Medieval Timeline

By Tessa Marin
  • Jan 1, 1150

    Paper is first mass-produced in Spain

    Paper was invented by the Chinese by 105 AD during the Han Dynasty and spread slowly to the west via Samarkand and Baghdad.
  • Jan 1, 1215

    Magna Carta

    Magna Carta, also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an English charter, originally issued in Latin in the year 1215, translated into vernacular-French as early as 1219, and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions.
  • Jan 1, 1270

    end of the Crusades

    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.
  • Jan 1, 1348

    The Plague

    Just before the middle of the fourteenth century, when Chaucer would have been just a boy of ten or twelve, the bubonic plague struck Europe.Without question the plague, commonly referred to in medieval England as the "pestilence" or simply as the "deeth" and later referred to as the "Black Death," was the most significant medical catastrophe of the fourteenth century.
  • Jan 1, 1378

    First appearance of Robin Hood in literature

    Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. He became a popular folk figure in the medieval period continuing through to modern literature, films and television.
  • Jan 1, 1387

    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.
  • Jan 1, 1455

    1485- War of the Roses

    War of the Roses, 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.
  • Jan 1, 1485

    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, 1485

    First Tudor king, HenryVII, is crowned

    His victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field overthrew Richard III and effectively put an end to the Wars of the Roses. Henry is also known for his extreme frugality and his ability as an administrator. He was responsible for the beginning of the Star Chamber, a closed court that answered to no one but the king.
  • Jan 1, 1485

    first printing of Le Morte d'Arthur

    The first printing of Malory's work was made by Caxton in 1485; it proved popular, and was reprinted, with some additions and changes, in 1498 and 1529 by Wynkyn de Worde who succeeded Caxton's press.