pre-600 A.D. THE PRE-ENGLISH PERIOD
ca. 3000 B.C.
(or 6000 B.C?) Proto-Indo-European spoken in Baltic area. (or Anatolia?)
ca.
1000 B.C. After many migrations, the various branches of
Indo-European have become distinct. Celtic becomes most widespread
branch of I.E. in Europe; Celtic peoples inhabit what is now Spain,
France, Germany and England.
55 B.C. Beginning of Roman raids on British Isles.
43
A.D. Roman occupation of Britain. Roman colony of "Britannia"
established. Eventually, many Celtic Britons become Romanized. (Others
continually rebel).
200 B.C.-200 A.D. Germanic peoples move
down from Scandinavia and spread over Central Europe in successive
waves. Supplant Celts. Come into contact (at times antagonistic, at
times commercial) with northward-expanding empire of Romans. Early 5th century.
Roman Empire collapses. Romans pull out of Britain and other
colonies, attempting to shore up defense on the home front; but it's
useless. Rome sacked by Goths. Germanic tribes on the continent
continue migrations west and south; consolidate into ever larger units.
Those taking over in Rome call themselves "Roman emperors" even though
the imperial administration had relocated to Byzantium in the 300s. The
new Germanic rulers adopted the Christianity of the late Roman state,
and began what later evolved into the not-very-Roman "Holy Roman
Empire".
ca. 410 A.D. First Germanic tribes arrive in England.
410-600
Settlement of most of Britain by Germanic peoples (Angles, Saxons,
Jutes, some Frisians) speaking West Germanic dialects descended from
Proto-Germanic. These dialects are distantly related to Latin, but also
have a sprinkling of Latin borrowings due to earlier cultural contact
with the Romans on the continent. Celtic peoples, most of whom are
Christianized, are pushed increasingly (despite occasional violent
uprisings) into the marginal areas of Britain: Ireland, Scotland, Wales.
Anglo-Saxons, originally sea-farers, settle down as farmers, exploiting
rich English farmland.
By 600 A.D., the Germanic speech of England comprises dialects of a language distinct from the continental Germanic languages.
ca. 600-1100 THE OLD ENGLISH, OR ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
600-800
Rise of three great kingdoms politically unifying large areas:
Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex. Supremacy passes from one kingdom to
another in that order. ca. 600 Christianity introduced among
Anglo-Saxons by St. Augustine, missionary from Rome. Irish missionaries
also spread Celtic form of Christianity to mainland Britain.
793 First serious Viking incursions. Lindisfarne monastery sacked.
800
Charlemagne, king of the Franks, crowned Holy Roman Emperor; height
of Frankish power in Europe. Wessex kings aspire to similar glory; want
to unite all England, and if possible the rest of mainland Britain,
under one crown (theirs).
840s-870s Viking incursions grow
worse and worse. Large organized groups set up permanent encampments on
English soil. Slay kings of Northumbria and East Anglia, subjugate king
of Mercia. Storm York (Anglo-Saxon Eoforwic) and set up a Viking kingdom
(Jorvik). Wessex stands alone as the last Anglo-Saxon kingdom in
Britain.
871 Vikings move against Wessex. In six pitched
battles, the English hold their own, but fail to repel attackers
decisively. In the last battle, the English king is mortally wounded.
His young brother, Alfred, who had distinguished himself during the
battles, is crowned king.
871-876 Alfred builds a navy. The
kings of Denmark and Norway have come to view England as ripe for the
plucking and begin to prepare an attack.
876 Three Danish
kings attack Wessex. Alfred prevails, only to be attacked again a few
months later. His cause looks hopeless.
878 Decisive battle
at Edington; Alfred and a large contingent of desperate Anglo-Saxons
make a last stand (they know what awaits them if they fail). Alfred
leads the Anglo-Saxons to decisive victory; blockades a large Viking
camp nearby, starving them into submission; and exacts homage from the
kings of Denmark and an oath that the Danes will leave Wessex forever. Under
Alfred's terms of victory, England is partitioned into a part governed
by the Anglo-Saxons (under the house of Wessex) and a part governed by
the Scandinavians (some of whom become underlords of Alfred), divided by
Watling Street. 15 years of peace follow; Alfred reigns over peaceful
and prosperous kingdom. First called "Alfred the Great".
925
Athelstan crowned king. Height of Anglo-Saxon power. Athelstan
reconquers York from the Vikings, and even conquers Scotland and Wales,
heretofore ruled by Celts. Continues Alfred's mission of making
improvemen ts in government, education, defense, and other social
institutions.
10th century Danes and English continue to mix
peacefully, and ultimately become indistinguishable. Many Scandinavian
loanwords enter the language; English even borrows pronouns like they,
them, their.
978 Aethelred "the Unready" becomes king at 11 years of age.
991
Aethelred has proved to be a weak king, who does not repel minor
Viking attacks. Vikings experiment with a major incursion at Maldon in
Essex. After losing battle, Aethelred bribes them to depart with 10,000
pounds of silver. Mistake. Sveinn, king of Denmark, takes note.
994-1014
After 20 years of continuous battles and bribings, and incompetent
and cowardly military leadership and governance, the English capitulate
to king Sveinn of Denmark (later also of Norway). Aethelred flees to
Normandy, across the channel.
1014 Sveinn's young son Cnut
(or Canute) crowned king of England. Cnut decides to follow in Alfred's
footsteps, aiming for a peaceful and prosperous kingdom. Encourages
Anglo-Saxon culture and literature. Even marries Aethelred's widow Emma,
brought over from Normandy. After Cnut's death his sons bicker over
the kingdom. When they die without issue, the kingdom passes back to the
house of Wessex, to young Edward, son of Aethelred and Emma, who had
been raised in exile in Normandy. Edward is a pious, monkish man called
"The Confessor". Edward has strong partiality for his birthplace,
Normandy, a duchy populated by the descendents of Romanized Vikings.
