chronology literary history

7/30/2019 Chronology Literary History

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Chronological Table

Ru/er P o liti ca /, S ocia I, Re ligioat Eu ents Literary Euents477 The 6rst invasions by Angles and Saxons fromNorth Gemany. By the time these Germanicpeoples had settled in Britain, the Danes begantheir raids.787 Danish invasion of Englmd, followed by almostcontinual raids. As England was divided into fivekingdoms, each under its own ruler, it was diffi-cult to combat them. This was the position whenAlfred became King of Wessex, one of the fivekingdoms, in 87r.

BeowlJ end, other poems werebrought over to England by thenew settlers.67o Caedmon flourished.1,at Venetable Bede died.

Alfred the Great,reigned 87r-899. 878 Alfred defeats the Danes at Ethandune (now Ed-ington). Their rule is confined to the Eastern partof England.89, Qirca) begintines of theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle.ln A lfred's reign much literature istranslated into the Wessex dialectof English.

Edward the Elder,899-924.Athelstan, gz4-i9. 9y The Battle ofBrunanburh.The six'boy kings'(all under zo on ac-cession): Edmmd,Edred, Edwy, Edgar,Edward, Ethelred,939-u6.

9gr The Battle of Maldon.ror 3 Sweyn ofDenmark subduq the English. Ethelredflees to Normandy and the Dane Canute becomesKing of England in ror6.

Canute, ror6 15. rozl Archbishop Wulfstan diesHarold 1, to15 4o.Hardicanute,ro40-42.Edward the Confes-sot, to4z-66.

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-l '246 Engli:h LiteratureP olitical, S ocial, Re ligious Euentt Literarl Euents

r o66 The English are defeated by the Normans at Hastings. William of Normandy becomes King.NORMANS

William the Con-queror, ro66 87. Now begins the'Feudal System'ofland tenure, underwhich the ' serfs ' (the lowest class) are more or less slavesDuring the two centuries following, however, this classgradually disappearsro86 Completion of Domesday Book.lTilliam II,ro87-r roo. ro91 The First Crusade.HenryI, rroo ;1 r r r 9 The Order of Knights Templar established.Stephen,r1lt 41:- tr41 54. rr4o (circa) Geoflrey of Mon-motth's H;rtary of lhe BritonsNIatilda, r r 4riMar Dec ).

PI,ANTAGE,NETSHenry II, r r i4 89 r r46 Second Crusade.r r 5 4 Nicholas Brakespeare-an Englishman-become sPope.

r r7o Assassination ofThomas i Becket, Archbishop ofCanterbury.r r8r Carthusian monasteries established in England.r r89 Third Crusade.

r r J 4 Geoffrey of Monmouth dres

Rtchard I, tt89 99. The Crusades continue.John (Lackland),rr99 rz16. rzoz Fourth Crusader zo4 Crusaders conquer Constantinople.

r zo9 Franciscan Order established.tzr5 Magta Carta signed by I(ing Johnt zoo (cirm) Layamon's Brut, TheOrmalum, The Aacrene Riw le.

HentyTII,rur6 7z

Edwatd I,t27z Lro7Edward II, r 1o7 z7

rzr8 Fifth Crusade.r zz8 Sixth Crusade.r zz9 ]erusalem ceded to the Christians.r 248 Seventh Crusade.r z6 5 First British Commons meet. (St. Thomas Aquinasand Roger Bacon flourished.)r z8z Edward I conquers \Wales.r z9 I First regular English Parliament.r 296 Edward I subdues Scotland.r3rr Papal decree that Corpus Christi shall be cele-brated with all due ceremonv.

r 3oo (circa) Robert MannyngHandlynq linne.

rltr (circa) beginning of Guildplays in England.r3z4 WycliffbornEdward III,tlzj jj. lcont.orcr) r I 3 3 Edward III defeats the Scots.L 139 Edward invades France. Much literary activity: r 14o (nrcaRichard Rolle's P ricke of Conuunce

Richard Il I J1l 99

Richard III killed at Battle of Bosworth HenrvTudor becomes king End of Wars of the Roses.

By r48i the Feudal System in England had died outA new era has already begun.r49z Columbus discovers the West lndies.r491 The Cabots discover Newfoundland.Gama rounds Cape of Good Hope.r 498 Columbus touches American majnlandGama discovers sea-route to India.r5oo Discovery of Brazil.

Chronologica/ Table 247Literarl Euents

Mid century : Pearl; tbe Owl dndthe Nigbtinga/e; Sir Cawa-yt ard tbeCreen Knight 'Sir John Mande-vtlle's'Tratels.r 14o ? Chaucer born.r 16z Langland's l?irr Plowman-r184 \X/ycliffdiesL 3 9o Gower's Co{e:.rio Aruanlis-r 194 King James I of Scotlandborn.L4oo Chaucer and Langland die.

r,1zz William Cexton bornKing James I of Scotlanddies

Malorv's Morte D',lrtburprinted.

