Medieval Timeline

By shellinicole
  • Jan 1, 1066

    William the Conqueror invades England

    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.
  • Jan 1, 1150

    paper is first mass-produced in Spain

    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.
  • Jan 1, 1215

    Magna Carta

    Magna Carta
    Magna Carta was the first document forced onto an English King by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. It was preceded and directly influenced by the Charter of Liberties in 1100, in which King Henry I had specified particular areas wherein his powers would be limited.
  • Jan 1, 1270

    End of Crusades

    End of Crusades
    With Louis' death, the Crusades died out with a whimper and not a bang. Continued military failure was a principal reason for their end. For a chronicle of military and political ineptitude, coupled with sheer hubris, they have no comparison in history.
  • Jan 1, 1348

    The Plague

    The Plague
    The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. 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
  • Jan 1, 1378

    First appearance of Robin Hood in literature

    First appearance of Robin Hood in literature
    The first literary references to Robin Hood appear in a series of 14th- and 15th-century ballads about a violent yeoman who lived in Sherwood Forest with his men and frequently clashed with the Sheriff of Nottingham.
  • Jan 1, 1387

    Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales

    Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales
    Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories in a frame story, between 1387 and 1400. It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England). The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel to Canterbury.
  • Period: Jan 1, 1455 to Jan 1, 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.
  • Jan 1, 1485

    First printing of Le Morte d'Arthur

    First printing of Le Morte d'Arthur
    Malory probably started work on Le Morte d'Arthur while he was in prison in the early 1450s and completed it by 1470.
  • Jan 1, 1485

    First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned

    First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned
    Henry VII, crowned king in 1485, was the first ruler from the Tudor line. During the later part of the Wars of the Roses (1471 - 1485), Henry lived in Northwest France in the Duchy of Brittany. After the deaths of Henry VI and his son Edward, Henry through his mother's ancestry became the head of the House of Lancaster.