I am helping my 7 year old daughter prepare for her schoolwide spelling bee, and I have been trying to do some basic research on how English words have been influenced by various other languages. I know that English is influenced by French because of the Norman conquest in 1066, and I would like to explain to my daughter that the Normans/Anglo-French/French (I don't know the proper name for them) ruled England for XXX years, and their occupation "contributed legal, military, technological, and political terminology to the English language. Their language also contributed common words, such as the names of meats: veal, mutton, beef, pork, and how food was prepared: boil, broil, fry, roast, and stew; as well as words related to the nobility." (from Wikipedia)
I can't seem to find a definitive end to this French occupation period in any basic searches. I can't even get a ballpark idea. It could be 20 years or 150 years. This is driving me nuts, and at this point, I am invested. May someone please kindly put me out of my misery and just tell me how long the Normans or French or whatever they were called were in England?
Like /u/Abrytan said, there was no point at which the English threw the Anglo-Norman aristocracy out. Rather, the aristocracy gradually became more "English," before ultimately losing most of their Norman characteristics in the 14th-15th centuries. This undoubtedly has something to do with the loss of Normandy in the early 13th century; prior to that time, a great many of the Anglo-Norman magnates held land on both sides of the English Channel. There were abortive efforts to reconquer it, but the English never reestablished the close connection present in the 11th-12th centuries.
If you're looking for an exact date when the French-speaking aristocracy became an English-speaking one, I have none to give you. It was a gradual process with considerable overlap and a period of bilingualism. Certainly, by the late 14th century most English aristocrats would have been fluent in English, and it had become a literary language, as evidenced by Geoffrey Chaucer, among others.
The English never regained power in England in the violent revolution that you seem to be implying, rather the Normans became Anglo-French and then English. The Normans were the rulers of an area of France called Normandy, and the Duke of Normandy in 1066 (William the Conqueror) was a vassal of the French King. The King of England, Edward the Confessor, died without any heirs and so Harold Godwinsson took over. However, William claimed that Harold had promised him the throne and invaded, killing Harold at the Battle of Hastings and taking the crown of England. William then distributed land throughout England and Wales to the men who had followed him, as a reward. The descendants of these men eventually adopted the customs and some of the language of their new homeland, becoming the English nobility. It is called a conquest and not an occupation for this reason - the Normans eventually assimilated with the English as opposed to being overthrown. Indeed, it's arguable that the Normans are still in England - surnames such as Bryan, Burke and Carter are supposedly of Norman origin.
Here are a few online resources to learn a bit more about the Norman Conquest:
My heartfelt thanks to both /u/Abrytan and /u/Rittermeister for your explanations. It makes so much more sense to me now. No wonder I couldn't find an end date! /u/Rittermeister, you nailed it when you mentioned the conversion of the aristocracy from French to English. I think the knowledge that this conversion must have happened at some point is what had me convinced that it was an occupation. And /u/Abrytan, I had that "wow, I'm an idiot" moment when you explained the reason it is called the Norman Conquest. Like, duh. Thanks for setting me straight and for the follow-up links. All this research has piqued my interest. I would love to relearn all this history I have forgotten over these many years. Hugs to you both!