History of the English Language

By paytonslongee
  • Period: 400 to 1100

    Old English

    Oft Scyld Scéfing – sceaþena þréatum
    monegum maégþum – meodosetla oftéah•
    Translation:
    There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
    A wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.
  • 600

    Anglo-Saxon

    The Anglo-Saxon (Old English) language is used by most of what is now modern day England around 600 AD.
  • 660

    Cædmon's Hymn

    Cædmon's Hymn is created by the supposed illiterate cow herder Cædmon around 660 AD, using words that had never been seen before.
  • 792

    Viking Raids

    Vikings start to raid and plunder Britain, with these raids beginning around 792 AD
  • Suspected Date of Beowulf's Writing
    1000

    Suspected Date of Beowulf's Writing

    The suspected date of the writing of Beowulf is believed to be around 700 AD - 1000 AD
  • 1000

    The Discovery of North America

    Although many believe Columbus had discovered North America, he never actually set foot there first. Instead, the viking Leif Erikson around 1000 AD.
  • 1066

    Norman Invasion of England

    In 1066, the Duke of Normandy (Normans) invaded and conquered England, which led to French words in the English diction.
  • Period: 1100 to 1500

    Middle English

    "Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
    The droghte of March hath perced to the roote"
    Translation: "When the sweet showers of April have pierced
    The drought of March, and pierced it to the root"
  • 1167

    Oxford Univsersity

    The Oxford University is established in 1167.
  • 1349

    Black Plague

    The Black Plague devastates England from 1349-50, killing one third of the British population.
  • 1362

    English Parliament

    Ironically, the English language is used for the first time in the English Parliament in 1362.
  • 1387

    Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

    Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that were written between 1387 and 1400.
  • 1440

    Invention of the Printing Press

    Johannes Gutenberg experimented with printing in 1440, having a printing press ready for commercial use by 1450.
  • Period: 1500 to

    Modern English

    "The English speach doth still encroche vpon it, and hath driuen the same into the vttermost skirts of the shire. Most of the Inhabitants can no word of Cornish; but very few are ignorant of the English."

  • The First English Dictionary

    Robert Cawdrey publishes the first English language dictionary, The Table Alphabeticall, in 1604.

  • King Jame's Bible

    The King Jame's Bible, or the Authorizes version of the Bible, was release in 1611.
  • Shakespeare's First Folio

    Shakespeare's First Folio

    Shakespeare's First Folio is a collection of Shakespeare's plays and writings that was published in 1623.

  • Britain Takes Canada

    Britain takes control of Canada from the French in 1763.
  • The American Revolution

    The American Revolution

    This revolution, started by American colonists, began 1765 and ended in 1783 with colonist victory.