Middle Ages Timeline

William the Conqueror invades England

Aug 29, 1066

William I (Old Norman: Williame I; c. 1028[1] – 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard,[2][a] was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. The descendant of Viking raiders, he had been Duke of Normandy since 1035 under the style William II. After a long struggle to establish his power, by 1060 his hold on Normandy was secure, and he launched the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

Paper is First Mass Produced in Spain

Aug 28, 1150

Paper was invented in ancient China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and spread slowly to the west via the Silk Road. 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. Earlier, other paper-like materials were in use including papyrus, parchment, palm leaves and vellum, but all of these were derived from raw mat

The Magna Carta

Aug 29, 1215

Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter),[1] also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an Angevin charter originally issued in Latin. It was sealed under oath by King John at Runnymede, on the bank of the River Thames near Windsor, England, on 15 June 1215.[2]

End of the Crusades

Aug 29, 1270

The Crusades were military campaigns sanctioned by the Latin Roman Catholic Church during the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages. In 1095 Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade with the stated goal of restoring Christian access to holy places in and near Jerusalem. Many historians and some of those involved at the time, like Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, give equal precedence to other papal-sanctioned military campaigns undertaken for a variety of religious, economic, and political reasons,

The Plague

Oct 1, 1348

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people and peaking in Europe in the years 1346–53.[1][2][3] Although there were several competing theories as to the etiology of the Black Death, analysis of DNA from victims in northern and southern Europe published in 2010 and 2011 indicates that the pathogen responsible was the Yersinia pestis bacterium, probably causing several forms of plague.

Robin Hood first appears in Literature

Aug 29, 1378

Robin Hood (spelled Robyn Hode in older sources) is a heroic outlaw in English folklore, and, according to legend, was also a highly skilled archer and swordsman. The outlaw has derived a reputation for performing humanitarian deeds, and in particular for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men".[1] Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes.

Chaucer writes the Canterbury Tales

Aug 29, 1387

The Canterbury Tales (Middle English: Tales of Caunterbury[2]) is a collection of over 20 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century, during the time of the Hundred Years' War. The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.

War of the Roses

Aug 29, 1455

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.

Henry VII is crowned

Aug 29, 1485

Henry VII (Welsh: Harri Tudur; 28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England 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.

First printing of Le Mort'e de Arthur

Aug 29, 1485

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-era 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 published in 1485 by William Caxton, Le Morte d'Arthur is today perhaps the best-known work of Arthurian literature in Engl