slug: charlemagne

label: Charlemagne

description: king of Franks, regarded as the first Holy Roman Emperor (747–814) (742-814)

section: Births

text: Himiltrude, wife of Charlemagne (approximate date)

title: 742

text: Charlemagne, king and emperor of the Franks (approximate date)

title: 742

text: Charlemagne, king and emperor of the Franks (or 748)

title: AD 747

text: Charlemagne, king and emperor of the Franks (or 747)

title: 748

section: Religion & Belief

date: July

text: July – Stephen II anoints Pepin's sons, Charles (later known as Charlemagne) and Carloman, consecrating them as patricians. At Quierzy he proclaims the Carolingian dynasty holy, and appeals for help against the Lombards. Finally, the Frankish nobles give their consent to a campaign in Lombardy.

title: 754

text: King Aistulf of the Lombards again threatens Rome with a view to making it his capital, but the Franks under Pepin III ("the Short") arrives with his sons Charles and Carloman, defeats Aistulf, and confers the Donation of Pepin, which establishes the Papal States (including the lands of Ravenna and the Pentapolis). Pepin has taken territory that legally belongs to the Byzantine Empire; he gives it to Pope Stephen II.

title: 756

text: Hildegard of the Vinzgau, Frankish queen and wife of Charlemagne (approximate date; d. 783)

title: AD 757

text: Adrian, Count of Orléans, brother in law of Charlemagne and uncle of Louis the Pious (d. c. 821)

title: 758

text: Pepin the Hunchback, son of Charlemagne (approximate date)

title: AD 767

section: Deaths

date: September 24

text: September 24 – King Pepin III (the Short) dies at Saint-Denis, Neustria. The Frankish Kingdom is divided between his two sons: Charlemagne and Carloman I. According to Salic law Charlemagne receives the outer parts of the kingdom bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia; while Carloman is awarded his uncle's former share, the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, Swabia, and the lands bordering Italy.

title: 768

section: Events › By place › Frankish Kingdom

text: King Charlemagne (Charles "the Great") begins a military campaign against the Duchy of Aquitaine and the Duchy of Gascony. He leads a Frankish army to the city of Bordeaux, where he sets up a fort at Fronsac. His younger brother Carloman I refuses to help his brother fight the rebels, and returns to Burgundy. Hunald, duke of Aquitaine, is forced to flee to the court of Gascony. Lupus II, fearing Charlemagne, turns Hunald over in exchange for peace, and is put in a monastery. Aquitaine and Gascony are subdued into the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 769

text: King Charlemagne signs a peace treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria, and marries the Lombard princess Desiderata (daughter of King Desiderius). He travels to the Lombard court at Pavia to conclude arrangements. Pope Stephen III opposes the marriage, and protests about a Frankish-Lombard alliance.

title: 770

text: Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne (or 773)

title: 770

date: December 4

text: December 4 – King Carloman I, youngest son of Pepin III ("the Short"), dies (of a severe nosebleed, according to one source) at the Villa of Samoussy, leaving his brother Charlemagne sole ruler of the now reunified Frankish Kingdom. Gerberga, the widow of Carloman, flees with her two sons to the court of King Desiderius of the Lombards, at Pavia.

title: 771

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne leads a Frankish expedition from the Middle Rhine into disputed territory lost by the Franks in 695. He starts a campaign against the Saxons and seizes Eresburg, destroying the Irminsul (Saxon sacred tree) near Paderborn. Charlemagne devastates several major Saxon strongholds, and forces them to retreat beyond the Weser River. After negotiating with some Saxon nobles and obtaining hostages, he installs a number of garrisons.

title: 772

text: probable – Charles the Younger, son of Charlemagne (d. 811)

title: 772

text: Summer – King Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard, son of Charles Martel, cross the Alps with a Frankish expeditionary force at the request of Pope Adrian I. At the foot of the mountains in the Susa Valley (Northern Italy), the Franks are hindered by Lombard fortifications. After scouting, Charlemagne attacks the defenders from the flank, and forces the Lombards to flee to the fortified capital Pavia.

title: 773

text: Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne (d. 810)

title: 773

text: King Charlemagne conquers the Lombard Kingdom, and establishes Frankish rule in Pavia, Venetia, Istria, Emilia, Tuscany, and Corsica. Charlemagne visits Rome; he confirms the Donation of Pepin (see 756) while insisting on his own sovereignty. Pope Adrian I grants him the title of patrician. Charlemagne puts down immediate insurrections in Friuli.

title: 774

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne holds a major assembly at Quierzy (Northern France). He leads a Frankish army into Saxony to retake the castrum of Syburg (near Dortmund), then rebuilds and garrisons fortified Eresburg. He reaches the Weser at a place called Braunsberg, where the Saxons stand for battle, but are defeated when Frankish troops cross the river.

title: 775

text: Rotrude, Frankish princess, daughter of Charlemagne (or 778)

title: 775

text: King Charlemagne spends Easter in Treviso (northern Italy), after putting down a rebellion in Friuli and Spoleto. He removes Hrodgaud of Friuli from power, and reforms the duchy as the March of Friuli (military frontier district). Co-conspirators who support the revolt are Arechis II, duke of Benevento, and Adalgis, son of former Lombard king Desiderius. Frankish counts are placed in the cities of Friuli.

title: 776

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne spends Easter in Nijmegen, and leads a large Frankish army to Paderborn, where a general assembly of Carolingian and Saxon leaders had been summoned. Saxon lands are integrated into the Frankish Kingdom, and divided into missionary parishes. Duke Widukind and his followers flee to King Sigfred of Denmark, seeking refuge and support.

title: AD 777

text: A Frankish army (supported by Burgundians, Bavarians, Bretons, Lombards, and Visigoths) under King Charlemagne invades Al-Andalus (modern Spain), and conquers the cities of Pamplona and Barcelona. However, the Franks are halted at Zaragoza, in the thughur or frontier zone of the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 778

text: Rotrude, Frankish princess, daughter of Charlemagne (or 775)

title: 778

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne assembles a Frankish army at Düren, crosses the Rhine at the modern town of Wesel, and defeats the Saxons in battle near Bocholt (North Rhine-Westphalia). All the main Westphalian leaders are captured, except Widukind. Charlemagne crosses the Weser, Oker and Ohre rivers into Eastphalian territory, where local leaders submit to Frankish rule and hand over hostages. Widukind remains in northern Saxony, and relies on guerrilla warfare.

title: 779

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne decrees the death penalty for any subdued Saxon refusing Christian baptism. Meanwhile Widukind builds up rebel strength in northern Saxony.

title: 780

text: Approximate date – Himiltrude, queen consort of Charlemagne (b. c.742)

title: 780

text: King Charlemagne has his son Carloman (renamed Pepin) anointed "King of Italy", and he is crowned by Pope Adrian I with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. His younger brother Charles I is anointed king of Aquitaine, and Louis the Pious (only 3-years old) is appointed sub-king of Italy and Aquitaine, following the conversion of Aquitaine from a Duchy to a sub-kingdom.

title: 781

text: Summer – Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne sends a punitive expedition (an elite force of Eastern Frankish troops) under the command of Adalgis the Chamberlain, Gallo, and Worad, supported by Saxon forces, to deal with the Saxons and Sorb raiders in Thuringia.

title: 782

date: April 30

text: April 30 – Hildegard, wife of King Charlemagne, dies in childbirth after her ninth confinement in less than 12 years of marriage. His mother, Bertrada of Laon, dies in the summer and is buried with great ceremony beside her husband Pepin the Short, in the Abbey of St. Denis (modern-day Paris).

title: 783

text: April 30 – Hildegard, queen consort of Charlemagne (b. 758)

title: 783

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne begins a campaign in northern Saxony. He ravages Eastphalian territory as far as the Elbe River, while his son, Charles the Younger, defeats a Saxon force in the Lippe Valley. Bad weather hinders Charlemagne's winter campaign in southern Saxony.

