Important events of the middle ages

Richard III is defeated at the battle of Bosworth

1485 BCE

The last significant clash of the Wars of the Roses, the battle of Bosworth saw the Lancastrian Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII) defeat Richard III in a bloody fight for the English throne.

Henry V defeats the French at Agincourt

1415 BCE

Soon after becoming king of England in 1413, the ambitious young Henry V turned his attention to expanding his realm. During his father’s reign he had pushed for an invasion of France, and as the country was undergoing a period of political turmoil under its elderly monarch, Charles VI, it was the perfect time to launch an assault on the vulnerable kingdom.

The Peasants’ Revolt

1381 BCE

The first large-scale uprising in English history, the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 threatened to overturn the existing social structure and undermine the country’s ruling elite.

The Black Death comes to Britain

1348 BCE

The summer of 1348 saw the first outbreak of the bubonic plague in England, leading to an epidemic of huge proportions.

The battle of Bannockburn

1314 BCE

he Scottish Wars of Independence had been raging for many years and Edward II’s hold over Scotland had begun to crumble. In an attempt to restore his grasp on the kingdom Edward II amassed a large body of troops to relieve Stirling Castle, which had been besieged by the forces of Robert the Bruce

Magna Carta is signed

1215 BCE

At the time of its creation, however, the document’s long-lasting significance was not immediately recognised.

Thomas Becket is murdered

1170 BCE

Bloody proof of overflowing tensions in the ongoing power struggle between the medieval church and crown, the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 has gone down in history for its shocking brutality.

The First Crusade is decreed

1095 BCE

Pope Urban II’s official call for “holy war” in 1095 heralded the beginning of centuries of religious conflict. The crusades were a significant and long-lasting movement that saw European Christian knights mount successive military campaigns in attempts to conquer the Holy Land. Religious conflict peaked during the 12th and 13th centuries and its impact can be traced throughout the Middle Ages.

The Domesday Book is completed

1085 BCE

The Domesday Book is England’s earliest surviving public record, unsurpassed in depth and detail until the introduction of censuses in the 19th century.

The battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest

Period: 1066 BCE to 1485 BCE

The Norman conquest of 1066 marked a dramatic and irreversible turning point in English history.