I really really don't want to get into this but I have to snicker at this sentence. In England for most of the middle ages, this situation didn't exist. The lowest classes were the ones most likely to speak English, the clerics and nobles favored French (after c. 1066) or Latin! There were a number of English kings who probably couldn't speak a word of English. But this points out the problem: very few descriptions of medievality would be accurate! Perhaps Aelmer is just pointing this out.