Medieval Timeline - Browse by Category

Pelagian Controversy Begins
Date: 411 A.D.
Description:
Lasting until the year 418, Pelagianism was a heresy asserting that man could attain salvation by the exercise of his own free will, without the help of divine grace. Pelagius (c.360-c.420) a Welsh (or Irish) monk started the heresy. His doctrines were attacked by St. Jerome and St. Augustine of Hippo. Augustine formulated the doctrine of divine grace partly in opposition to Pelagius' teachings.

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St. Germanus of Auxerre Visits Britain
Date: 429 A.D.
Description:
St. Germanus of Auxerre visits Britain to preach against the Pelagian heresy. He would also visit again later in the 430s.

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St. Patrick's Return to Ireland
Date: c. 433 A.D.
Description:
St Patrick (The Patron Saint of Ireland) returned to Ireland with a missionary party circa 433.

As a boy Patrick had been captured by Irish raiders from a Romano-British family and taken to Northern Ireland as a slave. After six years he escaped to the continent where he trained as a priest, and finally as a Bishop. He brought the Roman Church to Ireland.

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Ecclesiastical Council of Arles
Date: 455 A.D.
Description:
An ecclesiastical council was held at Arles in Gaul. Representatives of the British church attended, and Pelagianism was still a concern.

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The Acacian Schism
Date: 484 A.D.
Description:
The increasingly Monophysite provinces of Egypt, Palestine and Syria began to raise concerns throughout the Church about a monophysite heresy. An attempt was made to try and resolve the differences between the supporters of Orthodoxy and Monophysitism through an edict authored by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Acacius. The Henotikon Edict of 482 was issued by the Byzantine Emperor Zeno I, notably, without first seeking approval from the pope. Pope Felix III came to power in 483, and the entire ordeal escalated. Patriarch Acacius ignored Pope Felix III's order to return to Rome to answer charges brought against him. At a synod in 484, Felix III irrevocably excommunicated Patriarch Acacius. Acacius was not informed in person by any messenger about his excommunication; instead, a piece of parchment with the order of excommunication written on it was pinned to the back of Acacius's robe during a service in St. Sophia. Acacius later discovered the parchment and excommunicated Pope Felix III right back. This led to a schism between the Churches that lasted for 35 years.

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Conversion of Clovis I
Date: 496 A.D.
Description:
Clovis I of the Franks becomes a Christian.

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Acacian Schism Ends
Date: March 27th, 519 A.D.
Description:
A papal embassy arrives in Constantinople on March 25, 519, and is greeted by the future emperor, Justinian. Two days later in St. Sophia, Patriarch John proclaims that the churches in the West and in the East are one and then reads a statement condemning a list of heretics, including the previous patriarch Acacius. The breach between Rome and Constantinople caused by the Acacian Schism is healed.

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Founding of Mount Cassino and the Bendictine Order
Date: 529 A.D.
Description:
Benedict of Nursia founds the Benedictine monastic order at Monte Cassino, south of Rome.

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St. David's Mission to Wales
Date: c. 550 A.D.
Description:
David (or Dewl) was the son of Sant, the ruler of Ceredigion. David was educated at Llanilltud Fawr. He established many monasteries and emerged as the leader of the Christian church in Wales at the Synod of Brevi held at Llanddewi Breli circa 550.

Today, he is recognized as the patron saint of Wales.

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Bangor Abbey Founded
Date: 560 A.D.
Description:
The Abbey at Bangor in Ireland is founded.

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Foundation of Iona Monastery
Date: 563 A.D.
Description:
St Columba founds a monastery on the island of Iona, which lies west of Scotland. It would become the center of the Celtic church and a source of missionary activity into Northern England during the 7th century.

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St. Columba Founds Iona
Date: c. 565 A.D.
Description:
St. Columba founds a monastery on the island of Iona, which lies off the west coast of Scotland.

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Birth of Mohammad
Date: 570 A.D.
Description:
The approximate year that the Prophet Mohammad, founder of the Islamic faith, was born.

