The Medieval World: Timeline
529
Foundation by St Benedict of a monastery on Montecassino
526
Theoderic dies
527-65
Justinian Roman Emperor in Byzantium
531
A Frankish army under King Theuderic defeats King Irminfrid of the Thuringians and destroys their kingdom
534
Promulgation of a code of laws by Emperor Justinian
534-48
Theudebert King of the Franks
535
Byzantine troops defeat Vandals in Africa
535
Byzantine troops march into Italy against Ostrogoths
542
Outbreak of an epidemic of bubonic plague
547
Date of the accession of Ida> the first recorded king of Bernicia in Britain
554
Byzantine troops take control of Italy
559
Date of the accession of Aelle, the first recorded king of Deira in Britain
560-616
Ethelbert King of Kent
568
Lombards settle in northern Italy
King Reccared of the Visigoths converts to Catholicism
590
Columbanus> a Catholic missionary from Ireland, and his companions arrive in Gaul
590-604
Pope Gregory I
596
St Augustine of Canterbury arrives from Rome and begins Catholic mission in Kent
612
Columbanus founds a monastery at Bobbio
616-40
Eadbald King of Kent
635
Aidan, a missionary from Ireland, arrives at Lindisfarne at the request of King Oswald of Northumbria
638
Arabs take control of Jerusalem
664
The synod of Whitby settles disputes between Irish and Roman Catholic missionaries
669
Wilfrid becomes Bishop of York
Perctarit, King of the Lombards, converts to Catholicism
685-88
Caedwalla, King of the West Saxons, abdicates and dies in Rome 689
688-726
Ine, King of the West Saxons, rules together with his father, Coenred> for some time, abdicates and dies in Rome in or after 726
690-725
Wihtred King of Kent
697
Arabs take control over Carthage
Arab-led troops appear in the Iberian peninsula
719
Winfrith-Boniface receives a papal mandate to become a missionary in areas north of the Alps
722
Winfrith-Boniface appointed Bishop by Pope Gregory II
732
Defeat of Arab-led troops by the Frankish Majordomus Charles Martel in the battle of Tours and Poitiers
744
Sturmi becomes the first abbot of the monastery founded by St Boniface at Fulda
751
Pippin III deposes the last of the descendants of Clovis and has himself elected king of the Franks
754
Pippin seeks support from Pope Stephen II to consolidate his position as king of the Franks
768-814
Charlemagne, son of Pippin III, King of the Franks
772-805
Charlemagne fights a series of campaigns against Saxons
774
Charlemagne becomes also King of the Lombards
791-842
King Alfonso II of Asturias, propagates the supposed identification of a late Roman mausoleum as, the grave of Apostle James the Elder (dec. c. 44) at a place subsequently named Santiago de Compostela; from the tenth century, the place attracts pilgrims from all over Europe
793
Lindisfarne sacked by Vikings
800
Charlemagne receives an imperial crown in Rome from Pope Leo III (795-816)
812
Disputes between Charlemagne and the Roman emperors in Byzantium end
814
Foundation of the bishopric of Halberstadt
814-40
Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, King of the Franks
827
Arab troops take control of parts of Sicily
Vikings establish themselves in Ireland and found Dublin
840-77
Charles the Bald, youngest son of Louis the Pious, King of the Franks and Emperor
843
Charles the Bald and his two brothers divide the Frankish kingdom among themselves in the Treaty of Verdun
855-70
Edmund King of East Anglia
858-67
Pope Nicholas I
860
Vikings from Kiev attack Constantinople
865
The Viking `Great Army' moves into England
871-99
Alfred King of Wessex
876
Byzantine troops begin a series of campaigns against Arabs in Sicily
898-923
Charles the Simple King of the Franks
899
Hungarian raids in Italy
899-924
Edward the Elder King of the West Saxons
910
Duke William the Pious founds Cluny
911
Conrad I elected as King by representatives of political groups in the Frankish kingdom east of the Rhine; King Charles the Simple grants parts of Normandy to the Viking leader Rollo
919-36
Henry I, Duke of the Saxons, succeeds Conrad as King
920-23
Duke Robert of Neustria elected against King Charles the Simple
c.922
Henry I authorises the building of fortifications against Hungarians in his kingdom
933
Henry I defeats Hungarians at Riade
936-73
Otto I, son of Henry I, succeeds his father as King
953-54
Otto I's son, Duke Liudolf, revolts against his father, dies 957
955
Otto I defeats Hungarians on the Lechfeld near Augsburg
957/9-75
Edgar King of England
962
Otto I crowned emperor by Pope John XII in Rome
965
Brun, youngest son of Otto I, dies as archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lorraine
968
Otto I founds the archbishopric of Magdeburg
973-83
Otto II succeeds his father Otto I as king and emperor