title: 784

text: Theodrada, Frankish princess and abbess, daughter of Charlemagne (approximate date)

title: 784

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne summons a major assembly of Saxon and Frankish lords at Paderborn, then leads his army across Saxony as far as the Lower Elbe, without significant resistance. Duke Widukind retreats with his 'rebel' forces beyond the Elbe, but then negotiates and exchanges hostages. Charlemagne returns to his palace at Attigny (Ardennes), followed by Widukind; here the Saxon leaders are baptized as Christians on Christmas Day. Widukind and the Saxon nobility swear fealty to Charlemagne.

title: 785

text: King Charles the Younger, son of Charlemagne and ruler of Aquitaine, visits Monte Cassino and Capua, both in Beneventan territory. Prince Arechis II, feeling threatened by the Franks, decides that he needs to stop quarrelling with the Byzantine Duchy of Naples so he can focus on the Frankish foe. Prince Arechis II therefore signs a peace agreement, or 'pactum', with the Duchy of Naples.

title: 786

text: Empress Irene sends a Byzantine expeditionary army to invade southern Italy, but it is defeated and driven out (at Pope Adrian I's urging) by the Frankish army, allied with the forces of Benevento. She breaks off the engagement (see 782) between her son Constantine VI and the Frankish princess Rotrude, daughter of King Charlemagne.

title: AD 787

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: King Charlemagne conquers Bavaria, and incorporates it into the Frankish Kingdom. Duke Tassilo III is deposed, and banished to a monastery.

title: 788

text: King Charlemagne crosses the Elbe River with a Frankish-Saxon army into Obotrite territory. He subdues the Wiltzes, and reaches the Baltic.

title: 789

text: Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon missionary, returns (after an 8-year absence) to England. During his stay at the Carolingian court of King Charlemagne in Aachen, he has educated his sons Charles, Pepin and Louis. Alcuin revises the church liturgy and the Bible, and is responsible for an intellectual movement within the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 790

text: The Avars, a pagan Asian nomadic horde that has settled down in what is today Hungary, invade Friuli and Bavaria. King Charlemagne assembles a Frankish army, and marches down the Danube River to ravage Avar territory. A Frankish-Lombard expeditionary force, under his son Pepin, (king of the Lombards) invades the Drava Valley and devastates Pannonia.

title: 791

text: The Westphalians rise up against the Saxons, in response to a forcible recruitment for wars against the Avars. However, Pepin, sub-king of Northern Italy and son of King Charlemagne, continues the war, and wins considerable booty from the Avars.

title: 792

text: King Charlemagne orders a 3 kilometre long channel dug from Treuchtlingen to Weißenburg (the Rhine and Danube river basins), to improve the transportation of goods between the Rhineland and Bavaria. Charlemagne's son, Pepin of Italy, campaigns against the Lombards in Benevento (Southern Italy).

title: 793

text: King Charlemagne abandons his channel project (see 793), and attacks the Saxon rebels from the north, supported by a second Frankish army under his son Charles the Younger, which crosses the Rhine at Cologne from the west; threatened from two directions, the Saxons surrender near Paderborn (Westphalia).

title: 794

text: Council of Frankfurt: King Charlemagne calls for a church meeting of the Frankish realm. Bishops and priests from Francia, Aquitaine, Italy, and Provence are gathered in Franconofurd (modern-day Frankfurt am Main).

title: 794

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Saxon War: The Slav Obodrites, under their ruler Witzan, attack the northern Saxons in Liuni. He is killed in an ambush and succeeded by his son Drożko (Thrasco), who becomes a Carolingian dux. King Charlemagne leads a Frankish expeditionary force north from Mainz, and marches to the Elbe, where eastern Saxon rebels again surrender.

title: 795

text: King Charlemagne issues the Capitulare Saxonicum, making Westphalian, Angrian and Eastphalian Saxons equal to other peoples in the Frankish Kingdom. The Nordalbian Saxons revolt; a Frankish fleet is sent to the North Sea coast of Germany. It lands in Hadeln, a marshy coastal region between the Weser and Elbe estuaries, near modern-day Cuxhaven. Charlemagne invades northern Saxony, and again accepts the submission of the Saxons.

title: 797

text: Battle of Bornhöved: King Charlemagne forms an alliance with the Obodrites. Together with Prince Drożko (Thrasco), he defeats the Nordalbian Saxons near the village of Bornhöved (modern-day Neumünster), obliging these 'northerners' to submit and give hostages against their future good behavior. In the coming years they are granted areas of present-day Hamburg.

title: 798

text: April 25 – Pope Leo III is physically attacked by a band of aristocratic conspirators, under the leadership of a public official who is a nephew of the late Pope Adrian I. After mistreatment and attempted disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, Leo flees to the court of King Charlemagne at Paderborn (modern Germany) to seek protection. He sends him back with Frankish agents, and restores him to the papal throne.

title: 799

text: Luitgard, Frankish queen and wife of Charlemagne

title: 800

text: December 25 – Charlemagne, king of the Franks, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III as Charles I, with the title "Emperor of the Romans". The coronation takes place during Mass at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, on Christmas Day. The Frankish Empire is formed in Western Europe, which is not recognized by Empress Irene at Constantinople. This triggers a series of disputes with the Byzantines around who is officially ruling the former Western Roman Empire.

title: 800

text: Emperor Charlemagne formally cedes Nordalbian territory (modern-day Schleswig-Holstein) to the pagan Obotrites (allies of the Carolingian Empire).

title: 801

text: June 17 – Drogo of Metz, illegitimate son of Charlemagne

title: 801

text: Pagan Danes invade Obodrite-ruled Schleswig, to take over territory almost emptied by the forcible deportations of the Saxons by emperor Charlemagne.

title: 802

text: Hugh, illegitimate son of Charlemagne (d. 844)

title: 802

text: Emperors Nikephoros I and Charlemagne settle their imperial boundaries in the Adriatic Sea, and sign the Pax Nicephori ("Peace of Nikephoros"). The Byzantines retain control of the coastal cities and islands in Dalmatian Croatia, while Frankish rule is accepted over Istria and the Dalmatian hinterland. Venice is recognized as independent by the Byzantine Empire.

title: 803

text: Summer – Emperor Charlemagne finishes the conquest of Saxony. The Carolingian administration in the north is restored and the diocese of Bremen is re-established. Venice, torn by infighting, switches allegiance from Constantinople to King Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne.

title: 804

text: May 19 – Alcuin, bishop and advisor to Charlemagne

title: 804

text: Siege of Canburg: The Franks under Charles the Younger, son of emperor Charlemagne, unsuccessfully besiege Bohemians near the modern-day town of Kadaň.

title: 805

text: Louis the German, grandson of Charlemagne and first East frankish king. (Approximate date) (d. 876)

title: 805

text: Emperor Charlemagne divides the Frankish Empire under his three sons, called Divisio Regnorum. For Charles the Younger he designates the imperial title, Austrasia and Neustria, Saxony, Burgundy, and Thuringia. To Pepin he gives Italy, Bavaria, and Swabia. His youngest son Louis the Pious receives Aquitaine, the Spanish March, and Provence.

title: 806

text: Emperor Charlemagne gives orders to construct two new forts on the Elbe River, garrisoning them against future Slav incursions.

title: AD 808

text: Aznar Galíndez I succeeds Aureolus, as count of Aragon (modern Spain). He is installed by King Louis the Pious (a son of emperor Charlemagne), and remains a Frankish vassal.

title: 809

text: Spring – The Venetian dukes change sides again, submitting to King Pepin, under the authority of his father Charlemagne, who then proceeds to take Venice. Emperor Nikephoros I sends a Byzantine fleet to Dalmatia, prompting Pepin to withdraw to the mainland. A legate is dispatched to Venice, where he deposes the turncoat dukes, before continuing on to Aachen, to negotiate a peace with Charlemagne. Charlemagne recognises Byzantine dominance over Venice and Dalmatia in the Adriatic Sea.

