Paulclem

I watched an interesting programme on Friday night - The Monarchy, this one being about william the Conqueror's invasion of England.

William was a Norman, but the Normans were so called as they had been granted lands in Northern France to stop them attacking French villages. They were originally Vikings.

So eventually William invaded England and beat Harold at Hastings. They then took over the country, building wooden and later stone castles to control the population. Through his life William was plagued with rebellions, but was never overthrown.

Norman French began to be integrated into English. It is estimated that 6,500 words were added to English through the Norman invasion. It has added to the richness of the language by providing synonyms for existing words in the language.

One case in particular is to do with food. The Norman effect on English society was to instill a strong class system, and we have the English word cook, for someone who prepares food. Note though, the status of a cook. Did you refer to the Lady at school who prepared meals as a cook? Probably. The army also have cooks?

But the Normans added the word chef. Consider the status of chef. You would find them in high class restaurants, not school kitchens.

This is the point. The Norman rulers had their high status chef, the ordinary English had the cook, and we have this relic of 900 hundred year old Norman class distinctions present in the language.