History of the English Language

By camrynnwaite
  • 519

    Rise of the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex

    Wessex was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain. The Anglo-Saxons believed that Wessex was founded by Cerdic and Cynric, but this may be a legend.
  • 730

    Approximate date of the Earliest manuscript records of old English

    English and Danes mixed fairly peacefully, and many Scandinavians entered this new language.
  • 1000

    The Norman Invasion

    The invasion of England by an army of Breton Norman and French soldiers led by Duke William II of Normandy.
  • 1000

    English and Danes Mix Fairly

    10th century is when this happened. English and Danes mix fairly peacefully.
  • Jan 22, 1000

    Suspected date of beowulf's writing

    This is one of the earliest peices of the english writing that we have now. Thought to be written between 1000's and the 700's. This is about a man Beowulf who ends up helping the King of Danes and begins an adventure.
  • 1215

    King John Signs Magna Carta

    King John of England in this time was forced to sign the Magna Carta which means that the king was not above the law and protecting the rights of the people. Today it is considered one of the most important documents in democracy history.
  • 1362

    The statute of pleading makes English the offical language in England

    The Pleading in English Act 1362 which is often called the Statute of Pleading, it was an Act of the Parliament of England. This actually complained that because the Norman French language was unknown by a lot of people in England.
  • 1387

    Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

    The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that goes over 17,000 lines that is written in Middle English by a guy named Geoffrey Chaucer between the year 1387 and 1400.
  • 1400

    The invention of the Printing Press

    Was invented by the Johannes Gutenberg. The invention was indeed revolutionary it enabled the mass production of books and the rapid dissemination of knowledge throughout Europe.
  • 1492

    The discovery of North America

    It was the age of exploration in America that began in 1492 with the frist voyage of a man named Christopher Columbus. Those expeditions began with a desire to find another way to the East, where the Europeans had created a lucrative trade route in spices and other goods.
  • 1582

    Approximate date of the earliest surving texts in middle English

    Earliest surviving texts in Middle English (approximate date) Jan 1, 1582.

  • The first grammar of English

    The pamphlet for grammar was by William Bullokar which was written with the goal of trying to demonstrate that English was alike Latin.

  • Queen Elizabeth dies and James 1 accedes to the thrones

    He became James I, King of England, when Queen Elizabeth I died on On 24 March 1603. This event unified the two thrones from that time onward and was the start of a British monarchy.

  • Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio

    Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies is in the published collection of his plays. Modern scholars usually call this his First Folio.

  • The American Revolution

    The American Revolution was a colonial revolt that took place between 1765 and 1783. They defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War in alliance with France and others.

  • Weekly News, the first English newspaper is published in London

    The Times newspaper is a British daily newspaper published in London, England. It was founded on January 1, 1785. It was first published with the name "The Times" on January 1, 1788.