title: 810

text: July 8 – Pippin of Italy, son of Charlemagne

title: 810

text: Treaty of Heiligen: King Hemming of Denmark concludes a peace treaty with Emperor Charlemagne in present-day Rendsburg. The southern boundary of Denmark is established at the Eider River.

title: 811

text: Charles the Younger, son of Charlemagne

title: 811

text: Emperor Michael I re-opens peace negotiations with the Franks, and recognizes Charlemagne as emperor (basileus) of the Frankish Empire. In exchange for this recognition, Venice is returned to the Byzantine Empire.

title: 812

text: September 11 — Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine (and only surviving legitimate son), is crowned co-emperor of the Franks, with his father Charlemagne.

title: 813

text: January 28 – Charlemagne dies of pleurisy in Aachen, after an almost 14-year reign (since 800) as the first Roman Emperor of Frankish origin (the precursor of the Holy Roman Emperor). He is embalmed and buried in Aachen Cathedral. Charlemagne is succeeded by his son Louis the Pious, as king of the Frankish Empire.

title: 814

text: October 5 – King Louis the Pious (son of Charlemagne) is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, by Pope Stephen IV at Reims. He also crowns the emperor's wife Ermengarde as Holy Roman Empress. The ceremony in Reims re-establishes the principle of papal supremacy, by recognising the importance of the pope in imperial coronations. Louis gives the pope many gifts, including the estate tax Vendeuvre, near Troyes (Northern France).

title: 816

text: The city of Wiesbaden (Germany) is first mentioned by Einhard, biographer of former emperor Charlemagne (approximate date).

title: 829

text: July 20 – Ansegisus, Frankish abbot and advisor of former emperor Charlemagne, dies at Fontenelle Abbey in Normandy (or 833).

title: 834

text: Third Civil War: King Louis the German, grandson of Charlemagne, invades Swabia. His nephew, Pepin II of Aquitaine, and his Gascon subjects, conquer territory all the way to the Loire.

title: 839

text: May 20 — Thirteen months before his death, Louis the Pious, successor to his father Charlemagne, consents to the division of Charlemagne's empire among his sons in a declaration at Worms. Upon Louis I's death in 840, Lothair (age 45) is devised Middle Francia that includes Switzerland and northern Italy; Louis the German (Louis II), age 36, receives Eastern Francia that includes much of Germany; and Charles the Bald (17) gets West Francia that incorporates most of France.

title: 839

text: June 20 – Louis the Pious, Emperor of the Romans and King of the Franks, falls ill and dies at his hunting lodge, on an island in the Rhine, near the Ingelheim Imperial Palace in Francia, while suppressing a revolt. He proclaims his eldest son Lothair I as his successor as Emperor. Lothair tries to seize all the territories of his late grandfather Charlemagne. Louis' son by his second wife, Charles, 17, becomes King of the Franks, and joins with his half-brother Louis the German in resisting Lothair.

title: 840

text: March 20 – King Alfonso II of Asturias (Northern Spain) dies after a 50-year reign, in which he undertook numerous campaigns against the Muslim armies of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, and allied himself with the late Charlemagne. The childless Alfonso chooses Ramiro I, son of former king Bermudo I, as his successor.

title: 842

text: Hugh, illegitimate son of Charlemagne (b. 802)

title: 844

text: Theodrada, Frankish abbess, daughter of Charlemagne (or 844)

title: 853

text: December 8 – Drogo of Metz, illegitimate son of Charlemagne (b. 801)

title: 855

text: July 2 – King Henry I ("the Fowler") dies at his royal palace in Memleben, Thuringia, after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his 23-year-old son Otto I, who is married to Eadgyth, a daughter of the late King Edward the Elder. Otto is the first German king to be crowned in Charlemagne's former capital of Aachen.

title: 936

text: Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor has Charlemagne's vault opened at Aachen Cathedral.

title: 1001

text: January 23 – Emperor Otto III dies, at the age of 22, of smallpox at Castle of Paterno (near Rome) after a 19-year reign. He leaves no son, nor a surviving brother who can succeed by hereditary right to the throne. Otto is buried in Aachen Cathedral alongside the body of Charlemagne.

title: 1002

text: Henry V, King of Germany, invades Italy with a large army and concludes an agreement with Pope Paschal II at Sutri. Henry renounces the right of investiture (a dispute with the former Henry IV). In return, Paschal promises to crown him emperor and to restore to the Holy Roman Empire all the lands given to the German church (since the time of Charlemagne).

title: 1110

text: May 11 – Treaty of Corbeil: King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") signs a peace treaty with King James I of Aragon ("the Conqueror"). Louis, heir of Charlemagne, formally renounces his feudal overlordship over Catalonia (independent de facto since 988), while James renounces his claims over Occitania.

title: 1258


slug: charles-count-of-valois

label: Charles, Count of Valois

description: French prince (1270-1325)

date: March 12

text: March 12 – Charles, Count of Valois, son of Philip III of France (d. 1325)

title: 1270

text: Aragonese Crusade: The first French armies under King Philip III ("the Bold") and his 14-year-old son Charles of Valois enter Roussillon. They include 16,000 cavalry, 17,000 crossbowmen, and 100,000 infantry, along with 100 ships in south French ports. Though they have the support of James II, ruler of Majorca, the local populace rises against them. Elne is valiantly defended by Aragonese troops, but the French occupy the city, and burn the cathedral, while the population is massacred.

title: 1284

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Health & Medicine

text: Aragonese Crusade: French forces led by King Philip III (the Bold) entrench before Girona, in an attempt to besiege the city. Despite strong resistance, the city is eventually taken on September 7. Philip's son, the 15-year-old Charles of Valois, is crowned as king of Aragon (under the vassalage of the Holy See) but without an actual crown. Shortly after, the French camp is racked by an epidemic of dysentery and Philip is forced to retreat.

title: 1285

date: November 1

text: November 1 – Charles of Valois, son of the late King Philip III ("Philip the Bold"), is summoned to Italy by Pope Boniface VIII to restore peace between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. He enters Florence, and allows the Neri ("Black Guelphs") to return to the city. Charles installs a new government under Cante dei Gabrielli as Chief Magistrate (podestà), leading to the permanent exile of Dante Alighieri, Italian poet and philosopher, from the city.

title: 1301

section: Events › October– December

text: Summer – Count Charles of Valois founds the Diocese of Corfu, Zakynthos and Cephalonia with its seat in Corfu. It is, comprising the Ionian Islands of Corfu, Zakynthos and Cephalonia.

title: 1310

date: June 5

text: June 5 – King Louis X of France ("Louis the Quarrelsome") dies, possibly from poisoning, during a game of tennis at Vincennes, leaving his pregnant wife Clementia of Hungary as his widow. Following Louis' death, his 23-year-old brother Philip is made regent for the remainder of Clementia's pregnancy. There are several potential candidates for the role of regent, his uncle Charles, Count of Valois and Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy.

title: 1316

section: Events › April – June

section: Conflict & Security

date: September 22

text: September 22 – The War of Saint-Sardos ends after Charles, Count of Valois, forces the surrender of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent at La Réole, the last English fortress at the Duchy of Aquitaine. A six-month truce follows

title: 1324

section: Events › July – September

date: December 16

text: December 16 – Charles, Count of Valois, uncle of King Charles IV of France and heir apparent to the throne, dies at the age of 55 at Nogent-le-Roi, leaving his son Philip as heir to the throne.

