THE HISTORY OF EARLY MODERN

ENGLISH

1500-1650

Contents

Important DatesOutstanding PersonsMajor Attributes of the Language

IMPORTANT DATES

A Chronology of Relevant Historical and Literary Events

1460-1529 Life of John Skelton

Clergyman, satirist, and poet.

Skelton typifies the enormous growth in the English vocabulary.

Skelton introduces about 1500 new words into the language.

1485-1509 Reign of Henry VII

First of the Tudor Dynasty

His reign marks the end of Middle English

1509-1547 Reign of Henry VIII

The Protestant Reformation reduces the dominance of Latin in England.

1531 – Publication of Sir Thomas Elyot’s The Governour

First book on Education printed in England.

Effort to enrich the vocabulary of the EME with foreign loans

http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/gov/gov1.htm

Relevant Periods and eras in the History of Early Modern English

Tudor period (1485–1603) Elizabethan era (1558–1603) Stuart Period (1603–1714) Jacobean era (1603 – 1625) Caroline era (1625—1642)

CHRONOLOGY

Ruler Historical Events Literary Events

1500

Henry VII (1485-1509) Discovery of America (1492)

Skelton

Henry VIII (1509-47) Dissolution of Monasteries (1536-39)

Tyndale’s Bible

Edward VI (1547-53)

Mary (1533-58) Loss of Calais 1558)

Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

1600

James I (1603-1625) East India Co founded (1600)Union with Scotland (1603)First American Colonies

A.V. of Bible (1611)Shakespeare First Folio (1623)Paradise Lost (1667)

Charles I (1625-49)

The Commonwealth (1649-60)

Charles II (1660-85)

James II (1685-88)

William (1689-1702) and Mary (1689-94)

Works Cited and Sources

Baugh, Albert C., and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. Fifth Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002.

Bevington, David, ed. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Updated Fourth Edition. USA: Longman, 1997.

Bloomfield, Morton W., and Leonard Newmark. A Linguistic Introduction to the History of English. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964

Works Cited and Sources

Brook, G.L. A history of the English Language. New York: Norton Library, 1958.

Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Fourth Edition. London: Penguin Books, 1999.

Works Cited and Sources

Damrosch, David, ed. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Volume A. 2nd Compact Edition. London: Longman, 2004.

David Burnley. The History of the English Language. 2nd ed. London: Pearson Education, 2000.

Glatthorn, Allan A., Charles W. Kreidler & Enerst J.Heiman. The Dynamics of Language. Book 4. USA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1971.

Works Cited and Sources

Jordan, Constance, and Clare Carroll. “The Early Modern Period.” The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch. Vol.A. London: Longman, 2004. 391-1039.

Miller, James E., Jr., Myrtle J. Jones, and Helen McDonnel. England in Literature. Macbeth Edition. London: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1973.

Nist, John. A Structural History of English. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1966.

Videos and Films

Elizabeth I the Virgin Queen. By Paula Milne. Perf. Anne-Marie Duff, Tom Hardy, Hans Matheson, Ian Hart, et al. Masterpiece Theater. BBC/Power and WGBH Boston Video, 2005.

Samuel Johnson.. Dir. Malcolm Hossick. The Famous Authors Series. Videocassette. USA: Kultur. .

Videos and Films

Schama, Simon. “The Body of the Queen.” A History of Britain. The History Channel. VHS Documentary. BBC. New York: New Video, 2001. ,

Twelfth Night. By William Shakespeare. Dir. Trevor Nunn. Perf. Helena Bonham Carter, Richard E.Grant, Nigel Hawthorne, Ben Kingsley, Mel Smith, Imelda Staunton, Toby Stephens, Imogen, Stubbs. USA: Fine Line Features. Image Entertainment.

Works Cited and Sources

Internet Sources Sixteenth Century

Renaissance English Literature (1485-1603)A comprehensive guide to British literature of the Renaissance with over 100 original pages, biographies, and works never before published on the web.www.luminarium.org/renlit