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Period: 400 to 1100
Old English
Old Norse words enter the English language such as sister, wish, skin, and die. -
495
Rise of the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex
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673
Birth of the Venerable Bede
He was a monk who wrote in Latin the Ecclesiastical History of the English People which was a source of information for the early settlements of Anglo Saxons. -
700
Beowulf's Writing
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871
King Alfred of Wessex defeats the Vikings
This leads to the translation of Latin works into English. -
1066
The Norman Invasion
The Normans brought a form of French that the higher classes used to communicate. -
Period: 1100 to 1500
Middle English
Some examples of the words used were: Tho - Those; then
Unnethe - Scarcely
Ynogh - Enough -
1346
Black Death in England
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1381
The Peasants' Revolt
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1392
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
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1415
The Battle of Agincourt
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1450
The Invention of the Printing Press
Books became cheaper allowing more people to learn how to read. English became standardized and, and grammar and spelling became fixed. -
1497
The Discovery of North America
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Period: 1500 to
Modern English
Words used in Early Modern English were similar to those used in Shakespeare's writing. afeard - afraid, frightened, scared
base - dishonorable, low, unworthy
issue - child or children, offspring, family, descendant -
1506
The Painting of the Mona Lisa
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Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio
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Period: to
The American Revolution
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The French Revolution
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The First Car
