Rise of Vernacular Languages it Has Been

Rise of Vernacular Languages

It has been said that the development of the vernacular languages of Europe began in Tours in the year 813 with "the appearance of the first texts prepared in a Romance script." (Wright, 1991, p.165) Prior to this time, all official documentation was done in Latin, the language of the old Roman Empire. In fact, as parts of the Roman Empire were overrun by barbarians, marking the beginning of the Dark Ages, those barbarians who settled in Roman areas adopted Latin as their legal and bureaucratic language. They also slowly blended their spoken languages with Latin to create a new spoken vernacular language. One of these new languages, specifically French, was officially born under the reign of Charlemagne, but by the 11th century it was not only spoken throughout French territory, it had become the written language of the common people as well. And as this development was repeated in different parts of Europe starting with different original languages, many versions of the vernacular were created during this time. As the vernacular languages replaced Latin as the official government and Church language, the written use of the language of the common people went on to have major influences on the development of European society, literature, and government.

From the time of the Roman Empire, Latin had always been the literary language of Europe. But over time, "and under the influence of Latin…the written forms of the various European vernaculars emerged." (Anthony, 1996, p.122) These sprung from the spoken form of Latin mixing with the languages of the barbarian invaders. And once this new vernacular had developed, one of the first things the common people wanted was to read their Bibles in their own language; and Charlemagne was one of the first rulers who answered this call. In the late 8th century," Charlemagne commissions translations of parts of the Bible for the use of his missionaries in the drive to convert pagan Germans." ("History of Bible Translations") From this beginning, vernacular translations of the Bible were produced in many European languages including German, Czech, and English. But one could only read the Bible so many times and people soon wanted other works written in the vernacular.

Just about this time the printing press was invented and helped to produce and distribute numerous printed works in the vernacular. For instance, as the printing press was introduced to Italy, "the first book printed in Venice in 1469 was not the Bible but, rather, Cicero's letters…." ("Language and Literature") And it was not only classical literature that was printed in the vernacular but epic poems as well. Beowulf, a Germanic epic poem that had been in existence for some time as an oral tradition, was first written down in the vernacular in the 8th century. French chansons de geste were simple rhythmic poems that were also integrated into the written vernacular at this time. But unlike the pre-Christian poems, the French chansons described heroic characters that were based in Christian beliefs. From this type of poetry, the French concept of "chivalry" was developed, which transformed Medieval European society into the feudal system. It can be said that the development of the vernacular was directly responsible for the development of Medieval European literature and society.

Finally, the rise of the vernacular brought about the rise of individual nations and the concept of "nationalism." As each region developed its own form of the vernacular, it allowed for the recording of events in written form. One such written record was the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," which was begun in the year 890, compiled under the orders of Alfred the Great, and recorded events in Anglo-Saxon England. ("Anglo Saxon Chronicle") Records such as this, written in the native vernacular language of individual kingdoms, also aided in the development of a national identity based on a common language. While Latin remained the language of the Church and international politics, legal and other documents began to be written down in the vernacular as early as the 1100's. It was the development of a common vernacular language which allowed people to identify with a single nation ruled over by a single monarch, leading to the development of nationalism.