-
In 476CE the Roman Empire fell as a result of repeating raiding by tribes like the Ostrogoths. The main reason the raids were so effective was that the troops had been spread thin over Rome's massive area and weren't gathered together well enough.
-
In 711CE a Muslim army commander named Tariq Ibn Ziyad led a 12000 strong army into Spain in hopes of capturing the country. One of the most decisive battles of their 7 year campaign came a year after they lander, in 712, when they defeated the Visigoths, led by King Roderic in battle at Guadalete. Spain eventually became one of the most powerful Muslim countries.
-
Charlemagne or Charles the Great was King of the Franks from 768 and became King of Italy when it was taken in 774. He was then crowned "holy Roman Emperor" in 800. He united much of Europe during the Middle Ages and laid the foundations for modern France, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands
-
In 1066 The Normans from France invaded England during the reign of King Harold and, at The Battle of Hasting eventually killed him. The leader of the invading army, William the Conqueror was then crowned King of England on Christmas Day
-
The First Crusade was an invasion called on by Pope Urban II in an attempt to capture the Holy Land. It started in 1095 and finished in 1099 when the besieged Jerusalem fell and its inhabitants massacred.
-
Thomas a Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170 when he was killed by 4 followers of the king after they heard him say "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?". After his death the knights were excommunicated by the Pope and Thomas a Becket made a saint and a martyr.
-
The Magna Carta was a treaty signed by King John in 1215 for anti-royalist barons in 1215. It limited the powers of the king, protected church rights and stopped the barons from being imprisoned.
-
The Hundred Years War was a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 by The House Plantagenet, rulers of England, against The House Valois, rulers of France. It was fought by 5 generation of kings from 2 rival dynasties over the succession to the throne of France.
-
In the years 1346 to 1353 The Black Death spread throughout Europe, killing an estimated 75 to 200 million people. It began in the arid plains of Central Asia and moved through Europe on fleas that lived on black rats.
-
The Peasant's Revolt was an uprising in England in 1381. It was triggered by the high taxes after Th Hundred Years War and the tension after the Black Death. They attacked London and burnt the gaols, destroyed the Savoy Palace, burnt law books and stormed Tower of London, killing The Lord Chancellor and The Lord High Treasurer. The king then met with them and accepted their plans to abolish serfdom.
-
The Battle of Agincourt was a decisive battle in The War of the Roses where a vastly outnumbered English army beat the French army. This led to The King of England marrying the French king's daughter and their son eventually going on to be made heir to bothe the French and English throne.
-
Johannes Gutenberg was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer and publisher who was the first person in Europe to use a printing press. His invention played a key role in The Renaissance and is considered to be one of the greatest inventions of the Medieval period.
-
The War of the Roses was a series of wars fought for the English crown between the two rival branches of the House Plantagenet: The House of Lancaster who were associated with a red rose, and the house of York who were associated with the white rose hence the name. It was caused mainly by the social and financial struggles after the Hundred Years War.