title: 1325

section: Events › October – December


slug: charles-darwin

label: Charles Darwin

description: English naturalist and biologist (1809–1882)

date: December 12

text: December 12 – Erasmus Darwin, English scientist and grandfather of Charles Darwin (d. 1802)

title: 1731

date: May 30

text: May 30 – Robert Darwin, medical doctor and father of Charles Darwin (d. 1848)

title: 1766

date: May 11

text: May 11 – , the ship that will later take young Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage to examine the "origin of the species", is launched at Woolwich Dockyard.

title: 1820

section: Events › April–June

date: December 27

text: December 27 – Charles Darwin embarks from Plymouth on the second voyage of HMS Beagle which will be the foundation for his life of scientific study.

title: 1831

section: Events › October–December

date: February 28

text: February 28 – Charles Darwin and the crew of arrive at South America for the first time.

title: 1832

section: Events › January–March

date: January 7

text: January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as a scientist.

title: 1835

date: September 7

text: September 7 – Charles Darwin arrives at the Galápagos Islands, aboard .

title: 1835

section: Events › July–September

section: Science & Discovery

date: October 2

text: October 2 – Charles Darwin returns to England aboard , with biological data he will later use to develop his theory of evolution, having left South America on August 17.

title: 1836

section: Culture & Society

text: Robert Chambers' anonymous Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, which paves the way for acceptance of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, is published in Britain.

title: 1844

section: Events › Date unknown

date: July 1

text: July 1 – A joint presentation of papers by Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, announcing a theory of evolution by natural selection, are read at London's Linnean Society.

title: 1858

date: November 24

text: November 24 – English naturalist Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species, a book which argues for the gradual evolution of species through natural selection (it immediately sells out its initial print run).

title: 1859


slug: charles-de-gaulle

label: Charles de Gaulle

description: French general and statesman (1890–1970)

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: June

text: Appeal of 18 June: General Charles de Gaulle, de facto leader of the Free French Forces, makes his first broadcast appeal over Radio Londres from London, rallying the French Resistance, calling on all French people to continue the fight against Nazi Germany: "France has lost a battle. But France has not lost the war."

title: 1940

section: Events › June

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: June 28

text: June 28 – General Charles de Gaulle is officially recognized by Britain as the "Leader of all Free Frenchmen, wherever they may be."

title: 1940

date: November 16

text: November 16 – Charles de Gaulle is unanimously elected president of France by the provisional government.

title: 1945

section: Events › November

date: January 16

text: January 16 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as head of the French provisional government.

title: 1946

section: Events › January

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Charles de Gaulle is inaugurated as the first president of the French Fifth Republic.

title: 1959

date: December 9

text: December 9 – French President Charles de Gaulle's visit to Algeria is bloodied by European and Muslim rioters in Algeria's largest cities. These riots cause 127 deaths.

title: 1960

section: Events › December

date: January 22

text: January 22 – Charles de Gaulle, President of France, dismisses Jacques Massu as commander-in-chief of French troops in Algeria.

title: 1960

date: April 22

text: April 22 – Algiers putsch: Four French generals who oppose de Gaulle's policies in Algeria fail in a coup attempt.

title: 1961

section: Events › April

date: September 21

text: September 21 – In France, the Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS) slips an anti-de Gaulle message into TV programming.

title: 1961

section: Events › September

date: August 22

text: August 22 – Petit-Clamart attack: An assassination attempt is made against French President Charles de Gaulle by machine-gunning his car in the Paris suburbs. The mastermind, Jean Bastien-Thiry, will later be executed.

title: 1962

section: Events › August

date: October 5

text: October 5 – The French National Assembly censures the proposed referendum to sanction presidential elections by popular mandate; Prime Minister Georges Pompidou resigns, but President de Gaulle asks him to stay in office.

title: 1962

section: Events › October

section: Economy & Finance

date: January 29

text: January 29 – French President Charles de Gaulle vetoes the United Kingdom's entry into the European Common Market.

title: 1963

date: March 4

text: March 4 – In Paris, six people are sentenced to death for conspiring to assassinate President Charles de Gaulle. De Gaulle pardons five, but the other conspirator, Jean Bastien-Thiry, is executed by firing squad several days later.

title: 1963

section: Events › March

date: July 16

text: July 16 – The Mont Blanc Tunnel, a highway tunnel between France and Italy, is inaugurated by presidents Charles de Gaulle and Giuseppe Saragat.

title: 1965

section: Events › July–August

date: July 24

text: July 24 – During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! (Long live free Quebec!). The statement, interpreted as support for Quebec independence, delights many Quebecers but angers the Canadian government and many English Canadians.

title: 1967

section: Events › July

section: Religion & Belief

date: October 23

text: October 23 – Charles de Gaulle becomes the first French Co-Prince of Andorra to visit his Andorran subjects. In addition to being President of France, de Gaulle is a joint ruler (along with Spain's Bishop of Urgel) of the tiny nation located in the mountains between France and Spain, pursuant to the 1278 agreement creating the nation.

title: 1967

date: October 27

text: October 27 – French President Charles de Gaulle vetoes British entry into the European Economic Community for the second time in the decade.

title: 1967

date: April 28

text: April 28 – Charles de Gaulle steps down as president of France after suffering defeat in a referendum the day before.

title: 1969


slug: charles-dickens

label: Charles Dickens

description: English novelist and social critic (1812–1870)

section: Culture & Society

date: March 31

text: March 31 (dated April) – The first monthly part of Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers ("The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club..., edited by Boz") is published in London.

title: 1836

section: Events › January–March

section: Crime & Justice

date: February

text: February – Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist begins publication in serial form in London.

title: 1837

text: March 31 – The first installment of Nicholas Nickleby, the new novel by Charles Dickens, is released as the opener of a 20-part serialization in London.

title: 1838

text: Serial publication of Charles Dickens's novel Martin Chuzzlewit begins in London; in the July chapters, he lands his hero in the United States.

title: 1843

section: Science & Discovery

date: December 19

text: December 19 – Charles Dickens's novella A Christmas Carol is first published in London, England. Released on December 19, it sells out by Christmas Eve.

title: 1843

section: Events › October–December

section: Health & Medicine

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Hard Times begins serialisation in Charles Dickens' magazine, Household Words.

title: 1854

section: Events › April–June

date: April 30

text: April 30 – A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is published in England.

title: 1859

date: December 1

text: December 1 – Charles Dickens publishes the first installment of Great Expectations in his magazine All the Year Round.

title: 1860

date: June 12

text: June 12 – The Arts Club is founded by Charles Dickens, Frederic Leighton and others in Hanover Square, London.

title: 1863

date: December 2

text: December 2 – In a New York City theater, English author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.

title: 1867

section: Deaths

date: June 9

text: June 9 – English novelist Charles Dickens dies at Gads Hill Place in Kent, leaving his last book, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished.

title: 1870

date: June 22

text: June 22 – David Lean's Oliver Twist, based on Charles Dickens's famous novel, premieres in the UK. It is banned for 3 years in the U.S., because of alleged antisemitism in depicting master criminal Fagin, played by Alec Guinness.

title: 1948

date: February 11

text: February 11 – The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.

title: 1978

section: Events › February


slug: charles-i-of-anjou

label: Charles I of Anjou

description: King of Sicily (1226-1285)

date: August 12

text: August 12 – King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") leaves Paris together with his wife, Queen Margaret of Provence, and her sister Beatrice of Provence. Two of Louis' brothers, Charles of Anjou and Robert of Artois, are also present. He is followed by his cousins, Hugh IV of Burgundy and Peter Mauclerc, both are veterans of the Barons' Crusade.

title: 1248

section: Events › By place › Seventh Crusade

text: Innocent IV offers the crown of Sicily, which he controls, to Richard of Cornwall and Charles of Anjou, both of whom refuse, and later to the 8-year-old Edmund, son of Henry III of England.

title: 1253

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: August 29

text: August 29 – Urban IV offers the crown of Sicily to Charles of Anjou, youngest son of King Louis VIII of France, hoping to strengthen his position.

