The Old English Period (110-1500) and The Middle English Period (1100-1500). Session V.

THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD: Christianity

400

They had actually come to the Anglo-Saxons from two directions—from Rome with Saint Augustine and from the Celtic Church with Irish missionaries. Christianity had been introduced to the British Isles, and particularly to Ireland, much earlier, before the year 400.

Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians

449

They began to occupy Great Britain, thus changing its major population to English speakers and separating the early English language from its Continental relatives. This is a traditional date; the actual migrations doubtless began earlier. (With it the Old English period begins.)

Saint Augustine of Canterbury

597

He arrived in England to begin the conversion of the English by baptizing King Ethelbert of Kent, thus introducing the influence of the Latin language. Also, the most important event in the history of Anglo-Saxon culture occurred in 597, when Pope Gregory I dispatched a band of missionaries to the Angles in accordance with a resolve he had made some years before.

Consecratation of Augustine

601

Augustine was consecrated first archbishop of Canterbury, and there was a church in England.
Also, during this year, the Synod of Whitby aligned the English with Roman rather than Celtic Christianity, thus linking English culture with mainstream Europe.

The Venerable Bede

730

He produced his Ecclesiastical History of the English
People, recording the early history of the English people.

The Scandinavian Invasion

787

The Scandinavian invasion began with raids along the northeast seacoast.

Conquest of England

865

The Scandinavians occupied northeastern Britain and began a campaign to conquer all of England.

Eastern part of England

870

The Vikings gained possession of practically the whole eastern part of England. And they attacked Wessex, ruled by the first Ethelred (Æðelræd) with the able assistance of his brother Alfred, who was to succeed him in the following year.

Alfred the Great (Old English: Ælfrēd, Ælfrǣd, 'Elf-counsel' or 'Wise-elf'; between 847 and 849 – 26 October 899)

871

Alfred became king of Wessex and reigned until his death in 899, rallying the English against the Scandinavians, retaking the city of London, establishing the Danelaw, securing the kingship of all England for himself and his successors, and producing or sponsoring the translation of Latin works into English.

The victory of Alfred

878

Alfred the Great won a signal victory at Edington. He defeated Guthrum, the Danish king of East Anglia, who agreed not only to depart from Wessex but also to be baptized.

Ælfric

987

Ælfric, the homilist and grammarian, went to the abbey of Cerne, where he became the major prose writer of the Old English period and of its Benedictine Revival and produced a model of prose style that influenced following centuries.
He was an English abbot, as well as a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres.

Olaf Tryggvason invaded England

991

Olaf Tryggvason invaded England, and the English were defeated at the Battle of Maldon.
He made the first effective effort to Christianize Norway.ccording to legend, In 991 he joined in the Viking attacks on England, which were resumed with the accession of Ethelred II the Unready to the English throne in 978. Ethelred sued for peace in 991, agreeing to pay large sums in tribute, and again when Olaf invaded with the Danish king Sweyn I Forkbeard in 994.

Beowulf manuscript

1000

The manuscript of the Old English epic Beowulf was written about this time. It is the longest epic poem in Old English, the language spoken in Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest. More than 3,000 lines long, Beowulf relates the exploits of its eponymous hero, and his successive battles with a monster named Grendel, with Grendel’s revengeful mother, and with a dragon which was guarding a hoard of treasure.

Canute King of England

1016

Canute became king of England, establishing a Danish dynasty in Britain. Canute was to become the ruler of an empire which, at its height, included England, Denmark, Norway and part of Sweden.
Canute was praised in Norse poetry as a formidable Viking warrior. He is described in the Knýtlinga saga as being 'exceptionally tall and strong, and the handsomest of men, all except for his nose, that was thin, high set, and rather hooked.

Edward the Confessor became king of England

1016

The Danish dynasty ended with the death of King Hardicanute, and Edward the Confessor became king of England.
He is also known as Saint Edward the Confessor, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. He ruled from 1042 to 1066. Though many regarded him as an ineffectual monarch who was overshadowed by the nobles, he is known for preserving the unity of the kingdom and dignity of the crown throughout his reign.

Harold the last Anglo-Saxon king.

1066

Edward the Confessor died and was succeeded by Harold, last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, who died at the Battle of Hastings while fighting against the invading army of William, duke of Normandy, who was crowned king of England on December 25.

THE MIDDLE ENGLISH: The Normans conquered England.

Oct 14, 1066

The Normans conquered England, replacing the native English nobility with Anglo-Normans and introducing Norman French as the language of government in England.

King John lost Normandy to the French.

1204

King John lost Normandy to the French, beginning the loosening of ties between England and the Continent.

King Henry III

1258

He issued the first English-language royal proclamation since the Conquest, having been forced by his barons to accept the Provisions of Oxford, establishing a Privy Council to oversee the administration of the government, so beginning the growth of the English constitution and parliament.

The Hundred Years’ War

1337

The Hundred Years’ War began and lasted until 1453, promoting
English nationalism. he name the Hundred Years’ War has been used by historians since the beginning of the nineteenth century to describe the long conflict that pitted the kings and kingdoms of France and England against each other from 1337 to 1453. Two factors lay at the origin of the conflict: first, the status of the duchy of Guyenne; second, as the closest relatives of the last direct Capetian king.

The Black Death

1348

The Black Death killed an estimated one-third of England’s population and continued to plague the country for much of the rest of the century. It was a bubonic plague pandemic, which reached England in June 1348. It was the first and most severe manifestation of the Second Pandemic, caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria. The term "Black Death" was not used until the late 17th century.

The Statute of Pleadings

1362

The Statute of Pleadings was enacted, requiring all court proceedings to be conducted in English. It was an Act of the Parliament of England. The Act complained that because the Norman French language was largely unknown to the common people of England, they had no knowledge of what was being said for or against them in the courts, which used Law French.

The Peasants’ Revolt

1381

The Peasants’ Revolt led by Wat Tyler was the first rebellion of
working-class people against their exploitation. Although it failed in most of its immediate aims, it marks the beginning of popular protest.

The death of John Wycliffe

1384

John Wycliffe died, having promoted the first complete translation of scripture into the English language (the Wycliffite Bible).

The death of Geoffrey Chaucer

1400

Geoffrey Chaucer died, having produced a highly influential body of English poetry.

The Chancery office

1430

The Chancery office began recordkeeping in a form of East Midland English, which became the written standard of English. It is a general term for a medieval writing office, responsible for the production of official documents.The title of chancellor, for the head of the office, came to be held by important ministers in a number of states, and remains the title of the heads of government in modern Germany and Austria.

William Caxton

1476

William Caxton brought printing to England, thus promoting literacy throughout the population. He was the first English printer and a translator and importer of books into England.
He was born in around 1422 in Kent. He went to London at the age of 16 to become an apprentice to a merchant, later moving to Bruges, the centre of the wool trade, where he became a successful and important member of the merchant community.

Henry Tudor or Henry VII

1485

Henry Tudor (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) became king of England, ending thirty years of civil strife, called the War of the Roses, and introducing 118 years of the Tudor dynasty. He was the King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 to his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry attained the throne when his forces defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses.

John Cabot

1497

John Cabot sailed to Nova Scotia, foreshadowing English territorial expansion overseas.
He was an Italian navigator and explorer who was the first European to discover the coast of North America. In May 1497, with the help of English King Henry VII, Cabot decided to sail west from Bristol to find out a direct route to Asia. In June, he discovered a land and named it Newfoundland. At that time, he believed it was Asia and claimed it for England.