The History of the English Language By Tezzzzz Period: 700 BCE to 1066 Old English Period (c. 700) 410 The Fall of the Western Roman Empire 597 St. Augustine shows in England to convert the Saxon 700 Date of Beowulf's writing. (c. 700) 1066 Norman Invasion Period: 1100 to 1500 Middle English Period (1100-1500) 1215 The signing of the Magna Carta 1347 (1347-1351) The Black Death swarms Europe 1387 (1387-1400) Geoffrey Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales 1440 Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press 1492 Discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus Period: 1500 to 2000 Modern English Period (1500-2000) 1623 Publishing of Shakespeare's First Folio 1776 The start of the American Revolution 1863 The Emancipation Proclamation 1939 (1939-1945) World War II 1969 The Moon Landing
