-
Oct 14, 1066
1066 William the Conqueror invades England
William built a large fleet and invaded England in September 1066, decisively defeating and killing Harold at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066. -
Jan 1, 1150
1150 paper is first mass-produced in Spain
Four hundred years went by before Europeans picked up paper making from the Arabs. The first Western paper-mill was built in Spain in 1150 A.D. by the Moors, the second was built in Italy in 1276. -
Jun 15, 1215
1215 Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is a charter agreed to by King John of England, on 15 June 1215. It promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown. -
Jan 1, 1270
1270 end of the Crusades
The Eighth Crusade represented the last major crusade aimed at the Holy Land. -
Jan 1, 1348
1348 The Plague
The Black Death was an epidemic of bubonic plague, a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis that circulates among wild rodents where they live in great numbers and density. -
Jan 1, 1378
1378 first appearance of Robin Hood in Literature
The first clear reference to "rhymes of Robin Hood" is from the c. 1377 poem Piers Plowman. -
Jan 1, 1387
1387 Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is by far Chaucer’s best known and most acclaimed work. In actuality, The Canterbury Tales is made up of only 24 tales and rather abruptly ends before its characters even make it to Canterbury. -
Period: Jan 1, 1455 to Jan 1, 1485
1455-1485 War of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of wars for control of the throne of England. They were fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, those of Lancaster and York. They were fought in several sporadic episodes between 1455 and 1487, although there was related fighting before and after this period. -
Jan 1, 1485
1485 first printing of Le Morte d’Arthur
Le Morte D'Arthur is the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, beginning with Arthur's conception and birth, and concluding with his death at the hands of his bastard son, Mordred. -
Aug 22, 1485
1485 First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned
Henry VII, known before accession as Henry Tudor, was King of England after seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death, the first monarch of the House of Tudor.