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The East-West Schism is the break of communion since the 11th century between the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The schism was the culmination of theological and political differences which had developed during the preceding centuries between Eastern and Western Christianity.
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The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Afro-Eurasia from 1346–53. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, resulting in the deaths of up to 75–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351.
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The Great Famine of 1315–1317 was the first of a series of large-scale crises that struck Europe early in the 14th century. Most of Europe was affected. The famine caused many deaths over an extended number of years and marked a clear end to the period of growth and prosperity from the 11th to the 13th centuries.
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The Magna Carta (“Great Charter”) is a document guaranteeing English political liberties that was drafted at Runnymede, a meadow by the River Thames, and signed by King John on June 15, 1215, under pressure from his rebellious barons.
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The First Crusade was the first of a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The initial objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rule. These campaigns were subsequently given the name crusades.
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Charlemagne or Charles the Great was the Emperor of the Romans from 800. During the Early Middle Ages, he united the majority of western and central Europe.
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The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the process of decline in the Western Roman Empire in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast territory was divided into several successor polities.
