Medieval Timeline

By jamie.sanchez
  • Jan 1, 1066

    Willian 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, 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,[1] 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. 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.
  • Jan 1, 1348

    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.Thought to have started in China or central Asia, it traveled along the Silk Road and reached the Crimea by 1346.
  • Jan 1, 1378

    First appearance of Robin Hood in literature

    Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. 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."
  • 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

    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 Tudor King, Henry VII, is crowned

    King Henry VII of England became King after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22nd August 1485. He later declared that his kingship dated from the day before the battle, so that those who fought against him would be guilty of treason. His coronation took place a few weeks later on 30th October 1485.
  • 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. Three more editions followed at intervals to the time of the English Civil War.
  • Jan 1, 1500

    Paper is first mass-produced in Spain

    Muslim conquest of Spain brought paper-making to Europe.