Armory Replicas carries a great deal of items which are based on historical events—periodically, we like to tell some of the stories behind these fascinating historical items!

Today, we shine the spotlight on the Conqueror 1066 Norman Arming Sword. This fully functional sword is based on and named for the 1066 Norman invasion of England. This historical event not only impacted the culture and politics of England and Europe, but has had a profound impact on the English language itself over the years! Here is a brief survey of the invasion and its consequences:

-The Norman invasion was led by a mixed army, made up of Norman, Breton, and French soldiers. The soldiers were unified under the rule of Normandy’s Duke William II, who would later be better known as William the Conqueror.

-The English nobility submitted to the invading Normans soon after their arrival in England in 1066. However, the English people did not take so kindly to the occupiers, and an English resistance continued for several years. Notably, in 1069, the English resistance massacred the Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines, along with several hundred soldiers who were accompanying him.

-The English people’s final resistance came in 1075, when English resistance leaders plotted to overthrow William the Conqueror. The rebellion, led by Ralph de Gael and Roger de Breteuil, ultimately failed, as William did not even return to England!

-Though the Normans were eventually vanquished (in 1204) and could not permanently control England, many lasting changes resulted from the invasion. The English aristocracy was almost entirely eliminated, the English lost control over the English Catholic Church, and the English language was forever marked by Norman influence.

-The Anglo-Norman dialect of Old French displaced Old English to a large extent in England. As a result, many French words entered the English language. The influence of the 1066 Norman Invasion on the English Language has been widely studied and debated by linguists and other scholars, but some of its impacts are more obvious. French became the language of European nobility for much of the millennium after the invasion. When modern English offers a choice between an Anglo-Saxon word (say, “public house”) and a Francophone term (such as “restaurant”), the Francophone alternative often carries a higher-class connotation.

Armory Replicas is happy to offer the Conqueror 1066 Norman Arming Sword as a tribute to the great historical importance of the conflict between the Normans and the English. This 40-inch sword with a 33-inch blade is designed after the weapons used by the Normans during their conquests. Check it out today!