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Sep 28, 1066
William the Conquerer Invades England
Edward was succeeded by William, who became Duke of Normandy at a mere 7 years of age. Edward had allegedly promised the throne of England to William, who used a 7,000-strong army to take it by force from Harold Godwinson. -
Period: Sep 28, 1066 to Jan 1, 1485
Medieval Events
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Jan 1, 1150
Spain Begins Mass-Producing Paper
Papermaking methods slowly spread and evolved from the earliest Chinese papyrus sheets. -
Jan 1, 1160
Robin Hood is First Spotted in Literature
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 with his men and frequently clashed with the Sheriff of Nottingham. Rather than a peasant, knight or fallen noble, as in later versions, the protagonist of these medieval stories is a commoner. -
Jun 10, 1215
King John Signs the Magna Carta
The Magna Carta, or "Great Charter," was written by Archbishop Stephen Langton. King John of England (1199-1216) was forced into "signing" it, but he did not give a signature, merely his seal. -
Jan 1, 1270
The Crusades End
The ninth and last major Crusade to the Levant occurred in 1271-2, although other armed attacks in Europe were also called Crusades. After a long series of losses in Palestine, there was little morale left for further adventures in Palestine. -
Jan 1, 1348
The Plague Desiccates Europe
The bubonic plague, or the Black Death, claimed the lives of over 2/3 the population of Europe in just two years. The plague was spread by fleas common on the street rats. -
Jan 1, 1387
Chaucer Writes "The Canterbury Tales"
Chaucer never finished his enormous project, and even the completed tales were not finally revised. Scholars are uncertain about the order of the tales. -
Jan 1, 1455
The War of the Roses Begins
The houses of Lancaster and York were represented by red and white roses, respectively, in a series of dynastic wars fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet for the throne of England. -
Jan 1, 1485
"Le Mort d'Arthur" is First Published
The Middle English of Le Morte D'Arthur is much closer to Early Modern English than the Middle English of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. If the spelling is modernized, it reads almost like Elizabethan English. -
Jan 1, 1485
First Tudor King, Henry VII, is Crowned
Henry VII used Parliament to bring in his taxation payments and at the same time kept over-taxation charges away from himself--a sure way to encourage rebellion.
