Anglo-Saxon and the Medieval Periods

Justinian I become Byzantine emperor

527

Justinian I was the Byzantine emperor who was praised for the reestablishment of the administration of the imperial government as well as the advocacy of the codification of laws aka the code of Justinian. Following the death of his Uncle Justin (who he adopted the name Justinian from), he became the only emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

Surviving Version of Beowulf Probably Composed

750

Beowulf is one of the oldest surviving Germanic epic also Beowulf is the longest old English poem.

Vikings Begin first of many raids of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom

793

A quaint holy land off the northeast coast of England called Lindisfarne, was raided by heathen men a.k.a. vikings. Most of the raids that happened were mostly targeted towards monasteries. The only claim recorded is the raids were due to population pressure.

Chinese invent gun powder

800

One important ingredient was saltpeter also known as potassium nitrate. An alchemist mixed 75 parts saltpeter with 15 parts charcoal and 10 parts sulfur. The alchemist who composed this burnt his hands, face, and the whole house burnt down.

Alfred The Great becomes King of Wessex

871

Son of King Aethelwulf, Alfred, not yet known as Alfred the Great, was sent to Rome on pilgrimage. There he was accepted in the faith by the Pope, where he was anointed King according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. Other stories are that he was co-king with his uncle who soon died, where he anointed full ruler-ship to the Kingdom.

Christian Church divided into East and West branches

1054

The East-West Schism was the final separation between the East and West Churches.

England conquers Wales

1282

Edward was one of Scotland's greatest adversaries. As an ominous precursor for his plans for Scotland, Edward attacked Wales. Edward built a series of impressive castles across Wales. Edward issued the statue of Rhuddlan that effectively annexed Wales and made it Province of England.

Sir Gawain and the green Knight composed

1375

Young Sir Gawain accepted a test which was brought upon the Green Knight who barged through the doors. Once easily decapitating the Knight, who grabbed his head and rode off reclaiming the deal that was made before he accepted. He stopped at a castle where a lady advances on him and kisses him and he went along with it. That was test which was revealed by the Green Knight and he helps Gawain realize that he has betrayed his chivalry ideals.

Earliest surviving paston letter written

1420

The Paston Letters is one of the largest archives of 15th-century English it is composed of about 1000 letters and documents. It offers personal lives of three generations of the Paston family from Norfolk over a period of 70 years.

Caxton establishes first printing press in Britain

1476

When the British established the first printing press it started a massive cultural revolution.