The position of Sicily as a stepping stone of sorts in the center of the Mediterranean Basin has lent it strategic importance throughout history, resulting in an endless procession of settlers and conquerors. Of these, the earliest seem to have had the greatest demographic impact. Genetic research suggests that colonists from southern Europe (especially mainland Italy and Greece) have been most important in the peopling of Sicily: The tree allows a division of the populations into two main groups. We find Northern A ...

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Sicily, Sicily - Geography, Sicily - Transport, Sicily - Towns and Cities, Sicily - Flag, Sicily - Arts, Sicily - History, Sicily - Sicilian people, Sicily - Sicilian language, Sicily - List of Sicilians, Sicily - List of Sicilian-Americans, Sicily - List of part-Sicilians, Sicily - Footnotes

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Since Old French did not consist of a single standard, competing administrative varieties were propagated by the provincial courts and chanceries. The French of Paris was one of a number of standards, including: the Burgundian of Burgundy, then an independent duchy whose capital was at Dijon; the Picard language of Picardy, whose principal cities were Calais and Lille. It was said that the Picard language began at the east door of Notre-Dame de Paris, so far-reaching was its influence; the Norman languag ...

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Old French, Old French - Grammar and phonology, Old French - Historical influences, Old French - Earliest written Old French, Old French - From Vulgar Latin to Old French, Old French - Noun case survivals in Old French, Old French - Verbs in Old French, Old French - Varieties of language, Old French - Languages derived from Old French, Old French - Old French literature

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Cornwall now became attached to the Kingdom of England, although the amount of its autonomy from Saxon and Norman England is currently the subject of controversy and reevaluation. The Cornish language continued to be spoken, particularly in western and central Cornwall, and acquired a number of characteristics establishing its identity as a separate language from Breton. The Normans deposed the last native Eorlderman of Cornwall, Cadoc, in 1066 and supplanted him with one of their own supporters. They created a succession of Ea ...

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History of Cornwall, History of Cornwall - Pre-Roman Cornwall, History of Cornwall - Roman Cornwall, History of Cornwall - 410-936, History of Cornwall - 936-1485, History of Cornwall - Tudor and Stuart period, History of Cornwall - 1714 to the present

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Normandy was the home of the Normans in the early Middle Ages, the last people to successfully invade England. The Normans were a mixture of the indigenous Gauls and of the Viking invaders under the leadership of Rollo (Gange Rolf), who besieged Paris and was given the area of Normandy (Treaty of St.-Claire-sur-Epte, 911) in return for defending it against future pirate attacks. Rollo's descendant William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England in 1066 and became king William I of England. Normandy remained associated with England until 10 ...

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Normandy, Normandy - Population, Normandy - Geography, Normandy - Regions, Normandy - Rivers, Normandy - History, Normandy - Channel Islands, Normandy - Culture, Normandy - Languages, Normandy - Arts, Normandy - Religion, Normandy - Food and drink, Normandy - Symbols

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Latin literature circulated among the educated classes. Following the Norman conquest, the development of Anglo-Norman literature in the Anglo-Norman realm introduced literary trends from Continental Europe such as the chanson de geste. In the later medieval period a new form of English now known as Middle English evolved. This is the earliest form which is comprehensible to modern readers and listeners, albeit not easily. The most significant Middle English author was the poet Geoffrey Chaucer who was active in the late 14th C ...

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British literature, British literature - Old Celtic literature, British literature - Old English literature, British literature - Late medieval literature in England, British literature - Other medieval literatures, British literature - Early modern English literature to 1660, British literature - English language literature from 1660 to the late 18th century, British literature - Non English language literatures from the 16th century to the 19th century, British literature - 19th century English language literature, British literature - The Romantics, British literature - The 19th century novel, British literature - Victorian poets, British literature - Ireland, British literature - Wales, British literature - Scotland, British literature - English language literature since 1900, British literature - Non English language literatures since 1900, British literature - Literary prizes

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Its basis is Arabic, with a very large influx of Romance vocabulary, especially Italian and Norman French. Although influenced by Romance languages, Maltese grammar is still strongly Semitic. Adjectives follow nouns, there are no separately formed native adverbs, and word order is fairly flexible. As in Arabic and Hebrew, both nouns and adjectives (those of Semitic origin) take the definite article (for example L-Art l-Imqaddsa, lit. "The Land the Holy = The Holy Land"; cf. Arabic 'al-'arḍ 'al-muqaddasa, Hebrew ha'arets hakkedoša). This rule does not appl ...