Caxton dies.(circa) Robert Henryson(born r. r4z9) dies(circa) \X/illiam Dunbar'sLamentfor tbe Makert

FIenrybroke),Henry V

EdwardV, r481(twomonths only).Richard III,r48; 85.

Henry Vlll,1 549 41

r 476 Caxton sets up his printing press at \Wesrminstel Sir Thomas Malorv dies

Vasca daVasco da

r J L 1 Battle of Flodden: Scots defeated.r ; r 7 Luther's theses at \t/itrenberg.r 5u r Luther excommunicatedr 5 36 !7ales united to England

Nlore's Utopiat lzz (circa) Cavin Douglas dies(born r. r.17y).r 5 z6 Tyndale's New Testamentr5z9 )ohn Skelton dies (born

r 46o ?)111o (circa) Dunbar dies (born r.r 46o).r 5 3 1 Sir Thomas More executed(born r 478).r;42 Sir Thomas !7yatt dies(born r 5o1).

Political, S ocial, Re/igioxts Euefl tsr 146 Battle of Crecy: Irrench defeatedr 1.18 The 'Black Death' comes to England.L 1 i r 'Statute of Labourets' passed.r 15(> Battle ofPoitiers: French defeated.

r 3 8 r Peasants' Revolt under Wat TyJer.L r8, Scots invade EnglandLi99 Richard deposed by Bolngbroker4oo Revolt in Walesr4oz Scots defeatedr4r I Henry de[eats the French at Agincourt.r 4zo Henry becomes Regent of France.r4zz Hemy VI King of Fraoce.r41r -Joan of Arc burnt at the staker44o Printing invented.r 4;o Insurrection in England under Jack Cader4s i Wars of the Roscs begin.

TUDORS


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248 Englith Literature

16z5 49

Charles r66o 85

J ames r681 8

ITilliam and Mary,t 688-t 7oz.

r(>6o Pepys's Diary begins.r661 Butler's Hdibra:,Parrr 6(r7 Jeremy Taylor diesr6r 3). Cowley dies

r6r8).r 667 Milton's Paradise Lott-r671 Moliire (F'rench dramatist)dies.1614 Mikon dies. Herrick dies(born r59r).r678 Marvell dies (born r6zr)Bunyan's Pi lgri m' t P rogre s.r68o Rochester dies (born r(r47).r685 Otway dies (born r6;z).r687 Newton's Principia.r688 Bunyan dies (bornAlexander Pope boro

Cyril Tourneur dies (bornr571?). Bacon dies (bornJohn Dryden boro. JobnDonne dies (born r571?).

Cbrona/ogical Tahle 249

I.(born(born

Raler Political, Social, Religioils Euentr Literarl EuentsHenry VIII,t to9 4j --tofrl 1141 Eatl of Surrey executed(born r 5 r7).Edward VI,| \41-t 1. J49 Act oF Uniformity (intended to m2ke the flationconform to the religious changes introduced byHenry VIII). F'irst form of the Book of CommonPrayer.

r I yz Edmund Spenser bornr113 Frangois Rabelais dies

Mary, r551 8 r 514 .l\,[ary marries Philip of Spain.r 515 (r Ridley, Latimer and Cranmer burnt at the stakefor refusing to conform to the Church of Rome(Mary was attemPting to re-establish Catholicismin England).

r I 18 Calais taken by the French. Mary Queen of Scotsmarries heir-apparent to the French throne.

r i 5 7 Tottel's Mi.rcellany at an-thology containing poemsby Surrey, $Vyatt and others-

Elizabeth I,r;y8 r6o1. r 16o Reformation established in Scotland.r 5 64 Death of Calvin.r;77 8o Drake's first voyage round the world.r I 87 Mary Queenof Scots beheadedforallegedtreasonr t 88 Defeat of the Spanish Armada.(lVoler.' Religion in England represented a middle waybetween Marian Catholicism and Lutheran Protestantism, with the reigning monarch as head of the ChurchDrama and music flourished, but so did bear-baitingand cock fightingMany social changes, especially in the Poor Laws,and attempts to suppress )zgtzncy were made.)

r 562 Gorhodac presented.r J61 Foxe's Book of Mar4'rs.r 564 Shakespeare and Madoweborn.r 1 76 The Theatre erected.r 177 Holinshed's Chrariclesr 178 John Lyly's Euphwr.r179 North's translation of Plu-tarch's Liae s. SPenser's JleT-htrdt Cahndar.r 18z Hakltyt's Direr: L'o1a,ges

T oz rhing D i rouc ry of A mer ira.r 5 86 Sir Philip Sidney dies (bornttt4).r ;9o Marlowe's 'fanbrrlairc, Sid-ney's Arcadia, Spenser'sFatrie Pueere (6rst threebooks).r 593 Marlowe killed.r 199 Spenser dies.r (roo Hooker dies (born r 5;4).

