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Period: 400 to 1066
Old English
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450
Anglo Saxons
The first people who spoke a language, that eventually turned into English. The Anglo Saxons invaded England in 450. The language is known as Anglo-Saxon or Old English. We still use some of their words today, for example cow, house, bread and sword. -
597
Christian Missionaries
Christian Missionaries brought the Latin alphabet and language with them. Old English used words like fork, school, and paper from the missionaries. -
658
Caedmon's Hymn
Caedmon's Hymn is believed to be the oldest surviving Old English text. -
701
Beowulf Poem
Beowulf is an Old English poem with 3182 alliterative long lines. It is said to be the oldest surviving long poem in Old English. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet. -
800
Vikings
Vikings started to invade Britain from countries like Denmark and Norway. They spoke a language that later developed into Norwegian and Danish. Some of the words they used were left behind like, husband, law, and anger. -
1066
Norman Invasion
The Normans invaded England from Normandy, France. They spoke an earlier version of French and this became the high status language in England. It brought a lot of new words to English like cash, age, and reward. -
Period: 1066 to 1485
Middle English
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1196
University of Oxford is Founded
There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university. -
1362
English is the Official Language
The Statue of Pleading makes English the official language in England. Parliament is opened with it's first speech delivered in English. -
1399
King Henry IV
King Henry IV becomes the first monarch to deliver a speech in English. -
1400
The Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
There were no more invasions in England. English started to be more common, than French. The English spoken at this time was called, Middle English. A popular book from this time was 'The Chaucer's Canterbury Tales', by Geoffrey Chaucer. -
1476
The Printing Press
The printing press was brought by William Caxton in 1476. The printing press created a standard way of writing English. Publishing books became very popular. -
Period: 1485 to
Modern English
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Oct 12, 1492
The Founding of North America
Christopher Columbus officially set foot on America, and claimed the land for Spain. -
1520
The English Bible
The new Testament of the Bible was translated into English, by William Tyndale. This was a very important step. This meant people who could only speak English could now read the Bible, without interpretation. -
1550
People Started Researching
People would research books written in Latin and Greek. Certain words got added to English. We also took words like cruise and Yacht from the Dutch. -
Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio
William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies is a collection of plays, by Shakespeare. -
The American Revolution
The American Patriots in the thirteen colonies defeated the British in the war, with assistance of France. 1765-1783 -
Spelling Book
Noah Webster publishes his American spelling book. -
First Speaking Motion Picture
"The Jazz Singer" is released.
