The History of the English Language Timeline Project By kinsleyb123 Period: 450 to 1100 Old English Period 500 The first English king to convert to Christianity, (Etherburt), is baptized. 700 The earliest known manuscript records of Old English. 750 Suspected date of Beowulf's writing 1000 Danes attack England. 1066 Norman invasion. Period: 1100 to 1500 Middle English Period 1171 Henry II declares himself overlord of Ireland. 1215 King John signs the Magna Carta. 1387 Chauncer's Canterbury tales 1399 King Henry IV is the first English monarch to deliver a speech in English. 1450 The invention of the printing press. 1497 The discovery of North America. Period: 1500 to 1800 Early Modern English Period 1549 The first version of the Book of Common Prayer is published. 1607 The first permanent settlement in America, placed in Jamestown, Virginia. 1623 Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio. 1765 The American Revolution Period: 1800 to 2021 Modern English Period 1939 World War II begins.