982
Otto defeated by Arab troops at Cotrone
983-1002
Otto III (born 980) succeeds his father as king and emperor under the regencies of his mother Theophanu and his grandmother Adelheid
987-96
Hugh Capet, grandson of King Robert, King of the Franks
996-1021
al-Hakim Khalif of Baghdad
996-1031
Robert II King of the Franks in succession to his father Hugh Capet
999-1003
Pope Sylvester II (Gerbert of Aurillac) teacher of Emperor Otto III
1000
Otto III visits Gniezno in Poland and promotes the foundation of an archbishopric there; King Stephen of Hungary establishes a series of bishoprics; King Olaf of Sweden accepts Catholicism
c. 1000
Vikings cross the northern Atlantic and reach America which they call Vinland
1002-24
Emperor Henry II
1007
Henry II establishes a bishopric at Bamberg
1009/10
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem demolished
1016
Vikings appear in Sicily
1016-35
King Cnut succeeds as King of England, becomes also King of Denmark and King of Norway
1024-39
Emperor Conrad II
1039-56
Emperor Henry III
1056-1105
Emperor Henry IV
1059
Papal election decree
1066
King Harold of England defeats King Harald Hardrada of Norway in the Battle of Stamford Bridge and is defeated in the Battle of Hastings by Duke William of Normandy who becomes King of England
1066-87
William the Conqueror King of England
1071
Saxon revolt against Henry IV; Byzantine troops defeated by Turkish troops in the Battle of Manzikert
1073-85
Pope Gregory VII
1076
Gregory VII excommunicates Emperor Henry IV
1077
Henry IV visits Gregory VII at Canossa who lifts the ban from the emperor
1087-1100
William II King of England
1088-99
Pope Urban II
1095
Urban II demands a crusade against Muslims in Palestine at a council in Clermont-Ferrand
1097-99
First Crusade against Muslims in Palestine
1099
Jerusalem conquered by crusaders
1100-1135
Henry I King of England
1106-25
Emperor Henry V
1122
Concordate signed at Worms between Emperop Henry V and Pope Calixtus II
1130
Roger II crowned King of Sicily
1135-1154
Stephen King of England
1140
Abelard condemned by a council at Sens
1146
St Bernard of Clairvaux supports demands for another crusade
1147
Pope Eugene III issues a bill which encourages crusades against Slavs and against Muslims in Spain
1147-49
Second Crusade against Muslims in Palestine
1152
King Louis VII of France (1137-80) divorces his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who soon afterwards marries Henry, son of Duke Geoffrey of Anjou
1152-90
Frederick I German King and (since 1155) Roman Emperor
1154-89
Henry of Aquitaine King of England as Henry II
1156
Frederick restores Bavaria to Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony (1129/30-95); Henry Jasimirgott (1141-77), the former Duke of Bavaria, becomes Duke of Austria
1157
The empire styled Holy Roman Empire for the first time
1168
Henry the Lion marries Mathilda, daughter of King Henry II of England
1180
Henry the Lion is deprived of his duchies
1180-1223
Philip II August King of France
1187
Sultan Saladin (Salah-ed-Din) conquers Jerusalem from the crusaders
1188
The sons of Henry II of England rebel against their father
1189-92
Third Crusade against Muslims in Palestine
1189-99
Richard Lionheart, King of England
1190
Emperor Frederick I dies during the Third Crusade before reaching Palestine; at the time of the siege of Acre, the Ordo domus S. Mariae Teutonicorum (Teutonic Order) in Jerusalem is established for the care of injured; it begins its conquest of Prussia in 1226
1190-97
Henry VI succeeds his father Frederick I as Emperor, prepares another crusade, but dies before the crusade gets on its way
1198
War in the empire between rival parties supporting three candidates for the imperial succession: Philip of Swabia, brother of Henry VI; Frederick II> son of Henry VI; and Otto of Brunswick, son of Henry the Lion
1198-1216
Pope Innocent III
1199-1216
John Lackland King of England
c. 1200
Groups of mainly German settlers migrate eastward beyond a line from Schwerin to Dresden into areas inhabited by Slavic population groups
1204
Fourth Crusade; crusaders conquer Byzantium, expell the Roman emperors from the city and establish a new Latin Empire
1209-29
Crusades against Albigensians in southern France
1210
St Francis receives approval from the pope for his mendicant monastic order
1212-50
Frederick II German King and Roman Emperor
1214
Philip II August defeats a coalition of Plantagenet and Imperial troops in the battle of Bouvines
1216
Papal approval for the foundation of the Order of the Preachers (Dominicans)
1216-72
Henry III King of England
c. 1225-74
St Thomas Aquinas
1226-70
Louis IX, King of France; dies during a crusade.
