The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-03-13


Duke Rollo and his men in 912. (2) In
1866, Duke William with some sixty
thousand followers went to England to
establish false claim to the English
crown. King Harold met him near
Hastings, October ID. Macaulay says:
"The battle of Hastings, and the events
which followed it, not only placed a
duke of Normandy on the English
throne but gave up the whole popula-
ton of England to the tyranny of the
Norman race" (3) During the five
succeeding centuries the language was
constantly changing, though but slowly
at first. "The language shared in
the suffering and degradation which
fell on those who spoke it," During
the first and second of these centuries
there was change in the grammatical
endings of the Saxon words, and later
French words and Latin words that
came through the French were intro
duced. These changes are divided into
four periods the Semi-SaXon, 1850
1850; the Old English, 1250-1350; the
Middle English, 1350-l550; the Mod
ern, commencing about the middle of
the sixteenth century, when the changes
became less marked and the language
more fairly established.
Two names, it will be noticed, are
given in the above answers to the de-
cisive battle of 1866. 1t is usually
called the battle of Hastings, but Senac,
being quite as near the scene of the
battle, has sometimes given its name to
II loNn IL ha
served both in your notebook and in
memory; for it is one of the most i'm
portant in the history of England as
well as in the history of our language.
Some of you may have been perplexed
in your study of these subjects by those
authors who always speak of the Ian
guage of England as English, even
when it was purely Anglo-Saxon, as in
the times of Caedmon and Alfred. But
in studying the development of the
language it is more convenient to apply
the term " English" to it only after it
had become what we now call English.
The dates given above-in round num-
bers-are sometimes so given for ease
in remembering, while some authors
prefer to have the dates coincide with
the beginning of reign. In that case
the Semi-Saxon period begins in 1866,
the Broken English in 1854 and Mature
English in 1868, with Elizabeth's reign.
Two sets of answers have been re-
ceived to the questions of February 81
one from new member whom we are
glad to welcome to our club. We will
give now only the answers to the first
two questions. The first is by Cousin
Polly, as follows:
Cd Vaudeville lived in the four
teenth century. His " Travellers
Tales " were first written in Latin
were translated into English and pub
lished in 1856 He is called the frs
writer in formed English. (2) William
CaXton, 1476.
The second is by M. r. d, D., whc
says:
ID Sir John Vaudeville has beer
called the first English prose writer
In 1856 he wrote a book of travel
which in point of style was superior t.
anything that. had preceded it and i
read without much difficulty at tn,
present day, though it is of but littl
value save to the student of languages
1t has been characterized as the alb
surdest mixture of truth and falsehoot
that ever traveller foisted on a credu
lous public. (2) William Caxton, VIII
had learned the trade in Holland, sc
up the first printing press in Englan
in l471. He published some siXty-fou
volumes and among them were fiv
thousand closely-printed pages of hi
own translaling.
AS to the different dates given for tn
!, introduction of printing, there is N
doubt that the first printing press i
England was set. up in l47l, but tn
, first book printed in the English lar
, guage appeared that same year in CO
: logne, translation by CaXton. So
: would not be strange if he were nc
, ready to print another book for Ion
, time, though his printing press ma
: have been used for other matter. Pee
pie moved slowly in those days, an
when one person prepared the mani
script, set the type and did the printin
e and revising, it might take years
1 bring out book. CaXton, howeve
must have usually worked at a MOI
/ rapid rate than that to have accon
D plished all he did. 1t is sufficiently e.
g act to remember that the art of printin
: was introduced into England abol
] twenty years before the discovery (
: America by Columbus. The followir
s was the title of the first book eve
Il printed in England: "The Game an
. Playe of the Cheese; Translated out
:. the French, and imprinted by Villa
: Cavton. Fynyshed the last day
/. Marche, the yer of our Lord God
Il thouoand foura huD6rp6 lvviiii - Th