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Augustine Reaches Canterbury
Date: 597 A.D.
Description:
Within a year after reaching Canterbury (the capital of the kingdom of Kent), Augustine was able to convert Ethelbert, the Kentish king, to Christianity.

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St. Columba Dies
Date: June 8th, 597 A.D.
Description:
The Irish missionary monk St. Columba died in Iona and was buried there. He had worked very successfully toward the conversion of northern Britain.

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Construction of St. Paul's
Date: 607 A.D.
Description:
The first St.Paul's church is built in London.

(This is not today's existing cathedral that was designed by Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London in the 17th century.)

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The Bangor Massacre
Date: 615 A.D.
Description:
The barbaric Angles, after having crossed over England, finally reach the Irish Sea and massacre the Christian monks at their monastery in Bangor.

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Conversion of Edwin
Date: 627 A.D.
Description:
King Edwin of Northumbria married the Christian daughter of Aethelbert of Kent in 625. Edwin was converted to Christianity in 627 by St. Paulinua (a Roman missionary to England who was appointed Bishop in 625). In return King Edwin appointed Paulinua as Archbishop of York.

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Death of Mohammad
Date: June 7th, 632 A.D.
Description:
The year of the death of the prophet Mohammad in Medina, Arabia (aged 62).

He was succeeded by Abu Bakr, who founded the Rashidun (or 'Right Guided') dynasty of Caliphs, which lasted through the rule of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali until 661.

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Founding of Lindisfarne Monastery
Date: 635 A.D.
Description:
St. Aidan arrives on the island of Lindisfarne (Holy Island) from Iona with a group of Celtic monks. The monastery he founded there was to become an important missionary center and later a bishopric.

The monks from Lindisfarne went on to build numerous churches in Scotland and Northern England, but many of the monks withdrew to Iona when Lindisfarne accepted the Roman discipline after the synod of Whitby (664 A.D.).

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Conquest of Egypt
Date: 639 A.D.
Description:
A Muslim army commenced the conquest of Egypt. This would be the first step that would ultimately see the whole of North Africa coming under Islamic control within seventy years.

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Caedmon Begins Writing Poetry
Date: c. 657 A.D.
Description:
St. Caedmon is credited with the earliest surviving poem written in Old English sometime after the establishment of Whitby Abbey in 657.

A common oxherd on the estates of Whitby Abbey, Caedmon was accepted as a monk when it was realized that he had a talent for writing songs and poems, often on religious subjects. Caedmon's poem is known from a nine-line snippet transcribed by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History.

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Founding of Whitby Abbey
Date: 657 A.D.
Description:
Hild (or Hilda) was the granddaughter of Edwin, King of Northumbria. Born in 614 and baptized in 627, she had by 647 become the superior of a nunnery near Hartlepool. Her remarkable organizational skills led to the foundation of a new community at Whitby in Yorkshire, where the synod of 664 would later be held to resolve the differences between Roman and Celtic Christian practices.

Hild was the first Abbess of Whitby from 657 until her death in 680.

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King Oswy Calls the Synod of Whitby
Date: 664 A.D.
Description:
The decision of this council settled a difference between Celtic and Roman Christianity regarding the proper date for Easter. In siding with the Roman position, the decision of this council meant that Christendom would not be divided in England.

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Theodore Named Archbishop of Canterbury
Date: 669 A.D.
Description:
After the pope named Theodore of Tarsus the Archbishop of Canterbury, Theodore set out to organize the English church as one body. He had completed this task by the time of his death.

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Synod of Hertford
Date: 672 A.D.
Description:
At this synod, Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, did much to reorganize the church's administration in England and create a more hierarchical structure. Theodore accomplished this through a variety of measures, including the creation of new bishops, as well as the dismantling of some large dioceses. He also ordered that each bishop confine activities within the area of his own diocese and prohibited the clergy and monks from wandering around without permission.

