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Jan 1, 1045
Musical Notation
Guido d'Arrezo begins writing music in a 4-line staff. This allows for easier reading and interpretation of music. Music, especially orchestral or chamber music, begins to come out of the Church, and into the homes of wealthy patrons, widening the audience. -
Jan 1, 1054
The East-West Schism
Note: Unless otherwise specified, 1st of January signifies that the date is unknown, or is not specific. The East-West Schism, where the Church split into Eastern Orthodoxy and Wesern Catholicism was driven largely by theological differences on the true nature of Jesus Christ. Though the power of the Western Church remained strong in Western Europe, it was weakened throughout Grecian and Byzantium areas, especially Constantinople. People began to see the Church in a slightly less holy light. -
Jan 1, 1086
The Domesday Book
William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England, compiles the Domesday Book to assess his new property.. This is the one of the first uses of written records to control taxes since the fall of the Roman Empire. -
Jan 1, 1088
The University of Bologna
The University of Bologna is founded. A cenral forum for the scholars of Europe, it is the oldest surviving university in Europe. This begins to lead to more ideas, inventions, and discussions, which in turn shapes the course of knowledge throughout Europe. -
Jan 1, 1099
The Crusades
At the urging of Pope Urban II, the First Crusade begins, in order to repel the Turks from Constantinople, and to capture Jerusalem from the Muslims. This sends many knights off to foreign lands, where they learn of medicine, writing, and economics. This knowledge is brought back to Europe, where the processes are studied by many scientists and doctors of the time. This improves scientific and medical practices. -
Jan 1, 1204
The Sack of Constantinople
Note: Constantinople is modern day Istanbul The knights of the Fourth Crusade sack Constantinople. This attack decimated the Byzantine Empire, leaving it open to attack from the Seljuk Turks, who in turn would atack, destroy, and conquer Byzantine, resulting in the destruction of much of the remaining knowledge of the former Eastern Roman Empire. -
Jun 15, 1215
The Magna Carta
The Barons force John of England to sign the Magna Carta, which means "Power to the People". This is the first time a medieval ruler accepts limits on his power. Eventually, it would lead to democratic institutions like the House of Commons and the House of Lords. -
Jan 1, 1257
The Provisions of Oxford
The Provisions of Oxford are forced upon Henry III of England. The regal authority is limited, and it establishes a new form of government where 24 members of a council make important decisions regarding the country. This is the first written constituition of England, and indeed of most of Western Europe. Though these provisions were eventually overturned by Henty and his royalist supporters, it was an important step in the democratization of Europe. -
Jul 20, 1304
Humanism
The birth of a man named Petrarch. One of the earliest humanists - the desire to portray the world as it really was - would help spark the Renaissance with poetry, music, and writing. He was interested in the ancient Greek and Roman empires, a defining part of the Renaissance. -
Jan 1, 1378
The Western Schism
Three claimant Poes are elected within the space of a year. The schism would continue for 36 years, before finally being resolved in 1414, by the Council of Constance. This split the power of the Church, and, though it was resolved, contributed to the subsequent weakening, and fall of the Church. -
Jan 1, 1400
The Preaching of Jan Hus
Note: 1400 is an informed estimate of when Jan Hus began preaching. Jan Hus is widely regarded as one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. His preaching, influenced by the writing of John Wycliffe, helped to inform later scholars like Martin Luther or John Calvin. He also created a school of theology, which was followed by Hussites. He was burned on 6th of July, 1415, but not before he had published several papers condemning practices of the Church. This was part of the Western Schism, -
Jan 1, 1439
The Printing Press
Johannes Gutenburg invents the printing press. This allows for greater and quicker spread of knowledge, and for lower classes to learn how to read and write. This results in more invention, writing, and discussion throughout Europe. -
Apr 15, 1452
Leonardo Da Vinci
The birth of Leornardo da Vinci. One of the defining artists, poets, and inventors of the Renaissance, he is perhaps the greatest mastermind in the history of the world. Making thousands of drawings on the human anatomy, and of models we now use - such as his "ornithopter" - amazingly similair to a modern-day helicopter. Many of his designs have been used to develop things like planes, trains, and cannons. His most famous achievement is the painting Mona Lisa. -
May 29, 1453
The Fall of Constantinople
Constantinople, weakened by repeated attacks by the Turks, and its sack by the Crusaders, falls to the Ottoman Turks. This results in the loss of much of the remaining knowledge of the Eastern Roman Empire contained in libraries and universities. Constantinople becomes the capital of the Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey). The Turkish hordes, now without the great empire in their way, would, in the future, reach all the way to Vienna. -
Mar 6, 1475
Michelangelo Simoni
The birth of Michelangelo. A compeitetor with Leonardo da Vinci, he is one of the leading artists of the Renaissance. Many of his works are admired today as prime examples of Renaissance art. His most famous piece is probably either the sculpture Pieta, or the sculpture David. -
Oct 12, 1492
The New World
Christopher Columbus sights land in the Caribbean, beginning an explosion of exploration and colonization in the Americas. Many scholars regard this, or the years after it, the end of the Late Middle Ages, and the beginning of the Renaissance. The world would never be the same. -
Oct 31, 1517
The Ninety-Five Theses
Martin Luther, disputing the sale of indulgences, writes and sends his "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences", also known as The Ninety-Five Theses, to the bishop Albert of Mainz. Sped throughout Europe by the printing press, the article would lead to the excommunication of Luther, but would also hasten the arrival of the Protestant Reformation, another major schism throughout the Church. Indulgences could be purchased to shorten the time spent in purgatory. -
Jan 1, 1543
Heliocentric Model
Nicolaus Copernicus publishes De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), some months before his death. His argument for the heliocentric model- where the planets rotated around the Sun- explained several things, icluding why some of the planets went into retrograde motion, where they seem to travel backwards, as Earth is passing them on its orbit. Because of things like this, it could not be easily refuted, and helped usher in the Scientific Revolution. -
Jan 1, 1543
De humani corporis fabrica
Andreas Vesalius publishes De humani corporis fabrica (On the fabric of the human body). This is a defining moment in medicine, as it is the first comprehensive book on the human body published in Europe. Studied by many later scholars, it would provide the basis for future fields of study, such as physiology. -
Hamlet
Shakespeare puvlishes Hamlet, one of his most famous and influential plays. Shakespeare was a great playwright for his time, and his plays are still studied the world over as great examples of Renaissance and English literature. -
Sidereus Nuncius
Galileo Galilei publishes Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry Messenger). This publishing of the book that proved Copernicus' model correct would end in Galileo's excommunication, and being tried and banned from further publication. Eventually, it would also lead to more scientific research, and the discovery that the Earth really DOES revolve around the Sun. -
Discovery of Microorganisms
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek announces the discovery of miro-organisms, and begins to popularize miroscopy as a good field of scientific study. This opens up the field of microbiology to many scientists interested in the microcosmo. -
Temperature Scale
Anders Celsius finalizes and completes his Centigrade scale (Latin for "100 steps"). This would allow easier measurement and recording of temperatures. BUt Celcius' scale was upside down - 100 degrees for the freezing point, and O for the boiling point of water. In 1745, 1 year after Celsius' death, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus would remedy this, giving us the scale we have today. -
Steam Engine
James Watt patents and begin installing steam engines across Great Britain. Around this time, with the advent of capitalism, and mechanical invention, most scholars draw the line between the Renaissance and the Industrial Revoluotion.