1227-41
Pope Gregory IX
1228-29
Frederick II leads the Fifth Crusade as an excommunicated emperor
1229
Frederick II crowned King of Jerusalem
1230
Unification of the kingdoms of Leon and Castile
1237-42
Mongols reach Hungary, Poland and the Adriatic Sea
1244
Jerusalem reverts to Muslim rule
1245-73
Succession crisis in the Roman Empire of the Occident
1254
Union of towns and aristocrats in the Rhineland in support of King William of Holland (1252-56)
1261
End of the Latin Empire in Byzantium
Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily (1265-82), defeats Conradin, the last descendant of Frederick II, in the battle of Tagliacozzo
1269-95
Journey of the Polo family to East Asia
1272-1307
Edward I King of England
Rudolf of Habsburg German king and King of the Romans
1282
`Sicilian Vespers': Charles of Anjou (1265-82) expelled from Sicily, Peter III of Arag6n takes his place as King of Sicily (1282-85)
1282-84
Edward I conquers Wales
1285-1314
Philip IV the Fair King of France
1291
Acre, the last stronghold of the crusaders in Palestine, taken over by Muslims; the Swiss cantons of Schwyz, Unterwalden and Uri conclude a perpetual union against the Habsburg lords
1302
A mounted French army under Philip the Fair defeated by Flemish infantry forces in the Battle of Kortrijk
1306-29
Robert I King of Scotland
1307-27
Edward II King of England
1309-77
Papacy in Avignon
1310-13
Emperor Henry VII (1308-13) leads an expedition to Italy; dies in its course
1313-75
Giovanni Boccaccio, writes his Novellae 1349-51
1314
Edward II defeated by Scottish troops under Robert I of Scotland at the battle of Bannockburn
1315
The Swiss defend their autonomy against Duke Frederick of Austria (1314-30) in the Battle of Morgarten
1322-28
Charles IV King of France
1327-77
Edward III King of England
1328-50
Philip VI King of France
1337-1492
`Hundred Years War'
1338
Declaration of Rhense renounces the right of the pope to approve of a candidate elected as German king and king of the Romans
1340
Edward III, King of England (1327-77), assumes the title King of France
c.1343-c.1400
Geoffrey Chaucer, writes his fragment Canterbury Tales c. 1393-1400
1346
English troops defeat their French counterpart at Crecy
1346-78
Charles IV Roman Emperor
1347
English forces conquer Calais
1347-50
The Black Death in Europe
1350-64
John II King of France
1354
Turkish conquest of Gallipoli
1356
English victory at Poitiers
1358
Jacquerie (peasant rising) in France
1360
Treaty of Bretigny through which Edward III renounces his claims to the French throne
1363-1404
Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, becomes Count of Flanders and Artois in 1384, Duke of Limburg in 1396
1364-80
Charles V King of France
1372
French-Castilian naval victory over the English fleet at La Rochelle
1377-99
Richard II King of England
1378-1417
Great Schism of the Catholic Church
1380-1422
Charles VI King of France
1381
Great English Rising
1387
Thessalonica comes under Ottoman Turkish control
1389
A mixed southern Slav army defeated by an Ottoman Turkish force in Kosovo
1397
Norway, Sweden and Denmark establish a union at Kalmar
1399-1413
Henry IV King of England
1404-19
John the Fearless Duke of Burgundy
1413-22
Henry V King of England
1415
English victory at Agincourt; Ceuta conquered by Portuguese forces
1419-36
Wars and crusades against Hussites in Bohemia
1419-67
Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy
1422-61
Charles VII King of France
1422-72
Henry VI King of England
1423-54
Wars between Milan, Florence and other principalities in Italy 1428
1428
Joan of Arc begins her campaign against English troops in France
1431
Joan of Arc sentenced to death and burnt
1438
The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges confers on the king powers over the Catholic Church in France
1440-93
Emperor Frederick III
1453
Constantinople conquered by a Turkish army under Sultan Mehmed II (1451-81); English troops withdraw from France except for the town of Calais
1454
Peace of Lodi ends Italian wars
1458-64
Pope PiusII
1458-71
George of Podiebrad King of Bohemia
1461-83
Louis XI King of France
1462
Cape Verde islands colonised by Portuguese
1467-77
Charles the Bold Duke of Burgundy
1473
In Trier Charles the Bold and Emperor Frederick III negotiate the conditions of Charles's succession as emperor
1474-75
Charles the Bold besieges Neuss
1476
Swiss infantry armies defeat Charles the Bold at Grandson and Murten
1477
Charles the Bold dies in the battle of Nancy against Swiss infantry forces
1477-82
Mary, daughter of Charles the Bold, Duchess of Burgundy, married to Maximilian, son of Emperor Frederick III
1480-81
Turkish occupation of Otranto on the Italian mainland
1487
Bartholomew Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa
1492
The last Muslim emirs of Granada withdraw peacefully from the city; Jews expelled from Spain
1492-93
First voyage of Christopher Columbus
1493-1519
Maximilian 1 Roman King and Emperor Elect
1494-95
Charles VIII, King of France (1483-98), invades Italy
1495 An Imperial Diet meeting at Worms attempts major reforms of the Roman Empire under the leadership of Maximilian I
1497-99 Vasco da Gama sails around Africa and reaches Calicut in southwest India