Renaissance Literary Events

By raquelwhite
  • Aug 22, 1485

    Richard III is killed in battle

    Richard III is killed in battle
    The last king of the House of York and the last of Plantegenet dynasty killed in the battle Bosworth Field, which became a defining moment for English and Welsh history.
  • Oct 12, 1492

    Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas

    Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
    Columbus and his crew set sail on three ships and end up on one of the Bahamian islands.
  • Sep 30, 1503

    Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa

    Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
    Leonardo da Vinci begins a painting that is now one of the most well known and reconizable paintings around.
  • Sep 30, 1516

    Thomas More’s Utopia is published

    Thomas More’s Utopia is published
    More's narrative depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs.
  • Sep 30, 1543

    Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England

    Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England
    Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England with the Supremacy Act. This Act in 1534 allowed Henry to this and required an oath of loyalty from English subjects that recognized his marriage to Anne Boleyn.
  • Jan 15, 1558

    Elizabeth I becomes queen of England

    Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
    Also known as the Virgin Queen and associated with William Shakespeare. By her death in 1603, England had become a major world power in every respect, and she became one of
    England's greatest monarchs.
  • Apr 23, 1564

    William Shakespeare was born

    William Shakespeare was born
    Also known as the Bard of Avon, William was an English poet, playwright, and actor. Greatest writer in the English language

  • Globe Theatre is built

    Globe Theatre is built
    The Globe Theatre was a theatre where most of Shakespeare's plays were perfomed.

  • Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth

    Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
    King Lear and Macbeth were both tradgic plays written by Shakespear in 1605-1606

  • First permanent English settlement

    First permanent English settlement
    First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia and this town continued as the center of Virginia’s political and social life.

  • Shakespeare’s sonnets are published

    Shakespeare’s sonnets are published
    Shakespeare's 154 sonnots covering love, beauty and morality were pulished for the first time in 1609.

  • King James Bible is published

    King James Bible is published
    The first English translation of the the Christian Bible published for the Church of England in 1611.

  • The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts

    The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
    The Mayflower pilgrims landed in Plymouth Colony in 1602 becoming the traditional site of the disembarktion of William Braford, who was an English separist leader.

  • Newspapers are first published in London

    Newspapers are first published in London
    First titled English newspaper, Corante, published in London, which carried no news about England.

  • Puritan Commonwealth ends

    Puritan Commonwealth ends
    The Commonnwealth was a period from 1649 and onwards following the end of the Second English War. The monarchy is restored with Charles II following a new political settlement

  • John Milton begins Paradise Lost

    John Milton begins Paradise Lost
    An epic poem consisting of 10 books. It is about the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Milton's purpose was to justify the ways of God to men.