The Middle Ages

William the Conqueror invades England

Dec 25, 1066

On October 13, Harold arrived near Hastings with his army, and the next day William led his forces out to give battle. At the end of a bloody, all-day battle, King Harold II was killed--shot in the eye with an arrow, according to legend--and his forces were defeated. William then marched on London and received the city's submission. On Christmas Day, 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned the first Norman king of England, in Westminster Abbey.

Paper is first mass-produced in Spain

Aug 28, 1150

The Arabs learned the paper making from the Chinese prisoners and built the first paper industry in Baghdad in 793 A.D. They, too, kept it a secret, and Europeans did not learn how to make paper until several centuries later. The Egyptians learned the paper making from the Arabs during the early 10th century. Around 1100 A.D. paper arrived in Northern Africa and by 1150 A.D. it arrived to Spain as a result of the crusades and established the first paper industry in Europe.

Magna Carta

Jun 15, 1215

The Magna Carta is a document and collection of 37 English laws (some copied, some recollected, some old and some new) that King John of England (1166 - 1216) was forced into signing. King John was forced into signing the charter because it greatly reduced the power he held as the King of England and allowed for the formation of a powerful parliament. The Magna Carta became the basis for English citizen's rights.

End of the Crusades

Aug 28, 1270

The Eighth Crusade (often called the Crusade of Tunis) – launched by King Louis IX of France in 1270 – represented the last major crusade aimed at the Holy Land. It took place just 16 years after the Seventh Crusade and came about as a result of concerns over the decreasing power held by the remaining Crusader states. Louis’ army was failing due to the lack of clean water to drink and the oppressive heath. The King died on 25 August 1270 from a plague and the Eigth Crusade was practically over.

The Plague

Aug 28, 1348

In Medieval England, the Black Death killed 1.5 million people out of an estimated total of 4 million people between 1348 and 1350. No medical knowledge existed in Medieval England to cope with the disease. After 1350, it was to strike England another six times by the end of the century. It also had a major impact on England’s social structure which lead to the Peasants Revolt of 1381.

First apperance of Robin Hood in literature

Aug 28, 1378

Robin Hood originated in the form of folk tales, but was later recorded onto paper. The oldest written reference to Robin Hood is an indirect one, The Vision of Piers Plowman (1378), while the first direct reference is in a Yorkshire place-name, The Stone of Robin Hood (1322).

Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales

Aug 28, 1387

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories in a frame story, between 1387 and 1400. It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England). The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel to Canterbury.

War of the Roses

Aug 29, 1455

War of the Roses (1455-1485) was a name given to a series of civil wars in England during the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III. Fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne, the wars were named many years afterward from the supposed badges of the contending parties: the white rose of York and the red of Lancaster. They were marked by a ferocity and brutality which are practically unknown in the history of English wars before and since.

First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned

Aug 22, 1485

Henry VII was noted for being the first Tudor King of England and establishing the Tudor Dynasty. His victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field overthrew Richard III and effectively put an end to the Wars of the Roses. Henry is also known for his extreme frugality and his ability as an administrator. He was responsible for the beginning of the Star Chamber, a closed court that answered to no one but the king.

First printing of Le Morte d’Arthur

Aug 28, 1485

Written by Sir Thomas Malory, it's one of the first books published in England using the printing press. Le Morte D'Arthur was extremely popular when first published in the 15th century. This popularity, combined with Malory's comprehensive and effective story-telling, caused Le Morte D'Arthur to influence many later authors' interpretations of Arthur, including T. H. White's The Once and Future King.