Timeline of the Middle English Period (1100-1500)

The Middle English period saw the breakdown of the inflectional system of Old English and the expansion of vocabulary with many borrowings from French and Latin.

	M.E.  TIMELINE
1066	The Norman Conquest.
1150	Approximate date of the earliest surviving texts in Middle English
1171	Henry II declared himself overlord of Ireland, introducing Norman French and English to the country. About this time the University of Oxford was founded.
1204	King Jones lost control of the Duchy of Normandy and other French lands; England was then the only home of the Norman French/English.
1209	The University of Cambridge was formed by scholars from Oxford.
1215	King John signed the Magna Carta, a critical document in the long historical processes leading to the rule of constitutional law un the English-speaking world.
Late 13th century	Under Edward I, royal authority was consolidated in England and Wales. English became the dominant language of all classes.
Mid to late 14th century	The Hundred Years War between England and France leaded to the loss of almost all of England´s French possessions. The Black Death killed roughly 1/3 of England´s population. English became the official language of the law courts and replaces Latin as the medium of instruction at most schools. The Great Vowel Shift began, marking the loss of the so-called “pure” vowel sounds and the loss of the phonetic pairings of the most long and short vowel sounds.
1362	The Statute of Pleading made English the official language in England. Parliament was opened with its first speech delivered in English.
1399	At his coronation, King Henry IV became the 1st English monarch to deliver a speech in English.
Late 15th century	William Caxton brought to Westminster the 1st printing press and published Chaucer´s The Canterbury Tales. Literacy rates increased significantly and printers began to standardize English spelling.

It is important to get in mind that during the Middle English period, there were like three stages, regarding English Language:

1. Decline of English (1066-1204)
2. Rise of English (1204-1348)
3. Dominance of English (1348-1509)

Let´s see what happened in those periods.