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Founding of Jarrow Monastery
Date: 681 A.D.
Description:
Jarrow monastery was founded by St. Benedict Biscop on the banks of the River Tyne in lands provided by King Ecgfrith of Northumbria. The monastery would become famous for the magnificent library furnished with books brought by Benedict from Rome.

The great Bede would die here in 735 A.D., having written his works, including a history of the Abbots of Jarrow, in the library.

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The Dome of the Rock Completed
Date: 692 A.D.
Description:
The Dome of the Rock was the first great Umayyad monument to be completed after the conquest of Judea. This was also the first major monument of the Islamic faith and was built by the Caliph Abn al-Malik on the site of a Jewish Temple. Muslims believe that it was at this spot that the prophet Mohammad ascended to heaven. The Dome of the Rock became the holiest Muslim place after the Kaa'ba in Mecca.

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The Law code of Wihtred
Date: 695 A.D.
Description:
Wihtred, King of Kent (c.690-725) and who maintained Kentish independence against the growing expansion of the Kingdom of Mercia, issues one of the earliest known law codes in Britain.

Wihtred's law code, which dealt primarily with ecclesiastical matters, was to give considerable privileges to the church.

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Boniface Begins Mission to Germany
Date: 718 A.D.
Description:
St. Boniface (680-755) was born in Crediton and his original name was Winfirth.

In 718 Pope Gregory II in Rome gave him the name 'Boniface' and sent him on a mission to convert the Saxons of Germany. St. Boniface built many monasteries and churches and was responsible for the winning of many converts to the Christian faith.

He was martyred at Dekkum in 755 A.D.

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Birth of Charlemagne
Date: April 8th, 742 A.D.
Description:
This is the date of the birth of Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great, or Charlemagne). Charlemagne was the son of the Merovingian mayor of the palace, Pepin the Short. Charlemagne would inherit the northern Frankish lands following the death of his father (crowned king by Pope Stephen II in 754) and those of his brother, Carloman, in 771. After assisting the Pope in the defeat of the Lombards in Italy, he was crowned as the King of the Lombards. After subduing and Christianizing the Saxon tribes of northern Germany, Charlemagne would gain control of large areas of Saxony. A campaign in Spain would add further lands between the Pyrenees and the Llobregat. Bavaria was incorporated in the kingdom in 788, and the Avar people were subdued between 791 and 796. With much of Western Europe under his rule, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, thereby founding the Holy Roman Empire.

Although he never learned to read, during Charlemagne's reign a renaissance of learning began in Western Europe. With leading scholars (such as the Northumbrian Alcuin) in his service, the Frankish King revised Frankish Laws. These revisions included the first introduction of jury service within courts. Charlemagne maintained diplomatic relations with Byzantium, Baghdad, Mercia, Northumbria, and others. He introduced a new coinage and reformed the weights and measures. In addition, communications were much improved, Church reforms throughout his dominions began, missionary and monastic reforms were supported, the old heroic sagas and other peoples' laws were written down, and religious instruction in the vernacular was promoted.

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Foundation of Fulda Monastery
Date: 744 A.D.
Description:
St. Sturm, a disciple of St. Boniface, founded the Benedictine monastery at Fulda (now Hesse) in Germany as a part of Boniface's mission to bring Christianity to the pagan tribes of Germany.

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Sack of Iona
Date: 785 A.D.
Description:
Danish raiders sack the monastery on the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland. Although it was one of the first of the Viking raids, the monastery buildings were quickly rebuilt by the monks.

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Danes Raid Lindisfarne
Date: 793 A.D.
Description:
Danish raiders attack the monastery of Lindisfarne (Holy Island) forcing the monks to flee.

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Charlemagne's Coronation as Emperor
Date: December 25th, 800 A.D.
Description:
Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne emperor of the West at Christmas mass. The title had not been used since Roman Augustulus held the title in 476.

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Conversion of Prince Boris
Date: 865 A.D.
Description:
Prince Boris of the Bulgar Khanate converts to the Christian faith. After a short delay he accepted the jurisdiction of Constantinople rather than that of Rome.

