ENG 140 Timeline
Updated 20 Sep 2022
A timeline created for the ENG 140 British Literature I course at Clark U showing major events in European and Atlantic world history, focusing primarily on British literature.
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Created byJustin Shaw
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Events
Columbus's first expedition to the CaribbeanReconquista ends in Spain; Alhambra DecreeMagna Carta issuedBeowulf likely writtenEdict of Expulsion, EnglandNorman invasion (William invades England)King Charles I executedWilliam Shakespeare is bornActs of Supremacy passed in EnglandKing John loses French territoriesShakespeare's First Folio publishedLeonardo da Vinci moves to FranceWyatt and Surrey translate Petrarch; produce first sonnets in EnglishPetrarch diesDante publishes The Divine ComedyMarco Polo's final journey to AsiaMichelangelo diesJohn Cabot explores North AmericaHernan Cortes invades the Aztec EmpireSpanish Armada defeatedGerardus Mercador publishes his map of the worldKing James charters the London and Plymouth CompaniesMassachusetts Bay Colony foundedExpulsion of Moriscos from Spain1st Africans arrive in North America1st named African man explores North AmericaMachiavelli publishes The PrinceFall of Constantinople; end of Middle AgesPeasants' Revolt in EnglandEngland wins the Battle of AgincourtHenry VI loses French territoriesfirst English Parliament heldMalory publishes Le Morte d'ArthurWilliam Caxton sets up first printing press in England; publishes Canterbury TalesCaxton translates Aesop's Fables into EnglishJohannes Gutenberg invents the printing pressAuthorized Version of the Bible (KJV) publishedCaedmon's Hymn composed (approx.)Sir Gawain and the Green Knight composed (approx.)first Wycliffe Bible appears in EnglandMargery Kempe completes autobiographyThe King of Tars is written (approx.)Silence a Romance is written (approx.)Judith poem composed (approx.)Acts of Union passed; Great Britain createdAnglo-Norman invasion of Irelandfirst Breton lais composed by Marie de FranceGeoffrey of Monmouth writes pseudohistory of early British kings, incl. King ArthurCervantes publishes 2nd part of bestseller Don QuixoteViking invasion of Anglo-Saxon BritainUK ends occupation of Hong KongEnglish monarchy restoredAugustine of Canterbury lands in England; begins early English ChurchQueen Elizabeth II bornNicolas II of Russia assassinatedAphra Behn publishes Oroonokoslave trade outlawed in British EmpireNewton publishes first paperArchbishop Thomas Becket assassination ordered by Henry IIteaching begins at University of OxfordUniversity of Cambridge foundedHarvard College foundedLuther publishes 95 ThesesCharlemagne crowned emperorHenry IV usurps the English crownMilton's Paradise Lost is publishedDryden as first Poet Laureate of BritainMary I marries Spanish KingWales colonized by EnglandPope Paul III issues the Sublimis Deus bullPope Nicholas V issues Dum Diversas bullTreaty of TordesillasPeriods
Fall of Western RomeDissolution of the MonasteriesWars of the RosesHundred Years' War in EuropeElizabethan reignItalian RenaissanceFrench RenaissanceThe CrusadesInca Empire activeMongol Empire activeThe Black Death in EuropeOttoman EmpireThe Canterbury Tales composedGreat Vowel Shift in English languageAnglo-Saxon period in BritainJulian of Norwich has revelations of the divinecomposition of the Mabinogion, WalesChretien de Troyes adds Lancelot to Arthurian myth; popularizes Arthurian romance genreBritain is part of Scandinavia (North Sea Empire)British EmpireEnglish Renaissance (roughly)English Civil WarInterregnumEnglish RestorationStuart dynasty in EnglandTudor dynasty in EnglandSpanish EmpireWorld War 1World War 2Roman Britain (Britannia)Plantagenet dynasty in EnglandVictorian eraHouse of WindsorHouse of Romanov in RussiaHaitian RevolutionRoyal African Company/Merchants activeAmerican Civil WarAmerican RevolutionBritish control of IndiaFrench RevolutionFrench Colonial Empire (generally)Louis XIV era in Francelegal closure of theaters in EnglandSpanish "Golden Age"Protestant Reformation in EuropeCatholic InquisitionMedieval Catholic InquisitionGreat Famine in EuropeHoly Roman EmpireDanish control of Britain (Danelaw)Industrial RevolutionAge of EnlightenmentScientific RevolutionRomanticism periodBritish colonization of IrelandJews not allowed in England
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