Timeline
France
Scotland
Ireland
100
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
- 100-
400 - Gaelic speaking people came to Scotland from Ireland, gradually establishing the kingdom of Dal Riata on the west coast.
- 400-
800 - Constitution of the Occitan language and first texts in Occitan.
- 431
- It is believed that St. Patrick came to Ireland during this year, bringing Christianity with him.
- 563
The Gaelic saint, Colum Cille (St Columba), brought Christianity to Scotland, working from a monastery at Iona.
- 795
- The Vikings reached Ireland. They had a great influence on the Irish language, culture and landscape.
- 900-
1000 - Gaelic spoken over most of present day Scotland. The kingdom's Gaelic name is Alba.
- 1000-
1200 - Centuries of Troubadours. The Occitan language radiates throughout Europe.
- 1070
- Malcolm Ceann Mòr, King Malcolm III, married the Anglo-Saxon princess Margaret, and the language of the court changed to English.
- 1169
- The Normans came to Ireland, bringing with them various language and traditional differences.
- 1323
- Creation in Toulouse of Consistòri del Gai Saber (poetic academy named « Consistory of the Gay Science ») and drafting in 1356 of a treatise on Occitan grammar.
- 1539
- Royal decree of Villers-Cotterêts: French becomes the only official language in France.
- 1540
- The new "surrender and regrant" policy was established, whereby all Irish landlords were obliged to swear allegiance to King Henry VIII in order to keep their land.
- 1567
- Pèir de Garros stands up for the language of Oc.
- 1603
- The Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England. James VI of Scotland became James I of England. The court moved to London.
- 1607
- Flight of the Earls; Earls of Tír Eoghain and Tír Chonaill set sail from Ireland and were charged with treason.
- 1695
- – Establishment of the Penal Laws; Laws which fully oppressed Irish Catholics.
- 1746
- The Hanoverian army of King George II defeated the Young Pretender, Bonnie Prince Charlie, at Culloden. This defeat led to the outlawing of much of Gaelic culture.
- 1767
- The New Testament was translated into Gaelic by Dr James Stuart of Killin and Dugald Buchanan of Rannoch. The Old Testament followed in 1801.
- 1793
- The abbot Grégoire publishes his "Report on the necessity to annihilate local dialects", during the French political regime of the Convention.
- 1845
- The Great Famine. The potato crop in Ireland failed. The Irish population was cut from 8 to 6 million, due to starvation, immigration and disease. Many native Irish speakers left the country.
- 1872
- The Education Act (Scotland) introduced compulsory education across Scotland, but excluded Gaelic education. This was hugely damaging to the language.
- 1884
- Establishment of the Gaelic Athletic Association (G.A.A.) in Ireland, to promote Irish sports.
- 1904
- The Literature Nobel Prize is awarded to Frédéric Mistral, for his work Mirelha, written in Occitan.
- 1916
- The Easter Rising. The Easter Rising lasted for a week. The leaders of the rising were sentenced to death. This angered the Irish people and spread huge discontent with Britain amongst the population.
- 1922
- Ireland was declared a Free State, after years of being under British rule.
- 1935
Publication by Lois Alibert of the Gramatica occitana, which settles the classical spelling of Occitan.
- 1937
- Bunracht na hÉireann was established. Ireland was declared a Republic.
- 1951
The "Deixonne" law allows the teaching of regional languages and officialises the name "Occitan".
- 1985
- A Gaelic Medium unit opened in a school in Glasgow, closely followed by others in the Western Isles. There are now over 60 GM units and schools throughout Scotland.
- 2005
- Bòrd na Gàidhlig was established under the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act, with a view to securing the status of Gaelic as an official language of Scotland, and increasing the number of Gaelic speakers.
- 2011
- The article 75-1 introduces regional languages in the French Constitution, "Regional languages belong to the heritage of France." but does not grant them an actual recognition. Occitan and other French regional languages pursue their claims.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.