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519
Rise of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex
The Angle kingdoms of Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria. St. Augustine and Irish missionaries convert Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, introducing new religious words borrowed from Latin and Greek. Latin speakers begin referring to the country as Anglia and later as Englaland. -
700
Beowulf's writing
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines. It is possibly the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. It was written in England some time between the 8th and the early 11th century. -
793
Danes attack England
The English king escapes to Normandy. The Battle of Maldon becomes the subject of one of the few surviving poems in Old English. The Danish king rules over England and encourages the growth of Anglo-Saxon culture and literature. -
878
King Alfred of Wessex
Leads the Anglo-Saxons to victory over the Vikings, translates Latin works into English and establishes the writing of prose in English. He uses the English language to foster a sense of national identity. England is divided into a kingdom ruled by the Anglo-Saxons (under Alfred) and another ruled by the Scandinavians -
1066
The Norman Invasion
The Normans came from northern France, in a region called Normandy. The Normans invaded England in 1066 because they wanted to have Norman king in England after the Anglo-Saxon king died. The first Norman king was William the Conqueror, who won the Battle of Hastings in 1066 against the Anglo-Saxons. -
1215
Magna Carta
King John signs the Magna Carta ("Great Charter"), a critical document in the long historical process leading to the rule of constitutional law in the English-speaking world. -
1392
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
frame narrative, or a story told around another story or stories. The frame of the story opens with a gathering of people at the Tabard Inn in London who are preparing for their journey to the shrine of St. Becket in Canterbury. Chaucer is so important is that he made the decision to write in English and not French. In the centuries following the Norman invasion, French was the language spoken by those in power. -
1399
King Henry
King Henry IV becomes the first English monarch to deliver a speech in English. -
1440
The Printing press
People could read and increase their knowledge more easily now, whereas in the past it was common for people to be quite uneducated. This increased the discussion and development of new ideas. The printing press was largely responsible for Latin’s decline as other regional languages became the norm in locally printed materials. The printing press also helped standardize language, grammar, and spelling. The printing press played a major role in shaping the Renaissance -
1476
William Caxton
brings to Westminster (from the Rhineland) the first printing press and publishes Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Literacy rates increase significantly, and printers begin to standardize English spelling. The monk Galfridus Grammaticus (also known as Geoffrey the Grammarian) publishes Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae, the first English-to-Latin wordbook. -
Oct 12, 1492
The discovery of North America
The discovery of new land meant the discovery of new commodities, such as tobacco, coffee and cacao bean. An elaborate trading system coined the 'Columbian Exchange' was developed, representing the trading of goods to and from America. These new commodities greatly influenced European culture. -
1534
William Tyndale
English translation of the Bible is published. Many Greek and Latin borrowings enter English. -
The "King James" Bible
The Authorized Version of the English Bible is published, greatly influencing the development of the written language. -
The First Folio
The First Folio, printed in 1623, is the first published collection of Shakespeare’s plays, produced seven years after his death. Its title is Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories & Tragedies, and it groups his plays into those categories—comedies, histories, and tragedies—for the first time.Out of the 36 plays included in the First Folio, 18 had never been published before. Without the First Folio, these plays might have been lost forever. -
Anglo-Irish satirist and cleric Jonathan Swift
Proposes the creation of an English Academy to regulate English usage and "ascertain" the language. -
The American Revolution.
secured the independence of the United States from the dominion of Great Britain and separated it from the British Empire.The Revolution opened new markets and new trade relationships. The Americans' victory also opened the western territories for invasion and settlement, which created new domestic markets. Americans began to create their own manufacturers, no longer content to reply on those in Britain.
