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Period: 400 to Jan 1, 1100
Old English
The Germanic tribes that invaded Britain in the fifth century, spoke a language that eventually became what we call Old English. -
Jan 1, 660
“Cædmon's Hymn” composed in Old English
Caedmon Hymn was wrote in honor of god, Caedmon is believed to be the first English poet. -
Jan 1, 792
Viking Raids of Britain Begin
The Vikings traveled thousands of miles across the sea from their homeland of Scandinavia where they were farmers, fishermen, seafarers and traders. Most Vikings were simply searching for better land for their farms. Their land was not very good for growing crops or rearing animals. Some historians believe the Vikings left their homes because of over crowding. There was not enough good land for everyone to share. The Vikings first invaded Britain in AD 793 and last invaded in 1066. -
Jan 1, 871
Alfred the Great becomes king of Wessex, encourages English prose and translation of Latin works
Alfred proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin. -
Jun 15, 950
Beowulf Creation
Beowulf was written sometime between the 8th and the early 11th century. The writer was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet. -
Jan 1, 1000
The Discovery of North America By Leif Eriksson.
Leif Eriksson reached what is now Newfoundland and named his discovery Vinland, to do with the grapes that they found growing there. -
Sep 25, 1066
The Norman Invasion of England.
William The Conqueror led Norman, Breton, and French soldiers to invade England on year 1066. He didn't succeed until 1072. -
Jan 1, 1086
"Domesday Book" Compiled
The Domesday Book provides a clear picture of 11th century England, and contained records for 13,418 settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time). -
Period: Jan 1, 1100 to Jan 1, 1500
Middle English
In 1066 the Normans invaded and brought with them a kind of French that the high class citizens spoke. -
Jan 1, 1349
The Black Death Kills 1/3 of the British Population
It is said that the Black Death pandemic killed between 75-200 million people in just a few years, most of it was in Europe. -
Jan 1, 1385
English replaces Latin as main language in schools
In 1385 England changed almost all of its school's main language from Latin to English, the only exceptions being Oxford and Cambridge. -
Jan 1, 1392
The Canterbury Tales Are Written By Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales were one of the first major works in literature, that was written in English. -
Jan 1, 1399
Henry IV becomes first English-speaking monarch since before the Conquest
Henry IV, who came to the English throne in 1399, was the first monarch since before the Conquest to have English as his mother tongue). While Anglo-Norman was the verbal language of the court, administration and culture, though, Latin was mostly used for written language, especially by the Church and in official records. For example, the “Domesday Book”, in which William the Conqueror took stock of his new kingdom, was written in Latin to emphasize its legal authority. -
Jan 1, 1440
The invention of the Printing Press.
The printing press was invented by German Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, based on existing screw presses. -
Jan 1, 1450
The Great Vowel Shift Begins
The long vowels started to get shorter between 1350 and 1600 in England. -
Jan 1, 1500
Start of English Renaissance
The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the late 15th to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginning in Italy in the late 14th century. -
Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Modern English
Near the end of Middle English people started to pronounce vowels much shorter due to the additions of many new words from the British. -
William Shakespeare Writes His First Play
Shakespeare is believed by most academics to have written his very first play, Henry VI, Part One in 1590. -
The publication of Shakespeare's First Folio
Shakespeare's First Folio was the first collection of his his plays, it was published seven years after his death by his friends John Heminge and Henry Condell. -
The American Revolution
The American Revolution was a political upheaval that took place between 1765 and 1783. Colonists from The Thirteen American Colonies rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy, overthrew the authority of Great Britain, and founded the United States of America. -
First publication of “The Times” newspaper in London
The first publication of the newspaper The Daily Universal Register in Great Britain was 1 January 1785. Unhappy because people always omitted the word Universal, Ellias changed the title after 940 editions on 1 January 1788 to "The Times". -
Noah Webster publishes his “The American Dictionary of the English Language”
Webster's 1828 Dictionary contains the foundation of America's heritage and principal beliefs. It is contemporary with the American Constitution.
