Middle Ages

  • William the Conqueror invades England
    Sep 24, 1066

    William the Conqueror invades England

    Claiming his right to the English throne, William, duke of Normandy, invades England at Pevensey on Britain’s southeast coast. His subsequent defeat of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings marked the beginning of a new era in British history.
  • Paper is first mass-produced in Spain
    Sep 23, 1150

    Paper is first mass-produced in Spain

    Papermaking and manufacturing in Europe was started by Muslims living on the Iberian Peninsula, (today's Portugal and Spain) and Sicily in the 10th century, and slowly spread to Italy and Southern France reaching Germany by 1400.
  • Magna Carta
    Sep 24, 1215

    Magna Carta

    First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make peace between the unpopular King and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons
  • End of the Crusades
    Sep 24, 1270

    End of the Crusades

    The Crusades were military campaigns sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. In 1095 Byzantine Emperor Alexios I, in Constantinople, sent an ambassador to Pope Urban II in Italy pleading for military help against the growing Turkish threat. The Pope responded promptly by calling Christian soldiers to join the First Crusade.
  • The Plague
    Sep 24, 1348

    The Plague

    The bubonic plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas can transmit the disease to people. Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly. Plague causes fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes, which is how it gets its name.
  • First appearance of Robin Hood in literature
    Sep 24, 1378

    First appearance of Robin Hood in literature

    is a heroic outlaw in English folklore who, according to legend, was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. Traditionally depicted as being dressed in Lincoln green,[1] he is often portrayed as "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor" alongside his band of Merry Men
  • Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales
    Sep 24, 1387

    Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales

    Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories in a frame story, between 1387 and 1400. It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England).
  • War of the Roses
    Sep 24, 1455

    War of the Roses

    The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic wars for the throne of England. They were fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, the houses of Lancaster and York. They were fought in several sporadic episodes between 1455 and 1487, although there was related fighting before and after this period
  • First printing of Le Morte d’ArthurPolitical and Social Events
    Sep 24, 1485

    First printing of Le Morte d’ArthurPolitical and Social Events

    Le Morte d'Arthur (originally spelled Le Morte Darthur, Middle French for “the death of Arthur”) is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of traditional tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table. Malory interprets existing French and English stories about these figures and adds original material (the Gareth story).
  • First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned
    Sep 24, 1485

    First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned

    Henry VII (Welsh: Harri Tudur; 28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England, ruled the Principality of Wales[1] (until 29 November 1489) and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor.