Timelines of British Middle Ages

Early Britain Saxons and Normans Early Plantagenets Lancastrians and Yorks Tudors and Reformation Stuarts and Civil War Scotland Ireland

Early Britain—43 to 800

Roman Conquest of Britain to First Viking Raid

AD Year	Event
54 BC	Julius Caesar Invades Britain and demands tribute.
51	Emperor Claudius Reconquers Britain.
61	Rebellion of Boadicea is severely put down by the Romans.
77-84	Agricola romanizes Britain; builds schools, roads, aqueducts.
122	Hadrian's wall is built to protect Roman Britain from the Picts of Scotland.
304	Death of St. Alban, the first Christain martyr in Britain.
402	Roman legions leave Britain.
433	St. Patrick converts the Irish celts to Christianity.
460	Hengist and Horsa, German princes from Juteland, arrive in Britain.
460-685	Saxon Conquest of Britain—Saxons drive British Celts to Wales and Scotland.
540	St. Mungo helps convert the Celtic Scots to Christianity.
542	Death of King Arthur.
596	Augustine of Kent sent from Rome to convert Saxon kingdoms of Britain.
660	Celtic Christian, and Roman Christian churches are united.
700	Venerable Bede publishes an Ecclesiastic History of the English people.
757-96	Reign of king Offa of Mercia, most influential of the Saxon kings.

Saxons and Normans—800 to 1154

House of Wessex to Death of Stephen

AD Year	Event
787	First Viking (Danish) attack on Britain.
793	Sack of the monastery at Lindisfarne.
802	Egbert the Saxon reigns over united Anglo and Saxon Kingdoms.
871-899	Reign of Alfred the Great, greatest of the Saxon kings.
878	Wessex Saxons under Alfred defeat Danes at the Battle of Edington.
879	Treaty of Wedmore grants Danelaw to Guthrum if he is baptized and withdraws from Wessex.
823-1016	Danish Invasions of Saxon Britain continue throughout the tenth century.
937	Battle of Brunanburh—Wessex Saxons, lead by , defeat Celts and Danes.
991	Battle of Maldon—Saxons are defeated by the Danes and agree to pay tribute.
1002	Aethelred the Unready orders the death of all Danish citizens.
1013	Aethelred driven into exile in Normandy.
1016	Canute the Great defeats Saxons at the Battle of Ashingdon. Danish king assumes throne.
1016-1035	Reign of Canute the Great.
1042	Edward the Confessor, son of Aethelred, recalled to the throne. Saxon rule is restored.
1065	Consecration of Westminster Chapel.
1066	Norman Conquest of Britain
Sept	Battle of Stanford Bridge—Harold Godwinson defeats Viking invaders.
Oct	Battle of Hastings—Harold is killed and the Normans conquer England.
1086	Completion of Domesday Book.
1087	William Rufus assumes the throne on the death of his father, William the Conqueror.
1093	St. Anselm appointed Archbishop of Canterbury; resists William Rufus's oppressions.
1095	Preparations for the First Crusade are made by William Rufus and his brother.
1100-1135	Reign of Henry I begins when Rufus is killed in a hunting accident.
1100	Henry I pleases his Saxon subjects by marrying Maude the Good , a Saxon Princess.
1120	The unexpected death of Henry's son William throws succession into question.
1135-1154	Anarchy and civil war between followers of King Stephen and Matilda, daughter of Henry II.
1154	Death of Stephen; crown passes to Henry II, son of Matilda.

Early Plantagenets—1154 to 1350

Henry II Plantagenet to Reign of Edward III

AD Year	Event
1151	Henry Plantagenet marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, heir in France.
1154	Henry Plantagenet assumes the throne on the death of Stephen.
1170	Thomas a Becket is murdered after he defies Henry II.
1172	Henry II Conquers Ireland.
1190	Richard Coeur de Leon goes on Third Crusade.
1215	John Lackland signs Magna Carta.
1265	Meeting of first Parliament arranged by Simon de Montfort .
1284	Edward I conquers Wales.
1291	Edward I Conquers Scotland.
1314	Scots, under Robert the Bruce Win their Independence at the Battle of Bannockburn.
1348-1349	Black Plague devastates all of Europe.

