The Viking Impact on Old English

By Annie Holstein and Gleb Vorobjev

 The Vikings:
• Explorers, warriors and sailors from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden)
• Excellent sailors and would travel great distances by sea to attack and colonize
foreign nations.
• They were also skilled at ship building, their ships were well crafted and powerful.
• One well known example were the Longships, also known as longboats.
– They were narrow and light so they could travel great distances.
– Without a deep hull they were able to move quickly through varying depths of water,
and it also allowed the Vikings to dock right on the beach.
– They could reverse direction quickly without having to turn around.
– They had oars along the sides of the boat so the boat could either be rowed
or sailed.
– These were the boats that transported the Viking troops; they were n’t usually
used in battle.

• The Vikings didn’t have a strong literary tradition and much of

their history went unrecorded.
 History of the Viking
Presence in England
787 – Viking Raids, persistent attacks
on the Anglo-Saxons.
c.850- Viking Settlement began
886- The Treaty of Danelaw
991- Battle of Maldon, Viking victory.
Gained more land and won
power for the next 25 years.
1066- Norman Conquest, the overthrow
of the Vikings.
c1200- Recognized start of Middle
English.
 Why was Old Norse so readily
absorbed…
• Pre-Existing closeness: Both Old Norse and Old English are
Germanic languages. This relation between the two languages allowed an
easier mixing of the languages, an inter-dialectal convergence.

• Lack of writing: The general Viking and Anglo-Saxon cultures were

non literary. Their communications were mainly spoken allowing the two
languages to more easily merge.

• The Norman Conquest: The Norman invasion brought literacy to

a population with a mainly oral tradition. The hybridized language that
was now in existence, Middle English, was then further cemented by its
new documented form.
 More reasons…
• Similar Pronouns: Born from the same Germanic language,
only diverging 200 years prior, ON and OE pronouns were very
similar, especially personal, demonstrative and sometimes auxiliary
pronouns. This similarity allowed for a smooth combination.

• Simplification: The similarity between the dialects allowed inter-

language communication. A creoloid language was formed from the
everyday interactions. The inevitable simplification of this hybridized
language more securely mixed the two.

• Complete Absorption: With the complete absorption of ON

words came the beginning of the Middle English language.
 Viking Influence on Names
Personal Names Town Names
• The personal names of English • The Viking presence in England,
families reflected the Old Norse mainly in the Danelaw area, many
influence. of the towns and regions adopted
• Names such as Davidson and Old Norse names by 12th Century.
Henderson began to appear.
These surnames were highly
concentrated in the North.
 Here are some examples of name shifts from Old
English. Many of the current names still reflect that
transition to Old Norse names.

Original Old English New Name Under Old Current Name

Town Name Norse Influence

Queneberie Quenbia Quenby

Wardhille Warthehill Warthill
Schorton Scorton Scorton
Walmesgar Walmesgate Walmsgate
 Pronouns
• In Old English prior to the arrival of the Vikings, third
person plural pronouns all began with the letter “h”.
• They were less distinct from themselves and their
singular counterparts leading to confusion in speech.
• The introduction of Old Norse which used the
equivalent of they, them and their, but otherwise
similar pronouns, replaced Old English’s previous 3rd
person plural pronouns completely by the 15th century.
• The adaptation of the 3rd person plural pronouns
functioned as one of the many changes from Old
English into Middle English.
 The following table represents the pronoun changes

I We You You he she it they we2 you2

(SG) (PL)
Nom ic we: þu: ge: he: he:o hit hi:/he:o wit git
they
Gen mi:n u:re þi:n e:ower his hire his hira unce incer
their r
Dat me: u:s þe: e:ow him hi: him him unc inc
them
Acc me: u:s þe: e:ow hine hi: hit hi:/he:o unc inc
them
 Adopting Words and Sounds
• Old Norse infiltrated the Anglo-Saxon
language not just grammatically or in the
names of towns and people, but also in the
vocabulary and in pronunciations.
• Previously, in OE “c” made a soft “ch” sound,
like church. Also, “sc” made a soft “sh” sound
ship.
• However, with the presence of ON, the hard
“k” sound was introduced.
 OE/ON Vocabulary Exchange
• Many words from Old Norse became a part of the Old English
language, as it transformed into Middle English, though not
always replacing its OE counterpart. Sometimes both forms
continued to be used.

Old English Modern English Old Norse

scearp sharp skarpr
scell shell skell
sceo sky sky
ditch ditch/dike dike