A New Course Charted for the English Speaking World Sept 27, 1066

William as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry 

On this day in history, Sept 27th 1066, William of Normandy set sail for England. Change had already been in the wind for England since the death of Edward the Confessor, the previous king of England, without an heir. Several claimants had made raids into England but nothing had been settled. Harold Godwinson the English lord had been crowned King earlier in the year but his challenges to the throne came from William, who had a claim to the throne, and Harald Hadrada, King of Norway.

In what may seem only somewhat understandable today, given the popularity of the television show Game of Thrones, even then office did not mean legitimacy, power, and clear ascension. Sometimes breaking the rules and making the rules made the rules. It was certainly the case with William who survived in a lord-eat-lord world of the 11th century Europe. But much has changed since then in the world. These days peaceful changes of power happen at a fairly even rate and frequency now, but they are still not without pitfalls, such as the first televised debate of the 2016 election. It would also seem a bit naive to also ignore the amount of violence in the world in matters of control and power. The world is still a dangerous place to be, and will probably always be so.

Whether Old English or Middle English, Anglo-Norman, French, Latin or whatever, men on horse with spears and swords send a pretty clear message.

The Norman Invasion also changed England's lexicon; ushering in Middle English from Old English. Up until this time, "English" was still very German as a result of the Saxon invasions. The earliest known English classic, "Beowulf", was written in this language. The Norman Conquest happened not only in force but in language. English was relegated to common people while Anglo-Norman was the language of the court. This meant the importation of the French language as well as more Latin into business and legal vocabulary. It also changed pronunciation and grammar into a form that we can recognize today.

Still, the decision of William to assemble his armies and ships and press his claim for good or ill fundamentally changed the English speaking world, even the US. The lesson I choose to learn from this is that bold endeavors have the chance to change everything, and they can affect the outcome of so many people's lives. Be bold and press on.