the 10 most significant dates of the Middle Ages

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  • 1066

    The battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest

    Norman's conquest of 1066 marked a dramatic and irreversible turning point in British history. The incident began with the Battle of Hastings, when Anglo-Saxon King Harold II tried to defend his territory against the Norman invasion of William, Duke of Normandy (later called William the Conqueror).
  • 1085

    The Domesday Book is completed

    The Book of Doomsday Judgment is the earliest surviving public record in England, and its depth and detail cannot be surpassed before the census was conducted in the 19th century.
  • 1095

    The First Crusade is decreed

    Pope Urban II officially called for a "jihad" in 1095, heralding the beginning of religious conflicts for centuries. The Crusade is an important and long-lasting movement
  • 1170

    Thomas Becket is murdered

    Bloody proof of overflowing tensions in the ongoing power struggle between the medieval church and crown, the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 has gone down in history for its shocking brutality.
  • 1215

    Magna Carta is signed

    Sealed by King John at Runnymede on 15 June 1215, Magna Carta (meaning ‘great charter’) has become one of the founding documents of the English legal system.
  • 1314

    The battle of Bannockburn

    The battle of Bannockburn saw Scottish leader Robert the Bruce take on the English king Edward II in a pivotal conflict in Scotland’s fight for independence.
  • 1348

    The Black Death comes to Britain

    The summer of 1348 saw the first outbreak of the bubonic plague in England, leading to an epidemic of huge proportions. The disease is estimated to have killed between a third and a half of the population
  • 1381

    The Peasants’ Revolt

    The first large-scale uprising in English history, the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381
  • 1415

    Henry V defeats the French at Agincourt

    Soon after becoming king of England in 1413, the ambitious young Henry V turned his attention to expanding his realm. That was the perfect time to launch an assault on the vulnerable kingdom.
  • 1485

    Richard III is defeated at the battle of Bosworth

    The last significant clash of the Wars of the Roses, the battle of Bosworth saw the Lancastrian Henry Tudor.