"When the Normans conquered England in 1066 (see Norman Conquest), they brought their Norman language with them. During the Anglo-Norman period which united insular and continental territories, the ruling class spoke Anglo-Norman, while the peasants spoke the vernacular English of the time, as well as the native Celtic languages. Anglo-Norman was the conduit for the introduction of French into England, aided by the circulation of Langue d'oïl literature from France. This led to many paired words of French and English origin. For example, beef is cognate with the modern French bœuf, meaning the meat of a cow; veal with veau, meaning calf meat; pork with porc, meaning pig meat; and poultry with poulet, meaning "chicken meat", as opposed to simply "chicken". This relationship carries over into the names for farm animals where the cognate is with modern German. For example swine/Schwein; cow/Kuh; calf/Kalb; sheep/Schafe. The variant usage has been explained by the proposition that it was the Norman rulers who mostly ate meat (an expensive commodity) and the Anglo-Saxons who farmed the animals.[3] This explanation has passed into common lore, but has been disputed." it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests montana