A Brief History of the English Language and Literature, Vol. 2 — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
A Brief History of the English Language and Literature, Vol. 2
John Stuart Mill · en
+1000+
6. +Aelfric+, Archbishop of York, turned into English most of the
historical books of the Old Testament
+1066+
7. +The Norman Conquest+, which introduced Norman French words
+1160+
8. +Anglo-Saxon Chronicle+, said to have been begun by King Alfred,
and brought to a close in [1160]
+1200+
9. +Orm+ or +Orrmin’s Ormulum+, a poem written in the East Midland
dialect, about [1200]
+1204+
10. +Normandy+ lost under King John. Norman-English now have their
only home in England, and use our English speech more and more
+1205+
11. +Layamon+ translates the ‘Brut’ from the French of Robert Wace.
This is the first English book (written in _Southern English_) after
the stoppage of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
+1220+
12. +The Ancren Riwle+ (“Rules for Anchorites”) written in the
Dorsetshire dialect. “It is the forerunner of a wondrous change in
our speech.” “It swarms with French words”
+1258+
13. +First Royal Proclamation in English+, issued by Henry III.
+1300+
14. +Robert of Gloucester’s+ Chronicle (swarms with foreign terms)
+1303+
15. +Robert Manning+, “Robert of Brunn,” compiles the ‘Handlyng
Synne.’ “It contains a most copious proportion of French words”
+1340+
16. +Ayenbite of Inwit+ (= “Remorse of Conscience”)
+1349+
17. +The Great Plague+. After this it becomes less and less the
fashion to speak French
+1356+
18. +Sir John Mandeville+, first writer of the newer English Prose--
in his ‘Travels,’ which contained a large admixture of French words.
“His English is the speech spoken at Court in the latter days of
King Edward III.”
+1362+
19. +English+ becomes the language of the Law Courts
+1380+
20. +Wickliffe’s+ Bible
+1400+
21. +Geoffrey Chaucer+, the first great English poet, author of the
‘Canterbury Tales’; born in 1340, died [1400]
+1471+
22. +William Caxton+, the first English printer, brings out (in the
Low Countries) the first English book ever printed, the ‘Recuyell of
the Historyes of Troye,’-- “not written with pen and ink, as other
books are, to the end that every man may have them at once”
+1474+
23. +First English Book+ printed in England (by Caxton) the ‘Game
and Playe of the Chesse’
+1523+
24. +Lord Berners’+ translation of Froissart’s Chronicle
+1526-30+
25. +William Tyndale+, by his translation of the Bible “fixed our
tongue once for all.” “His New Testament has become the standard of
our tongue: the first ten verses of the Fourth Gospel are a good
sample of his manly Teutonic pith”
+1590+
26. +Edmund Spenser+ publishes his ‘Faerie Queene.’ “Now began the
golden age of England’s literature; and this age was to last for
about fourscore years”
+1611+
27. +Our English Bible+, based chiefly on Tyndale’s translation.
“Those who revised the English Bible in 1611 were bidden to keep as
near as they could to the old versions, such as Tyndale’s”