The History of the English Language

By Tayloryoung99
  • Period: 450 to 1100

    Old English

    The words be, strong, and water are derived from Old English.
  • 792

    Viking raids of Britain begin

  • Suspected date of Beowulf's writing
    800

    Suspected date of Beowulf's writing

    This work showed how Anglo-Saxon culture played a role in the old times of English
  • 871

    Alfred the Great becomes king of Wessex

    This began the encouragement of English and Latin works.
  • 911

    Chales II of France grants Normandy to Hrolf the Ganger

    Symbolized the beginning of the Norman French culture.
  • The Norman Invasion
    1066

    The Norman Invasion

    William the Conqueror invaded and conquered England.
  • Period: 1100 to

    Middle English

    Class division, where lower class spoke English and upper class spoke French.
  • 1204

    King John loses Normandy to France

  • 1209

    Cambridge University established

  • 1340

    Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

    Stories written in middle english, being one of the most loved best works in English literature.
  • 1362

    English is used in English Parliament for the first time

  • 1440

    Invention of the printing press

    Had drastic effects on European civilization, allowing communication to be faster than ever before.
  • 1492

    The discovery of North America

    Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

  • Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio

    Held eighteen of Shakespeare's plays that had never been printed before.

  • The American Revolution

    The thirteen American colonies fought Great Britain in hopes of gaining independence.
  • Period: to

    Modern English

    Modern English word vocabulary increased.
    English language adopted forgiven words from many countries.
  • United States ends slavery after the Civil War

    United States ends slavery after the Civil War

  • British Broadcasting Corporation established

  • India and Pakistan gain independence from Britain