A non-Romance-speaking northern France?

[Byzantion]

So, with a PoD after 450, how can the northern half of France (the OTL langue d'oïl area) end up speaking a language that does not belong in the Romance stratum, preferably a Germanic one?

Anglo-Saxons conquer Northern Gaul ?

 

[JanWellem]

Anglo-Saxons conquer Northern Gaul ?

Only if they can beat both Aegidius/Syagrius and the Franks, which, given their disunited nature is rather unlikely.

 

[kasumigenx]

Another possibility is Bretons taking over Northern France.

 

[kasumigenx]

Perhaps we can have the Romans lose in the Battle of Catalaunian Plains but Western Rome retains Aquitaine and Narbonensis.

 

[Gwyain]

Just a different Treaty of Verdun in 843 which would have attached Neustria to Saxony instead of Aquitaine.

Until the 9th century, Northern Gaul (Neustria) had a mixed lingustic profile Romance (Oeil Dialect) - Frankish, but after Verdun the remainders of Frankish died out in favour to Romance speaking. If Neustria would have been attached to Saxony (Northern Francia vs South Francia instead of IOTL East Francia vs West Francia), probably a West Germanic koine based on both Frankish and Saxon dialects would have emerged as a common national language if such division would have endured.

And where do we place Lotharingia in this kind of division? Of course the early death of one of the 3 brothers might be the trigger for the different partition. The imperial title ITTL would of course remain firmly attached to the southern "Roman" Empire, so we never get the nonsensical term "Holy Roman Empire of German Nationality" later on.

It would depend on how this 'North Francia' develops.

If Neustria remains as one of the main social and political cores with their own nobility, probably the Romance Oeil will more or less keep its ground and the linguistic borders would just shift a little even if a bilingual situation in most of Neustria might be plausible.

If Neustria somehow drifts to a more peripheral role and Saxony becomes more central, it is likely that some kind of gradual linguistic imposition will take place.

An important key factor could also be how this alt-Francia deals with Viking raids, as an eventual depopulation of the Ile-de-France caused by Viking occupations like IOTL 885 could be fixed ITTL with a Saxon/Rhenish Frankish repopulation instead of Romance-speaking people from other parts of Gaul, something that could trigger a quicker linguistic substitution.

A Treaty of Verdun split isn't the only way to get a Northern Francia. The division of Francia as Charlemagne intended in 806 would create exactly such a North Francian division:

If Neustria, Austrasia, and Saxony all remain in one united entity separate from Aquitaine (and Italy), then the Langue d'oil are in a much less favourable position.

 

[The Professor]

Worth noting that Verdun gets a lot of attention but there were several treaties among the heirs of Charlemagne dividing up the Francian territories, and a few failed wars that could have produced more.
One of these days a mappist will produce a series of maps showing all the changes.

 

[kasumigenx]

Another way to do that is to have the Romans give Northern Gaul to Saxons and crush the Visigoths instead.

 

[JanWellem]

Worth noting that Verdun gets a lot of attention but there were several treaties among the heirs of Charlemagne dividing up the Francian territories, and a few failed wars that could have produced more.
One of these days a mappist will produce a series of maps showing all the changes.

If the partition between Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman had been along the Loire instead of the strange envelopment of Carloman's territory by Charlemagne's of OTL and Carloman's line perseveres, it might have become permanent.