 This e-lecture introduces the main phases of the outer history of early modern English, including the most important historical details between 1500 and 1700. It discusses the most influential historical events and their impact on the development of English. In particular, we will look at the outer history of the early modern English period. We will take a brief look at the early modern English language and will finally deal with some selected aspects of early modern English literature. In our e-lecture, the Middle English period, we saw that the late Middle Ages had seen the triumph of the English language over French in England and the establishment of a standard form of written English. However, English was not used throughout. Latin still had a great prestige as the language of international learning and it was a long time before English replaced it in all fields. Nevertheless, the early modern English period is the first during which English speakers took a serious look at their own language. The beginning of the early modern English period coincides with the ascendancy of Henry VIII to the throne in 1509. The end of the early modern English period is marked by the completion of the so-called Great Vowel Shift and the beginning of the scientific age at around 1700. So let's mark the early modern English period as a period from 1500 to 1700. Most influential with regard to early modern English were the works of William Shakespeare. For this reason, early modern English is often alternatively referred to as Shakespearean English. But there were further milestones that marked this period. Major changes in science and society gave the people of the early modern English period new perspectives that influenced their lives and thus their language. Among these, the following can be named as the most influential factors. For example, the invention of printing. In 1576, William Caxton set up the first printing press at Westminster. His work as a writer and translator helped to fix the literary language of England in the 16th century. And then the period of the Renaissance. Now the Renaissance is characterized by the revival of interest in classical culture, a period which saw the transition from the Middle Ages to modern times. The Renaissance began in Italy and its first period was marked by a revival of interest in classical literature and the classical ideals. It was a great revolt against the intellectual sterility of the medieval spirit and especially against scholasticism in favour of intellectual freedom and its first sign was a passion for the cultural magnitude and richness of the pagan world. The movement had gone far beyond the mere revival of classical studies and was felt in every department of life. Another milestone was the Protestant Reformation. The entry of England into the Reformation movement was an accident. The result of a side issue. King Henry VIII desired to annul his marriage with his legitimate wife Catherine because he had been completely captivated by Anne Boleyn. Since he could not get the Pope to grant the annulment, those who flattered and supported him, particularly his minister Thomas Cromwell, gradually moved for the break with Rome. This was achieved in 1534. Henry tried to keep England Catholic without the Pope, but he failed. And after his death in 1547, the breakup of religion in England began. The most far-reaching, influential transformation of human culture since the advent of agriculture 8 or 10,000 years ago was the Industrial Revolution of 18th century Europe. While it is hard to pinpoint a beginning to the Industrial Revolution, historians generally agree that it basically originated in England in a series of technological and social innovations, for example, in the cotton industry. In the late 16th and early 17th century, the English, the Dutch and the French began to undertake colonization through the agency of chartered companies. The greatest of these private trading companies was the British East India Company, a group of 218 Nites and merchants of the city of London which played a vital role in the history of the British Empire. Another factor for change was the Tudor dynasty. Henry VII, Henry VIII and especially Elizabeth I played an important part. The reign of the latter also referred to as the Golden Age or Elizabethan era was marked by a great gain in power and an expansion of influence in other parts of the world. And then there was William Shakespeare. A complete, authoritative account of Shakespeare's life is lacking. Much supposition surrounds relatively few facts. His date of birth is traditionally held to be April 1564. Shakespeare's modern reputation is based mainly on the 38 plays that he apparently wrote, modified or collaborated on. Although generally popular in his day, these plays were frequently little esteemed by his educated contemporaries who considered English plays of their own day to be only vulgar entertainment. Shakespeare's professional life in London was marked by a number of financially advantageous arrangements that permitted him to share in the profits of his acting company, the Chamberlain's Men later called the King's Men, and its two theatres, The Globe and The Black Friars in London. His plays were given special presentation at the courts of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, more frequently than those of any other contemporary dramatists. After about 1608, Shakespeare's dramatic production lessened and it seems that he spent more time in Stratford. There he established his family in an imposing house called New Place and became a leading local citizen. He died in April 1616 and was buried in the Stratford Church. There are many conspiracy theories. Let's illustrate them by means of a question mark here. Regarding the works of Shakespeare, positing alternate candidates for the true authorship of his works. Since 1700, people have been voicing doubts about whether or not William Shakespeare actually wrote the works attributed to him. The main arguments against him as the author are lack of evidence. Well, there are hardly any documents about his life. Hardly any documents about his handwriting. Only six signatures exist. And secondly, lack of experience. He had no advanced school education. He didn't really travel. He never left England, let alone he visited Italy. He has no knowledge about Italy but wrote gigantic dramas about Italian culture. Whether or not the claim is legitimate, the burden of proof would seem to lie on those who make these claims. The following alternate Shakespeare candidates have been proposed. Edward Devere, the 17th Earl of Oxford or Francis Bacon, a philosopher and writer, or last but not least, Shakespeare's contemporary Christopher Marlowe, a playwright. Let us now look at the early modern English language. By the end of the Middle English period, most of today's syntactic and morphological patterns had been established. Early modern English was, as far as its morphology is concerned, fairly analytic. And the word order had been fixed to subject verb object due to a reduced inflectional system where only two of the former five old English cases had survived. The great change that classifies early modern English as a new period is mainly phonological in nature. Between 1450 and 1650, five of the seven long vowels of Middle English were raised and two became diphthongized. This so-called great vowel shift characterized English as intelligible to the modern ear. The revival of classical scholarship during the Renaissance brought Latin and Greek loanwords. So let's write down loanwords here into the language. Scientific writers were often in need of new words and thus borrowed in abundance from these languages. Not all of these borrowings, though, survived. Literature flourished in England during the Renaissance. Several names such as Edmund Spencer, Thomas Moore and Christopher Marlowe are connected with that period. But no one had such a great impact on both literature and language as William Shakespeare. His plays and his poetry are full of rich language ranging from pathos to stammering from intellectual wordplay to rough jokes. Shakespeare invented numerous new words and is thus so important for the English language. In his works, he deals with every facet of human existence. He is a unique figure of world literature. Well, and early modern English spelling? Well, most spelling patterns have been formulated in their essential details during the late Middle English and the early early modern English period. By the end of the 17th century, the principle of a fixed spelling for every word was firmly established for printed works and over the course of the following century, personal spelling followed suit. Let us summarize. In this e-lecture, we discuss the most important cultural and historical aspects of early modern English. We saw how general developments such as the invention of printing as well as general political aspects exerted their influence on this period. But what about the linguistic aspects? Old English, the first period of English, was clearly Germanic in character with many properties taken over from continental Germanic. Middle English, by contrast, changed to a language where many typical Germanic aspects were lost and romance, that is, French properties came in, most obviously in the vocabulary. And early modern English had now fixed many of these aspects. It was now clearly different from its German predecessors. It had a rich vocabulary and a new sound repertoire. These and other linguistic details cannot be discussed in this e-lecture. So please join me again in one of our e-lectures on the linguistic properties of early modern English, ranging from phonology to syntax. Thank you.