The linguistic blend in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight results from the Norman invasion bringing which language to mix with Old English?

• A. Latin
• B. Norse
• C. Gaelic
• D. Old Norman French

Answer: (D)

After the Norman Conquest, Old Norman French became the language of England’s ruling class, while everyday speech stayed English. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written in English, shows a strong fluency of French-derived vocabulary—especially for ideas tied to courtly life, chivalry, and ritual—layered over an English grammatical base. That mix is exactly what the question points to: a blend created by French influence coming from the Normans shaping English culture and literature. Latin, Norse, and Gaelic each left their own marks in different ways, but the specific combination with Old English in this poem comes from Old Norman French.