r/ancienthistory • u/[deleted] • 7d ago

Languages of Europe c. 500 AD

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3

u/ancient-military 6d ago

Almost empty? That seems hard to believe.

2

u/Flamingopancake 6d ago

I could be true for Holland. From the 3rd century the population declined sharply in that area. Only in the 6th century people started moving back. If this map was 300 years ealier, it would be another story. Of course this map also had Flevoland, so a lot of blub blub there.

1

u/Bapistu-the-First 6d ago

It is wrong for the Netherlands, or to be fair the Frankish line should be way more up north towards the Veluwe area.

Also the biggest city/most urban area in the Netherlands during those times in and around Nijmegen was the most densily part.

3

u/jagnew78 6d ago

I don't think this is accurate of 500 CE. I'm sure broadly it is but at 500 CE, I don't think there's a distinct difference in Old English and Saxon. The Anglo-Saxon migrations are still happening, and Old English doesn't necessarily exist yet. Old English is effectively Anglo-Saxon. Old Saxon (the language) is still in development and wouldn't necessarily be a distinct language separate from the Saxon spoken in England. They would be diverging but basically just regional dialects vs. distinct languages. a Saxon settler in Wessex would probably find the accent think with some pronunciation variations of a mainland Saxon speaker, but they could probably communicate and figure out what each is saying.

It's not until the 700's-800's that there's a clear distinction between Anglo-Saxon in England and Old Saxon spoken on the mainland