402 ENGLISH LANGUAGE Chronological Chart of the English Language. CHRONOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. LITEKAIIY DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEADISQ DIALECTS. Divisions. Subdivisions. Dates. Northern English. Midland English. Southern English. 500 2 g s 5 D s. s 3 f 600 " p. (LawsofEthelbert,6W.) tr ICasdmon, SCO. Cynewulf ? Bseda, 734. (Laws of Ine, 700 ) Epinal Glossary I S 800 | 5 D 22 3 J 2 -a S f ?, o S < OLD ENGLISH or ANGLO-SAXON. I Alfred, 885. pd^a 900 H k Q H O o J ^ S , O ^
Rhymes in Saxon Chron., Durham Glosses, 950-975. 3 Rushworth Gloss, 937-979. S ? 975-1000. B. 1000 ? , .Elfric, 1000. i i Wulfstun, 1016. i - s Worcester Chronicle, 1043-79. 1100 ! . Chronicle, 1123-31. OLD ENGLISH TRANSITION Cotton Homilies, 1150. (SEMI-SAXON.) w M 8 H Chronicle, 1154. M Hatlon Gospels, 1170. 1200 ~ 3- Ormulum, 1200. 4 1203 ^7 5? 1 Ancren ftiwle, 1220 ? 3.1 II EARLY MIDDLE ENGLISH, . (EARLY ENGLISH. ^ 1300 3 V Cursor Mundi. Harrowing of Hell, 1280. ^ 3 Prod, of Henry III., 1258. Robt. Gloucester, 1300. w g Robt. of Brunne, 1303. ^ j "5 3 B S. & Ayenbite, 1340. " r~l gj MandeviUe, 1356. Q > LATE MIDDLE ENGLISH. Hampolc, 1350. S-
- -H ^
Barbour, 1875. Wyeliffe, Chaucer. Trevisa, 1387. su 1400 w 8 Wyntoun, 1420. Lydgate, 1425. MIDDLE ENGLISH TRANSITION. JP o Caxton, 1477-90. 1485 S- 1500 Dunbar, 1500. en Sf Tyndal, 1525. EARLY MODERN ENOLIF Lyndesay. g- w_ TUDOR ENGLISH. S> P. M 3 g & James VI., 1590. Shakespeare, 1590-1613. (Edgar in Lear.) C5 o i611 tr fe cS Milton, 1C2G-71. W g 1700 Dryden, 1663-1700. O^ o 1 c. Allan Ramsay, 1717 Addison, 1717. S MODERN ENGLISH. > Johnson, 1750. Exmoor Scoldiny, 1746. o Burns, 1790. 1800 | Coleridge, 1805. Scott. ifacaulay. Barnes, 1844. Tennyson. The three vertical lines represent the three leading forms of English, Northern, Midland, and Southern, and che names occurring down the course of each are those of writers and works in that form of English at the given date. The thickness of the line shows the com parative literary position of this form of speech at the time, thick indicating a literary language, medium a literary dialect, thin a popular dialect or patois; a. dotted line shows that this period is unrepresented by specimen s. The horizontal lines divide the periods; these (after the first two) refer mainly to the Midland English ; in inflexional decay the Northern English was at least a century in advance of
the Midland, and the Southern nearly as much behind it. (J. A. H. M.)