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Reign of Basil I
Date: September 24th, 867 A.D.
Description:
In 867 Michael III, the Byzantine emperor, appointed Boris the Macedonian (812-886) to be co-ruler of the Empire. A ruthless protégé, Boris repaid his benefactor by having Michael assassinated on the 24th September 867 and then succeeded him as Emperor. Basil I thus founded the Macedonian dynasty (867-1059) that was to bring the Byzantine Empire to the peak of its power.

On the 3 November 867, Basil I would depose Photius (c. 820-891), the Patriarch of Constantinople. Photius had risen to high office at the Byzantine court and in 858 had been elected as the patriarch in place of Ignatius (who was deposed for political reasons). The Pope Nicholas I, however, supported Ignatius and refused to recognize Photius, who in return excommunicated the Pope. To make matters worse, there was a dispute over Latin missionaries in Bulgaria, a council at Constantinople to which the papal legates were not admitted, and denouncement of the filioque addition to the creed. With Photius' dismissal Ignatius could be restored, and this ended the schism that had existed between the Greek and Roman churches.

With Ignatius as Patriarch, Basil was able to conclude an alliance with the pope in Rome to oppose the danger from Islamic encroachments into the western empire. Although Arab forces managed to seize Sicily, they were successfully checked in Dalmatia. Upon Ignatius' death (877), Photius would once again be appointed Patriarch, but this time with the recognition of Pope John VIII. He would be exiled again in 886, however, by Pope Leo VI.

Basil's reign was one of an almost continuous offensive against the forces of Islam in both the western and the eastern provinces of the empire. In addition, he also began the revision and codification of the body of laws that had first been compiled by Justinian I.

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Spread of the Cult of the Buddha Amida
Date: 873 A.D.
Description:
The cult of the Buddha Amida, or 'the Buddha of Immeasurable Light', begins to spread in Japan. Followers believe that when they die, Amida will take them to paradise in the western heavens. This cult would eventually become extremely popular and spread to China.

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Guthrum Retreats and is Baptised
Date: 878 A.D.
Description:
Following his defeat at Edington, Guthrum agrees to leave Wessex with his forces and to accept Christianity.

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West Saxon Chronicle of England
Date: c. 892 A.D.
Description:
Around this year, a West Saxon chronicler wrote a history of England. It covered English history from the birth of Christ until the year 891 and was based upon earlier sources that have been lost.

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Anglo Saxon Chronicle
Date: c. 892 A.D.
Description:
The Anglo Saxon Chronicle is an account of English history that continues from the 892 chronicle. It has many different authors from different monasteries and is actually a series of related chronicles. Some of the surviving manuscripts cover a period of time up until the eleventh century, while one lasts all the way until Henry II's accession to the throne in 1154.

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Foundation of Fatamid Dynasty
Date: December 7th, 909 A.D.
Description:
Having overthrown the Sunni Aghlabid dynasty of Kairouan in Tunisia, Sa'id ibn-Husayn was proclaimed as Ubaydullah al-Mahdi ('the divinely guided one') in Tunis. Here he would establish the Ismailite (Shiite) caliphate in opposition to the Sunni caliphate of Baghdad.

The Fatimid dynasty established by Al-Mahdi was named after Fatima, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

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Foundation of the Cluny Monastery
Date: 910 A.D.
Description:
William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, founded Cluny in 910 in east-central France. Cluny was a Benedictine monastery devoted to the strictest observance of Saint Benedict's rule. A special emphasis was placed on liturgical purity. Out of this great monastery a reform movement was born which had a substantial impact on Western Christianity. The Cluniacs asserted that no secular ruler could hold authority over the Church; the Pope in Rome was the only ruler over the clergy. Chastity among the clergy was another issue the Cluny reformers sought to tackle. These two important components of Western Christianity, the separation of Church and State and the celibacy of the Catholic clergy, had definitive roots in the Cluny reform movement born out of this monastery.

