Indo-European migration into England

1500 B.C. -- The Indo-Europeans have not yet reached England. The Celts are in the area roughly between Luxembourg and Geneva.

500 B.C. -- The Celts have brought their language (a branch of Indo-European) to England.

The word Celtic is derived from the Greek, Keltoi. The term is sometimes spelled either Keltic or Celtick in old documents.

After their peak around 400 B.C., the Celts begin a long period of decline, which continues even today.

Celtic Languages in the Modern Word
Celtic Languages in the Modern Word

Julius Caesar explores southeastern England in 55 B.C. and again in 54 B.C.

Britain became part of the Roman Empire.

The Romans were in Britain for over 350 years - а very long time in the history of any country.
The Romans built the first towns. London was the largest, with about 30,000 people.
As well as the first towns, the Romans built the first English country houses, or villas.
Some villas were were grand palaces.

Ancient Roads in Britain
Of all the relics of Roman Britain, the roads lasted best. Their routes can still be seen from the air, and many modern roads follow them.

Rome acknowledges Cymbeline, King of the Catuvellauni (a Celtic tribe near London) as king of Britain. Later, in A.D. 43, the Romans, under Aulus Plautius, land at Richborough (Kent) for a full-scale invasion of the island. By A.D. 77, the Roman conquest of Britain was complete, and Julius Agricola served as imperial governor until A.D. 84.
Rome acknowledges Cymbeline, King of the Catuvellauni (a Celtic tribe near London) as king of Britain. Later, in A.D. 43, the Romans, under Aulus Plautius, land at Richborough (Kent) for a full-scale invasion of the island. By A.D. 77, the Roman conquest of Britain was complete, and Julius Agricola served as imperial governor until A.D. 84.

Around A.D. 270, the Romans begin the "Saxon Shore" fort system, a chain of coastal forts in the south and east of Britain. Later, in reponse to threats elsewhere in the Empire, the Roman legions leave Britain in 407. In 408, Romanized Celtic Brittania endures devastating attacks from the Picts, Scots, and Saxons. In 410, the Emperor Honorius of Rome tells Brittania to attend to its own affairs. Perhaps the last Roman Dux Brittanniarum, Coel Hen, dies around 420.

Germanic people of the 1st - 4th centuries were uncivilized barbarians.

The Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians migrated to England from the Continent.

‘Welsh’ in Germanic used to mean ‘foreign’, ‘enemy’ and ‘slave’.

A.D. 500 -- The Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians have brought their language to England. Their various dialects were West Germanic (a branch of Indo-European).

Germanic dialect areas. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) was very similar to the Continental varieties of Low German.

Old English Kingdoms

Old English
Old English was the West Germanic language spoken in the area now known as England between the 5th and 11th centuries. Speakers of Old English called their language Englisc, themselves Angle, Angelcynn or Angelfolc and their home Angelcynn or Englaland.
Old English began to appear in writing during the early 8th century. Most texts were written in West Saxon, one of the four main dialects.

Old English Dialects
At about the time of Alfred the Great, the major Anglo-Saxon dialects were Northumbrian, Mercian, Kentish, and West Saxon. Alfred's dialect was West Saxon, i.e. the "Wessex" dialect. The Anglo-Saxon dialects, especially that of Alfred, are also known as Old English. Welsh and Cornish are Celtic languages.

Main Vikings Expansion Routes

With The Beginning of the Viking age Old English faced extinction

Following the peace made between Alfred and Guthrum around A.D. 886, the Vikings settled increasingly in northeast England in the area known as "the Danelaw".

Cnut, a Danish Viking, became the king of England (including Wessex), Denmark, and Norway. During Cnut's reign (1016-1035), Danes and Anglo-Saxons lived in peace throughout England.

The many dots represent modern towns with Old Norse (a North Germanic language) names.

This map of R-ful and R-less pronunciation in modern England reflects old dialect boundaries.

England becomes part of the Anglo-Norman "Angevin Empire", at its greatest extent under King Henry II in A.D. 1174. From 1066 until the 1300s, the official language of England is French, although most of the people continue to speak their local dialects of English.

A.D. 1500 -- Under the influence of French (a Romance Italic language), Old English has become Middle English, which is spoken throughout England, including Cornwall, and southern Scotland. Though very different from Old English, Middle English and Modern English are nevertheless classified as West Germanic languages.

The Indo-European Family of Languages
Countries with a majority of speakers of IE languages
Countries with an IE minority language with official status