Raler Political, S ocia/, Religioas Eueiltr Literary Euent.rCharles I,t6z1 49. corl r614 Charles demands Ship Money.r64o The'Long' Parliament.r64r Rebellion in Ireland.r64z Commencement of the Civil \Var: the King andhis 'Cavaliers' against the Parliament and its' Roundhead' supportersThe theatres are closed

r 647 Charles surrenders to Parliament.r649 Charles executed and England declared a'Com-monwealth'.

r63z Dekker dies (born r 17o?).1631 George Herbert dies (bornr 59 j). John Donne's poems.1614 Marston dies (born r 171).Chapman dies (born r 1 ;9 ?)r 617 Ben Jonson dies (bornr 5 7 4?). Mtkon's C o n a.r.r64o Massinger dies (born r 18j).r641 Milton's Poen.r.

r 649 Crashaw dies (born r (, r r ?.;The Commonwealth,1649 t i. r6yr King Charles II attempts invasion of England.Defeated, he flies to France.r613 Cromwell dismisses the'Rump' Parliament aodbecomes Lord Protector of England.r65 r Hobbes's Ltaiatban

The Protectorate of()liver Cromwell,r 61 3-8

r6;7 Cromwell declines the English crown.r6J8 Cromwell dies and his son Richard is named Pro-tec-tor. He resigns however in r6J9 after holdingoffice less than a year. From then till the Restora-tion of r(16o England is governed by Parliament.STUARTS RESTORF]D

STUARTSThe Scots King James VI succeeds to the throne ofEng-land as James I: England and Scotland are thus united.16o5 The 'Gunpowder Plot': an attemPt to blow upthe English Parliament.r 6 r r Authorised Version of the Bible.r6zo The Pilgrim Fathers land in New England,America. (This is a great period oF colonisationin the New \)7orld.)

r6z8 Cromvell becomes a Member of Parliament.t6z9 ! di iament. (For theiog without a Parliaand Divioe Right ofwas widely promulgated.)

r6o1 Florio's translation of Mon-tzigne's Etsals.r6o8 John Milton born.r6r6 Shakespeare dies. FrancisBeaumont dies (born r 584).Ceruantes dies. ChaPman'sHomer tppears.16zr Burton's AfratoflJ oJ Melan'cbol_y.r6z5 Bacon's Etsalt- JohnF'letcher dies (bom r i79)

r 662 Act of Uniformity passed: non-conformist clergydeprived of their livings.t665-1; t61z 4 England and Holland at war.r6(15 The Great Plague.r666 The Great Fire of London.r679 Habeas Corpus Act passed.(Nok: an age of scientific enquiry. The Royal Societyis established.)

to rc-establi jsm. He attempts totion by Decl Indulgence. In vain,nts appeal to ()range (in Holland)1688 William lands aod James flies to France. On hisabdication William and Mary are prmlaimed Kingand Queen.

HANOVERIANS1689 Toleration Act p . Bill of Rights passed.r(r9o Wrlliam defeats J , who has landed in Irelandin an attempt to raise forces and re-establish him-self.r694 Mary dies.

r 69o John Lock e's Two Treati.ret ofGaaernmrnt znd, Essal Con-ce rn ing H r m an Under s t a nd ng.r69r Etherege dies (born r 614).r691 Vaughan dies (born r6zz).Congreve's Loat for LoatrToo Dryden dies.


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2)a Engli:h LiteratureRuler P olitical, S otial, Re/igious Euents Literarl Euents

Anne, rloz r4. rToz England declares war against France and Spainr7o4 Battle of Blenheim. Gibraltat taken.r7o7 Scots Padiamentpasses Act of Union. First Parlia-ment of Great Britainr7o9 Battle of Malplaquet. Duke of Marlborough vic-toflous.r7t3 Pezce ofUtrecht.

r 7oz First daily paper establishedTbe Dai$ Courant.r7o4 Sw.ift's Tah of a Tfur7o9 Steele begins The Tatler-r r r Pope's Essal on Critititn.The .Spectatar begun byAddison and Steele.George\, r7t4 z7 r7r I Jacobite Rebellion (attempt to re establish rule ofStuarts). \Talpole Prime Minister.r7r7 Triple Alliance: England, France, Holland.pr8 England at war wirh Spain.

r7r6 Wycherley dies (born r 64o)r 7r 9 Defoe's Rabinsan Crusoe.r7z6 Vanbrugh dies (born r664)r7z6 Swift's Gil/iuer's Trarcls

George II, r7z7-6o qz9 Peace between Britain, France and Spainr739 England again at war with Spain.r14z Fnnce declares war against England, Holland andMaria Theresa.1741 Bzttle ofDettingen: France defeated.r 744 Louis XV declares war on Britain.r 745 Charles Edward (Young Pretender) lands in Scolland, takes Cadisle, retreats to Scodandt746 Jacobite rebels defeated at Culloden.r:48 Peace of Aix-la Chapelle.r 7 1 r Clive of India captures Arcot.t11z Britztn adopts new-style calendar.r759 Battle ofQuebec. I0olfe defeats French.r 76o Completion of British conquest of Canada.(No;r : This is a period of intense conflict between Britainand France, conducted in the New 'World and India aswell as Europe.)

r7z9 Congreve dies (born r67o).r71o Thomson's Tbe Seasons.r73r Defoe dies (born 166o).r 74o Richardson's P amela-r74z Young's Nigbt Tborghts.r744 Pope dies.r741 Swift dies (born r667).r749 Fielding's Ton Jones.pr r David Htne's Enqrirl Cotreming Principhs of Moralsr7;1 Dr. Johnson's Dictionary.r76o Sterne's Tristraru Sbail1Macpherson's Ostian hoax.

George IlI,r76o r8zo.

lcont- ouer]

r763 End ofthe Seven Years'\Var.r77o Cook discovers New South S7ales.t111 Tax imposed on tea by British strongly resentedin Boston, America.r771 Warren Hastings, Governor-General of India.r 775 Americans rebel against British' tyranny'.r 776 Declaration of American Independence.r783 After many military defeats, the British acknow-ledge American Independence.r18 r Pitt appointed Prime Minister.r786 Impeachment of Warren Hastings.r 78 8 Prince Charles Edward (' Young Pretender ') dies.r789 Bastille in Paris stormed. French Revolution be-grns.r79z Royalty abolished in France; Republic proclaimed.r793 Louis XVI executed.r796 Rise of Napoleon: victories at Lodi, Milan,Bologna.r 798 Battle of the Nile: Nelson defeats French fleet.r 8oz Treaty ofPeace between France and Britain (short-lived, however); war resumed in r 8o3.r8o4 Napoleon made Emperor.r 8o 5 Battle of Tnfalgx: Nelson's victory and deathr 8 r 3 Battle of Leipzig: defeat of Napoleon.

r76z Rousseau's Social Contract.r761 First meeting between Dr.Johnson and James Boswellr761 Walpole's Casth a/ OtrartoPercy's Re/iqtts oJ ArcintEnglisb poe try

r 766 Goldsmith's Vitar o;f lYake-f.etd.r768 Thomas Gray's Potrut.r77o Thomas Chatterton (authorof the Rowley fabrications)dies (born r 7; z).t11r Gray dies (born t1r6).Tobias Smollett dies (born(t1 zr)r774 Goldsmith dies (born r73o).r775 Sheridan's The Riaa/:.1776 Gibbon's Duline and Fall oJtbe Romar Enpire (6rst part).Adam Smith's Tbe Wealtb oJNatiors-r784 Dr. Johnson dies (born\o9).q86 Buns's Pocnsr789 Blake's Sotgs of Inmrcnce.

"J).of

Rtler P olitieal, S ocial, Religioils Euentr Literarl EuentsGeorge III,tj6o tBza.-conl, r8r4 Napoleon deposed, banished to Elba.r8r; Napoleon escapes. Battle oflfaterloo. Napoleonsent to St. Helena.

r 8 r 9 'Peterloo' massacre (Manchester Reform meetingdispersed by the military).

r79r Boswell's Life of Johsorr 798 The Lyical Ballad: o['Wordsworth and Coleridgeappear. The Romantic era islaunched.r8o8 r#illiam Cowper dies (bornr7 3t).r8rz Byron's Cbilde Harold.r816 Coleridge's Kubla Khat tndCbristabel.r8r7 Jane Austen dies (born171 t).

GeorgeIV, I82o lo. r 8 z r Napoleon dies at St Helena.r 8zr Greek Declatation oflndependence. (Turks mass-acre 4o,ooo at Scio.)r8z8 Repeal ofTest Act in England (the developmentof gteater religious toleration).r 8 1o Louis Philippe declared King of the French.r81z English Reform Bill passed.

r8zr Keats dies (born r79;).r8zz Shelley dies (born r79z)18z4 Bytor dies (6ghting fGreek Iodependence).r8z7 Blake dies (born r717).

William IV, r 81o 7 r 8 3 3 Slavery abohshed in British colonies. r8r2 Scott dies (born r77:).r 834 Coleridge dies (born r 772).Lamb dies (born r77y)r836 Dickens publishes T'be Pick-wick Papers.r817 Carlyle's The Fremb Reroltuion.Victoria,r837-r9or.

lconl. ouer)

r 8 3 8 ' Great \Testern ' steamer crosses the Atlantic.r819 Chartists riot at Bjrmingham. (The Chartists wereagitating for certain political and electoral re-forms.)r 84o Penny postage introduced.t84z Great Chartist demonstration in London.r 848 Widespread revolutionary movements on theContinent. French Republic proclaimed.r 8; r Submarine telegraph between Britain and France.r 85 r The Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, London.r8;4 War between Britain and Russia. Armies land inthe Crimea.r8J6 End ofCrimean I(/ar (Russians defeated).r 8;7 Indian Mutiny breaks out.r 86 r American Civil \rVar begins.r861 Slavery abolished in America by decree of President Lincoln.r 865 Lincoln assassinated Civil War ends.r868 Disraeli Prime Minister. Resigns, succeeded byGladstone.t87o Franco-Prussian War (ends r 87r)r 874 Gladstone ministry resigns. Disraeli succeeds.1875 Britain purchases Khedive's shares in the SuezCznzl.r878 Cyprus ceded to Britain.1879 W'ars in Zululand (thiscolonisation in Africa) is the period of British

r 84; Newman enters the Cath-olic Church.r 84: Charlotte Brootd's Jane E1rt.Emily Brontd's Wuhering

Height t. T hacke ray's Vari t tFair.r 848 Karl Marx's CommaxistManiJestor81o lTordsworth dies (bornr,,o). Tennyson's In Memr 85 y Browning's Men ard l%omenr 8;9 De Quinceydies (born r 78 1).George Eliot's Adan Bede.Tennyson's ld1/ls o-f tbeThe Darwinian theory.r86r Palgrave's Colden Treanr-y.r86s Matthew Arnold's Essals in

Criticism.1866 Newman's Dream oJ Geron-r867 Marx's Dar Kapital-r 868 Browning's Tbe Ring and the

Book.r87o Dickens dies (born rSrz).r87z Samuel Butler's hrephon-r 882 Rossetti dies (born r 828).


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P olitical, S ocial, Religioas Euentsr 882 Cairo occupied by British troops.r 886 Upper Burma annexed.r887 Queen Vjctoria's Golden Jubilee celebrationsr893 Irish Home Rule Bill rejected by House of Lordsr 894 The Dreyfus scandal in Paris.r 895 Ashanti expedition.r897 Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.r 899 Boer \Var begins (South Africa)rgoo Relief of Mafeking. Boxer outbreak in China.Transvaal annexed ro Britain(A/ata; A great period ofindustrial and colonial develop-ment. Railways were built, steam-ships used, the spiritofphilosophical and scienrilic enquiry was verv srrnng.Reason was much in conflict with religion.)

r 90 z Treaty betveen Britain and Japan Boe r 'Warends.L9o1 Coronation Durbar at Delhi.r9o4 Russo Japanese War begins (ends in r9o1)r9o9 Old age pensions come into operation in BritainConstitution of South African Union signed atBloemfontein.r 9 r r Italy declares war on Turkey.r 9r z Chinese Republic established.r9r j Irish Home Rule Bill passed. The death of Scottand his Antarct.ic expedition reported.r9r4 The First World War begins.r 9 r 7 America enters the War.r9r8 Armistice signed.r9r9 Peace Conference in Paris. Alcock and Brown flythe Atlantic.rgzo First meetiflg of the League of Nations.19z6 Genenl Strike. With nevspal, rs either reducedto a single sheet or not appearing at all, broad-caslng comes lnto 1ts ovn as an tmportant ln-formation seroice.r9z9 Grul Zeppelin successful in intercontinentalflights American slump. 'Wall Street crash.r93o Rror destroyed on mziden flight: 48 lives lost.r91r Great floods in China. Coalition Government in

Britain.r93z Manchuria becomes Japanese puppet state Manchukuo.r 93 3 Hitler appointed Chancellor. Reichstag fire.r 934 Austrian Nazis mutder Dolfuss, Austrian Chancellor. Hitler becomes Dictatorr931 Saar plebiscite for return to Germany. ItaleAbyssinian Sflar begins. League of Nations sanc-tions against Italy fail.

2t2 Engli:h Literature

Victoria,r8j7-r9or cont

Edward VII,r90r ro

George V, rgro 16.

