-
800 BCE
Old English
Beowulf Composed -
Period: 450 BCE to 480 BCE
Old English
Earliest Old English inscriptions -
792
Old English
Vikings begin raiding Britain -
1000
Old English
Oldest manuscript of Beowulf -
1066
Middle English
Norman conquest under William the Conquerer -
1086
Middle English
"Domesday Book" composed -
Period: 1349 to 1350
Middle English
The Black Death kills one third of Britains population -
1388
Middle English
Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" composed -
1399
Middle English
Henry IV becomes first English-speaking monarch since the conquest -
1440
Early Modern English
Invention of Printing Press by Johannes Gutenberg -
1492
Early Modern English
North America is Discovered -
1539
Early Modern English
"The Great Bible" published -
Early Modern English
Shakespeare's death -
Early Modern English
Shakespeare's First Folio is published -
Period: to
Late Modern English
The American Revolution -
Late Modern English
First publication of "The Times" newspaper in London
