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The period of European history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West
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Clovis, founder of the Frankish state, conquers most of France and Belgium, converting his territories to Western Catholic Christianity. He founds the Merovingian dynasty and passes his kingdom on to his sons, who begin fighting one another for additional territory.
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Heraclius becomes Emperor in Constantinople as the Persian Empire is attempting the takeover of Byzantine civilization.
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Persia is conquered by Byzantine forces. The Jerusalem cross is retrieved from the Persians
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Irish monks establish early-medieval art. The greatest surviving product of these monks is the Book of Kells, a Gospel book of decorative art.
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The Byzantine aristocracy gains control over the government and begins to limit the freedom of the peasantry, thereby beginning the destruction of the economic base of Byzantine civilization.
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German Emperor Henry III arrives in Italy and names a German monastic reformer as pope. The series of reforming popes that follow enacts decrees against simony and clerical marriage.
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A student of Grosseteste, Roger Bacon predicts the technological advancement of automobiles and airplanes and extends Grosseteste's observations in optics. Both thinkers advocate concrete sensory observation for the advancement of scientific thought, rather than abstract reasoning.
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Pope Gregory creates the Latin church, which serves to counteract the subordination of the Roman popes to Eastern emperors.
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On Christmas Day, Charlemagne is crowned emperor by the pope in Rome.
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Otto the Great is crowned king in Germany and is responsible for Germany's strength through the latter part of the eleventh century. Otto establishes a pattern of resistance to political fragmentation and a close alliance with the Church.