Literary Euentsr889 Browning dies (born rSrz).Hopkins dies (born r844).r89o Gilbert publishes some ofhis comic operas.r89z Tennyson dies (born r8o9)r894 Stevenson dies (born r81o).r891 Pinero's 'l'be Second Mr:-Tanqueral.r896 William Morris dies (bornt8 )4). Hardy's tbe

Obscure . Housman's ASbropsbire Lad.r 898 Shaw publishes some plays.V1\de's Ballad of ReaditgCaolr899 Wilde's Importarce oJ BeingEamesl ptblished.rgoo Ruskin dies (born r8r9)Conrad's Lard lirur9o1 George Gissing dies (born

r 8 r7).r9o8 Arnold Bennett's Tbe OltlWives'Tah.r 9o9 J M. Synge (Irish play-wright) dies (born r87r).Swinburne dies (born r 817).Meredith dies (born r8z8)rgro H. G. ]Wells's Mr. [email protected] 9 r i D. H. Lawrence's Sarc anrJLouers.19r 1 Somerset Maugham's O/Humar Bo r.1916 Henry James dies (born

1 841).James Joyce's A Portrait aftbe Arlist as a Young Man-r9r7 T. S. Eliot's P ck andOtber Obserrutiontr9r 8 Hopkins's Poear.rgzz T. S. Eliot's T'be Wate land.James Joyce's U/7rrer.r9z4 E. M Forster's A Paxage to- Sear O'Czsey's Juxoand tbe Palcotk. Conrad dies(born r8;7).r9z8 Thomas Hardy dies (bornr 84o).r9z9 Hemingway's A Farewell toArms.r93o D. H. Lawrence dies (bornr88;). Vyndham Lewis'sTbe Apet o;f Cod.r93r Arnold Bennett dies (born

RalerGeorge V,rgro-36. coflt

Edward VIII,Jan Dec. r936(abdicated)GeorgeVI, r936 5z

Cbronolagica/ Tab/e z;7Literarl Euents

Galsworthy dies (bornI 867).Eliot's Mnrdtr in lbeCa/bedral.

r936 Auden and Isherwood's IlrAscefi of Fd. Kipling dies(born r865). Housman dies(born r 8;9). Chesterton dies(born r8.4;. Hurley's E7e-lesr ir CaTa1917 Wyndham Lewis's T/e Rr-uenge for Laae.r9 j8 !flells's Apropos of Dolares.1919 Yeats dies (born r86y).Joyce's Finnegans Wake.Priestley's Johnson Ouer Jor-dax. Eliot's The Faui! Re-afrrofir94o Hemingway's For Wbon tbe&l/ 7olls. Mann's Lolte inWeiner. Snow's S /rangers andBrotbers- Greene's Tbe Powarand tbe C/0r1.r94r foyce dies (born r 882). Vir-giniaVoolf dies (born r 88 z).rWoolf 's Belwccr lbe Art:.r94z Waugh's Put Out Mare Flags.r94, Greene's The Miristry oJF ear1944 Huxley's Time Mast Harc aStop. Hartley's The .fhrirupand the Aremone.1945 George Orwell's AnirualFarm-tc146 Camts's Ca1947 Lowry's r tbe Volcano.1948 Mann's Dr- Farslas lon-esco's Tbe Bald Prima Donra.Mailer's Tbe Naked and tbeDead.r949 El.iot's Tfu Cacktail Parry.Oruell's Nineteen EightlFotr. Mtller's Deatb of aSaletruan. Huxley's Ape andExetce-r91o Bernard Shaw dies, aged 94Oruell dies, aged 47. Hem-ingway's Acrass lhe Riuerand into tbe Trees.r9; r \)Thiting's Sainl't Da1. Pow-ell's A pue:tion of Uphrix.girg.Salinger's The Calcher in theRy. James Bridie dies (bornr 888)

r916 Edward VIII succeeds George V. Spanish CivilWar. Rhineland remilitarised. Edward abdicatesin favour ofbrother, George VI.1937 lapza begins attempted conquest of China.r918 British navy mobilised Sept. 28. Munich agreement sePt.2g.r919 Italo-Germanpact. Anglo-Polish treaty. Germanyinvades Poland Sept. r. Britain declares war onGermany Sept. j.

