English has one of the richest recorded histories of any language, and this course examines the development of the English language from its earliest origins in Anglo-Saxon England (AD 450) to its contemporary state in places as geographically disparate as Ireland and India. English will be examined in respect to its internal history, and students will learn to read English in its earliest forms: the Old English of the epic author of Beowulf, the Middle English of Chaucer’s day, and the Early Modern English written during the Renaissance by poets such as Shakespeare and Milton.