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476
Fall of Rome
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Period: 476 to Jan 1, 1485
The Middle Ages
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Period: Jan 1, 1066 to Jan 1, 1087
The reign of King William the Conqueror
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Oct 14, 1066
End of The Battle of Hastings
The Norman victory in the Norman Conquest of England, fought between the Norman army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army of King Harold II. King Harold II (Harold Goodwinson) is defeated. -
Period: Jan 1, 1087 to Jan 1, 1100
The reign of King William Rufus (son of William)
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Jan 1, 1099
End of the First Crusade
Jerusalem is re-taken from the Muslims after 3 years, on the preaching of Pope Urban II. -
Period: Jan 1, 1100 to Jan 1, 1135
The reign of King Henry I (William Rufus’ brother)
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Jan 1, 1118
The Knights Templar founded
The Knights Templar is founded, to protect Jerusalem and European pilgrims on their journey to the city -
Period: Jan 1, 1135 to Jan 1, 1154
Reign of King Stephen, Grandson of William the Conqueror.
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Jan 1, 1149
End of the Second Crusade
The Second Crusade was announced by Pope Eugene III, and was the first of the crusades to be led by European kings. It went for 4 years. -
Period: Jan 1, 1154 to Jan 1, 1189
The Reign of King Henry II
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Period: Feb 13, 1189 to Feb 13, 1199
The reign of King Richard I (third son of Henry II)
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Jan 1, 1192
End of the Third Crusade.
Saladin manages to unite the Muslim world and recapture Jerusalem, sparking the Third Crusade. After 3 years, it turned out to be largely successful, yet fell short of its ultimate goal—the reconquest of Jerusalem. -
Period: Jan 1, 1199 to Jan 1, 1216
The reign of King John (fifth son of Henry II)
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Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta is signed
The Magna Carta is signed, which was an important step in saying that the King could not put himself above the law. King John was forced to sign this document by a group of rebelling barons, but he refused. They went to war, and John died during battle. -
Period: Jan 1, 1216 to Jan 1, 1272
The reign of King Henry III (son of John)
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Period: Jan 1, 1272 to Jan 1, 1307
The reign of King Edward I (son of Henry III)
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Jan 1, 1307
The Knights Templar fall
The Knights of the Templar are rounded up and murdered by Philip the Fair of France, with the backing of the Pope. Philip was jealous of the Templars' wealth and power, and the enormous debt he owed them at the time, so he sought to seize their financial resources for himself. -
Period: Jan 1, 1307 to Jan 1, 1327
The reign of King Edward II (son of Edward I)
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Jan 1, 1315
The Great Famine begins
The Great Famine begins, starting with bad weather in spring 1315, then universal crop failures lasted through 1316 until the summer of 1317. This period was marked by extreme levels of crime, disease, mass death and even cannibalism and infanticide. -
Period: Jan 1, 1327 to Jan 1, 1377
The reign of King Edward III (son of Edward II)
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Jan 1, 1337
The Hundred Years' War begins
This is the start of England and France's struggle for dominance of Western Europe. The war actually lasted 116 years but was punctuated by several periods of peace. -
Jan 1, 1347
The Black Death ravages Europe
The Black Death (or the Bubonic Plague) strikes, for the first of many times. It is predicted that it reduced the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in 1400, making it one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. -
Period: Jan 1, 1377 to Jan 1, 1399
The reign of King Richard II (grandson of Edward III, son of the Black Prince)
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Period: Jan 1, 1399 to Jan 1, 1413
The reign of King Henry IV (grandson of Edward III, son of John of Gaunt)
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Period: Jan 1, 1413 to Jan 1, 1422
The reign of King Henry V (son of Henry IV)
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Period: Jan 1, 1422 to Jan 1, 1461
The reign of King Henry VI (son of Henry V)
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Jan 1, 1453
The Hundred Years' War ends
The Hundred Years' War ends, with the Battle of Castillon. The Battle of Castillon is generally considered the end of the Hundred Years' War as Henry VI's insanity and the Wars of the Roses left England in no position to wage war in France. -
Jan 1, 1455
The War of the Roses begins
The War of the Roses was a series of civil wars for the throne of England. It was fought between supporters of two rival branches of the Royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York. -
Period: Jan 1, 1461 to Jan 1, 1483
The reign of King Edward IV ( youngest son of Edward III)
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Period: Jan 1, 1483 to Jan 1, 1485
The reign of King Richard III (uncle of Edward V)
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Jan 1, 1485
The War of the Roses ends
The final victory went to Henry Tudor, the Earl of Richmond. He went on to rule England and Wales for 117 years. -
Jan 1, 1485
The Tudor Dynasty begins
After Henry Tudor rose to capture the throne in battle, he became Henry VII. He then married Elizabeth of York, uniting the former warring factions under a new dynasty. -
Viking raid on Lindisfarne
The Vikings raid Lindisfarne, which is now considered to be the start of the Viking Period.
