Influence of French on English England, kept their Norman mother tongue, while the more modest rural and urban strata continued to speak English. Norman was a particular variety of the Gallo-Roman language, spoken in Normandy. It was one of the Oil languages alongside, among others, the Picard and the Walloon. The Norman language was modified in contact with the Anglo-Saxon language. It then integrated words and phrases from English and give birth to a dialect, Anglo-Norman, still spoken on the Anglo-Norman isles. Anglo-Norman can be described as a vernacular language, on English soil in the 11th century, in the field of literature, culture, court and
Anglo-Saxon architecture sometimes found in Illuminated manuscripts. Anglo-Saxon architecture Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing. No universally accepted example survives above ground. There are, however, many remains of Anglo-Saxon church architecture. At least fifty churches are of Anglo-Saxon origin with major Anglo-Saxon architectural features, with many more claiming to be, although in some cases the Anglo-Saxon part is small and much-altered. It is often impossible to