French in United Kingdom

Meaning of French

The following is an old definition of French [1]: Law-French, which is used in old law-books and legal proceedings, exhibits many terms and idioms not employed in classic French. Under William the Norman and his sons, all the public proceedings of the courts, including arguments and decisions, were expressed in Norman law-French. In the thirty-sixth year of Edward III (1363), it was enacted that all pleas should be shown, answered, debated, and judged in the English tongue, but be entered and enrolled in Latin, which, being a dead language, was immutable. However, the practitioners and reporters continued to take notes in the customary law- French. This law-French differs as much from modern French as the diction of Chaucer differs from the diction of Addison. English and Norman being concurrently used for several centuries, the two idioms assimilated and borrowed from each other. ” The constitution of the aula regis, and the judges themselves, were fetched from Normandy; in consequence, proceedings in the king’s courts were carried on in Norman.” Norman-French, as employed about the courts, was often intermixed with scraps of Latin and pure English. See Latin.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Concept of French provided by the Anderson Dictionary of Law (1889) (Dictionary of Law consisting of Judicial Definitions and Explanations of Words, Phrases and Maxims and an Exposition of the Principles of Law: Comprising a Dictionary and Compendium of American and English Jurisprudence; William C. Anderson; T. H. Flood and Company, Law Publishers, Chicago, United States)