Medieval Timeline

William the Conqueror invades England

Aug 23, 1066

Claiming his right to the English throne, William, duke of Normandy, invades England at Pevensey on Britain's southeast coast and defeated Harold Godwinson to win the crown.With approximately 7,000 troops and cavalry, William seized Pevensey and marched to Hastings, where he paused to organize his forces. 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

Paper is massed produced in Spain

Aug 23, 1150

Paper was introduced to Europe by the Moors on their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, and the first mills were established in Spain in about 1150. The craft then spread into most of the rest of Europe during the next two centuries. The development of printing technology in the 15th century saw the start of the widespread publication of books and this greatly stimulated the paper-making industry.

Magna Carta

Aug 23, 1215

Magna Carta was written by a group of 13th-century barons to protect their rights and property against a tyrannical king. Magna Carta was the first document forced onto an English King by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. It was preceded and directly influenced by the Charter of Liberties in 1100, in which King Henry I had specified particular areas wherein his powers would be limited.

End of the Crusades

Aug 24, 1270

Ignoring his advisers, in 1270 King Louis IX again attacked the Arabs in Tunis in North Africa. He picked the hottest season of the year for campaigning and his army was devastated by disease. The king himself died, ending the last major attempt to take the Holy Land.

The Plague

Aug 23, 1348

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350.

First appearance of Robin Hood in literature

Aug 23, 1378

The first literary references to Robin Hood appear in a series of 14th- and 15th-century ballads about a violent yeoman who lived in Sherwood Forest. Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor",[1] assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men".[

Chaucer writes the Canterbury Tales

Aug 23, 1387

Chaucer wrote his collection of stories, told as if by pilgrims on the road from London to Canterbury, in the last two decades of the 14th century. The book was unfinished when he died in 1400. It was the first to be written in Vernacular middle English.

War of the Roses

Aug 23, 1455

The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic wars fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York (whose heraldic symbols were the "red" and the "white" rose, respectively) for the throne of England.

First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned

Aug 23, 1485

Being the first Tudor King of England, 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.

The first printing of Le Morte d'Arthur

Aug 23, 1485

The first printing of Malory's work was made by William Caxton in 1485. Le Morte D'Arthur is the first true novel written in English. Le Morte d'Arthur (originally spelled Le Morte Darthur, Middle French for "the death of Arthur"[1]) is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table. The book interprets existing French and English stories about these figures, with some of Malory's own original material