Medieval timeline

Clovis Born (unknown day or month)

466

Clovis was the ruler of the Franks and ruler of most of Gaul from 481-511. Clovis also converted to the Catholic faith resulting in mass conversion in the Frank population. He was significant because he is considered the Franks political and religious founder. To many french people he is the founder of what is today France. He is also importand because he converted many Franks to Catholisism which helped the faith continue to grow and be dominant.

Justinian was born this year

482

Justinian was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. He was striving to make the Roman Emperor return to its former greatness and take back the old Roman land that it had lost. He conquered many territories and kingdoms including the Vandals and Ostrogoths. he was able to re-extend roman control to the Atlantic Ocean. he is significant becasue of this because he re-wrote Roman law which is still used today as the basis of civil law in many states.

Battle of Tours

Oct 10, 732

The Battle of Tours was a battle fought between the Frankish leader Charles Martel's army and a invading Islamic army under Emir Rahman. Charles Martel won the battle. We do not know many details about the battle (including its location) but we do know the Franks won. This is signficant becasue this battled helped create the foundation for the Carolingian Empire. This victory ensured that the Franks would dominate Gaul for a long period and many say that this battle helped save Christianity.

The Viking invasions began in this year

Jan 1, 793

The Viking invasions were people from Scandinava who raided people in mainland europe. Their raids wre fast so that it was hard to know where they were and set up a army for defence. They were first defeted by King Alfred in 878. The vikings are importand because they are explorers and were the first europeans to find many diffrent lands including North America. They also helped Europe to be pushed into a warrior culture which would last for many years.

Charlemagne dies

Jan 28, 814

Charlemagne was king of the Franks and was able to unite most of Western Europe and was the first Holy Roman Emperor. He is Significant because he laid the foundation for what today is Germay and France and was able to unite most of Western Europe which was a mess after the fall of Rome. He also spread Christanity throughout Europe as well as reforming/creating a education sytem in Europe that still affects the education system today because the church still controls many schools.

East-West Schism

Jan 1, 1054

The East-West Schism of 1054 is seperation of the eastern Christan chruch and the Western church. The two popes of these churches excommunicated each other and it was not until 1965 that this excommunication was lifted. This is significant because this break would never heal and today we still have have the two seperate churches which has lead to alot of animosity between the two groups of people that has lead to conflict, especially in Ireland.

Norman Conquest of England

Oct 14, 1066

The Norman conquest of England was the invasion and occupation of England by William the Conqueror. This is significant for many reasons. One reason is that it altered the english language because a dialect of old french was introduced. Also many native englishmen lost their land and many more migrated out of england. This lead to the elimination of slavery, the english aristocracy and the church lost almost all of its grip in england. This event changed the course england was heading massively.

University of Bologna was founded this year

Jan 1, 1088

The University of Bologna was the first university every created

Eleanor of Aquitaine born this year

Jan 1, 1122

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and powerful women in western Europe. She became Duchess of Aquitaine when she was a child and later became Queen Consort of France and later England. She is significant because she changed the outcome of Europe by influenceing others (such as her sons), and trying to change Europe in own vison by deciding who would rule.

Magna Carta created this year

Jan 1, 1215

The Magna Carta is a charter agreed by King John of England. This charter gave the people rights and made the king follow certain laws. This is significant because it was a large step in the formation of modern democracy due to the fact that it guaranteed commoners their own rights. We also do not arrest people without cause which was a clause in this charter that was first used in the middle ages,

Marco Polo Born

Jan 8, 1324

Marco Polo was a merchant and traveller from Italy. He, his father and his uncle all travelled through Asia for a period of 24 years. When he returned to italy he was sent to jail where he told his cellmate of his journey. After he was released he became a wealthy merchant and died in 1324. The most significant thing that we can attribute to Marco Polo was that he inspired Christopher Columbus to try and travel to the east in search for shorter route which lead to the discovery of America.

Hundred Years War began in this year

Jan 1, 1337

The Hundreds Years War was a war fought between England and France from 1337 to 1453 which consisted of many conflicts between the two nations. It is significant because it pushed military technology and tactics into a age of rapid growth. For instance the longbow and then later firearms were being used much more frequently. It also sparked nationalistic feelings in both nations which is still seen today. This also helped make these nations more unified and pushed England to conqueror more land.

Joan of Arc Born

Jan 6, 1412

Joan of Arc a heroine in France lead the France army to defeat the British army at Orleans. She was later burned to death on a stake for cross dressing and in 1920 she was named a saint. She was significant because she helped bring back chivalry to warfare by treating the enemy with respect. She was also importand in France winning the Hundred Years War by insiting the french people fighti to win. She also is a strong female in history who anyone can look up to or see as a symbol of strong will.

Fall of Constantinople began

Apr 6, 1453

The Fall of Constantinople the capture of the Eastern Roman Empire known as Byzantine by the army of the Ottoman Empire. This is significant because it was the end of the Byzantine empire and for some historians this marks the end of the Middle Ages. This was also the first time Islam had entered Europe and even today Islam is the largest religion in Turkey which before the fall of Constantinople Christanity was clearly dominant.

Johannes Gutenberg dies

Feb 3, 1468

Johannes Gutenberg was a German blacksmith, printer and publisher who took the printing press idea from Asia and brought it to Europe and used it to print books. This is significant because it started the era of mass communication which completely changed society. With information widely available to all the power of the goverment and religion was threatend. This also drove the literacy rate to a new level that ended the age of very few literate people with a new age of literacy being common.