r 94o Germany advances westward. Dunkirk evacuation of British troops. Battle of Britain. Brjtishvrctoryr94r Germany invades Russia. Philippines invaded byJapanese, to whom Hong Kong surrenders.Japanese attack Pearl Harbour. U.S. in var.r94z Java, Singapore surrender to Japanese r,ooobombers raid Cologne, first daylight raids onRuhr. Germans halted at Stalingrad. Battle ofEl Alamein. Rommel in full retreatr943 Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet in Teheran.U.S. bombers attack Germany. Allied invasion ofSicily.r944 Allied forces in Rome. Paris liberated. First V zfalls on England. Arnhem landing. Last Germanofensive in the West.r941 U.S. Ianding on Luzon. Russians take Sfarsaw.Yalta conference. Dresden bombed. Russians takeBedin. UTar with Germany ends Atom bombs onJapan. ITorld War II ends.

r 946 Nuremberg sentences on Nazis. Goering commitssuicide-1941 lndia and Pakistan assume dominion status.Breakdown of four-power conference on Germany.t948 Mzh.ztma Gandhi assassinated. The Bedin airlift.Malayan Communist Party outlawed.r949 General Mao Tse-Tung proclaims People's Republic of China Chinese Nationalist Governmentsets up headquarters in Formosa,r 95o 1o-year alliance Treaty between China and RussiaFirst U.S. super-[ortresses arrive in Norfolk,England. American and British troops in South

I(orea.r95 r Festival of Britain Germany admitted to Councilof Durope. Colombo Plan begins J apanese peacetreaty (Russia, China and India not parties to it).

Huxley's Braw Nep World


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P o li tical, S oci al, Re I gioat Euents2J4 Englisb Literatare

RalerElizabeth II,

Literarl Euents

Kingsley Amis's L Ji*.Dylm Thomas dies (bornr 9r4). Churchill wins NobelPrize fot Literature.Golding's Lonl of tbe Flies.Isherwood's The lf,/orld intbe Eaening.Beckett's l.Yaitiry for Codot.O'Neill's Lorg Dajs Jourru1irto t.Nabokov'sLolita.Newby's Tbe Picnic at ,Sak-kara. ]. F. Donleavy's The

RalerE\zabethll, 191z-conl.

Chronolagica/ Tabh ,ttiLiterary Euentt

r964 Edith Sitwell dies. -{lbee's

clines Nobel Prize. ChristineBrooke-Rose's Oil. $/ tlbamBurroughs's Noaa ExPressT. S. Eliot dies. EdwardBond's Saved- Waugh's re-vtsed Sword of Honour. SylviaPlath's Arie/. Muriel Spark'sTbe Madelbatm Cate. Matl-er's At Aruerican Dream.William Faulkner dies.Evelyn Vaugh dies. ArthurWaley (translator fromChinese) dies. Malamud'sThe Fixer.Robert Lowell's Near theOrcar. Thom Gtno's 'I'oucb.Angus N7ilson's Na LargbingMalter. Goldirg's Tbe Pyranid. Naipaul's The MiuicMen

r 966

r961

r968 Hetbert Read es. Mailer'sTbe Armies tbe Night.Theatres Act in I-ondonabolishes censorsh.ip. JohnUpdike's CorPles. Dutell'sTanc.r 969 Doris Lessi Letes TheChildren oJ Nabokov's Ada. Bellow's Mr

Sam mler' s P /ane/. F'lizabethBowen's Eaa Trail.

Jacobson's The kaPeTamar. Durell's NtmqumE. M. Forster dies.Powell's Bookt da Furnisb aRoouEzra Pound dies. ElizabeBowen dies.

Hughes's Crou- Patrick$0hite's Tlr Virisector. Dan

t95z Death of King George VI. Elizabeth II assumesthrone. Japan again a sovereign and independentpower. Emergency in Kenya. Eisenhower U.S.President.r91j Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. Hunt, Hillary,Tenziog climb Everest. Piltdown skull declareda Paftial hoax.r9;4 U.S. hydrogen bomb exploded at Bikini. Foodrationing ends in Britain.r9J I Death of Einstein. City of London a 'smokelesszone'. Pope advocates limitation of nuclear testexplosions.r9;6 Khrushchev denounces Stalin. French leave Indo-China after eighty years. Anglo-French offensivein Egypt. Russia invades Hungary.r917 Tokyo protest against Pacific nuclear testsSibelius dies Russia's Sputnik I. Jodrell Bankradio telescope in operation.r918 Sputnik I disintegrates after t361 circuits o[theearth. Bertrand Russell launches Campaign forNuclear Disarmament. Khrushchev premier ofRussia. Third U.S. earth satellite. De GaullePresident of France. First U.S. moon rocket fails.Pius XII dies. John XXIII succeeds him.r 9 5 9 Castro overthrows Batista regime in Cuba. Russialaunches Lunik I round sun. Pope J ohn announcesEcumenical Council. Jodrell Bank radios messageto U.S. via moon. World's population (z,8oo