Lancastrians and Yorks—1337 to 1485

Hundred Years War to War of the Roses

AD Year	Event
1151	Henry Plantagenet marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, heir in France.
1154	Henry Plantagenet assumes the throne on the death of Stephen.
1170	Thomas a Becket is murdered after he defies Henry II.
1172	Henry II Conquers Ireland.
1190	Richard Coeur de Leon goes on Third Crusade.
1215	John Lackland signs Magna Carta.
1265	Meeting of first Parliament arranged by Simon de Montfort .
1284	Edward I conquers Wales.
1291	Edward I Conquers Scotland.
1314	Scots, under Robert the Bruce Win their Independence at the Battle of Bannockburn.
1348-1349	Black Plague devastates all of Europe.
1337-1453	Hundred Years War: England vs. France.
1346	Edward III, victor at the Battle of Crecy.
1356	The Black Prince, victor at the Battle of Poitiers.
1415	Henry V, victor at the Battle of Agincourt.
1428	Joan of Arc, victor at the Siege of Orleans.
1362	English becomes official legal language, displacing French.
1381	The government of Richard II puts down Wat Tyler's Rebellion.
1399	Richard II deposed by Henry Bolingbroke.
1400	Death of Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales
1403	Henry IV puts down a rebellion at the Battle of Shrewsbury.
1415-1453	Henry V invades France and re-opens the Hundred Years War.
1415	Henry V, victor at the Battle of Agincourt.
1428	Joan of Arc, victor at the Siege of Orleans. Tide turns in favor of France.
1455-1485	War of the Roses
1461	Yorkists prevail at Battle of Towton; Lancastrians exiled.
1469	Lancastrians regain throne thanks to the machinations of Earl of Warwick.
1471	Yorkists again prevail at Battle of Barnet.
1483	Richard III usurps throne at death of Edward IV.
1484	Henry Tudor defeats Richard III at Battle of Bosworth Field.
1476	William Caxton bring a printing press to England. Publishes first book.

Tudors and Reformation—1485 to 1603

Henry VII Tudor to Death of Elizabeth I

AD Year	Event
1486	Henry Tudor defeats Richard III at Bosworth Field and marries Elizabeth of York.
1492	Christopher Columbus discovers America.
1497	John Cabot sails for England, explores North America.
1517	Martin Luther incites wide-spread rebellion against the Church of Rome.
1534	Act of Supremacy—Henry VIII breaks ties with the Church of Rome.
1535	Execution of Thomas More for failing to acknowledge Henry VIII's divorce.
1536	Execution of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII.
1540	Dissolution of the monasteries enriches the Protestant gentry.
1549	Prayer Book Rebellion results in a massacre of rebels opposed to the new liturgy.
1553	Lady Jane Grey Attempts to Usurp the Throne at the death of Edward VI.
1553-58	Reign of Mary Tudor. Failed attempt to return England to the Catholic faith.
1558-1603	Reign of Elizabeth I.
1569	Northern Rising, a Catholic attempt to depose Elizabeth, is put down harshly.
1577-80	Francis Drake circumnavigates the globe.
1584	Founding of the 'Lost Colony' at Roanoke. First British colony in America.
1587	Execution of Mary Stuart, Elizabeth's rival for the throne.
1588	English sailors defeat the Spanish Armada dealing a blow to Spanish naval supremacy.
1591	Edmund Spenser publishes the Fairie Queen.
1594-1603	Tyrone Rebellion in Ireland delivers Ulster to English rule.