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Abbadid Dynasty Begins
Date: c. 1023 A.D.
Description:
An Islamic dynasty that arose in Spain after the fall of the western caliphate.

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Schism of East and West
Date: 1054 A.D.
Description:
After an unfortunate sequence of events, two cardinals and a bishop from Rome, on business in Byzantium, left a Bull of Excommunication upon the high altar in St. Sophia. This was directed at the Greek Patriarch Cerularius, who in turn excommunicated them. This incident led to the schism of Catholic and Orthodox Churches, which was later even further cemented by the events of the Fourth Crusade.

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Alfonso VI of Castile Takes Toledo
Date: 1085 A.D.
Description:
Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo from the Abbadides.

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Pope Urban II's Speech at Clermont
Date: November 27th, 1095 A.D.
Description:
This speech, given by Pope Urban II in central France in 1095, was responsible for releasing a torrent of events which played out on a grand scale over the few hundred years. Since a major announcement was expected, the speech was moved to a field so that it could accommodate more people. Thousands of laymen and clerics gathered to hear him speak. Marked as the starting point of the crusades, Urban II's speech called upon both rich and poor to help their Christian brothers in the East. Originally the goal was just that, to help the Christian Churches in the East, but a very different goal soon developed. The freeing of the Holy Sepulchre of Christ from the non-Christians soon became the most important objective. The success of Urban II's appeal at Clermont was extraordinary and to help spread the word even further, preachers were sent all around Europe.

"Deus lo volt!"

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Jews Massacred by Crusaders
Date: 1096 A.D.
Description:
Jewish communities in towns and cities along the Rhine River were slaughtered by crusaders. Dozens of small settlements and larger towns like Mainz, Speyer, Worms, Trier, Xanten, Metz and Cologne all experienced the crusaders' reign of murder. Some churchmen tried, often in vain, to protect Jewish families from the crusaders. In Speyer, a local bishop was able to save hundreds by hiding them in his church, but a similar strategy by a bishop in Worms failed when crusaders stormed his residence and killed all of the Jewish families he had hiding there. Massacres of Jews at the hands of the crusaders also occurred in Prague, Regensburg and Salzburg.

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Capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders
Date: July 15th, 1099 A.D.
Description:
The crusading army surrounded Jerusalem in June of 1099. They had few supplies and had knowledge of an approaching Egyptian army, so time was a major factor. They either had to take the city quickly or retreat to the coast. On June 13 the crusaders tried to take the city by storm but failed, mainly due to a lack of siege engines and ladders. In a vision, a priest was told that the city would fall to them if they held a fast and then a procession around the city walls. The crusaders held a fast and on July 8, a procession of barefoot crusaders led by bishops and priests walked around the walls of the city. This odd sight (at least for the city's defenders) ended at Mount Olive, where preachers gave speeches. Spiritually rejuvenated, the crusaders finished building some siege equipment that was in progress and began the assault on the night of July 13-14. July 15th was the day that the city of Jerusalem fell to the crusaders. The Fatamid governor and his attendants were the only Muslims to escape with their lives. Bloody mass murder followed the taking of the city. Every Muslim, regardless of gender or age was slaughtered. Any other non-Christians, such as the city's Jews, were also killed. The Sepulchre of Christ was now again in Christian hands, and the city was awash with blood.

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Philip II Augustus Orders Jews out of France
Date: April 1182 A.D.
Description:
All nonconverting Jews were ordered out of France in 1182, by order of Philip II Augustus. Their property was confiscated by the king. They were, however, allowed a short amount of time to sell any movable possessions or goods.

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The Beginning of the Fourth Crusade
Date: 1202 A.D.
Description:
The Fourth Crusade begins in Venice.

