Scandinavian Influences on the English Language

When considering the Scandinavian loanwords in English one can compare them with those from French. Immediately very obvious differences between the two cases are observed. On the one hand the varieties of Old Norse brought to England were much closer to the English of the time than was Anglo-Norman at the later period. Indeed one can safely assume that the Scandinavian invaders did not have too many difficulties in making themselves understood to their English neighbours.