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Maltese language, Maltese language - Grammar, Maltese language - Vocabulary, Maltese language - Alphabet

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Main Article: Medieval Welsh literature Wales has one of the earliest literary taditions in Northern Europe, stretching back to the days of Aneurin and Taliesin (6th century), and the haunting Neuadd Cynddylan, which is the oldest recorded literary work by a woman in northern Europe. In Welsh literature the period before 1100 is known as the period of Y Cynfeirdd ("The earliest poets") or Yr Hengerdd ("The old poetry"). It roughly dates from the birth of the Welsh language until the arrival of the Normans in Wales ...

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Welsh poetry, Welsh poetry - History, Welsh poetry - Forms

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The Old English language, current until approximately the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, had a dative case; however, the English case system gradually fell into disuse during the Middle English period, when the accusative and dative pronouns merged into a single objective pronoun used in both roles. This merging of accusative and dative functionality in Middle and Modern English has led most modern grammarians to discard the "accusative" and "dative" labels ...

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Dative case, Dative case - The dative case in English, Dative case - The dative case in German, Dative case - The dative case in Latin

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Main article: Culture of Jersey Jèrriais, the island's indigenous language is a variety of Norman. It is spoken by a minority of the population, although it was the majority language in the 19th century. Though there are efforts to revive the language in schools, it is still spoken mostly by older people (most commonly in the country parishes, although the capital has the highest number of declared Jèrriais speakers). The dialects of Jèrriais differ in phonology and, to a lesser extent, lexis between parishes, with the most ...

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Jersey, Jersey - History, Jersey - Politics, Jersey - Geography, Jersey - Economy, Jersey - Taxation, Jersey - Currency, Jersey - Demographics, Jersey - Culture, Jersey - Food and drink, Jersey - International relations

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The city's origins go back to the Iron Age, and the Romans called it "Sorviodunum". There was a battle between the West Saxons and the Britons here, after which the place was called "Searoburh". The Normans built a castle and called it "Searesbyrig" or "Seresberi". By 1086, in the Domesday Book, it was called "Salesberie". The site of the castle is now known as Old Sarum and is uninhabited. The bury element is a form of borough, which has cognates in words and place names throughout the Germanic languages. For a f ...

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Salisbury, Salisbury - History, Salisbury - Economy

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Gower's previous works had been written in Anglo-Norman French and Latin. It is not certain why he chose to write his third long poem in English; the only reason Gower himself gives is that "fewe men endite In oure englyssh" (prol.22–23). It has been suggested that it was the influence of Chaucer, who had in part dedicated his Troilus and Criseyde to Gower, that persuaded him that the vernacular was a suitable language for poetry, and the influence of Chaucer's Legend of Good Women has be ...

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Confessio Amantis, Confessio Amantis - Textual history, Confessio Amantis - Style and language, Confessio Amantis - Structure and argument, Confessio Amantis - External matter, Confessio Amantis - Narrative frame, Confessio Amantis - The tales, Confessio Amantis - Reception, Confessio Amantis - Legacy

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Italy is largely homogeneous in language and religion but is diverse culturally, economically, and politically. The country has the fifth-highest population density in Europe at 194 persons per square kilometre. Indigenous minority groups are small. For a country of 58.4 million people, Italy has a smaller number of migrants compared to France and Germany. Since the beginning of Roman civilisation, important ethnic groups like Greek settlers, Germanic and Celtic invaders and plunderers, and Norman (French) colonisers have all left imp ...

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Italy, Italy - History, Italy - Politics, Italy - Regions, Italy - Geography, Italy - Demographics, Italy - Religion, Italy - Economy, Italy - Culture, Italy - Languages

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Italy is largely homogeneous in language and religion but is diverse culturally, economically, and politically. The country has the fifth-highest population density in Europe at 194 persons per square kilometre. Indigenous minority groups are small. For a country of 58.4 million people, Italy has a smaller number of migrants compared to France and Germany. Since the beginning of Roman civilisation, important ethnic groups like Greek settlers, Germanic and Celtic invaders and plunderers, and Norman colonisers have all left important impres ...

