The Anglo-French love-hate relationship

Among the most notable English victories over France were the Battle of Crécy in 1346, the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, where the French King Jean II was captured, and the legendary Battle of Agincourt in 1415, in addition to Napoleon’s famous defeat at Waterloo in 1815. The British fleet also decisively defeated the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. On the other hand, the most significant French victories included the Battle of Hastings in 1066, won by William the Conqueror, the Battle of Orléans in 1429, where Joan of Arc broke the siege and turned the tide of the Hundred Years’ War, and the Battle of Castillon in 1453, which finally expelled the English from France.

Among the battles were the Siege of York- the American victory over the British, aided by France, in 1781, the naval Battle of Minden in 1759, and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), which saw the British emerge victorious. Despite this animosity, the languages of the two nations are replete with words borrowed from each other. It is said that approximately 30 percent of English vocabulary originates from French. Some of the most curious examples of English loanwords include “cow,” but its meat is called “beef,” derived from the French “boeuf.” Similarly, sheep meat is called “mutton,” borrowed from the French “mouton.” And “pig” is the English word for pig, but its meat is called “pork,” from the French “porc.” Also, “deer” is the English word for gazelle, but its meat is called “venison,” derived from the French “venis.”

The Normans left the name for chicken unchanged because, quite simply, they did not eat it. Although English cuisine was not heavily influenced by the French, the English adopted many table manners from the French. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy who became King of England, is considered one of the most influential figures in the culture and history of both nations. William was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Normandy. His mother was the daughter of a tanner, earning him the nickname “William the Bastard” before history gave him a different meaning. He secured his position at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, claiming that the late English king, Edward, had promised him the throne. He marched his forces to Britain, defeated his Anglo- Saxon rival, Harold, and was crowned King of England that same year. He left an indelible legacy, having commissioned a comprehensive survey of all lands and properties in England in 1086 (i.e., determining who owned what and its value).

The inclusion of this data in the Doomsday Book was an extraordinary achievement, perhaps the first systematic census in English history. Even now, 960 years after that census, we in Kuwait still do not know the precise size of state and private property. Among William the Conqueror’s accomplishments was his success in transforming England from an Anglo-Saxon kingdom into a French-Norman kingdom. He unintentionally laid the foundation for the English language (and culture), which would eventually conquer the world.