Lang timeline

  • Sep 19, 1300

    The Renaissance begins

    it is generally believed to have begun in Italy during the 14th century. The Renaissance spread to the rest of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries.
  • Feb 5, 1337

    The Hundred Years' War begins

    The name the Hundred Years' War has been used by historians since the beginning of the nineteenth century to describe the long conflict that pitted the kings and kingdoms of France and England.
  • Apr 6, 1341

    April 6, 1341: Francesco Petrarch Is Crowned Poet Laureate

    Many historians cite this date as the beginning of the Renaissance.
  • Oct 12, 1347

    The Black Death arrives in Europe

    he plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. People gathered on the docks were met with a horrifying surprise: Most sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those still alive were gravely ill
  • Mar 27, 1378

    The Great Schism begins

    The schism in the Western Roman Church resulted from the return of the papacy to Rome by Gregory XI. The Romans put into operation a plan to ensure the election of a Roman pope.
  • Jan 3, 1401

    1401: Ghiberti Wins The Right To Sculpt The Northern Doors Of The Baptistry

    Ghiberti is commissioned and takes 28 years to sculpt the bronze doors of the Florentine church. The doors remain one of the most valued treasures of the Renaissance
  • Apr 5, 1403

    Construction begins on Giotto's bell tower in Florence

    In 1401, Brunelleschi entered a competition to design a new set of bronze doors for the baptistery in Florence. He ended up winning and it was soon contructed
  • Jan 18, 1413

    Brunelleschi creates Linear perspective

    Linear perspective revolutionized art. It allowed art to have depth and appear to be in 3D.
  • Apr 19, 1420

    1420: The Papacy Returns To Rome

    The Papacy, having been located in Avignon since 1305, returns to Rome, bringing with it the prestige and wealth necessary to rebuild the city.
  • Sep 3, 1423

    1423: Francesco Fosari Becomes Doge Of Venice

    Fosari assumes the position of doge and attempts to usurp great political power, to the distaste of the Great Council, Venice's oligarchic ruling body, which asserts its power over the doge and torments him until his resignation.
  • Nov 13, 1447

    1447: Pope Nicholas V Ascends To The Throne

    Pope Nicholas V takes the first steps toward turning Rome into a Renaissance city, undertaking many construction projects and strongly encouraging the arts.
  • May 23, 1450

    1450: Francesco Sforza Seizes Control Of Milan

    After a short experiment with republican government, Milan returns to monarchy when Francesco Sforza takes control of the city. His most prominent successor is Ludovico Sforza.
  • May 29, 1453

    Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Empire

    conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire. The dwindling Byzantine Empire came to an end when the Ottomans breached Constantinople's ancient land.
  • Dec 29, 1453

    1453: Constantinople Falls

    The center of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks, provoking an exodus of Greek people and works of art and literature into the Italian city-states.
  • Oct 22, 1454

    Gutenberg bible is published

    The preparation of making this bible was around 1450. The first finished copies were available in 1454 and 1455.
  • Aug 1, 1464

    Cosimo de' Medici dies

    Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici, called "the Elder" and posthumously "Father of the Fatherland". was an Italian banker and politician, the first member of the Medici family that de facto ruled Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance.
  • Mar 18, 1469

    Lorenzo de' Medici becomes the head of Florence

    Known For: Statesman and de facto leader of Florence whose reign coincided with a boom in the Italian Renaissance, thanks largely to his patronage of arts, culture, and philosophy.
  • Jul 5, 1469

    Lorenzo de'Medici becomes ruler of Florence

    the Florentine statesman and arts patron is considered the most brilliant of the Medici. He ruled Florence for some 20 years in the 15th century, during which time he brought stability to the region.
  • Oct 3, 1471

    1471: Sixtus IV Becomes Pope

    Sixtus IV becomes pope, undertaking many successful projects in Rome, but disgracing the Church through his corruption and practice of nepotism.
  • Jun 2, 1482

    Death of the painter Hugo van der Goes, of Ghent

    Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits.was one of the most significant and original Flemish painters of the late 15th century
  • Oct 12, 1492

    Columbus reached the Bahamas

    On 3 August 1492, Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. On 12 October, the expedition reached land, Watling Island in the Bahamas.
  • Jul 27, 1494

    1494: Ludovico Sforza Permits The French Invasion Of Italy

    In an attempt to weaken his enemy, the King of Naples, Ludovico invites the French to invade Italy, granting them free passage through Milan. Though this invasion fails, the French return in 1499, turning on Ludovico and taking Milan, and opening an era of foreign competition for Italian land.
  • Aug 11, 1494

    Death of the painter Hans Memling, of Bruges

    When Memling died on 11 August 1494, he was an acclaimed artist at home and abroad.His style, compositions and use of colors were followed by many artists.
  • Mar 5, 1495

    Da vinci paints the last supper

    The Last Supper is a late 15th-century mural painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is the most recognizable paintings in the world still today
  • Apr 30, 1503

    Pope Julius II assumes the role of Pope

    who was pope from 1503 to 1513, was a noted Renaissance patron of the arts. A warrior pope, he failed to bring Italy under papal control.
  • May 13, 1503

    1503: Pope Julius II Assumes The Papal Throne

    The ascension of Pope Julius II begins the Roman Golden Age, during which the city and Papacy both prosper. Julius II reverses the trend of moral degradation in the Papacy and takes great steps in the rebuilding of Rome.
  • May 7, 1504

    Michelangelo finishes "David"

    Michelangelo sculpted the David from September of 1501 until May of 1504, resulting in this icon of the Renaissance .The David is just over 5 meters high and exceeds five tons.
  • Feb 18, 1510

    Death of the painter Sandro Botticelli, of Florence

    died May 17, 1510, Florence), one of the greatest painters of the Florentine Renaissance. His The Birth of Venus and Primavera are often said to epitomize for modern viewers the spirit of the Renaissance.
  • Jun 14, 1517

    The start of the Reformation

    The Reformation was a movement within Western Christianity in the sixteenth-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Roman Catholic Church and papal authority in particular.
  • Oct 31, 1517

    Martin Luther nails the 95 theses on the door of the withenburg church

    Martin Luther challenges the traditional practices of the church and Pope Leo X. Luther believed that a person's wealth should not impact their status in the after life.
  • May 2, 1519

    Leonardo Da Vinci dies

    Da Vinci died of a probable stroke on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67. He continued work on his scientific studies until his death; his assistant, Melzi, became the principal heir and executor of his estate.
  • Jan 3, 1521

    Pope Leo X threatens Martin Luther with Excommunication

    Pope Leo X excommunicated the German priest Martin Luther. After his excommunication, the church demanded he further defend his views at a meeting in Worms
  • Aug 27, 1521

    Death of the composer Josquin Desprès

    Passed away in the year 1521, the 27th of August. Josquin des Prez, also spelled Desprez, des Prés, or Després. One of thegreates composers during the renaissance.
  • Aug 15, 1522

    Knights of St John abandon Rhodes to the Turks

    The Knights of Saint John first came to Rhodes in the year 1309 and during their 200-year rule of the island, the Ottoman Turks made several valiant attempts
  • Feb 5, 1523

    1523: Pope Clement VII Ascends To The Throne

    Pope Clement VII comes to power in difficult times, following Pope Leo X. He soon proves himself an incompetent politician, and his poor decisions lead to the sack of Rome.
  • Apr 4, 1524

    Francis I invades Italy

    Francis I first invasion to Italy was one of most successful campaign's in Italy.The Emperor Maximilian was allied with Pope Leo X, while Ferdinand II of Aragon duke of Milan and his Swiss protectors and Florence were all hostile to the French.
  • Apr 18, 1526

    Publication at Worms of William Tyndale's English translation of the New Testament

    Tyndale had to take his English translation of the New Testament to Cologne to have it printed, but his endeavour was uncovered and he was forced to halt the printing and flee.
  • May 6, 1527

    May 6, 1527: The Sack Of Rome

    After Pope Clement VII refuses to grant the imperial army a ransom, it attacks the city of Rome, taking the city in just over twelve hours. The sack of Rome symbolizes the downfall of Renaissance Italy, much of which is subjugated to Imperial-Spanish rule by the settlement of Bologna in 1530.
  • Dec 3, 1529

    Siege of Vienna by the Turks Fall of Cardinal Wolsey

    expedition by the Turks against the Habsburg Holy Roman emperor Leopold I that resulted in their defeat by a combined force led by John III Sobieski of Poland.
  • Apr 20, 1533

    Henry the 8th of England

    Henry was excommunicated from the Catholic Church because he annulled his first marriage and married again without the permission of the church.
  • Aug 9, 1541

    Michelangelo completes the fresco The Last Judgement in the Sixtine Chapel

    The Last Judgment (Italian: Il Giudizio Universale) is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo covering the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.
  • Feb 18, 1546

    Martin Luther dies

    Luther died following a stroke on February 18, 1546. At the age of 62 during a trip to his hometown of Eisleben.
  • Jan 1, 1553

    Ivan the terrible is born

    Ivan conquered large amounts of territory transforming Russia into a multienthnic country. He became the first Tsar of Russia.
  • Sep 7, 1555

    Charles V abdicates as Holy Roman Emperor

    Having already resigned the sovereignty of the Netherlands in 1555, Charles V resigned Spain on January 16th, 1556. In theory, Charles V was the most powerful monarch in Europe.
  • Sep 25, 1555

    The peace of Ausburg

    The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement was signed in September 1555 by Charles V, Holy .Roman Emperor, and the Schematically League, signed on 25 September 1555 at the imperial city of Augsburg.
  • Dec 4, 1561

    Death of the miniaturist Simon Bening, of Bruges

    Simon Bening (c. 1483 – 1561) was a Flemish miniaturist, generally regarded as the last major artist of the Netherlandish tradition.[2] Bening, born either in Ghent or Antwerp, was probably trained by his father, illuminator Alexander Bening, in the family workshop in Ghent. He travelled between Ghent and Bruges and became a member of the guild of San John and Saint Luke in Bruges as an illuminator in 1508. He made his own name after moving to Bruges in about 1510, where he had lived since.
  • May 22, 1570

    The First modern atlas is published

    The first true atlas in the modern sense was published on 22 May 1570. Giles Coppens de Diest at Antwerp published 53 maps.
  • Jan 23, 1571

    The Royal Exchange opens in London, England.

    The Royal Exchange was officially opened on 23 January 1571 by Queen Elizabeth.Only the exchange of goods took place until the 17th century.
  • Shakespeare builds the Globe Theatre

    Globe Theater was a theater in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend.
  • The Medici family is kicked out of Florence by Girolamo Savanarola

    Cosimo de' Medici
    After only two years in power, he was forced out of the city in 1494, and died in exile. Thanks in part to the efforts of Pier's younger brother Giovanni .