on towards London. At little Berkhamsted he received the surrender of the city. William took hostages to ensure the the surrender was kept.

William wanted to be crowned King as soon as possible. His Coronation took place on Christmas day, 1066. It was held at Westminister Abbey. During the Coronation, as the people inside the Abbey shouted out their acceptance of William, the troops outside thought a fight had broken out. Fearing that William had been attacked they began to set fire to the Saxons houses. As the Normn soldiers could not understand the language of the Saxins and the Saxons could not understand the language of the Normans, it was difficult for them to communicate.

William kept the promises he hd made to the barons who fought with him to give them English land.

We should remember that William the Conqueror was not only King of England, he also ruled Normandy an he spent a lot of his time there. Barons and knights in England spoke French for many years, and most writingwas in Latin or French.

The ordinary people spoke in their own Saxon language, and the Chroniclers continued to write in it untl the reign of William's grandson Henry II.

So why do we have two names for some farm animals?

Because to the French a pig was pork because thats the meat tat they ate.

A cow was also called beef.

When a Franch person went to an english farm and asked what a pig was, the English farmenr would say it was called a pig. But the French person would say it was a pork.

The English would grow pigs and the Normans (French) ate pork.