The Middle Ages

By DiegoFilologia
  • 300

    • Saint Jerome translates the Scriptures into Latin

  • 330

    • Christianity is proclaimed the official religion of the Roman Empire

  • 395

    • Roman Empire splits into Eastern (or Byzantine) and Western Empires

  • 400

    • Saint Augustine writes influential works of Christian literature

  • 400

    • Foundations for modern European languages are laid

  • 451

    • Papacy is set up in Rome

  • 476

    • Western Roman Empire falls to Germanic invaders

  • Period: 500 to 1000

    • Early Middle Ages; feudalism develops; the Christian church becomes the dominant power in Europe

  • 700

    • Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is written down

  • Period: 711 to 718

    • Moors invade and conquer Spain

  • Period: 800 to 814

    • Charlemagne reigns as first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire

  • 900

    • Beginnings of medieval drama

  • Period: 1000 to 1300

    • High Middle Ages; feudalism is the main system of economy and authority; classical Greek and Roman texts are rediscovered; cathedrals are built as cities grow

  • 1066

    • Norman Conquest of England

  • Period: 1096 to 1270

    Crusades

  • 1100

    • Song of Roland, French epic

  • 1125

    • Geoffrey of Monmouth. History of the Kings of Britain

    (c.1100-1154)
  • 1135

    • French poet Chretien de Troyes, Perceval

    c. 1135-1190
  • 1140

    • Poem of My Cid, Spanish epic

  • 1161

    • Marie de France perfects Breton lai, a French poetic form

    c. 1161-1225
  • 1179

    • Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda

    (1179-1241)
  • 1200

    • Romance of the Rose, French allegory of courtly love

    c. 1200
  • Period: 1214 to 1292

    • Work of Roger Bacon, lays foundations for modern scientific method

  • Period: 1225 to 1274

    • Thomas Aquinas, theologian and philosopher, revolutionizes medieval thought

  • Period: 1300 to 1500

    • Late Middle Ages; feudal system begins to weaken; Church has internal divisions

  • Period: 1305 to 1376

    • Popes live in Avignon, France, during the Babylonian Captivity

  • 1308

    • Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy

    1308-1320
  • Period: 1330 to 1384

    • John Wycliffe urges Church reforms in England

  • 1374

    • Black Death begins to ravage Europe

  • Period: 1378 to 1417

    • Rival popes feud over the papacy during the Great Schism

  • 1387

    • Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

    1387-1400
  • 1400

    • Everyman, morality play

    c. 1400s
  • 1485

    • Sir Thomas Malory, Morte d’Arthur

    completed 1470, published 1485
  • 1492

    • Moors are driven out of Spain