History of the English Language

By haileyberg
  • 450

    Earliest Old English Inscriptions Found

  • Period: 450 to 1100

    Old English

  • Period: 450 to 1100

    Old English Words

    Eald - means old
    Brodor - means brother
    Hus - means house
  • 600

    Anglo-Saxon language covered most of England

  • 800

    Beowulfs Writing

    The suspected date.
  • 911

    Charles II of France grants Normandy to the Viking chief

    Beginning of the Norman French
  • 1000

    Discovery of North America

    The first attempt by Europeans to colonize the 'New World' (North America) was around a.d. 1000, when the Vikings sailed from the British Isles to Greenland and established a colony
  • 1066

    The Norman Invasion

    The Normans brought over the French which ended up combining to make most of the English we speak to this day.
  • Period: 1100 to 1500

    Middle English

  • Period: 1100 to 1500

    Middle English Words

    anon: at once
    brenne: burn
    canstow: can you, you can
  • 1209

    Cambridge University Established

    2nd oldest university in the English speaking world
  • 1340

    Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

    Lasted from 1340-1400. The Chaucer's Canterbury Tales were a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English
  • 1349

    Black Death

    The Black Death killed 1/3 of Britians population and only lasted from 1349-1350.
  • 1440

    The Printing Press Invented

    The Printing Press Invented
    This was a new machine used for printing text or pictures.
  • Period: 1500 to

    Early Modern English

  • Shakespeare writes his first play

    Henry VI

  • Death of Shakespeare

  • Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio

    Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio
  • Period: to

    American Revolution

    The American Revolution was a colonial revolt that took place between 1765 and 1783. The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies won independence from Great Britain, becoming the United States of America.
  • Period: to

    Late Modern English

  • Lewis and Clark

    Lewis and Clark start their journey to document the rest of the United States.

  • Domesday Book Compiled

    Commissioned by William the Conqueror to assess the extent of the land and resources being owned in England at the time, so he could raise the taxes.

  • Oxford Dictionary

    The 2nd Edition of the Oxford Dictionary was published.

  • Modern English