This page is just a compilation of my notes for the History of English - as the language.

400-500 AD: Germanic tribes poured into western Europe into the areas previously controlled by the Romans. This included southern Britain in the area we know today as England. These Germanic-speaking Anglo-Saxons defeated and displaced much of the native Celtic-speaking Britons and establish several independent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which eventually coalesced in the face of Viking invasions beginning in the 8th century to become a unified nation. 

1066 AD: William of Normandy conquers England. Next 300 years, French becomes the official language.

English almost dies out, but instead it absorbed new words and expanded. It almost became an Anglicized dialect of French. Linguists mark this period as the transition from “Old English” or “Anglo-Saxon” to the period known as “Middle English.” 

Late 1300s - War of the roses - English spoken again by Monarchs.

Trick Question:There were three periods of English – Old English, Middle English and Modern English. Which period Shakespeare belonged to? 
Not  “Old English” or “Middle English.” The correct answer is “Modern English.”