Middle English: The Influence of French
In 1066, the Normans in northern France invaded and conquered England.
The Norman invasion had a huge impact on the English language, bringing thousands of French words into everyday use.
These words were largely related to law and administration (government, parliament, minister, judge, mayor), but they also included words from such fields as science (logic, anatomy), art (music, painting, tragedy), food (beef, pork, mutton) and fashion (coat, dress, fashion).