Middle Ages

William the Conqueror Invades England

Sep 28, 1066

William laid claim to the English throne after Edward died. He was a distant cousin of Edward and said that Edward had promised him the throne when visiting France in 1051. He even said his claim had been accepted by Harold Godwinson in 1064, when Harold had been blown onto the Norman shore by a storm. William invaded England to become King and claim the throne from Harold.

Paper is First Mass-Produced in Spain

Sep 23, 1150

Papermaking and manufacturing in Europe was started by Muslims living on the Iberian Peninsula, (today's Portugal and Spain) and Sicily in the 10th century, and slowly spread to Italy and Southern France reaching Germany by 1400.

Magna Carta

Sep 23, 1215

England’s King John was facing down a possible rebellion by the country’s powerful barons. Under duress, he agreed to a charter of liberties known as the Magna Carta that would place him and all of England’s future sovereigns within a rule of law. Though it was not initially successful, the document was reissued in 1216, 1217 and 1225, and eventually served as the foundation for the English system of common law.

End of the Crusades

Sep 23, 1270

After two centuries the old crusading enthusiasm died out, the old ideal of the crusade as "the way of God" lost its spell. Men had begun to think less of winning future salvation by visits to distant shrines and to think more of their present duties to the world about them. They came to believe that Jerusalem could best be won as Christ and the Apostles had won it "by love, by prayers, and by the shedding of tears."

The Plague

Sep 23, 1348

Coming out of the East, the Black Death reached the shores of Italy in the spring of 1348. The plague presented itself in three interrelated forms. The bubonic variant derives its name from the swellings or buboes that appeared on a victim's neck, armpits or groin. A second variation - pneumonic plague - attacked the respiratory system and was spread by merely breathing the exhaled air of a victim. Finally, the septicemic version of the disease attacked the blood system.

First Appearance of Robin Hood in Literature

Sep 23, 1378

Robin Hood is traditionally depicted as being dressed in Lincoln green he is often portrayed as "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor" alongside his band of Merry Men. Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the late-medieval period, and continues to be widely represented in literature, films and television.

Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales

Sep 23, 1387

The Canterbury Tales 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.

The War of Roses

May 22, 1455

On May 22, 1455, York met Henry’s forces at St. Albans while on the northern road to the capital. The bloody encounter lasted less than an hour, and the Yorkists carried the day. The duke of Somerset, Margaret’s great ally, was killed, and Henry was captured by the Yorkists.

First Printing of Le Morte d’Arthur

Sep 23, 1485

Le Morte d'Arthur tells the famous legend of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, the knights of the Round Table and their quest for the mystical Holy Grail. In 21 books, the story covers the founding of Arthur’s kingdom and the institution of the Round Table; the various adventures of individual knights; the quest for the Holy Grail; the death of Arthur and the fall of his kingdom.

First Tudor king, Henry VII, is Crowned

Sep 23, 1485

Henry won the throne when his forces defeated the forces of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. Henry was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle.