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449
The first historian of English people.
The Jutes, Angles, and Saxons lived in Jutland, Schleswig, and Holstein, respectively, before settling in Britain. According to the Venerable Bede, the first historian of the English people, the first Jutes, Hengist and Horsa, landed at Ebbsfleet in the Isle of Thanet in 449; and the Jutes later settled in Kent, southern Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight. The Saxons occupied the rest of England south of the Thames, as well as modern Middlesex and Essex. -
Period: 450 to 1115
Old English
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700
Beowulf
Beowulf is the oldest surviving Germanic epic and the longest Old English poem; it was likely composed between 700 and 750. -
871
King Alfred's Legal Writngs
Old English prose works include legal writings, medical tracts, religious texts, and translations from Latin and other languages. Particularly notable is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record begun about the time of King Alfred’s reign (871–899) and continuing for more than three centuries. -
900
Winchester, centre of learning
In the 9th century, as a result of the Norwegian invasions, cultural leadership passed from Northumbria to Wessex. During King Alfred’s reign, in the last three decades of the 9th century, Winchester became the chief centre of learning. -
900
The first great period of literary
The first great period of literary activity occurred during the reign of King Alfred the Great in the 9th century. -
1066
One result of the Norman Conquest
One result of the Norman Conquest of 1066 was to place all four Old English dialects more or less on a level. West Saxon lost its supremacy, and the centre of culture and learning gradually shifted from Winchester to London. -
Period: 1115 to 1500
Middle English
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1180
The Group of Writing of Katherine group
The so-called Katherine Group of writings (c. 1180–1210), associated with Hereford, a town not far from the Welsh border, adhered most closely to native traditions, and there is something to be said for regarding this West Midland dialect, least disturbed by French and Scandinavian intrusions, as a kind of Standard English in the High Middle Ages. -
1300
Lengthened Syllables
An open syllable is one ending in a vowel. Both syllables in Old English nama “name,” mete “meat, food,” nosu “nose,” wicu “week,” and duru “door” were short, and the first syllables, being stressed, were lengthened to nāme, mēte, nōse, wēke, and dōre in the 13th and 14th centuries. -
1400
Grammatical simplification of gender in english.
Grammatical simplification of gender in english. -
1490
From Middle to Modern
The death of Chaucer at the close of the century (1400) marked the beginning of the period of transition from Middle English to the Early Modern English stage. -
1500
The three outstanding developments of the 15th century
The three outstanding developments of the 15th century were the rise of London English, the invention of printing, and the spread of the new learning associated with the Renaissance. -
Period: 1500 to
Modern English
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1525
Translation of New Testament
After the dawn of the 16th century, English prose moved swiftly toward modernity. In 1525 Lord Berners completed his translation of Jean Froissart’s Chronicle, and William Tyndale translated the New Testament. -
1551
Sir Thomas More's Utopia
Sir Thomas More wrote his Utopia in Latin. It was translated into French during his lifetime but not into English until 1551, some years after his death. -
Tudor Golden Age
1611 lay the Tudor Golden Age, with its culmination in William Shakespeare. -
The Tragedie of Macbeth
William Shakespeare published Macbeth in 1623