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The fall of the Western Roman Empire marks the beginning of the Middle Ages. Western Rome collapse was due to a string of military losses. Rome had fought with Germanic tribes for centuries. In the 300’s barbarian groups encroached beyond the Empire’s borders. Several decades the Empire was under threat. In 476 CE the Germanic Leader Odoacer staged a revolt and deposed of the Emperor Romulus Augustulus. -
During the Early Middle Ages, Charlemagne united the majority of western and central Europe. He was the first recognised emperor to rule from western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire around three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state that Charlemagne founded is known as the Carolingian Empire.
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The First Crusade is decreed The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a number of crusades that attempted to recapture the Holy Land, called for by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095.
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The Magna Carta was signed 15 June, 1215 at Runnymede by King John. Magna Carta means ‘great charter’. The Magna Carta has become one of the founding documents of the English legal system.
The Magna Carta’s significance was not immediately recognised. England was in a period of political and military upheaval and King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta by rebel barons as part of peace negotiations. -
