Medieval Timeline - Browse by Century

Ethelred II of England's First Reign Ends
Date: 1013 A.D.
Description:
When Sweyn, king of Denmark, deposed him, Ethelred fled to Normandy. He would later return to rule again, however.

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Sweyn of Denmark Begins Reign of England
Date: 1013 A.D.
Description:
The nobility of England were so dissatisfied with the rule of Ethelred II that they recognized Sweyn as king of England. Sweyn was also known as Sweyn Forkbeard.

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Ethelred II of England's Second Reign Begins
Date: 1014 A.D.
Description:
After Sweyn's (the king of Denmark) death, Ethelred returned to England to rule.

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Sweyn of Denmark, King of England Dies
Date: 1014 A.D.
Description:
Sweyn's reign in England was cut short by his death.

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Ethelred II of England Dies
Date: 1016 A.D.
Description:
Ethelred's second reign was cut short by his death.

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Canute the Great of England's Reign Begins
Date: 1016 A.D.
Description:
Canute was also king of Denmark and Norway. All of his rivals for the throne fled, leaving him the undisputed king of England in this year.

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Edmund II of England's Reign Begins
Date: April 1016 A.D.
Description:
Edmund II is also known as Edmund Ironside. Following a defeat by Canute, Edmund was allowed to rule in Wessex until his death.

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Edward II of England Dies
Date: November 1016 A.D.

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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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Canute the Great of England Dies
Date: 1035 A.D.

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Harold Harefoot of England's Reign Begins
Date: 1035 A.D.

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Harold Harefoot of England Dies
Date: 1035 A.D.
Description:
Harold's death left the throne of England to his brother Hardicanute.

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Hardicanute of England's Reign Begins
Date: 1035 A.D.

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Hardicanute of England's Reign Ends
Date: 1042 A.D.

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Edward III (the Confessor) of England's Reign Begins
Date: 1042 A.D.
Description:
Following the extinction of Canute's line, Edward III (Hardicanute's half-brother) became king.

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Abbad I Dies
Date: 1042 A.D.
Description:
Abd-ul-Qasim (Abbad I), founder of the Abbadid dynasty in Spain dies. He is succeeded by Abbad II.

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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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Edward III (the Confessor) of England Dies
Date: 1066 A.D.

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Harold II of England's Reign Begins
Date: January 1066 A.D.

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Battle of Stamford Bridge
Date: September 25th, 1066 A.D.
Description:
This battle was a victory for Harold II and England over Norway/the Danes, but it also weakened England's defenses for when the Normans invaded.

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Edgar Atheling of England's Reign Begins
Date: October 1066 A.D.
Description:
Following the Norman Conquest, Edgar Atheling succeeded in staging a rebellion, but it was short lived and was soon put down by William.

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Harold II of England Dies
Date: October 14th, 1066 A.D.
Description:
William, duke of Normandy (later William I - the Conqueror) defeated Harold II at the Battle of Hastings.

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Battle of Hastings
Date: October 14th, 1066 A.D.
Description:
At the Battle of Hastings, William, duke of Normandy, defeated and killed Harold II, successfully completing the Norman Conquest.

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Edgar Atheling of England's Reign Ends
Date: December 1066 A.D.
Description:
This marks the end of the short-lived rebellion against William I.

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William I (the Conqueror) Crowned King of England
Date: December 25th, 1066 A.D.
Description:
After successfully defeating Harold in battle and completing the Norman Invasion, William was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

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Abbad II Dies
Date: February 28th, 1069 A.D.
Description:
Following Abbad I's death, his son Mahommed Abd-ul-Qasim Abenebet (Abbad III) took over as leader of the Abbadides in Spain. He was the last of the Abbadids.

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Battle of Manzikert
Date: August 1071 A.D.
Description:
In one of the worst defeats in the Byzantine Empire's history, Emperor Romanus Diogenes was defeated and captured by the Turks' sultan, Alp Arslan. As a result of this battle, the Eastern Empire lost much of Asia Minor, which included much of its grain and manpower sources.

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Battle of Manzikert
Date: August 1071 A.D.
Description:
In one of the worse defeats in Byzantine's history, Emperor Romanus Diogenes was defeated and captured by the Turks' sultan, Alp Arslan. By May of 1071, Emperor Romanus had amassed 60,000 men on the Armenian border in the hopes of strengthening the eastern borders of Anatolia from the Seljuks by taking the war to them. Romanus' army consisted of native Byzantines as well as mercenaries. He divided his army into two columns and set out to capture the Armenian frontier fortress of Manzikert. The column led by Romanus then set out to meet the Seljuks. His second column, however, led by General Tarchaniotes, did not join him. Romanus was therefore left with about 30,000 men to face the enemy forces led by Alp Arslan. The ensuing battle began in the Byzantines' favor but that soon changed when a trap set by the Seljuks sprang into action. By feigning retreat, the Seljuks were able to draw Romanus' army forward. Romanus did fear a trap but his order to turn back was given too late. Seljuk cavalry raced forward, breaking the ranks of the Byzantines, some of whom managed to escape. Many, including the emperor, ended up surrounded. Romanus' mercenaries attempted to flee but were killed. The Byzantine emperor, Romanus, was captured and later released on conditions of a peace treaty, but he was replaced in a coup at home and killed by his own soldiers. The Seljuks considered the treaty broken and proceeded to invade and occupy Anatolia. As a result of this battle, the Eastern Empire lost much of Asia Minor, which included much of its grain and manpower sources. Its only effective army was also decimated and the ruler who emerged from the coup was forced to appeal to Rome for help against the Seljuks.

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Birth of Anna Comnena
Date: 1083 A.D.
Description:
She is considered the first female historian in the west and was the daughter of Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus. Her 15 volume history of her family the Comneni, is entitled the Alexiad, and gives a wealth of information about her father and the first crusaders.

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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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Oath of Salisbury
Date: August 1st, 1086 A.D.
Description:
Twenty years after the conquest King William I, he called upon all the great land-owning lords to pay homage at Old Sarum (a site of an ancient hill fort near Salisbuty, Wiltshire). The lords were commanded to swear an oath of fealty in person and to confirm their obligation to provide military service to the king in return for the lands that they currently held, regardless of who their own overlord might be.

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William I (the Conqueror) of England Dies
Date: September 9th, 1087 A.D.

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William II Crowned King of England
Date: September 26th, 1087 A.D.
Description:
Based on the instructions of his father's will, William II was crowned king at Westminster Abbey.

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Abbad III is Deposed
Date: 1091 A.D.
Description:
Abbad III is deposed by the Almoravides, ending the Abbadid dynasty.

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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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