Approximate date of the only surviving manuscript of the Old English epic poem Beowulf , composed by an anonymous poet between the 8th century and the early 11th century.
Dec 31, 1041
Invention of the Printing Press
Dec 31, 1066
Normans invade England
Period: Jun 16, 1100 to Dec 31, 1500
The Middle English Period
Jan 1, 1150
Approximate date of the earliest surviving texts in Middle English.
Jan 1, 1209
The University of Cambridge is formed by scholars from Oxford.
Jan 1, 1399
King Henry IV becomes the first English monarch to deliver a speech in English.
Dec 31, 1400
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales finished
Oct 16, 1492
North America Discovered
Period: Jan 1, 1501 to
The Modern English Period
John Milton publishes his epic poem Paradise Lost .
Samuel Johnson publishes his two-volume Dictionary of the English Language .
American Revolution Started
The fifth volume (SI-Z) of the Dictionary of American Regional English ( DARE ) is published by Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
