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1066
The Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest
The Norman conquest of 1066 marked a dramatic and irreversible turning point in English history. The Anglo-Saxon king Harold II tried to defend his kingdom from the Norman invasion forces of William Duke of Normandy in the battle of Hastings. King Harold was killed and eventually English defenses broke down. King Harold's crushing defeat and death on the battlefield is recorded in the Bayeux Tapestry. -
1085
The Domesday Book is completed
England's earliest surviving public record unsurpassed in depth and detail is the Domesday Book. The Domesday Book records the identities of England's landholders and extensively catalogued the kingdom's taxable goods at the time. -
1095
The First Crusade
The official call for a "holy war" was announced by Pope Urban II and it was the beginning of a long period of religious conflicts. The religious conflicts were crusades and the crusades were about Christians attempting to conquer the Holy Land. The religious conflicts occurred during the 12th and 13th centuries and it impacted people and Europe. -
1170
Thomas Becket is murdered
King Henry II appointed Thomas Becket as archbishop of Canterbury and when that happened trouble emerged between them because Becket had to fight for the interests of the church, which would often disagree to the wishes of the King. So one day the King lost his temper with Becket and said "Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?" and that led to four knights brutally murdering Becket. And Becket's murder extremely damaged the King's reputation. -
1215
Magna Carta is signed
One founding document of the English legal system is the Magna Carta and it was sealed by King John at Runnymede. The Magna Carta's significance was to legally limit the power of the sovereignty. Also three of the clauses from the first Magna Carta remain on the statute books today. -
1314
The battle of Bannockburn
Edward II's removal from the battle of Bannockburn left a lot of area of northern England vulnerable to Scottish attacks and that battle also dealt a significant blow to English control over Scotland. The victory of Robert the Bruce was decisive for Scotland because it strengthened his grip over Scotland and it solidified the country's independence. -
1348
The Black Death comes to Britain
The first outbreak of the Black Death was in England in the summer of 1348 and it lead to millions of deaths. Also all those deaths had a big impact on the economic and social landscape of Britain over time. Workers could demand higher wages and farmers could demand lower rents, which gave the poor more expandable incomes. -
1381
The Peasants' Revolt
The revolt was because of the third poll tax and it especially had a damaging effect on the poor. Because of that government ministers were being attacked and their homes were destroyed. But after that the rioters' demands were more then the abolishing of the third poll tax, they wanted the abolition of outlawry and serfdom as well as the division of lordship among all men. -
1415
Henry V defeats the French at Agincourt
In the battle of Agincourt Henry's soldiers were outnumbered but the deaths of the French were significant so Henry claimed victory. Because of what happened, that battle was a legendary victory for Henry and England. Also Henry's reputation on the continent enhanced dramatically, while the defeat was devastating to the French morale. -
1485
Richard III is defeated at the battle of Bosworth
Henry Tudor's men were outnumbered in the battle against Richard III for the English throne but they managed to win and Richard III was killed on the battlefield. This battle heralded the end of the Plantagenet dynasty and it was the last major conflict of the Wars of the Roses. It also marked a significant turning point in British history and it signaled the beginning of the Tudor period and the end of the medieval era.