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Italy, Italy - History, Italy - Politics, Italy - Regions, Italy - Geography, Italy - Demographics, Italy - Religion, Italy - Economy, Italy - Culture, Italy - Languages, Italy - Notes

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The end of the 10th century saw renewed Scandinavian interest in England. Aethelred ruled a long reign, but ultimately lost his kingdom to Swein, though he recovered it following the latter's death. However, Aethelred's son Edmund II Ironside died shortly afterwards, allowing Canute, Swein's son, to become king of England, one part of a mighty empire stretching across the North Sea. It was probably in this period that the Viking influence on English culture became engrained. Rule over England fluctuated between the descendants of Aeth ...

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History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration: Fifth to Sixth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Seventh to Eighth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - First Viking Age: Ninth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England: Tenth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Second Viking Age and the Norman Conquest: Eleventh Century

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List of English language poets - Ma. Máire Mac an tSaoi (Born 1922) Norman MacCaig (1910-1996) Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978) Seán Mac Falls Thomas MacGreevy (1893-1967) Nathaniel Mackey Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982) Jackson Mac Low Louis MacNeice (1907-1963) Barry MacSweeney Haki R. Madhubuti Isaac T. Madsen (Born 1987) Clarence Major Taylor Mali David Mallet Tom MandelSee also:

List of English language poets, List of English language poets - A, List of English language poets - B, List of English language poets - Ba, List of English language poets - Be-Bo, List of English language poets - Br-By, List of English language poets - C, List of English language poets - Ca-Ci, List of English language poets - Cl, List of English language poets - Co, List of English language poets - Cr-Cu, List of English language poets - D, List of English language poets - Da-Do, List of English language poets - Dr-Dy, List of English language poets - E, List of English language poets - F, List of English language poets - G, List of English language poets - Ga-Go, List of English language poets - Gr-Gy, List of English language poets - H, List of English language poets - Ha-He, List of English language poets - Hi-Hu, List of English language poets - I-J, List of English language poets - K, List of English language poets - L, List of English language poets - La-Le, List of English language poets - Lo-Ly, List of English language poets - M, List of English language poets - Ma, List of English language poets - Mc-Mi, List of English language poets - Mo-Mu, List of English language poets - N-O, List of English language poets - P, List of English language poets - Q, List of English language poets - R, List of English language poets - Ra-Ri, List of English language poets - Ro, List of English language poets - S, List of English language poets - Sa-Si, List of English language poets - Sk-Sq, List of English language poets - St-Sy, List of English language poets - T-V, List of English language poets - W, List of English language poets - Wa-We, List of English language poets - Wh-Wy, List of English language poets - Y-Z

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Main article: Demographics of the Republic of Ireland The Irish people are mainly of indigenous origin, with the country's only significant minorities having descended from the Vikings and Anglo-Normans. Some of them are also of English, Scottish, and Welsh descent. The official languages are Irish (Gaeilge), the native language, and English. Learning Irish is compulsory in education, and all schools teach it to all of their pupils who are not exempt from it and it is needed (unless the student is exempt) to qualify for ...

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Republic of Ireland, Republic of Ireland - Name, Republic of Ireland - History, Republic of Ireland - Politics, Republic of Ireland - Role of the Catholic Church in national affairs, Republic of Ireland - Counties, Republic of Ireland - Geography, Republic of Ireland - Economy, Republic of Ireland - Demographics, Republic of Ireland - Culture

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The last three decades of the 20th century saw a number of short-lived poetic groupings such as the Martians. There was a growth in interest in women's writing and in poetry from England's ethnic groupings, especially the West Indian community. Poets who emerged include Carol Ann Duffy, Andrew Motion, Craig Raine, Wendy Cope, James Fenton, Blake Morrison, Grace Lake, Liz Lochhead, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Benjamin Zephaniah. There was also a growth in performance poetry fuelled by the Poetry Slam movement. A new generation of innovative poets ha ...

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English poetry, English poetry - The earliest English poetry, English poetry - The Anglo-Norman period and the Later Middle Ages, English poetry - The Renaissance in England, English poetry - Early Renaissance poetry, English poetry - The Elizabethans, English poetry - Jacobean and Caroline poetry, English poetry - The Restoration and 18th century, English poetry - Satire, English poetry - 18th century classicism, English poetry - Women poets in the 18th century, English poetry - The late 18th century, English poetry - The Romantic movement, English poetry - Victorian poetry, English poetry - High Victorian poetry, English poetry - Pre-Raphaelites arts and crafts Aestheticism and the Yellow 1890s, English poetry - The 20th century, English poetry - The first three decades, English poetry - The Thirties, English poetry - The Forties, English poetry - The Fifties, English poetry - The 1960s and 1970s, English poetry - English poetry now, English poetry - Reference

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Print Hamilton, Ian. The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English Online A Time-line of English poetry ...

