Famine, plague and public execution – the medieval period wasn’t the best time for some, but heroic rulers like Charlemagne, William the Conqueror and Henry V made sure that it was full of action. Here are the key dates for the big events of the medieval period.
| Date in Middle Ages | What Happened in Medieval History |
|---|---|
| c. AD 450 | The first Anglo-Saxons arrive in England. |
| 476 | Romulus Augustulus is deposed; the Western Roman Empire ends. |
| 496 | Clovis the Frank converts to Christianity. |
| 597 | Augustine of Canterbury begins to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. |
| 638 | Jerusalem falls to Islamic forces. |
| 711 | Tarik-Ibn-Ziyad begins the Muslim conquest of Spain. |
| 751 | Pippin III becomes the first Carolingian king. |
| c. 790 | The Vikings begin raiding Ireland. |
| 800 | Charlemagne is crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor. |
| 827 | Islamic forces invade Sicily. |
| 843 | The Treaty of Verdun splits the Frankish kingdom into three parts, creating modern France and Germany along the way. |
| 863 | The Eastern Church and the papacy in Rome split in the First Great Schism. |
| c. 870 | The Vikings discover Iceland. |
| 871 | Alfred becomes the king of Wessex. |
| 909 | Charles the Simple grants lands around Rouen to Viking settlers, beginning the Norman civilisation in France. |
| 987 | Louis V, the last Carolingian king, dies. Hugh Capet begins the Capetian line of French kings. |
| 1016 | Cnut of Denmark becomes king of England. |
| 1066 | William of Normandy invades England; the Battle of Hastings takes place. |
| 1095 | Pope Urban II preaches the First Crusade. |
| 1097 | The First Crusade arrives at Constantinople. |
| 1099 | The First Crusade recaptures Jerusalem and establishes the kingdom of Outremer. |
| 1147–48 | The Second Crusade fails to make any gains and is forced to retreat from Damascus. |
| 1189 | The Crusade of Frederick Barbarossa ends in failure when he drowns in Asia Minor. |
| 1190–91 | The Third Crusade pits Richard I against Saladin. |
| 1204 | The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople. |
| 1215 | King John agrees to the Magna Carta, weakening the authority of the English crown. |
| 1291 | The city of Acre falls, and the kingdom of Outremer ends. |
| 1324 | Marsilius of Padua criticises the papacy in the Defensor pacis. |
| 1337 | The Hundred Years’ War begins. |
| 1346 | The Battle of Crecy is fought during the Hundred Years’ War. |
| 1348 | The Black Death hits Europe. |
| 1381 | The Peasants’ Revolt happens in England. |
| 1415 | The Battle of Agincourt is fought during the Hundred Years’ War. |
| 1431 | Joan of Arc is executed by the English after leading the French recovery during the Hundred Years’ War. |
| 1453 | The French recover Gascony; the Hundred Years’ War
ends. The Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople; the Byzantine Empire ends. |
| 1470 | Leonardo da Vinci begins work as a professional artist in Florence as the Italian Renaissance gathers pace. |
| 1492 | Christopher Columbus discovers America. |