Especially fond of young Duke William of Normandy. Edward is dominated
by his Anglo-Saxon earls, especially powerful earl Godwin. Godwin's son,
Harold Godwinson, becomes de facto ruler as Edward takes less and less
interest in governing.
1066 January. Edward dies childless,
apparently recommending Harold Godwinson as successor. Harold duly
chosen by Wessex earls, as nearest of kin to the crown is only an
infant. Mercian and Northumbrian earls are hesitant to go along with
choice of Harold. William of Normandy claims that Harold once
promised to support HIM as successor to Edward. Harold denies it.
William prepares to mount an invasion. Ready by summer, but the winds
are unfavorable for sailing. September. Harald Hardradi of Norway
decides this is a good time to attack England. Harold Godwinson rushes
north and crushes Hardradi's army at Stamford Bridge. The winds
change, and William puts to sea. Harold rushes back down to the south
coast to try to repel William's attack. Mercians and Northumbrians are
supposed to march down to help him, but never do. They don't realize
what's in store for them. October. Harold is defeated and killed at the battle of Hastings. December. William of Normandy crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day.
ca. 1100-1500 THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
1066-1075
William crushes uprisings of Anglo-Saxon earls and peasants with a
brutal hand; in Mercia and Northumberland, uses (literal) scorched earth
policy, decimating population and laying waste the countryside.
Anglo-Saxon earls and freemen deprived of property; many enslaved.
William distributes property and titles to Normans (and some English)
who supported him. Many of the English hereditary titles of nobility
date from this period. English becomes the language of the lower
classes (peasants and slaves). Norman French becomes the language of the
court and propertied classes. The legal system is redrawn along Norman
lines and conducted in French. Churches, monasteries gradually filled
with French-speaking functionaries, who use French for record-keeping.
After a while, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is no longer kept up. Authors
write literature in French, not English. For all practical purposes
English is no longer a written language. Bilingualism gradually
becomes more common, especially among those who deal with both upper and
lower classes. Growth of London as a commercial center draws many from
the countryside who can fill this socially intermediate role.
1204 The English kings lose the duchy of Normandy to French kings. England is now the only home of the Norman English.
1205 First book in English appears since the conquest.
1258 First royal proclamation issued in English since the conquest.
ca.
1300 Increasing feeling on the part of even noblemen that they are
English, not French. Nobility begin to educate their children in
English. French is taught to children as a foreign language rather than
used as a medium of instruction.
1337 Start of the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
1362 English becomes official language of the law courts. More and more authors are writing in English.
ca.
1380 Chaucer writes the Canterbury tales in Middle English. the
language shows French influence in thousands of French borrowings. The
London dialect, for the first time, begins to be recognized as the
"Standard", or variety of English taken as the norm, for all England.
Other dialects are relegated to a less prestigious position, even those
that earlier served as standards (e.g. the Wessex dialect of southwest
England).
1474 William Caxton brings a printing press to
England from Germany. Publishes the first printed book in England.
Beginning of the long process of standardization of spelling.
1500-present THE MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD
1500-1650
Early Modern English develops. The Great Vowel Shift gradually
takes place. There is a large influx of Latin and Greek borrowings and
neologisms.
1611 King James Bible published, which has influenced English writing down to the present day.
1616
Shakespeare dies. Recognized even then as a genius of the English
language. Wove native and borrowed words together in amazing and
pleasing combinations.
1700s Classical period of English
literature. The fashion for borrowing Latin and Greek words, and coining
new words with Latin and Greek morphemes, rages unabated. Elaborate
syntax matches elaborate vocabulary (e.g. writings of Samuel Johnson). The
rise of English purists, e.g. Jonathan Swift, who decried the
'degeneration' of English and sought to 'purify' it and fix it forever
in unchanging form.
17th-19th centuries British imperialism. Borrowings from languages around the world. Development
of American English. By 19th century, a standard variety of American
English develops, based on the dialect of the Mid-Atlantic states. Establishment of English in Australia, South Africa, and India, among other British colonial outposts.
19th
century Recognition (and acceptance) by linguistic scholars of the
ever-changing nature of language. Discovery of the Indo-European
language family. Late in century: Recognition that all languages are
fundamentally the same in nature; no "primitive" or "advanced"
languages.
19th-20th centuries Scientific and Industrial
Revolutions. Development of technical vocabularies. Within a few
centuries, English has gone from an island tongue to a world language,
following the fortunes of those who speak it.
20th century
Communications revolution. Spread of a few languages at the expense of
many. Languages of the world begin to die out on a large scale as
mastery of certain world languages becomes necessary for survival.
Classification and description of non-Indo-European languages by
linguists continues, in many cases in a race against the clock.
1945-?
American political, economic, military supremacy. Borrowing
patterns continue. English has greater impact than ever on other
languages, even those with more native speakers. Becomes most widely
studied second language, and a scientific lingua franca. By
the 1990s, preferences begin to shift in many places from British to
American English as the selected standard for second language
acquisition. The twin influences of British and American broadcasting
media make the language accessible to more and more people. Hollywood
and the pop music industry help make English an irresistible medium for
the transmission of popular culture. Even long-established European
cultures begin to feel linguistically and culturally threatened, as
English comes into use in more and more spheres and large numbers of
English borrowings enter their languages. New waves of immigrants to
the U.S. Linguistic diversity increases where the newcomers settle, but
immigrants repeat the pattern of earlier settlers and lose their
language within a generation or two. The culture at large remains
resolutely monolingual (despite the fears of cultural purists). But as
ever, the language continues to absorb loanwords, continually enriched
by the many tongues of the newcomers to these shores.
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