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English poetry, English poetry - The earliest English poetry, English poetry - The Anglo-Norman period and the Later Middle Ages, English poetry - The Renaissance in England, English poetry - Early Renaissance poetry, English poetry - The Elizabethans, English poetry - Jacobean and Caroline poetry, English poetry - The Restoration and 18th century, English poetry - Satire, English poetry - 18th century classicism, English poetry - Women poets in the 18th century, English poetry - The late 18th century, English poetry - The Romantic movement, English poetry - Victorian poetry, English poetry - High Victorian poetry, English poetry - Pre-Raphaelites arts and crafts Aestheticism and the Yellow 1890s, English poetry - The 20th century, English poetry - The first three decades, English poetry - The Thirties, English poetry - The Forties, English poetry - The Fifties, English poetry - The 1960s and 1970s, English poetry - English poetry now, English poetry - Reference

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There is a wide range of source material that covers Anglo-Saxon England. The main narrative sources are Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. A range of laws are available back to the reign of Aethelbert of Kent, though they become far more numerous after the reign of Alfred the Great. Charters (usually land grants) provide us with a wide range of evidence across the period. Other written sources include hagiography, letters (often between churchmen, but sometimes betwee ...

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History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration: Fifth to Sixth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Seventh to Eighth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - First Viking Age: Ninth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England: Tenth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Second Viking Age and the Norman Conquest: Eleventh Century

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Main article: Culture of Jersey, Culture of Guernsey Culturally, the Norman language predominated in the Islands until the 19th century, when increasing influence from English-speaking settlers and easier transport links led to anglicisation. Victor Hugo spent many years in exile, first in Jersey and then in Guernsey where he wrote Les Misérables. Guernsey is also the setting of Hugo's later novel, Les travaille ...

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Channel Islands, Channel Islands - History, Channel Islands - Politics, Channel Islands - Geography, Channel Islands - Economy, Channel Islands - Transport and Communications, Channel Islands - Culture, Channel Islands - Other islands in the English channel

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The last quarter of the 18th century was a time of social and political turbulence, with revolutions in the United States, France, Ireland and elsewhere. In Great Britain, movement for social change and a more inclusive sharing of power was also growing. This was the backdrop against which the Romantic movement in English poetry emerged. The main poets of this movement were William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Keats. The birth of English Romanticism is often dated to the publication in 1798 of Wordsworth and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads. H ...

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English poetry, English poetry - The earliest English poetry, English poetry - The Anglo-Norman period and the Later Middle Ages, English poetry - The Renaissance in England, English poetry - Early Renaissance poetry, English poetry - The Elizabethans, English poetry - Jacobean and Caroline poetry, English poetry - The Restoration and 18th century, English poetry - Satire, English poetry - 18th century classicism, English poetry - Women poets in the 18th century, English poetry - The late 18th century, English poetry - The Romantic movement, English poetry - Victorian poetry, English poetry - High Victorian poetry, English poetry - Pre-Raphaelites arts and crafts Aestheticism and the Yellow 1890s, English poetry - The 20th century, English poetry - The first three decades, English poetry - The Thirties, English poetry - The Forties, English poetry - The Fifties, English poetry - The 1960s and 1970s, English poetry - English poetry now, English poetry - Reference

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793 is the date given by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the first Viking attack in Britain, at Lindisfarne monastery. However, there is a good chance that other, non-recorded, raids occurred before this. The arrival of the Vikings was to seriously upset the political and social geography of Britain and Ireland. Alfred the Great's victory at Edington in 878 stemmed the Viking attack; however, by this time Northumbria had devolved into Bernicia and a Viking kingdom, Mercia had been split down the middle, and East Anglia ceased to exist as an An ...

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History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration: Fifth to Sixth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Seventh to Eighth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - First Viking Age: Ninth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England: Tenth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Second Viking Age and the Norman Conquest: Eleventh Century

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