title: 1261

section: Conflict & Security

date: June 16

text: June 16 – Battle of Colle Val d'Elsa: Guelph forces (2,200 men) led by King Charles I of Anjou defeat the Ghibellines at Tuscany. After the battle, the Guelphs drive out their adversaries at Colle di Val d'Elsa, destroying their houses, and confiscating their possessions.

title: 1269

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: May 9

text: May 9 – English prince the Lord Edward and King Charles I of Anjou arrive in Acre, with a fleet of 30 galleys, starting Lord Edward's crusade (the Ninth) against Baibars. During this crusade they are unable to capture any territory and peace is quickly negotiated with the Mamluk Sultanate. Baibars consolidates his occupation in Syria.

title: 1271

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: February – Charles I of Anjou, king of Sicily, occupies the city of Durrës, and establishes the Angevin Kingdom of Albania. A delegation of Albanian nobles and citizens from Durrës make their way to Charles' court.

title: 1272

date: March 18

text: March 18 – Charles I, king of Sicily, buys the title to the Kingdom of Jerusalem from Maria of Antioch, for 1,000 bezants and an annual payment of 4,000 livres tournois.

title: 1277

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 19

text: March 19 – Byzantine–Venetian Treaty: Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos concludes an agreement with the Republic of Venice. Stipulating a two-year truce, and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. Michael keeps the Venetians and their fleet from participating in the attempts of Charles I, king of Sicily, to organize an anti-Byzantine crusade, while the Venetians can retain their access to the Byzantine market.

title: 1277

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: May 1

text: May 1 – William of Villehardouin, prince of Achaea, dies. By the terms of the Treaty of Viterbo, his lands passed under the direct control of Charles I, king of Sicily. Charles appoints a bailiff to rule the Latin principality. In response, Charles swears fealty to the new pope, Nicholas III, on May 24. He promises not to attack or invade the Byzantine Empire because Nicholas has hopes to unify the Orthodox Church with the Catholic Church.

title: 1278

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: October 18

text: October 18 – Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos is excommunicated by Pope Martin IV without any warning or provocation. Martin authorizes Charles I, king of Sicily, to make a Crusade against Michael, who has re-established his rule in Constantinople. Charles prepares an expedition in Sicily and assembles a fleet of 100 ships, and 300 more in Naples, Provence, and the Greek territories, which carry some 8,000 cavalrymen.

title: 1281

date: October 19

text: October 19 – Bohemond VII, ruler of Tripoli, dies childless. He is succeeded by his sister Lucia, who is married to Charles I of Naples' former Grand Admiral, Narjot de Toucy. But the nobles, not pleased with this decision, offer the county to Bohemond's mother, Dowager-Princess Sibylla of Armenia.

title: 1287

section: Events › By place › Middle East

date: May 5

text: May 5 – King Charles II "the Lame" of Naples), son of Charles I of Anjou (b. 1254)

title: 1309


slug: charles-i-of-england

label: Charles I of England

description: King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1625 to 1649 (1600-1649)

text: John Vaughan, 1st Earl of Carbery is appointed to the post of comptroller, in the newly formed household of Prince Charles in England; Vaughan later claims that serving the Prince has cost him £20,000.

title: 1616

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Culture & Society

date: November 4

text: November 4 – Prince Charles (15-year-old surviving son of James I of England and Anne of Denmark) is invested as Prince of Wales at Whitehall in London, the last such formal investiture until 1911.

title: 1616

section: Events › November-December

date: August 30

text: August 30 – Negotiations, resumed in March, of the planned "Spanish match" break down. On October 5, Prince Charles returns to England from Spain without a bride.

title: 1623

section: Events › July–September

date: March 7

text: March 7 – Charles, Prince of Wales, the future King Charles I of England, travelling incognito with royal favourite George Villiers, arrives in Madrid to pursue negotiations over the "Spanish match", the Protestant Charles's proposed marriage with the Catholic Habsburg Infanta Maria Anna of Spain.

title: 1623

section: Events › January–March

date: February 2

text: February 2 – King Charles I of England is crowned, but without his wife, Henrietta Maria, who declines to participate in a non-Catholic ceremony.

title: 1626

date: June 15

text: June 15 – King Charles I of England dissolves the English Parliament.

title: 1626

date: March 1

text: March 1 – Writs issued in February, by King Charles I, require every county in England (not just seaport towns) to pay ship tax by this date.

title: 1628

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Charles I of England dissolves Parliament, starting the Eleven Years' Tyranny

title: 1629

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Charles I of England issues a charter for the colony of Maryland (named in honor of Henrietta Maria), under the control of Lord Baltimore.

title: 1632

section: Religion & Belief

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Charles I is crowned King of Scots at St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, according to Anglican rite in his first visit to Scotland since early childhood, although he has been Scottish monarch since 1625.

title: 1633

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: July 31

text: July 31 – The Royal Mail service is made available to the public by Charles I of England.

title: 1635

date: April 30

text: April 30 – King Charles I of England issues a proclamation, attempting to stem emigration to the North American colonies.

title: 1637

date: July 23

text: July 23 – After a court battle, King Charles I of England hands over title to the North American colony of Massachusetts to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, one of the founders of Plymouth Council for New England.

title: 1637

date: February 28

text: February 28 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in opposition to changes to the Church of Scotland proposed by King Charles I.

title: 1638

date: November 21

text: November 21 – The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is summoned to Glasgow, by King Charles I.

title: 1638

date: May 28

text: May 28 – King Charles I of England arrives with his army at Berwick-upon-Tweed as the first of the Bishops' Wars breaks out between the English Army and the Scottish Covenanters.

title: 1639

date: April 13

text: April 13 – The Short Parliament assembles, as King Charles I of England attempts to fund the second of the Bishops' Wars.

title: 1640

date: October 26

text: October 26 – The Treaty of Ripon is signed, restoring peace between the Scottish Covenanters and Charles I of England.

title: 1640

date: February 16

text: February 16 – King Charles I of England gives his assent to the Triennial Act 1640, reluctantly committing himself to parliamentary sessions of at least fifty days, every three years.

title: 1641

date: May 3

text: May 3 – The Protestation of 1641 is passed by England's Parliament, requiring all officeholders to swear an oath of allegiance to King Charles I and to the Church of England.

title: 1641

date: November 22

text: November 22 – By a vote of 159 to 148, the Long Parliament of England passes the Grand Remonstrance, with 204 specific objections to King Charles I's absolutist tendencies, and calling for the King to expel all Anglican bishops from the House of Lords.

title: 1641

date: October 2

text: October 2 – Scottish politician John Campbell takes office as Lord Chancellor of Scotland and is given the title of the Earl of Loudoun by Charles I in his capacity as King of Scotland.

title: 1641

date: January 4

text: January 4 – King Charles I of England, accompanied by soldiers, arrives at a session of the Long Parliament and attempts to arrest his chief opponents, the Five Members, John Hampden, Arthur Haselrig, Denzil Holles, John Pym and William Strode, for what he regards as treason but they escape and are protected by the Lord Mayor of London. This is the last time any monarch enters the House of Commons.

title: 1642

date: July 10

text: July 10 – In a prelude to the First English Civil War, King Charles I of England besieges Hull in an attempt to gain control of its arsenal. The siege lasts until July 27, with Charles's Royalist Army failing to take the city from the Parliamentarians commanded by Governor John Hotham and General John Meldrum.

title: 1642

date: July 4

text: July 4 – The Committee of Safety is created by the English Parliament as a challenge to the authority of King Charles I. Five members of the House of Lords (Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke, and William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele) and ten members of the House of Commons (Nathaniel Fiennes, John Glynn, John Hampden, Denzil Holles, Henry Marten, John Merrick, William Pierrepoint, John Pym, Philip Stapleton and William Waller) are appointed to the Committee.