million) increasing annually at rate of 4t million.Russia's Lunik III photographs back of moon196o Sharpeville shooting in South Africa U.S. toresume underground atomic tests. Agadir destroyed by earthquake. Ghana proclaimed a re-public. Premiet of Jordan assassinated. SenatorJohn Kennedy elected U.S. President. Archbishopof Canterbury visits Pope in Rome.r96r Russian satellite vith dog aboard launched andlanded safely. Insurrection ofpart ofFrench armyin Algeria quickly quelled. Russia's Major Titovcircles earth seventeen times. Soviet sector ofBedin sealed offfrom Vfestern sectors. Negotia-tions begin for Britain's entry into CommonMarket.196z Britait launches satellite Ariel from CapeCanaveral. French leave Algeria after t12 years.Telstar launched. U.S. Mariner II launched to-wards Venus. zrst Ecumenical Council opens inRome.r963 Britain refused entry to Common Market. PopeJohn dies. Paul VI elected. Great British mailtrain robbery ({2.; million). Black freedommarch on Washington. Nigeria a republic. President Kennedy assassinated. End of Second Vati-can Council.

GinXer Man.C)sborne's Loak Back In

r957 Pinter's Tbe Daruh Waiter.Spark's Memenlo Mori. IlisMurdoch's Tbe .f andcaslle.r 9; 8 Ionesco's R bixoceros-Pinter's

Tbe Birthdal Parly. Sillitoe'sSaturdal Nigbt a*l SudalMornirg. Btrgess's MalalanTrilogl completed. Paster-nak's Doctor Zbiaago.Kerouac's Tbe Dbarma Bams-1919 Bellow's Handercon tbe RaixKing- Johr Arden's SergeatlMasgraae's Dancer 96o Pinter's T be Care taker- Bolt'sA Mar For All .leatou-Albert Camus dies in roadaccident.Ernest Hemingway dies. IrisMurdoch's A .letered Head.'U7augh's Sword of Hororrcompleted. s Luther. Heller's196z Whiting's The Deilh. Bsr

gess's I Clockwork Orange.Nabokov's Pah Fire.r963 Robert Frost, Aldous Hux-ley and Louis MacNeice die.Suicide of Sylvia Plath.Baldwin's Tbe Fire NextTime.

Political, Social, Re ttr EaentsU.S. Civil Rights Bill enacted. Harpo Maq dies.Lyndon Johnson U.S. President. Kenya a re-

land there. Americans land in Dominican Re

moon. Successful landing of Gemini ro: docking

r968

8 moon msslon.

Russia and U.S ratify nuclear non-proliferation

another rro,ooo trooPs from Vietnam within a

General de Gaulle dies.

tennis teams in China, leading to wider entente.vinsky dies.

lront. oterl


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Saggestions for Fwrther Reading

PART I. GENERAL SURVEYS AND REFERENCE BOOKSThe Cambridge History of English Literature (C.U.P.)A Companion to English Literature-Gillie (Longman)The Pelican Guide to English Literature (Penguin)'Writers and Their \Works (Longman for the British Council)Oxford Companion to English Literature (O.U.P.)PART 2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, SPECIAL STUDIES AND ANTHOLOGIESOF PROSE AND VERSECbapters r-SBENNETT, rt. s. Chaacer and the r Sth Centary, O.U.P. r 947 (Oxford Historyof English Literature, II, r ).BREu/ER, o. s. Cbaucer in His Time, Longmat 1964.cHAMBERS, z. r. Englisb Literatare at tbe Close of tbe Middle Agu, O.U.P.r94y (Oxford History of English Literature, II, z).couLToN, c. c. Arl and tbe Reformation, C.U.P.-r951.couLToN, c. c. Medieaal Panorama: the Engli:h Seene from Conquest toReJormation, C.U.P. r918.HUrzrNGA, 1. Tbe lYaning of the Middle Ages,Penguir 1961.KNowLES, o. Tbe Engliil M1:tical Tradition, Byrnes & Oates r96r.KNowLES, u. o. Tbe Eaolution of Medieual Thought, O.U.P. r962.LEGGE, u. o. Anglo-Norman Lileralure and its Backgroand, O.U.P. r963LEwrs, c. a. Classical Mltb ail Artbuian Romance, O.U.P. r932.LEwrs, c. s. The Allegory of Loue, O.U.P. r936LooMrs, n. s. (ed.) Arthttrian Literature in tbe Middle Ages,O.U.P. ry59.powrcKE, r. u. The Rejorrzation in England, O.U.P. r94r.RENwrcK, w. r-. and oRToN, s. Tbe Begirnings of English Literatue toSkelton, Cresset r95 z.scHLAUCH, u, English Medieaal Literature and its Social Fomdations,Heffer1956' 2t6

chronology literary history

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