Literature

By asiiajames
  • Period: 400 to

    History of English Language

    Having emerged from the dialects and vocabulary of Germanic peoples—Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—who settled in Britain in the 5th century CE, English today is a constantly changing language that has been influenced by a plethora of different cultures and languages, such as Latin, French, Dutch, and Afrikaans.
  • Period: 450 to 1150

    Old Era

    Old English was not static, and its usage covered a period of 700 years, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century to the late 11th century, some time after the Norman invasion.
  • 600

    Rise of Saxon kingdoms

    In their personal feuds and struggles between communities for control and supremacy, a few kingdoms became dominant: Bernicia and Deira (which were united to form Northumbria in AD 651), Lindsey, East Anglia, Mercia, Wessex and Kent.
  • 700

    Suspected date of Beowulf's Writing

    Beowulf is an epic poem composed in Old English consisting of 3,182 lines. It is written in the alliterative verse style, which is common for Old English poetry as well as works written in languages such as Old High German, Old Saxon, and Old Norse.
  • 700

    earliest manuscript records of Old English

    Old English poetry has survived almost entirely in four manuscripts: the Exeter Book, the Junius Manuscript, the Vercelli Book, and the Beowulf manuscript.
  • 800

    Danes and Scandinavians become part of Ireland and Britain

    In 795 AD Viking longships began to raid various places in Ireland. At first they attacked the monasteries along the coast and later they raided inland. ... The Danish Vikings came to Ireland from about 849 AD and fought the Norse Vikings.
  • 1066

    Norman Conquest of England

    On December 25, 1066 William was crowned the new King of England. The Norman conquest was an important change in English history. The conquest linked England more closely with Continental Europe, and made Scandinavian influence less important. It created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe.
  • Period: 1066 to 1075

    The Norman Invasion,

    The Norman conquest of England (in Britain, often called the Norman Conquest or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of Normans, Bretons, Flemish, and men from other French provinces, all led by the Duke of Normandy later styled William the Conqueror.
  • Period: 1150 to 1450

    Middle English Era

    Middle English was a form of the English language spoken after the Norman conquest until the late 15th century. English underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English period.
  • 1209

    University of Cambridge is formed

    The University of Cambridge is a collegiate research university in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by King Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's fourth-oldest surviving university.
  • 1215

    Magna Carta

    Magna Carta Libertatum, commonly called Magna Carta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215
  • 1387

    Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

    The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. In 1386, Chaucer became Controller of Customs and Justice of Peace and, in 1389, Clerk of the King's work.
  • 1440

    The Invention of the Printing Press

    A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium, thereby transferring the ink.
  • Period: 1450 to

    Modern English Era

    Modern English is conventionally defined as the English language since about 1450 or 1500. Distinctions are commonly drawn between the Early Modern Period (roughly 1450-1800) and Late Modern English (1800 to the present).
  • 1492

    The discovery of North America,

    There was limited contact between North American people and the outside world before 1492. Several theoretical contacts have been proposed, but the earliest physical evidence comes from the Norse or Vikings. Erik the Red founded a colony on Greenland in 985 CE.

  • Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio

    Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, published in 1623, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio. It is considered one of the most influential books ever published.

  • The Expansion of the British Empire

    Great Britain made its first tentative efforts to establish overseas settlements in the 16th century. Maritime expansion, driven by commercial ambitions and by competition with France, accelerated in the 17th century and resulted in the establishment of settlements in North America and the West Indies.
  • Period: to

    The American Revolution.

    The American Revolution—also called the U.S. War of Independence—was the insurrection fought between 1775 and 1783 through which 13 of Great Britain's North American colonies threw off British rule to establish the sovereign United States of America, founded with the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

  • Advancement of science

    Dr John Aikin publishes his Biographical Memoirs of Medicine in Great Britain, the first English language historical dictionary of physicians.

  • British India Division

    “Partition” – the division of British India into the two separate states of India and Pakistan on August 14-15, 1947 – was the “last-minute” mechanism by which the British were able to secure agreement over how independence would take place.