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How did Norman scribes change English spelling?
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Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, Norman scribes introduced significant changes to English spelling as they replaced the traditional insular hand with the Carolingian script used on the Continent.1
These scribes altered the representation of several Old English sounds to improve legibility and align with their own orthographic conventions:1
- Vowel adjustments: Old English y was written as u, ȳ as ui, and ū as ou (or ow when final). For example, mycel became muchel and hūs became hous.1
- Clarity modifications: To avoid confusion, u was often written as o when appearing near letters like m, n, or v. Similarly, i was sometimes written as y near m or n, changing him to hym.1
- Consonant shifts: Many combinations were updated, such as cw to qu (queen), hw to wh (what), ċ to ch or tch (ditch), sċ to sh (ship), and -ht to ght (might).1
These changes were driven by a desire for clarity and the influence of the French-speaking administration that dominated English writing for centuries following the conquest.1