The development of the English language
The Britons
From 600 to about 200 BC
They came over to Britain from Europe in various waves. Even today some people in Wales and Ireland still speak languages that are similar to the language of the Britons.
The Romans
From 43 to about 400 AD
They drove the Britons to the west (Wales) and the north (Scotland). There are only a few words that the Romans left.
strata, tabula, vallum
The Angles and Saxons
From about 450 AD
They came from North Germany when the Romans had left. That is why many of the Anglo-Saxon words in English look like German words.
Word itself is an example.
The Vikings
From about 800 to about 1000 AD
They came again and again, fought against the Angles and Saxons, stole gold and sailed back to Denmark and Norway.
The Normans
1066
William the Conqueror was the last foreigner to conquer England.
prison, couleur, soldat, boeuf, foret, fleur, gouvernement
Red Line New, Band 5, Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart, 1999, page 47