A Simplified Medieval Britain Timeline

(Roughly 5th-15th Century)

Compiled by K. L. Nichols

Pre-Medieval

8 B.C.--Celtic tribes settle in British Isles

55 B.C.--Julius Caesar (Roman Empire) invades and conquers much of Britain.

406 A.D.--Roman legions withdraw from Britain, ending four centuries of Roman rule.

Early Middle Ages: 500-1000 (Anglo-Saxon Invasions; "Dark Ages")

449--Anglo-Saxon (Germanic) invasions begin.  From the 5th to 9th Centuries, Roman Britain becomes divided into seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms; warrior-kings and Celtic chieftains often contest each other's power.

496--Battle of Mount Badon: The "real" Arthur (a battle leader) stops the invading Anglo-Saxons.

597--St. Augustine is sent by Rome to convert the British.  For the next century, Roman Christianity (Catholicism) spreads throughout Anglo-Saxon and Celtic Britain.  Latin is the official Church language.

800--Charlemagne (French king) crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

800-900--Vikings (Norsemen or Danes) raid Britain and the European mainland.

871--Alfred the Great becomes King of Wessex (one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms); fights Viking invaders and works for political unification of the country ("England").

Literary: Beowulf, composed 8th Century,

copied on manuscript 10th Century

High Middle Ages:  1000-1350 (Middle English; Norman Conquest)

1066--Battle of Hastings: Duke William (the Conqueror) of Normandy (part of France) invades Britain and becomes King of England.  This dual  Norman-English kingdom is the most powerful state in Europe for next 400 years.  The Normans establish a feudal system and work at unifying the country.  Norman French is the official language of the law and of the new aristocracy in Britain.  (Latin is still the official Church language; English is still used by ordinary people).

1096-1270--Pope calls for crusades against the Turks in the Holy Land.  Eight crusades ensue.

1152--Marriage of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine (formerly married to King of France).  The most powerful woman in Europe, Eleanor and her French daughter (Countess Marie de Champagne) promote the practice and literature of courtly love. 

Literary: Chretien's Knight of the Cart (ca. 1162);

Marie de France's Lanval (ca. 1170)

1189-1199--Richard I (Richard the Lion-Hearted), son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, rules Britain; leads the Second Crusade in 1190.

Literary: Dante's Divine Comedy (1307)

Late Middle Ages:  1350-1500 (Hundred Years War)

1346-1351--Bubonic plague (the Black Death) kills one-third of the European population.

1337-1453--Hundred Years War: War to separate the kingdoms of France and England.  One famous casualty is Joan of Arc, burned at the stake in 1431.

1381--The Peasant's Revolt is caused by severe economic problems.

Literary:  Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1387);

earliest King Arthur tales (pre-11th Century

Welsh) recorded in The Mabinogian (14th Century);

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late 14th Century)

c. 1450--Gutenberg invents the printing press.

1455-1487--War of the Roses:  English civil war between the House of York (white rose) and House of Lancaster (red rose) fighting for control of the throne.

Literary: Malory's Le Morte Darthur (1484)

1492--Columbus "discovers" America.

The Renaissance

16th Century--The Renaissance era begins (Protestant Reformation; Queen Elizabeth I; Shakespeare; etc.).

Return to Nichols Home Page