Significant Events

The Fall of Rome

476

Culture flourished with Rome. They developed more on the architecture that the Greeks had originally created. Rome was conquered by the Goths. Society became uncivilized. Roman culture survived in isolated monasteries. Roads were gone, travel was dangerous, no one could read or write, cities were deserted, the world had fallen into an age of 'darkness'.

The Battle of Hastings

Jan 1, 1066

There was a battle near Hastings. William, Duke of Normandy, was invading England to take King Harold's crown. William took over England and became William the Conqueror. William brought with him feudalism and changed the government of England. The peasants lived on manors under lords. It was the last successful invasion of England.

The Crusades 1097-1272

Jan 1, 1097

The Crusades were wars between the Christians and the Muslims over the Holyland. There were nine Crusades including a Children's Crusade. On the way to the battleground the Christians witnessed trade and towns and decided to have trade and towns themselves. A lot of people died during the Crusades so there were less people to work on manors. This meant that serfs could ask for higher wages and support themselves because there was less of a workforce.

The Magna Carta

Jan 1, 1215

The Magna Carta was a legal document that took power away from the King. It gave the people rights and freedoms for the first time. This was a step towards democracy.

The Black Death

Jan 1, 1348

The Black Death was a plague that started in Italy. 1/3-1/2 of Europe’s population was killed. There were less people to work, so serfs were able to ask for higher wages. Serfs could now support themselves and move away from the manor. The economy was changing from land based to currency based.

The Peasants Revolt

Jan 1, 1381

The Peasants Revolt was a public protest and riot about the poll tax. It was led by Wat Tyler. Sadly, the King ordered all the peasants involved killed. Later on though, the remaining peasants got what they wanted. Serfdom was over! For the first time ever peasants had rights.

The Printing Press

Jan 1, 1450

The Printing Press was invented by Guttenburg in 1450. It helped spread ideas faster because it was faster to produce books than the old method, copying them by hand. Since the invention of the printing press, common people decided to learn to read and write. People learned other people's ideas from the pamphlets that the printing press produced and used them. The Renaissance was beginning.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Jan 1, 1452

Leonardo Da Vinci was an artist and an inventor. Although, he created technology far beyond his time, his work was not recognized for years. On the other hand, his art works inspired other great artists. His art work differed from others at this time because it had a lot more detail and focused on the beauty of the human form. He helped the middle ages become the Renaissance.

Henry VIII

Jan 1, 1509

Henry VIII created the Anglican church. He thus changed England's religion from Christianity to Anglicanism. This gave the people of England another choice of church. This new religion also allowed people to divorce and many other things. Henry VIII was also supporting the Protestant movement. He was now not just the King of his country, but also the ruler of his country's religion.

The 95 Theses

Jan 1, 1517

Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses and nailed them to the church door. The 95 Theses were complaints against the church. Thus, Martin Luther started his own christian church, the Lutheran church. Prior to this, if you were Christian, you were Catholic, but now there were two options for a Christian. This caused the Catholic church to lose a lot of power.