Medieval Timeline

By gobluefreak
  • Aug 24, 1066

    William the Conqueror invades England

    Claiming his right to the English throne, William, duke of Normandy, invades England at Pevensey on Britain's southeast coast. His subsequent defeat of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings marked the beginning of a new era in British history.
  • Aug 24, 1150

    Paper is first mass produced in Spain

    Muslim conquest of Spain brought paper making to Europe. Both Spain and Italy claim to be the first to manufacture paper in Europe. One of the first paper mills in Europe was in Xativa, Spain. The first wire mold for making paper is identified in Spain dating to 1150.
  • Aug 24, 1215

    Magna Carta

    The Magna Carta was signed in June 1215 between the barons of Medieval England and King John. "Magna Carta" is Latin and means "Great Charter". The Magna Carta was one of the most important documents of Medieval England.
  • Aug 24, 1270

    End of the crusades

    The Crusades were a series of religious expeditionary wars blessed by Pope Urban II and the Catholic Church, with the stated goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem. Jerusalem was and is a sacred city and symbol of all three major Abrahamic faiths.
  • Aug 24, 1348

    The Plague

    The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Thought to have started in China or central Asia, it travelled along the Silk Road and reached the Crimea by 1346.
  • Aug 24, 1378

    First appearance of Robin Hood in Literature

    In the earliest sources, Robin Hood is a yeoman, but he was often later portrayed as an aristocrat wrongfully dispossessed of his lands and made into an outlaw by an unscrupulous sheriff.
  • Aug 24, 1387

    Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales

    The Canterbury Tales are the stories of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury. The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel to Canterbury.
  • Period: Aug 24, 1455 to Aug 24, 1485

    War of the Roses

    The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic wars fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York (whose heraldic symbols were the "red" and the "white" rose, respectively) for the throne of England. They were fought in several sporadic episodes between 1455 and 1485, although there was related fighting both before and after this period.
  • Aug 24, 1485

    First printing of Le Morte d'Arthur

    Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
  • Aug 24, 1485

    First Tudor King, Henry VII, is crowned

    Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor.