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English History Introductory Illustration |
Naturally, English is the summation of its past influences. |
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Indo-European source (? to 2500 B.C.) |
Modern-language development is believed to have started from a source called Indo European. |
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English placenames (500 B.C. to A.D. 127) |
British place names came from the Celts and the Romans |
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Romans leave Britain (A.D. 300 to A. D. 410) |
The Celts broke through Hadrian’s wall and the Romans left Britain to defend Rome. |
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Old English or Anglo-Saxon Period (A.D. 450-1150) |
British Celts appealed to Jutes for help fight off the Picts and Irish, then the Jutlanders helped themselves to British territory. |
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Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy (approximately A.D. 477 to A.D. 547) |
Teutonic tribes settled in Britain with Teutonic language (no Latin, French, or other loan words entered the language). |
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St. Augustine and 40 priests (A.D. 597) |
The spread of Christianity and Latin became part of the Germanic language in England. |
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Caedmon’s Hymn (A.D. 657 to A.D. 680) |
The first English poem whose authorship is known. |
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Englisc and Beowulf (A.D. 700 to A.D. 750) |
Considered the greatest single literary work of Old English. |
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The Venerable Bede (A.D. 731) |
Bede wrote the Ecclesiastical History of the English People in Latin. |
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Vikings invade and plunder Britain (A.D. 789, A.D. 865, A.D. 870) |
The Vikings and English had a common Teutonic language and social customs. |
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The Danes |
They destroyed the political and educational organizations of Britain. |
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Alfred the Great (A.D. 871-899) |
The first king of England and responsible for the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle |
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Danelaw (A.D. 874-920) |
England had a blend of West Germanic and Scandinavian with some Latin-Greek borrowings. |
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Period of greatest Danish influence (A.D. 1016-1035) |
King Canute (Cnute) was King of England and Scandinavia. |
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Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) |
Edward restored King Alfred’s family line and French became the dominant speech of the ruling classes. |
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The Norman Invasion |
William the Congueror defeated changed England in 1066. |
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The Norman conquest and settlement of England (1066-1200) |
The whole course of the English language was changed with the addition of thousands of words from French and Latin. |
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Middle English Period (1150-1500) |
At first, English was banned from all official usage by the Normans. |
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Provisions of Oxford (1258) |
This document was issued in English, French, and Latin. |
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Period of Great literary producion (1350-1400) |
Wycliffe, Chaucer, and William Caxton made great contributions in 1350-1400. |
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Modern English Period (1500 to present) |
The invention of the printing press and The Renaissance increased Latin and Greek elements to English. |
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Inkhorn Terms |
Greek and Latin words became a permanent part of English. |
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English writers |
They used Greek and Latin to express ideas in art, philosophy, literature, and science. |
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Discoveries |
Human activities developed new objects and concepts that required new names. |
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Scientific terms |
Latin and Greek nomenclature came from Greek and Latin sources for scientific disciplines. |
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Industrial Evolution (1750-1950) |
New inventions required new technical terms especially from Greek and Latin. |
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Travel and communication |
Many inventions helped to unite the different parts of England and so develop a standard speech. |
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American English |
Improved modes of travel and communication also helped in standardizing the language. |
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Space -Age Generation |
A major source of English scientific terms continues to come from Greek and Latin elements. |