The "Saxon Shore"

[JustTristo]

In the third and fourth centuries CE, Gallia Belgae North of the road from Boulogne to Cologne were settled by Germanic speaking people as part of a roman policy to defend border provinces. The interesting thing about that road it ran roughly along where the Germanic-Romance linguistic boundary was in the 8th century (since then it has moved north and west somewhat).

The "Saxon Shore" was a line of Roman forts which were built in this period, they ran from Brancaster in present day Norfolk to Portchester in Hampshire. The South-Eastern coast of England only a day or two sailing across the sea from the coast present day Belgium and this got me thinking.

So I am framing hypothesis that in the 3th and 4th centuries, what is now Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent and Sussex was being settled by Germanic tribes in much the same way modern day Flanders and Nord-Pas-de-Calais region were. The Saxon Shore could mean the shore being settled by the Saxons as opposed to being attacked by the Saxons.

Therefore by the time the Roman legions department Britain, already the South-East of what is now England was speaking a Germanic language which would become Old English.

I love to hear what you people think about my hypothesis.

[Minimalist]

A couple of years back I saw a documentary - from the BBC I believe - on the development of English. Part of it included a field trip to somewhere in Jutland, iirc, where they still speak old English and where many of the words are recognizable. I'll have to look around and see if I can find it.

[E.P. Grondine]

For your reading pleasure:

http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/ce082202.html

EP

[JustTristo]

A couple of years back I saw a documentary - from the BBC I believe - on the development of English. Part of it included a field trip to somewhere in Jutland, iirc, where they still speak old English and where many of the words are recognizable. I'll have to look around and see if I can find it.

The documentary you are referring to is the Story of English, the region it was referring to is in the Netherlands in an area named Friesland and the language in question in Frisian. Back in the 1st millennium CE something ancestral to both English and Frisian, was spoken all along the coast of what is now Denmark, Northwest Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium.

[Ernie L]

I can imagine two thousand years from now some one studying the "iron curtain". It would not be to hard to imagine that you could come to the same conclusions.

[Minimalist]

"The Story of English" it was.

Fascinating stuff.

[Ernie L]

"The Story of English" it was.

Fascinating stuff.

Would there be a site that it is available online? I find linguistics fascinating ..even if it is a little over my head at times.

[Minimalist]

You can try this.


http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/story-of-english/

[Ernie L]

You can try this.


http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/story-of-english/

terrific !..thank you very much.

[Minimalist]

I'm glad it worked......one never knows with these sites.