Middle age timeline

1066: The battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest

1066

The battle of Hastings took place in which the Anglo-Saxon King Harold II attempted to set up defences from the Norman attack, lead by William, Duke of Normandy. Following the victory against king Harold’s forces, William set about transforming the face of Anglo-Saxon England. Throughout England, he replaced the English ruling class with Norman counterparts and buildt defensive fortresses at strategic points.

1085: The Domesday Book is completed

1085

The Domesday Book is England’s oldest serving public record. The book was in depth and detail until the introduction of censuses in the 19th century. The book was a record of a massive survey by William the Conqueror to see the number of resources that were at his disposal, in the case of a potential war. It is significant because it provides important information that is in depth and detail for historians in the future.

1095: The First Crusade is decreed

1095

Pope Urban II called for a “holy war” in 1095 heralded the beginning of centuries of religious conflict. This saw to a long-lasting military movement that would lead to large scale attempts to conquer the Holy Land. The crusade affected a lot of people, it drew peasants to lords and kings to take arms and fight for Christendom. The crusade also impacted England’s global relations. This had influence art, culture, science, trade.

1170: Thomas Becket is murdered

1170

In 1155, Thomas Becket was a clergy but then became the chancellor to King Henry II. But soon after he was appointed as archbishop, his relationship with the king was short-lived. The king lost his temper at Thomas, knights thinking that Henry wanted Becket dead, brutally murdering Becket. His death was canonised and transformed him into a martyr figure and the shrine he worked at became a major European pilgrimage site.

1215: Magna Carta is signed

1215

The Magna Carta is one of the founding documents of the English legal system. When it was first created it did not receive a lot of attention. The fundamental significance of the Magna Carta lay elsewhere. Certain flexible basic values buried among its many phrases ensured its influential legacy in English history.

1314: The battle of Bannockburn

1314

The battle saw that Scottish leader Robert the Bruce take on the English king Edward II in a conflict for Scotland’s independence. It initiated a new form of warfare in Europe in which infantry, not cavalry, dominated the field. This was also the last major victory of the Scots over the English during the middle ages.

1348: The Black Death comes to Britain

1348

The Black Death ravages Britain and kills off about 1/3 of England’s population. It’s also important because it changed the way people lived during and after the plague.

1381: The Peasants’ Revolt

1381

The first large-scale revolt in English History. It threatened to overthrow the already existing social structure and undermine the country’s ruling elite. The revolt was started because of the third tax poll that mainly targeted the poor into paying.

1415: Henry V defeats the French at Agincourt

1415

Henry V wanted to expand his realm, and what a perfect time to do so when then the French when they were going through political turmoil under its monarch, Charles VI. The battle is count as a legendary victory to the English.

1485: Richard III is defeated at the battle of Bosworth

1485

The last significant clash of the Wars of the Roses, the battle of Bosworth battle consisted of the Lancastrian Henry Tudor army and Richard III army. The Battle of Bosworth represented a crucial turning point in British history as the final major fight of the Wars of the Roses and the end of the Plantagenet kingdom. It marked the end of the Middle Ages and the start of the Tudor period.