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The Children's Crusade
Date: 1212 A.D.
Description:
In 1212 a French boy from Coyes claimed he had met Christ and was urged by him to lead a Children's Crusade. Their innocence and faith would convince the Muslims of their cause, and the children attracted to the crusade believed it. This French boy, known as Stephen, went to Paris to gather support for his crusade to the Holy Land. Thousands of other children joined him and the movement even spread into Germany. Nicholas, a German peasant from near Cologne, served as a rallying point for those in Germany. Eventually Stephen and about 9,000 followers escorted by priests reached the port of Marseilles. In the port local merchants offered to transport them all to the Holy Land. In route a storm at sea drowned all of the children aboard two ships, and the remaining five parted ways, each heading for different destinations. One group went to Bougie in North Africa and the other sailed to Alexandria, Egypt. Both groups of children had the same end result in these port cities; all were sold in the slave markets. While those in Stephen's group met horrible ends, the group led by Nicholas had crossed the Swiss Alps and were in northern Italy. They numbered only about 7,000 or less and wandered south through Italy begging for food as they went. Only a few hundred of Nicholas' group remained when they reached the city of Brindisi on the southern Italian coast. A Norwegian trader by the name of Friso took the children who were left under his wing. Most of these children subsequently ended up in Mediterranean brothels or slave markets. Remarkably, a few actually did make it to the Holy Land by tagging along with groups of pilgrims. The handful of child crusaders that did reach the Holy Land failed to make any sort of an impression on the Muslims who occupied Jerusalem.

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The Fourth Council of the Lateran
Date: 1215 A.D.
Description:
Efficiency is a key word when talking about the Fourth Lateran Council. Summoned in 1213 by Pope Innocent III, it actually took place in 1215. It was the 12th ecumenical council and produced a great deal of significant ecclesiastical legislation. The gathering was so efficiently organized that the attending 1,200+ bishops, abbots and priests produced the new legislation over meetings which took place in the span of only three weeks. The new legislation included such things as requiring Jews to wear special badges, strictly regulating clerical dress and declaring a moratorium on new religious orders. Clerics were now forbidden to participate in the legal procedure of the ordeal and trial by combat and could not charge fees for administering the sacraments. Bishops were ordered to maintain schools and to provide sermons at their services. The legislation also required that all Catholics must go to confession and least once a year. Procedures and punishment for heretics or their protectors were also laid out.

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Pietro D. Abano is Born
Date: 1250 A.D.
Description:
An Italian physician and philosopher who was brought to trial by the Inquisition twice.

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The Trial of the Templars
Date: October 1307 A.D.
Description:
Suddenly, in October of 1307, King Philip IV ordered the arrest of the Templars. The claims against the Templars were comprised of having admission ceremony practices which included spitting on the cross and denying Christ. The order was also accused of worshipping idols and encouraging homosexual behavior. The pope of the time, Clement V, protested the actions taken by the French king but changed his mind after several of the Templars, including the Templar master, James of Molay, confessed. After these confessions, Clement V ordered all western rulers to do the same as Philip IV and arrest all Templars and seize their property. In 1310, France burned at the stake about 50 Templars who had recanted their confessions. By 1311 inquiries had been performed by inquisitors and prelates in all countries of the West. Overall the results were varied; many areas could not get any confessions. In late 1311 the Council of Vienne met to decide what should happen to the Templars. Two days after Philip IV had arrived at the council, in March of 1312, the pope pronounced the abolition of the order. Questions surrounding the guilt or innocence of the Templars and the motives behind Philip IV's arrest of the French Templars still exist to this day.

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Pietro D. Abano Dies
Date: 1316 A.D.
Description:
An Italian physician and philosopher who died before the completion of his second trial with the Inquisition.

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Death of John Hus
Date: July 6th, 1415 A.D.
Description:
John Hus, a former University master turned theologian and a founder of the Hussite movement in Bohemia, is executed.

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Execution of Joan of Arc
Date: May 30th, 1431 A.D.
Description:
Joan of Arc is executed at Rouen. The Maid of Orleans, aged just 19, had been captured by the Burgundians and handed over to the English. After a lengthy trial she was found guilty of being a relapsed heretic and duly burnt at the stake. She was canonised in 1920.

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