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In 586, Gregory became the Pope's main advisor. When the Pope died of the plague, Gregory was elected to take his place. As pope, Gregory spread the church's message and authority. He sent bishops to England, Africa, France, Spain and Italy, to spread strengthen and maintain church power and authority. -
Charlemagne was crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III in 800 CE, establishing the Roman Empire in the West for the first time since its collapse in the 5th century. Charlemagne was chosen after he helped Pope Leo III to defend himself when there was a rebellion against him in 800. He was Roman Emperor for 14 years (800 - 814) and died in January 814 when he contracted pleurisy, a disease that inflames the tissue lining the lungs and chest cavity. -
In 1066, William of Normandy became King of England after defeating the anglo saxon king, Harold II, in the battle of Hastings. Also known as William the Conqueror, William divided the land, rewarding those who were to him. William died in 1087 and spent a total of 31 years as ruler. -
The First Crusade (1095-1102) was a military campaign by Western European armies to retake the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim rule. Conceived by Pope Urban II following the appeals of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Comnenus, the Crusades were successful and Christian forces took control of Jerusalem on July 15, 1099. -
Navigation in the sea was crucial to longer sea voyages, and it was only in the 13th century the compass was invented, making sea navigation easy for sailors. The dry compass was created in Europe sometime in the 13th century, but the compass more suited for naval use was produced by Arabs in the 14th century. -
King John signed the Magna Carta on June 15th, 1215. The Magna Carta failed to stop the conflict between King John and his barons, as just ten weeks later, Pope Innocent III cancelled the truce, and England entered a civil war. Although the Magna Carta did not avoid civil wars, it has been rewritten many times after the death of King John. -
The Hundred years' war started in 1337 and lasted for one hundred and sixteen years. This was between England and France. 2.3 - 3.3 million people lost their lives during this time. This war continued until 1453 when English King Edward the IV and French King Louis the XI met at Picquingny and agreed on a seven-year truce, after which they would negotiate their differences instead of battling them out. -
The Black Death killed 75 - 200 million people when it got to London in 1348. The Black Death was a disease that infected most humans and was spread by infected fleas that travelled on rodents. Rats, mice, squirrels and other rodents were heavily avoided to prevent further infections. -
The printing press was invented in the 15th century by Johannes Gutenberg. Before the press, books that had to be printed required a lot of labour and time to make, so books were restricted to just the wealthy. Printing presses were now being recreated all over Europe and it became one of the key inventions which made the European Renaissance possible. -
Joan of Arc was a patron saint of France. She was Cannonised as a saint by pope Benedict XV in 1920, after a series of investigations and debates over several centuries. She helped lead France to victory at Orléans in the hundred years war. She also helped prince Charles of Valois become King Charles VII.