Medieval Timeline

By Jacob.Tumbleson
  • Aug 24, 1066

    William the Conquerer invades England

    The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands and by difficulties with his eldest son.
  • Aug 24, 1150

    Paper is first mass produced in spain

    Both Spain and Italy claim to be the first to manufacture paper in Europe. Muslim conquest of Spain brought paper making to Europe.
  • Aug 24, 1215

    Magna Carta

    The 1215 charter required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties and accept that his will was not arbitrary, for example by explicitly accepting that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right which is still in existence today.
  • Aug 24, 1270

    End of Crusades

    They have never since relinquished it. Acre, the last Christian post in Syria, fell in 1291 A.D., and with this event the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem ceased to exist. The Hospitallers, or Knights of St. John, still kept possession of the important islands of Cyprus and Rhod
  • Aug 24, 1348

    The plague

    Although there were several competing theories as to the etiology of the Black Death, it has been conclusively proven via analysis of ancient DNA from victims in northern and southern Europe that the pathogen responsible is the Yersinia pestis bacterium.
  • Aug 24, 1378

    First appearance of Robin Hood in literature

    A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men".
  • Aug 24, 1387

    Chaucer writes the Canterbury Tales

    The tales (mostly written in verse although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral
  • Aug 24, 1455

    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.
  • Aug 24, 1485

    First Printing of Le Morte d'Arthur

    He was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle. He was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the political upheavals of the Wars of the Roses.
  • Aug 24, 1485

    First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned

    Henry VII was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the political upheavals of the Wars of the Roses. He founded a long-lasting dynasty and, after a reign of nearly 24 years, was peacefully succeeded by his son, Henry VIII.