The History of the English Language

By Chloey
  • Period: 400 to 1100

    Old English

    Old English Words:
    Bedward: heading to bed.
    Brabble: to argue loudly over things of little importance.
    Fudgel: to give the impression you are working, when you in fact are not.
  • Period: 400 to 1100

    Old English

    Old English words:
  • 410

    Roman Withdrawal from Britian

    Old English
  • 450

    Earliest Old English Inscriptions

    Old English
  • 450

    Earliest Old English inscriptions

    Old English
  • 597

    St. Augustine Arrives in Britian

    Old English
  • 731

    The Venerable Bede writes "The Ecclesiastical History of the English People" (in Latin)

    Old English
  • 792

    Viking Raids of Britain begin

    Old English
  • 800

    Suspected date of Beowulf's writing

    Old English
  • 975

    Beowulf's Creation

    Old English
  • 1066

    The Norman Invasion

    Old English
  • 1066

    The Norman Invasion

    Old English
  • 1100

    London becomes de facto capital of England

    Middle English
  • 1100

    London become de facto capital of England

    Middle English
  • Period: 1100 to 1500

    Middle English

    Middle English words/phrases:
    he lest: he wants
    gan, gonne: began
    aventure: chance
  • Period: 1100 to 1500

    Middle English

    Middle English words/phrases:
  • 1150

    The oldest surviving manuscripts in Middle English date from this period

    Middle English
  • 1150

    The oldest surviving manuscripts in Middle English date from this period

    Middle English
  • 1167

    Oxford University Established

    Middle English
  • 1388

    Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

    Middle English
  • 1392

    Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

    Middle English
  • 1440

    The invention of the Printing Press

    Middle English
  • 1440

    The invention of the Printing Press

    Middle English
  • 1450

    The Great Vowel Shift begins

    Middle English
  • 1492

    The Discovery of North America

    Middle English
  • 1492

    The discovery of North America

    Middle English
  • Period: 1500 to

    Modern English

    Modern English words/phrases
    anchor: object that grounds or holds something down
    author: the creator of a written work
    nephew: the son one of one's brother or sister
  • Period: 1500 to

    Modern English

    Modern English words:
  • 1539

    "The Great Bible" published

    Modern English

  • The Authorized, or King James Version, of "The Bible" is published

    Modern English

  • Death of William Shakespeare

    Modern English

  • Publication of Shakespeare First Folio

    Modern English

  • Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio

    Modern English

  • Samuel Johnson publishes his "Dictionary of the English Language"

    Modern English

  • The American Revolution

    Modern English

  • The American Revolution

    Modern English

  • First Edition of the "Oxford English Dictionary" is published

    Modern English

  • First Edition of the "Oxford English Dictionary" published

    Modern English