Medieval Timeline

1066 William the Conqueror invades England

Sep 28, 1066

The Norman Invasion started when William, Duke of Normandy's 7,000 soldiers landed at Pevensey on the morning of the 28th September 1066.

c. 1150 Paper was first-produced in Spain

Jan 1, 1150

"Paper is there manufactured, such as cannot be found anywhere else in the civilized world, and is sent to the East and to the West." Early paper was at first disfavored by the Christian world as a manifestation of Moslem culture, and a 1221 decree from Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II declared all official documents written on paper to be invalid.

1215 Magna Carter

Jun 15, 1215

The Magna Carta is a document that King John of England was forced into signing. King John was forced into signing the charter because it greatly reduced the power he held as the King of England and allowed for the formation of a powerful parliament. The Magna Carta became the basis for English citizen's rights

1270- End of the Crusades

Jan 1, 1270

The crusading movement came to an end by the close of the thirteenth century. The emperor Frederick II for a short time recovered Jerusalem by a treaty, but in 1244 A.D. the Holy City became again a possession of the Moslems

1348 The Plague

Aug 24, 1348

The Black Death was caused by fleas carried by rats that were very common in towns and cities. The fleas bit into their victims literally injecting them with the disease. Death could be very quick for the weaker victims

c. 1378 first appearance of Robin Hood in literature

Jan 1, 1378

The first mention of a quasi-historical Robin Hood is given in Andrew of Wyntoun's Orygynale Chronicle, written in about 1420.

c. 1387 Chaucer writes the Canterbury Tales

Jan 1, 1387

One of the reasons Chaucer is so important is that he made the decision to write in English and not French. Chaucer began the tales in 1387 and continued until his death in 1400. No text in his own hand still exists, but a surprising number of copies survive from the 1500s – more than 80

War of Roses

Jan 1, 1455

It was a name given to a series of civil wars in England during the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III. They were marked by a ferocity and brutality which are practically unknown in the history of English wars before and since.

1485 first printing of Le Morte d'Arthur

Jan 1, 1485

In 1485, the first printed edition of Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur was published by William Caxton, the man who brought the printing press to England. The book was immensely successful. It was said to have been the favorite book of King Henry VIII

First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned

Jan 1, 1485

Henry was able to negotiate alliances with this opposition, and, together with his own Lancastrian forces and French mercenaries, he invaded England. His defeat of Richard at Bosworth Field gave him the crown.