Stuarts and Civil War—1603 to 1688

First Stuart king to Glorious Revolution

AD Year	Event
1605	Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament is discovered, Guy Fawkes held responsible.
1607	Founding of Jamestown colony in Virgina.
1607	Voyages of Henry Hudson to the new world.
1611	King James version of the Bible first published in England.
1616	Death of William Shakespeare.
1620	Voyage of the Mayflower; Puritans settle in New England.
1625	Charles I ascends to throne of England and marries Henrietta, a Catholic princess.
1629	Charles I dissolves parliament after disputes with certain members.
1640	Charles I recalls the 'Long Parliament' and they accuse his counsellors of treason.
1641	Parliament executes the kings supporter, Earl of Strafford without a trial.
1641-49	English Civil Wars. Parliament vs. King.
1642	Battle of Edgehill—opening battle in Civil War.
1645	Battle of Naseby—Charles I is taken prisoner.
1649	Execution of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell invades Ireland.
1649-1658	Commonwealth, lead by Cromwell.
1653	First Anglo-Dutch War: naval war fought over commercial interests.
1659	Restoration of Charles II.
1665	Great Plague of London.
1667	Great Fire of London.
1688	Glorious Revolution: James II deposed by William III and Mary.

Scotland—1403 to 1707

Macalpine Unifies Scots to Act of Union

AD Year	Event
540	St. Mungo arrives in Glasgow from Ireland as a missionary to Scotland.
563	Columba founds the Monastery of Iona.
843	Picts and Scots unite under Kenneth Macalpine.
1040	Duncan, the King of Scots, is killed by the usurper, Macbeth.
1058-96	Reign of Malcolm Canmore; and his wife Margaret of Scotland.
1286	Death of Alexander III leaves the Scottish throne vacant, chaos ensues.
1297	William Wallace leads the Scots in Revolt against Edward I.
1306	Robert the Bruce is crowned king of Scotland in defiance of Edward I.
1314	Scottish victory at the Battle of Bannockburn assures Scotland's Independence from England.
1371	Robert II ascends the throne as the first Stuart King of Scotland.
1424	James I is released by Henry VI after many years in prison.
1460	Fall of the Black Douglases.
1513	James IV dies at the Battle of Flodden Field, a disastrous loss for Scotland.
1560	The Scottish Parliament, lead by John Knox, establishes National Church.
1567	Mary Stuart is exiled from Scotland and imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth.
1603	James I (formerly James VI of Scotland) assumes the throne of England.
1641	Scotland declares against Charles I in the English Civil Wars.
1649	After the execution of Charles I, Scotland for Charles II in the English Civil Wars.
1692	Massacre of Glencoe results from Scots resistance to William III.
1707	Act of Union unites England and Scotland into Great Britain.
1715	First Jacobite Uprising in Scotland in support of the Old Pretender.
1745	Second Jacobite Uprising in Scotland in support of Bonnie Prince Charles.

Ireland—450 to 1922

Life of Saint Patrick to Irish Independence

AD Year	Event
450	St. Patrick converts Ireland to Christianity.
850	Brian Boru drives vikings out of Ireland, and briefly unites tribes.
1169	Norman Invasion, puts east Ireland under nominal English control.
1315	Edward Bruce, brother of Robert the Bruce, attempts to drive English out of Ireland.
1497	Lambert Simnel, pretender to English throne, lands in Dublin.
1536-1603	Henry VIII begins Tudor Reconquest of Ireland under Protestant rule.
1594-1603	Under Elizabeth I the English conquer Northern Ireland and assume control of Ulster.
1641-51	The English Civil Wars leads to a major Rebellion in Ireland.
1641	Catholic uprisings tied to civil unrest in England; massacre of Protestants in Ulster.
1649	Oliver Cromwell invades Ireland, slaughters civilians at the Siege of Drogheda.
1688-169	Williamite War in Ireland, following the "Glorious Revolution" in Britain.
1688	Siege of Londonderry is relieved by protestant army.
1690	James II returns to France after the Battle of Boyne.
1691	Penal laws enforced which oppress, dispossess Irish Catholics.
1782	Henry Grattan establishes independent Irish Parliament.
1798	Irish rebellion of 1798 occurs during the French Revolutionary Wars.
1801	Ireland (unwillingly) merged into the "United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland";
1829	"Catholic Emancipation" Catholics in Ireland allowed to vote.
1845-1849	Irish potato famine.
1869	Disestablishment of the Anglican Irish State Church
1882	Murder of Cavendish in Ireland.
1893	Parnell's Home Rule Bill defeated by small majority.
1919-1921
1916	Irish War of Independence.
1916	Easter Rising in Dublin, raises sympathy for Irish Rebels.
1922	Partition of Ireland: Formation of Irish Free State.