title: 1642

date: June 1

text: June 1 – "Nineteen Propositions" are sent by the English House of Lords and House of Commons to Charles I, asking the King to consent to parliamentary approval for the members of his privy council, his chief officers, and new seats created for the House of Lords, as well as regulating the education and choice of marital partners of the King's children, and barring Roman Catholics from the Lords. The King's Answer, rejecting the Propositions, is read in Parliament on June 21.

title: 1642

date: October 30

text: October 30 – King Charles I of England enters Oxford and establishes his court there.

title: 1642

date: March 13

text: March 13 – First English Civil War: First Battle of Middlewich – Roundheads (Parliamentarians) rout the Cavaliers (Royalist supporters of King Charles I) at Middlewich in Cheshire.

title: 1643

date: January 22

text: January 22 – The Royalist Oxford Parliament is first assembled by King Charles I of England.

title: 1644

date: July 2

text: July 2 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor – The Parliamentarians crush the Royalists in Yorkshire, ending Charles I's hold on the north of England.

title: 1644

date: September 2

text: September 2 – English Civil War: Second Battle of Lostwithiel (in Cornwall) – Charles I and the Royalists gain their last major victory.

title: 1644

date: April 23

text: April 23 (St George's Day) – English Civil War: One hundred and fifty Irish soldiers bound for service with King Charles I of England are captured at sea by Parliamentarians and killed at Pembroke in Wales.

title: 1645

date: April 27

text: April 27 – King Charles I of England flees from Oxford (where he has been overwintering) in disguise and begins his journey to the Scottish army camp near Newark.

title: 1646

text: December 23 – The Covenanters hand over King Charles I of England to the Parliamentarians.

title: 1646

text: July 30 – Commissioners of the Parliament of England and Scottish Covenanters meeting in Newcastle upon Tyne set out the Heads of Proposals ("Newcastle Propositions") demanding that King Charles I gives up control of the army and place restrictions on Catholics, as the basis for a constitutional settlement.

title: 1646

text: January 17 – By a vote of 141 to 91, England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I, and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.

title: 1648

text: January 20 – Charles I of England goes on trial, for treason and other "high crimes".

title: 1649

text: January 27 – King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is found guilty of high treason in a public session.

title: 1649

text: October 13 to October 19 – Ten of the 57 "regicides" who signed the death warrant of Charles I of England in 1649 are executed over a period of one week, mostly at Charing Cross by being hanged, drawn and quartered, a process which includes being disemboweled (in some cases before they have died) and then and burned. The first to die is Thomas Harrison, a leader of the Fifth Monarchists. He is followed by John Carew (October 15); John Cook and Hugh Peter (October 16); (Adrian Scrope, John Moore, Gregory Clement and Thomas Scot) (October 17); and Daniel Axtell and Francis Hacker (October 19).

title: 1660

text: April 19 – Three of the former members of the English Parliament who had signed the death warrant for Charles I of England in 1649 and then fled into exile in the Netherlands after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 — Miles Corbet, John Okey and John Barkstead — are hanged after having been extradited, returned to England, and convicted of regicide. Their bodies are then drawn and quartered.

title: 1662

text: August 11 – Sir John Lisle, a former member of the English House of Commons who had been designated a regicide for his role in signing the death warrant in the execution in 1649 of Charles I of England, is assassinated in a church courtyard in Lausanne in Switzerland. Lisle had gone into exile after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The shooting of Lisle, done on order of King Charles II, is carried out by a team led by royal agent James Cotter.

title: 1664

text: March – Archibald Armstrong, court jester to James VI and I and Charles I of England

title: 1672


slug: charles-i-of-hungary

label: Charles I of Hungary

description: King of Hungary

section: Deaths

date: January 14

text: January 14 – With the death of King Andrew III ("the Venetian") after a short illness, possibly from poisoning, the Árpád Dynasty in Hungary ends. This results in a power struggle between Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, Otto III of Bavaria, and Charles Robert of Naples. Eventually, Wenceslaus is elected and crowned as king of Hungary and Croatia. His rule is only nominal, because a dozen powerful Hungarian nobles hold sway over large territories in the kingdom.

title: 1301

section: Events › January– March

date: May 13

text: May 13 – After an attempt in the spring to have Prince Charles of Anjou succeed the late Andrew III as King of Hungary, the Diet of Hungary votes to declare his coronation invalid, in that Charles was not proclaimed king at Székesfehérvár and never received the Crown of Saint Stephen.

title: 1301

section: Events › April– June

date: May 31

text: May 31 – Pope Boniface VIII orders the nullification of the election of Wenceslaus as King of Hungary, and declares that Károly Róbert, son of the late Hungarian king Charles Martel of Anjou, is the rightful claimant to the throne. The Pope also threatens Wenceslaus with excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church if Wenceslaus continues to style himself "King of Hungary". The decision causes a breakdown of Hungary between supporters of Wenceslaus and supporters of Károly.

title: 1303

section: Events › April–June

date: November 27

text: November 27 – On the same day, Hungarian nobles formally elect the 20-year-old Charles Robert of Salerno as King of Hungary and Croatia in the Hungarian city of Pest (now part of Budapest). He becomes Charles I, but his rule remains nominal in most parts of the realm after he is crowned.

title: 1308

section: Events › October – December

date: June 15

text: June 15 – The second coronation of Charles I as King of Hungary takes place at Székesfehérvár after a first attempt in 1301 was not recognized.

title: 1309

section: Events › April – June

date: August 27

text: August 27 – The third coronation of Károly Róbert I (Charles I) as King of Hungary is carried out at Székesfehérvár by Thomas II, Archbishop of Esztergom after the Archbishop successfully negotiates the return of the Crown of Saint Stephen from Ladislaus Kán. Use of the Holy Crown had been required by Hungarian law for recognition by the nobles of Hungary.

title: 1310

section: Events › July – September

text: June 15 – Battle of Rozgony: Hungarian forces led by King Charles I defeat the family of Palatine Amadeus Aba near Rozgony. During the battle, Charles losses his royal standard, but is reinforced by German mercenaries from Košice (now part of the Republic of Slovakia). The rebel army is routed, and Charles extends his power base in Hungary. His position is secured and resistance (reduced by the magnates' opposition) against Charles' rule comes to an end.

title: 1312

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Duke Władysław I Łokietek ("Ladislaus the Short") becomes king of a reunited Poland, after receiving the approval from Pope John XXII. He is crowned, along with his wife Jadwiga of Kalisz, at the royal cathedral on Wawel Hill at Kraków. Wladysław's kingdom is surrounded by three hostile neighbors: Brandenburg, the Teutonic Order and Bohemia. Looking for allies, he makes an alliance with Charles I, ruler of Hungary.

title: 1320

section: Events › January – March

date: July 6

text: July 6 –To strengthen the alliance between Hungary and Poland, and with the approval of Pope John XXII, Charles I of Hungary marries Princess Elizabeth of Poland, the 15-year-old daughter King Wladyslaw I.

title: 1320

date: August

text: August/September – Battle of Bliska: A coalition of Croatian noblemen (with the support of King Charles I of Hungary) defeats Mladen II Šubić of Bribir, ruler (ban) of Bosnia. After the battle, Mladen is arrested by the Croatian Parliament during an assembly held in Knin Fortress and is taken as a prisoner to the royal court in Hungary on October 8.

title: 1322

date: July 26

text: July 26 – Basarab I, ruler of Wallachia (part of modern-day Romania) is designated by King Charles I of Hungary (Károly Róbert) as a subject of the Hungarian crown.

title: 1324

date: February 13

text: February 13 – King Charles I of Hungary and King John of Bohemia sign an alliance agreement at Nagyszombat in Bohemia (modern Trnava in the Republic of Slovakia), to proceed against the Austrian Habsburgs who occupy Pressburg (modern Bratislava, capital of Slovakia).

