Timeline of the Middle Ages

1066- Norman conquest of England• William the Conquerer

invades from Normandy and successfully takes over England– Builds castles– Loyalty changes from

personal lords to the crown

– Sets up the Domesday (or Doomsday) Book• First national census

1099- First crusade

• Pope Urban II calls knights to crusade– Deus volt- God wills it!– Promised the crusaders

who fought absolution from their sins

– Jerusalem eventually retaken from the Muslims

1147- Second crusade

• Edessa taken by the Muslims- entire city slaughtered or sold into slavery

• Hospitallers, Templars and Teutonic Knights formed

• Sieged Damascus, but couldn’t hold the siege– “having practically

accomplished nothing, the inglorious ones returned home”

1189- Third crusade• Saladin united the Muslims

and captured Jerusalem in 1187

• Rulers fought- King Philip Augustus of France, King Richard I (the lion-hearted) of England, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany– Crusaders captured Acre– Saladin and Richard I came to a

truce- Christians permitted to visit Jerusalem without paying tribute and have free access to holy places

– Muslims, led by Saladin, recaptured Jerusalem

1202- Fourth crusade• Called by Innocent III• Captured Constantinople

instead of Jerusalem• Crusaders seized Christian

city Zara to gain Venetian support ($)

• Saw more $ in Constantinople– Burned the city– Slaughtered the inhabitants– Destroyed monuments– Carried away any movable

wealth• Constantinople then eventually

fell to the Turks (Muslims)- 250 years later

1212- Children’s crusade

• Children were convinced they would be protected by God

• Gathered 30,000 followers- all children– Some died of exhaustion– The Mediterranean did

not part for them to cross– Boarded 7 boats and were

never heard from again

1215- Magna Carta signed• Latin for “Great Charter”• Between barons of England

and King John– Barons rebelled against John’s

power when he tried to raise taxes after defeat in northern France

• Attempt to stop the king from abusing his power at the suffering of his people– John constantly demanded

money (taxes) and men but wasn’t militarily successful and lost land in France

– John also angered the Roman Catholic Church• Excommunication and heresy

1297- Mel Gibson stars in Braveheart

• Not really… he played William Wallace who led a Scottish rebellion when Edward I tried to claim power over Scotland– “Alba gu brath”- Scotland

forever!

• Defeated in 1298• Wallace escaped but was

captured in 1305 and charged with treason– Wallace argued he never swore

allegiance to the King– Hung, drawn and quartered in

1305

1337- Hundred Years’ War begins

• Edward III declared war on Philip VI because he believed he was the heir to the French throne

• England vs. France– Led to the War of the

Roses in England after it’s close

– Rising sense of national pride (nationalism) in both countries• Helps the French become

France- idea of the nation

1347- Black Death ravages Europe• Started in Messina from merchant

ships• Highly contagious- spread

pneumonically (through the air) and through bites from infected fleas and rats– Symptoms

• Headache, chills, fever, nausea, vomiting, back pain, soreness in arms and legs, aversion to light

• Hard, painful lumps on neck, under arms, inner thighs

• Lumps turned black, split open- may grow to size of an orange

• Death less than a week later

– Death toll: 25 million• 20-40% dead in first year

– Divine punishment?• Massacred Jews• Turned inward• YOLO

1429- Joan of Arc• Started hearing voices

ordering her to save France at 13

• Asked to be taken to the Dauphin– Obtained troops from him and

saved Orleans from the English– Couldn’t deliver Paris-

Dauphin crowned at Reims

• Captured by the Burgundians and sold to the English in 1430– Condemned as a heretic and

burned at the stake in 1431

1453- Hundred Years’ War ends

• Fought entirely on French soil

• Series of wars• Reduced population of

France by half• Bordeaux surrendered;

Calais is last remaining English possession in France

1455- Wars of the Roses begins• Civil wars fought in England 1455-

1487– House of Lancaster (red rose) vs.

House of York (white rose)

• Causes:– More than one direct descendent of

Edward III– Henry VI unpopular– Powerful nobles with their own

armies– Henry VI mentally ill

– Henry Tudor (Lancaster) won, became Henry VII and married Elizabeth (York) and their son was Henry VIII

1455- Johann Gutenberg prints Bible on printing press

• Invented printing press in 1448

• Before: books were written and copied by hand– Bibles printed in Latin– 200 copies were made– All had beautiful

illustrations and vibrant colors

– Only 22 exist today