THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The Beginning of Old English

It is said that the English language originated in 449 AD, with the arrival on the British Islands of
Germanic tribes — the Saxons, the Angles, and the Jutes — from what is now Denmark and Germany.
Prior to this arrival, the inhabitants of the British Isles are believed to have spoken ancient Celtic, a
language whose contemporary variations still exist in places around Britain (Welsh being the most
obvious example). After locals moved further north, Englisc, the language spoken by the Angle tribe,
started to spread across the south of Britain. It is around this time, c. 700-1000 AD, which Old English’s
most important epic was written: Beowulf. It is the longest poem in Old English, and famously narrates
the story of the fights between Beowulf and the bloodthirsty monsters Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a
dragon. (Signoriello, 2015)
The recorded history of the English language begins, not on the Continent, where we know its
speakers once lived, but in the British Isles, where they eventually settled. During the period when the
language was spoken in Europe, it is known as pre–Old English, for it was only after the English
separated themselves from their Germanic cousins that we recognize their speech as a distinct language
and begin to have records of it.

SOME KEY EVENTS IN THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD

The following events during the Old English period significantly influenced the development of the English
language.
• 449 Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians began to occupy Great Britain, thus changing its major
population to English speakers and separating the early English language from its Continental relatives.
This is a traditional date; the actual migrations doubtless began earlier.
• 597 Saint Augustine of Canterbury arrived in England to begin the conversion of the English by
baptizing King Ethelbert of Kent, thus introducing the influence of the Latin language.
• 664 The Synod of Whitby aligned the English with Roman rather than Celtic Christianity, thus
linking English culture with mainstream Europe.
• 730 The Venerable Bede produced his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, recording
the early history of the English people.
• 787 The Scandinavian invasion began with raids along the northeast seacoast.
• 865 The Scandinavians occupied northeastern Britain and began a campaign to conquer all of
England.
• 871 Alfred became king of Wessex and reigned until his death in 899, rallying the English
against the Scandinavians, retaking the city of London, establishing the Danelaw, securing the kingship of
all England for himself and his successors, and producing or sponsoring the translation of Latin works into
English.
987 Ælfric, the homilist and grammarian, went to the abbey of Cerne, where he became the major
prose writer of the Old English period and of its Benedictine Revival and produced a model of prose style
that influenced following centuries.
• 991 Olaf Tryggvason invaded England, and the English were defeated at the Battle of Maldon.
• 1000 The manuscript of the Old English epic Beowulf was written about this time.
• 1016 Canute became king of England, establishing a Danish dynasty in Britain.
• 1042 The Danish dynasty ended with the death of King Hardicanute, and Edward the Confessor
became king of England.
 • 1066 Edward the Confessor died and was succeeded by Harold, last of the Anglo-Saxon kings,
who died at the Battle of Hastings while fighting against the invading army of William, duke of Normandy,
who was crowned king of England on December 25. (The Origins and Development of the English
Language 6th edition by J. Algeo.)

The Middle English Period: French and Latin Influences

The years 1150 to 1500 mark what is now known as the ‘Middle English’ period. In 1066, William
the Conqueror invaded from Normandy and brought with him French words that — over time — blended
with the existing Germanic language. Around 10,000 French words entered the English language
throughout the centuries after the Norman invasion. Although English had expanded in Britain, it was
back then only spoken by the lower classes; as a result, a newer French-influenced version of the
language took over as the language of the court, administration, and culture. Most notably, The
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and the first English cookery book — known as The Forme of
Cury (The Form of the Cookery) — were both written in Middle English, between 1300 and 1400 AD.
The language nonetheless was still at a primitive stage, to the point where a native speaker today would
find it difficult to understand. (Signoriello, 2015)
The beginning and ending dates of the Middle English period, though somewhat arbitrary, are two
points in time when ongoing language changes became particularly noticeable: grammatical changes
about 1100 and pronunciation changes about 1500. The term middle indicates that the period was a
transition between Old English (which was grammatically very different from the language that followed)
and early Modern English (which in pronunciation was different from what had come before but was much
the same as our own). The two dates also coincide approximately with some events in English history that
had profound effects on the language.

SOME KEY EVENTS IN THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD

The following events during the Middle English period significantly influenced the development of the
English language.
• 1066 The Normans conquered England, replacing the native English nobility with Anglo
Normans and introducing Norman French as the language of government in England.
• 1204 King John lost Normandy to the French, beginning the loosening of ties between England
and the Continent.
• 1258 King Henry III issued the first English-language royal proclamation since the Conquest,
having been forced by his barons to accept the Provisions of Oxford, establishing a Privy Council to
oversee the administration of the government, so beginning the growth of the English constitution and
parliament.
• 1337 The Hundred Years’ War began and lasted until 1453, promoting English nationalism.
• 1348–50 The Black Death killed an estimated one-third of England’s population and continued
to plague the country for much of the rest of the century.
• 1362 The Statute of Pleadings was enacted, requiring all court proceedings to be conducted in
English
• 1381 The Peasants’ Revolt led by Wat Tyler was the first rebellion of working-class people
against their exploitation. Although it failed in most of its immediate aims, it marks the beginning of
popular protest.
• 1384 John Wycliffe died, having promoted the first complete translation of scripture into the
English language (the Wycliffite Bible).
• 1400 Geoffrey Chaucer died, having produced a highly influential body of English poetry.
 • 1430 The Chancery office (where legal records were deposited) began recordkeeping in a form
of East Midland English, which became the written standard of English.
• 1476 William Caxton brought printing to England, thus promoting literacy throughout the
population.
• 1485 Henry Tudor became king of England, ending thirty years of civil strife, called the War of
the Roses, and introducing 118 years of the Tudor dynasty.
• 1497 John Cabot sailed to Nova Scotia, foreshadowing English territorial expansion overseas.
(The Origins and Development of the English Language 6th edition by J. Algeo.)