British Literature

Middle Ages

100

The Middle Ages begins after these conquerors leave the British Isles in the late fifth century. 

The Romans

200

It is considered the first work of English Literature.

Beowulf

300

The year 1066 saw this invasion into England.

The Norman Conquest 

400

This devastating disease wiped out over a third of English society but eventually lead to the rise of the middle class.

The Black Death

500

This Geoffrey Chaucer work about pilgrims telling stories on the way to Canterbury Cathedral marked the first work of literature in Middle English. 

The Canterbury Tales

Monarchs

100

This female monarch of England died with no heirs to the throne and is the basis of Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene. 

Elizabeth I 

200

This monarch broke ties with the Catholic Church and created The Church of England (Anglicans) in order to obtain divorces from his wives (he ended up killing several of them).

Henry VIII

300

This queen was only seventeen when taking the throne, but oversaw England becoming the world's leading empire throughout the 1800s.

Queen Victoria 

400

Queen Elizabeth I (not liking Catholics) had this ex-monarch--and her cousin--beheaded.

Mary Queen of Scots

500

This monarch--not from Cleveland--was the first king from Scotland to sit on the English throne. He also commissioned a very popular bible.

King James I

Writers

100

I wrote The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer

200

I lived in the 1800s and wrote about the poor and working class in books such as David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. I also am responsible for bringing back the traditions of Christmas in England and America.

Charles Dickens

300

I was a writer of sonnets, but I also dabbled in tragedy, comedy, and history at the Globe Theatre.

William Shakespeare

400

I married the poet Bryce Shelly and wrote Frankenstein, one of the first ever science fiction novels in 1817.

Mary Shelly

500

I helped kickstart the romantic movement in England in 1798 with the publication of the Lyrical Ballads.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Fiction

100

This detective lives on Baker Street and was played by Robert Downey Jr.

Sherlock Holmes

200

This Shakespeare play begins with the title character seeing his dead father to avenge his murder.

Hamlet

300

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a member of the Knights of the Round Table found in this series of epic myths.

Morte De Artur (King Arthur legends)

400

Rudyard Kipling loved India, and wrote about Mowgli and his adventures in the jungle.

The Jungle Book 

500

This romantic poem witnesses the tragic shooting of an albatross, ghost ships, and a very lonely journey to the South Pole.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Welcome to England

100

This landmark was completed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

Big Ben

200

This country was once colonized by England.

Ireland

300

This country was the "jewel of the British Empire," shipping exports such as curry spices, and only gained its independence following World War II.

India

400

The North Sea allowed easy access to these raiders in the early Middle Ages until they were finally halted by Hadrian's Wall near modern day Newcastle.

Vikings

500

Although fighting against the English in this war, St. Joan of Arc never lost a battle until she was captured and put to death at age 19.

The 100 Years War