A history of the English Language

64.
Influence of the Benedictine Reform on English.
The influence of Latin upon the English language rose and fell with the fortunes of the 
church and the state of learning so intimately connected with it. As a result of the 
renewed literary activity just described, a new series of Latin importations took place. 
These differed somewhat from the earlier Christian borrowings in being words of a less 
popular kind and expressing more often ideas of a scientific and learned character. They 
are especially frequent in the works of Ælfric and reflect not only the theological and 
pedagogical nature of his writings but also his classical tastes and attainments. His 
literary activity and his vocabulary are equally representative of the movement. As in the 
earlier Christian borrowings a considerable number of words have to do with religious 
matters: 
alb, Antichrist, antiphoner, apostle, canticle, cantor, cell, chrism, cloister, 
collect, creed, dalmatic, demon, dirge, font, idol, nocturn, prime, prophet, sabbath, 
synagogue, troper
. But we miss the group of words relating to everyday life characteristic 
of the earlier period. Literary and learned words predominate. Of the former kind are 
accent, brief
(the verb), 
decline
(as a term of grammar), 
history, paper, pumice, quatern
(a quire or gathering of leaves in a book), 
term(inus), title
. A great number of plant names 
are recorded in this period. Many of them are familiar only to readers of old herbals. 
Some of the better known include 
celandine, centaury, coriander, cucumber, ginger, 
A history of the english language 80

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hellebore, lovage, periwinkle, petersili
(parsley), 
verbena
.
12
A few names of trees might 
be added, such as 
cedar, cypress, fig, laurel,
and 
magd
ā
la
(almond).
13
Medical terms, like 
cancer, circul
ā
dl
(shingles), 
paralysis, scrofula, plaster,
and words relating to the animal 
kingdom, like 
aspide
(viper), 
camel, lamprey, scorpion, tiger,
belong apparently to the 
same category of learned and literary borrowings. It would be possible to extend these 
lists considerably by including words that were taken over in their foreign form and not 
assimilated. Such words as 
epactas, corporale, confessores, columba
(dove), 
columne, 
cathedra, catacumbas, apostata, apocalipsin, acolitus, absolutionem, invitatorium, 
unguentum, cristalla, cometa, bissexte, bibliothece, basilica, adamans,
and 
prologus
show at once by their form their foreign character. Although many of them were later 
reintroduced into the language, they do not constitute an integral part of the vocabulary at 
this time. In general, the later borrowings of the Christian period come through books. An 
occasional word assigned to this later period may have been in use earlier, but there is 
nothing in the form to indicate it, and in the absence of any instance of its use in the 
literature before Alfred it is safer to put such borrowings in the latter part of the Old 
English period.