Main historical facts

  • 476

    The beginning of the Middle Ages

    The beginning of the Middle Ages
    The middle ages begin with the fall of the Western Roman Empire
  • Period: 590 to 604

    The development of the Gregorian chant

    During this time the Gregorian chant was developed. It's also known as plainchant or plainsong and named after Pope St. Gregory the Great. This pope was credited with bringing it to the West.
  • 1030

    New method to teach singing

    New method to teach singing
    Around this time when a new method to teach singing was invented by a Benedictine monk and choirmaster named Guido de Arezzo. He is regarded as the inventor of modern musical notation.
  • Oct 14, 1066

    The battle of hastings

    The battle of hastings
    The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066. The Franco-Norman army of Duke William II of Normandy clashed with the Anglo-Saxon army of King Haroldo II. It was the beginning of the Norman conquest of England.
  • 1085

    The Domesday Book is completed

    The Domesday Book is completed
    The Domesday Book is England’s earliest surviving public record, unsurpassed in depth and detail until the introduction of censuses in the 19th century.
  • Period: 1176 to 1183

    The Battle of Legnano

    The Battle of Legnano was a battle between the Imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa and the troops of the Lombard League on 29 May 1176, near the town of Legnano, in present-day Lombardy, in Italy. They clashed suddenly without having time to plan any strategy. The battle was crucial in the long war fought by the Holy Roman Empire in an attempt to assert its power over the municipalities of northern Italy, which decided to put aside their mutual misunderstandings.
  • Period: 1220 to 1258

    The construction of the Salisbury Cathedral

    This cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of English Gothic architecture. It took only 38 years to build, . Since the Lincoln Cathedral collapse in 1549, Salisbury has had the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom.
  • 1350

    The beginning of the renaissance

    The beginning of the renaissance
    The Renaissance was an intellectual and artistic movement. Hummanism was created and religion was beginning to lose it's foothold on society. The arts began to grow and expand and this time also saw the creation of science.
  • 1453

    The end of the Middle Ages

    The end of the Middle Ages
    The Middle Ages end with the fall of the Byzantine Empire
  • 1464

    Cosimo de Medici dies

    Cosimo de Medici dies
    Cosimo di Giovanni de Medici or Cosimo the Elder was an Italian politician and banker, founder of the Medici dynasty, effective rulers of Florence for much of the Italian Renaissance.
  • Period: 1494 to 1559

    The italian wars

    The Wars of Italy were a series of conflicts between 1494 and 1559 that involved, on different occasions, the main states of Western Europe. Initially a dynastic dispute over France's hereditary rights to the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Sicily Citerior, the wars quickly developed into territorial and power struggles between the various participants, marked by alliance games, counter-alliances and frequent betrayals.
  • Period: 1500 to 1550

    Experimentation with French chansons

    Experimentation with French chansons. Known composers during this period were Clément Janequin and Claudin de Sermisy.
  • 1517

    Protestant Reformation

    Protestant Reformation
    Protestant Reformation sparked by Martin Luther. Significant changes occurred to church music such as the introduction of a chorale. It was also the period when the Psalms of the Bible were translated into French and then set to music.
  • The end of the renaissance

    The end of the renaissance
    The Catholic church censored artists and writers in response to the Protestant Reformation. Many Renaissance thinkers feared being too bold, which stifled creativity. Furthermore, in 1545, the Council of Trent established the Roman Inquisition, which made humanism and any views that challenged the Catholic church an act of heresy punishable by death. By the early 17th century, the Renaissance movement had died out, giving way to the Age of Enlightenment.