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312
Battle of the Milvian Bridge
Battle Recreation Constantine is victorious over Maxentius in a battle outside Rome, called the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Following this battle, Christianity will become licit and Constantine promotes Christianity. -
363
Sulpicius Severus
Dickinson College Text Lives 363-425 (approximately) and writes the life of St. Martin. -
366
Liberius Dies
Liberius dies and the succession crisis begins. Eventually Damasus ascends to the papacy. He would remake Rome's catacombs to focus intensely on saints and order many epigrams written. -
405
Prudentius Publishes Poems
Sometime after 403, he visits Rome and writes the Peristephanon. In 405, Prudentius publishes numerous poems and dies soon thereafter. -
410
Sack of Rome
Alaric I and his Goths sack Rome for the first time in almost 800 years. -
426
Completion of City of God
Augustine completes 'City of God' in reaction to the sack of Rome. -
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455
Vandals Sack Rome
Vandals sack Rome under the direction of Genseric. Plundered Rome for 14 days and caused more devastation than the Visigoths structurally. -
521
St. Columba Born
Columba (521-597) Irish Celtic missionary. Columba was born in Donegal, Ireland. Very little is known about his early life and education. He studied at Celtic schools, and in 551 was ordained a priest. Later, in 563, at the age of 42, he and 12 of his followers sailed to Scotland, where he established a centre of missionary. activity at Iona. His labours resulted in spreading Christianity throughout the entire island of Britain. The picture left is the abbey of Iona. -
524
Consolatio Philosophiae
Boethius writes the 'Consolation of Philosophy' in exile. -
565
Death of Justinian
Death of the emperor Justinian. -
Jan 1, 650
Merovingian Script [Example]
Example of a Merovingian script from Tours. -
Jan 1, 700
Vita Columbae
Text of the Vita Columbae Written around 700, the Vita Columbae Adomnán (also known as Eunan), the ninth Abbot of Iona, who died in 704. Adomnán categorizes the Vita Columbae into three different books: Columba’s Prophecies, Columba’s Miracles, and Columba’s Apparitions. -
Jan 1, 731
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Angelorum Published
Venerable Bede's magnum opus is completed. It begins with the invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar in 55 BCE, and is seminal in showing the 'christianization' of Britain. -
Jan 1, 732
Battle of Tours
Arabs defeated by Charles Martel in France on October of 732. Burgundians and Franks led by Martel went up against the Umayyad Caliphate and was victorious. Also called the Battle of Poitiers. -
Jan 1, 740
Alcuin Born
Alcuin born in Northumbria. He would be a leading figure in the court of Charlemagne in the 780s and 90s. -
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Jan 1, 752
Reign of the Carolingians
Pepin the Short dethrones last Merovingian King and is crowned king of the Franks by Boniface, bishop of Mainz. Two years later, in 754, Pope Stephen II would recrown Pepin in Paris. -
Jan 1, 776
Peter of Pisa
Peter of Pisa summoned to the court of Charlemagne to teach Latin. -
Jan 1, 1050
Carmina Burana
"Songs from Beuern" is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, with some are from the 13th century. -
Jan 1, 1055
Hildebert Born
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Oct 14, 1066
Battle of Hastings
Bayeux Tapestry In the Norman Conquest of Englander, William the Conqueror is victorious. King Harold II died in battle. The famous Bayeux Tapestry depicts the conquest and reminds us that history is not just recorded in text. -
Jan 1, 1079
Birth of Peter Abelard
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Jun 11, 1090
Birth of Bernard of Clairvaux
(1090 – August 20, 1153) The French abbot was a writer and a reformer of the Cistercian order. -
Nov 27, 1095
First Crusade Begins
Pope Urban II launches the First Crusade. -
Jan 1, 1101
Birth of Heloise
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Jan 1, 1115
John of Salisbury Born
(1115-11080) -
Jan 1, 1115
Abelard Woos Heloise
Abelard begins seducing Heloise (1115-17) -
Jan 1, 1173
Peter of Blois Goes to England
Peter goes to England and serves Henry II (pictured here). -
Jan 1, 1328
Black Death in Asia
First outbreak of the Black Death in Asia. -
Jan 1, 1405
The Book of the City of Ladies Published
Christine de Pizan publishes the Book of the City of Ladies. The book serves as her response to Jean de Meun's The Romance of the Rose. Christine creates an allegorical city of ladies. -
Vulgate Bible Begun
Jerome commissioned to translate the Bible into Latin. Known as the Bulgate Bible, it replaced the Old Latin Bible. -
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Augustine's Conversion
Augustine converted in the garden, after hearing children's voices. At Easter of the following year, Augustine is baptized by Ambrose. -
Prudentius Born
Prudentius Born in Northern Spain. -
Clovis Crowned
Clovis, King of the Franks, becomes king. He will eventually unite Gaul under Merovingian rule and convert to Catholic Christianity. -
Conversion of Clovis
Account of the Conversion Clovis converted (likely from Arianism, though Gregory claims 'paganism') to Catholic Christinaity. He thus unites his kindgdom with a religious identity and attaches himself with papacy. -
Boethius Born
Boethius, "the last of the Romans", born in Rome. Born to a consular family, he was educated by Symmachus. -
Birth of Cassiodorus
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585). -
Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book
Although date is uncertain, it has been proposed that they are dated 960 to 990. -
Charlemagne Crowned Holy Roman Emperor
Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne on Christmas Day. -
Umayyads Proclaimed Caliphs in Spain
The Umayyads in Spain proclaimed themselves caliphs in 929, but had occupied it since the 8th century.