title: 1327

date: July 16

text: July 16 – King Charles I of Hungary

title: 1342


slug: charles-ii-of-england

label: Charles II of England

description: King of England, Scotland, and Ireland  (1630-1685)

section: Births

date: November 25

text: November 25 – Catherine of Braganza, Portuguese princess, queen consort of Charles II of England (d. 1705)

title: 1638

section: Births › October–December

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: March 2

text: March 2 – The future Charles II of England escapes from Cornwall into exile across the English Channel.

title: 1646

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: February 5

text: February 5 – In Edinburgh, the Scottish Parliament declares Prince Charles, son of the recently executed King Charles I, as King Charles II of Scotland. Prince Charles, at the time, is at sea in charge of royalist forces fighting to drive Oliver Cromwell from the British Isles. Scotland is the first of the three Kingdoms to recognize his claim to the throne.

title: 1649

date: January 30

text: January 30 – The deposed King Charles I is beheaded outside the Banquet Hall in the Palace of Whitehall, London. The Commonwealth of England, with a republican form of government, replaces the monarchy as the form of government of England and members of the Long Parliament serve as government. Charles, Prince of Wales declares himself as King of England, Scotland and Ireland pending restoration of the monarchy.

title: 1649

date: July 5

text: July 5 – After news reaches the Western Hemisphere that King Charles I has been deposed and executed, the English colonial government of the Somers Isles, now called Bermuda, proclaims its recognition of Charles II as the rightful ruler of the islands.

title: 1649

section: Conflict & Security

date: October 11

text: October 11 – The Sack of Wexford in Ireland ends after having started on October 2, with Cromwell's New Model Army breaking through, killing more than 1,500 Irish Catholic defenders and civilians, while losing only 20 of the English soldiers. The capture of Wexford ends the remaining chance that Charles II, heir to the English throne, can land troops in Ireland, and Charles and the royalist fleet flee to Portugal.

title: 1649

section: Events › October–December

date: June 23

text: June 23 – Claimant King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland arrives in Scotland (at Garmouth), the only one of the three kingdoms that has accepted him as ruler.

title: 1650

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Charles II is crowned King of Scots at Scone (his first crowning).

title: 1651

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Prince Charles of the House of Stuart escapes from England to find refuge in France.

title: 1651

date: September 3

text: September 3 – Charles II of England is defeated in the Battle of Worcester, the last major battle of the English Civil War, and forced to flee.

title: 1651

date: April 2

text: April 2 – The Treaty of Brussels is signed, creating an alliance between Philip IV of Spain and the exiled Royalists of the British Isles, led by Charles II.

title: 1656

date: August 7

text: August 7 – As Booth's Uprising spreads to Liverpool, Thomas Myddelton, Randolph Egerton and fellow royalists take control of the town of Wrexham in Wales and proclaim Charles II to be King.

title: 1659

date: March 1

text: March 1 – In exile in the Netherlands while plotting the restoration of the monarchy to England, Scotland and Ireland, Charles, son of the late King Charles I appoints seven royalists (including six from the "Sealed Knot" group) to a "Great Trust and Commission" to make plans for a post-restoration government. The Great Trust is led by Charles's trusted advisor, Edward Hyde.

title: 1659

date: April 4

text: April 4 – The Declaration of Breda, signed by Charles Stuart, son of the late King Charles I of England, promises amnesty, freedom of conscience, and army back pay, in return for support for the English Restoration. The Declaration is read to the new parliament on May 1.

title: 1660

date: May 29

text: May 29 – King Charles II of England arrives in London and assumes the throne, marking the beginning of the English Restoration.

title: 1660

date: May 8

text: May 8 – In exile in the Netherlands, Prince Charles Stuart receives word that the Parliament of England has declared his elevation to the throne as King Charles II of England.

title: 1660

text: April 23 (May 3 N.S.) – King Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.

title: 1661

text: June 23 – The "Marriage Treaty" is signed between representatives of King Charles II of England and King João IV of Portugal, providing a military alliance between the two kingdoms and a marriage between Charles of the House of Stuart and João's daughter Catherine of the House of Braganza on May 21, 1662. The treaty also sets the transfer of Portuguese territory in India (at Bombay) and in North Africa (Tangier) to England as well as military aid from England to Portugal.

title: 1661

date: May 21

text: May 21 – (May 31 N.S.); Princess Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King João IV of Portugal, marries Charles II of England. As part of the dowry, Portugal cedes Bombay in India, and Tangier in Morocco, to England.

title: 1662

section: Crime & Justice

date: October 27

text: October 27 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France, for £400,000 (2.5 million French livres).

title: 1662

section: Economy & Finance

date: January 10

text: January 10 – The Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter by Charles II of England.

title: 1663

date: March 24

text: March 24 – King Charles II of England issues the Charter of Carolina, establishing the Province of Carolina, and dividing it between eight Lords Proprietors.

title: 1663

date: September 5

text: September 5 – Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield, illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England (d. 1718)

title: 1664

date: June 30

text: June 30 – King Charles II of England issues a second charter for the Province of Carolina, which clarifies and expands the borders of the Lords Proprietors' tracts.

title: 1665

text: February 13 – In Lisbon, a peace treaty is established between Afonso VI of Portugal and Carlos II of Spain, by mediation of Charles II of England, in which the legitimacy of the Portuguese monarch is recognized. Portugal yields Ceuta to Spain.

title: 1668

date: March 27

text: March 27 – King Charles II of England signs an agreement with representatives of the English East India Company to lease the Indian city of Bombay (modern-day Mumbai) to the company for a rent of 10 pounds sterling per year, with transfer taking effect on September 21.

title: 1668

date: October 19

text: October 19 – The Parliament of Scotland holds its first new session in six years (although two Conventions of Estates had been held briefly in 1665 and 1667). The session is opened in Edinburgh by Charles II of England in his capacity as King of Scotland.

title: 1669

date: July 11

text: July 11 – Representatives of England (led by King Charles II) and Denmark (led by King Christian V) sign a treaty of alliance and commerce, the Treaty of Copenhagen.

title: 1670

date: May 9

text: May 9 – Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom from the Tower of London. He is immediately caught, because he is too drunk to run with the loot. He is later condemned to death, and then mysteriously pardoned and exiled by King Charles II.

title: 1671

date: September 6

text: September 6 – The Court of King Charles II of England dispatches a letter to the "King of Formosa" (Zheng Jing, ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning) confirming that English ships will be welcome to trade at the "City of Tywan", referring to Taipei on the island of Taiwan.

title: 1671

date: March 15

text: March 15 – Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence, suspending execution of Penal Laws against Protestant nonconformists and Roman Catholics in his realms; this will be withdrawn the following year under pressure from the Parliament of England.

title: 1672

section: Health & Medicine

date: November 9

text: November 9 – King Charles II of England removes Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, from his position as Lord Chancellor.

title: 1673

date: April 13

text: April 13 – King Charles II of England suspends Parliament after just nine weeks when the members refuse to vote additional funding to him.

title: 1675

text: August 10 – King Charles II of England places the foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory near London; construction begins.

title: 1675

text: February 15 – Four members of the English House of Lords embarrass King Charles II at the opening of the latest session of the "Cavalier Parliament" by proclaiming that the session is not legitimate because it had not met in more than a year. The Duke of Buckingham, backed by Lord Shaftesbury, Lord Salisbury and Baron Wharton, makes an unsuccessful motion to end the session. When the four Lords refuse to apologize, they are arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London.

title: 1677

text: September 10 – Henry Purcell is appointed a musician to the court of Charles II of England.

title: 1677

text: September 6 – Titus Oates begins to present allegations of the "Popish Plot", a supposed Roman Catholic conspiracy to assassinate king Charles II of England. Oates applies the term Tory to those who disbelieve his allegations.

title: 1678

text: January 24 – King Charles II of England dissolves the "Cavalier Parliament", after nearly 18 years.

title: 1679

text: July 12 – In England, the "Habeas Corpus Parliament" (or "First Exclusion Parliament") is dissolved, while in recess, by King Charles II. The King exercises his royal prerogative of dissolution to prevent the parliament from passing a bill that would exclude non-Anglicans from the succession to the English throne, specifically the king's Roman Catholic brother, James, Duke of York, as part of the Exclusion Crisis.

title: 1679

text: April 30 – The first French Huguenots in the New World arrive at Charleston, South Carolina, as 45 of the religious exiles arrive at Oyster Point on the ship Richmond, after being sent there by King Charles II of England.

title: 1680

text: June 22 – The Sanquhar Declaration, written by Richard Cameron, leader of the Covenanters who oppose the control of religion in Scotland by King Charles, is read aloud by Richard's brother Michael Cameron at the public square in the village of Sanquhar in Dumfriesshire.

title: 1680

text: December 22 – King Charles II of England signs a warrant for the building of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London for wounded and retired soldiers.

title: 1681

text: March 4 – In order to settle a debt of £16,000, King Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn, for territory west of Delaware River in America between 40° N and 42° N, later to be called Pennsylvania.

title: 1681

text: December 7 – Algernon Sidney, opponent of King Charles II of England and author of the rebel tract Discourses Concerning Government is beheaded after having been arrested on June 25 and found guilty on November 7.

title: 1683

text: July 21 – The gruesome execution of Lord Russell, for his role in the 1683 Rye House Plot to assassinate King Charles II of England, is carried out by the royal executioner Jack Ketch, who wields his axe in a manner requiring multiple blows to make Russell suffer as much as possible during the beheading.

title: 1683

text: June 12 – The Rye House Plot to assassinate Charles II of England is discovered.

title: 1683

text: March 22 – Great fire in Newmarket, Suffolk, England, consuming half the houses and forcing King Charles II (who is in residence) to flee the town.

title: 1683

text: January 5 – King Charles II of England gives the title Duke of St Albans to Charles Beauclerk, his illegitimate son by Nell Gwyn.

title: 1684

text: February 6 – Catholic James Stuart, Duke of York, becomes King James II of England and Ireland, and King James VII of Scotland, in succession to his brother Charles II (1660–1685), King of England, Scotland, and Ireland since 1660. James II and VII reigns until deposed, in 1688.

title: 1685

text: July 15 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II of England (beheaded) (b. 1649)

title: 1685

text: June 11 – Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland, lands at Lyme Regis with an invasion force brought from the Netherlands, to challenge his uncle, James II, for the Crown of England.

title: 1685

text: November 14 – Nell Gwyn, English actress, a mistress of Charles II of England (b. 1650)

title: 1687

text: February 17 – James Renwick, the last of the Covenanters in Scotland to be martyred for opposing the authority of King Charles II, is publicly hanged at Grassmarket square in Edinburgh.

title: 1688

text: December 31 – Catherine of Braganza, widowed queen consort of Charles II of England and regent of Portugal (b. 1638)

title: 1705

text: October 9 – Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, English mistress of Charles II of England (b. 1640)

title: 1709

text: February 17 – Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield, illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England (b. 1664)

title: 1718

text: November 14 – Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, French-born mistress of Charles II of England (b. 1649)

title: 1734


slug: charles-ii-of-naples

label: Charles II of Naples

description: king of Naples from 1284 to 1309

text: Charles II of Naples ("the Lame"), son of Charles I of Anjou (d. 1309)

title: 1254

date: June 5

text: June 5 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: An Aragonese-Sicilian fleet (some 30 galleys) led by Admiral Roger of Lauria surrounds and defeats the Neapolitan ships in the Gulf of Naples. King Charles II of Naples ("the Lame") is captured during the battle; disorganized, the remnants of the Neapolitan fleet (between 15 and 18 galleys) flee back to Naples.

title: 1284

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Treaty of Canfranc: King Edward I signs an agreement with Alfonso III at Canfranc, about the release of Charles II, who has been captured by Admiral Roger of Lauria in the Battle of the Gulf of Naples (see 1284).

title: 1288

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Treaty of Anagni: Pope Boniface VIII arranges a peace treaty between King Philip IV of France ("the Fair"), Charles II of Naples ("the Lame"), and James II of Majorca. James returns Sicily to the Papal States, seeking to bring peace between the Capetian House of Anjou and the Kingdom of Sicily; the effort is in vain. Boniface is determined to put an end to the War of the Sicilian Vespers, because he wants to declare a new Crusade for the reconquest of the Holy Land.

title: 1295

date: August 31

text: August 31 – The Peace of Caltabellotta is signed between King Charles the Lame, King of Naples and King Frederick III of Sicily, ending the War of the Sicilian Vespers. The Kingdom of Sicily will pass to Angevin rule on Frederick's death, in return Charles pays a tribute of some 100,000 ounces of gold. Frederick hands over all his possessions in Calabria and releases Charles' son Philip I, prince of Taranto, from his prison in Cefalù.

title: 1302

section: Events › July–September

section: Culture & Society

date: May 17

text: May 17 – At the age of 12, Eleanor of Anjou, daughter of King Charles II of Naples, marries King Frederick III of Sicily.

title: 1302

date: May 5

text: May 5 – Charles the Lame, King of Naples, accuses Philip I of Piedmont and Isabella of Villehardouin of disloyalty, and deprives them of the right to rule the Principality of Achaea (located in southern Greece on the Peloponnese peninsula). King Charles awards Achaea to his son, Philip I, Prince of Taranto.

title: 1306

section: Deaths

text: May 5 – King Charles II "the Lame" of Naples), son of Charles I of Anjou (b. 1254)

title: 1309

text: May 5 – Robert the Wise becomes the new King of Naples upon the death of his father, Charles the Lame.

title: 1309

date: February 11

text: February 11 – King Carlo III of Naples confiscates the property of Pietro d'Enghien and Luigi d'Enghien (both of whom are in Venice) and declares them both to be rebels against the Neapolitan crown.

title: 1383

section: Events › January–March


slug: charles-iii-of-spain

label: Charles III of Spain

description: King of Spain from 1759 to 1788

date: April 4

text: April 4 – Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic agree on the phasing out of the authority of the House of Medici over the semi-independent Grand Duchy of Tuscany by declaring that Gian Gastone de' Medici will be the last of the Medici family to rule the Italian duchy and that Spain's House of Borbón will eventually control the Tuscan monarchy. Don Carlos of Spain, the two-year old son of King Philip V, is designated as the eventual heir, despite the objections of the 75-year old Grand Duke, Cosimo III de' Medici.

title: 1718

section: Events › April – June

date: August 6

text: August 6 – The armies of Spain and France, led by the Duke of Parma (and future King Charles III of Spain) storm the city of Gaeta in Naples, ending a four-month siege (War of the Polish Succession).

title: 1734

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Prince Charles of Spain (later King Charles III) becomes the new King of Naples and Sicily, five days after his arrival in Naples.

title: 1734

section: Events › April–June

date: January 5

text: January 5 – Spain and the Holy Roman Empire sign instruments of cession at Pontremoli in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, with the Empire receiving control of Tuscany and the Grand Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, in return for Don Carlos of Spain being recognized as King of Naples and King of Sicily.

title: 1737

date: October 22

text: October 22 – The excavation of Herculaneum, a Roman city buried by Vesuvius in AD 79, begins near the Italian city of Resina on orders from King Charles III of Spain to his engineer, Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre.

title: 1738

date: August 19

text: August 19 – A British fleet led by Commodore William Martin enters the harbor of Naples with three warships, two frigates, and four bomb vessels, and sends a message giving the King Charles VII of Naples (the future King Charles III of Spain) 30 minutes to agree to withdraw Neapolitan troops from the Spanish Army. Don Carlos agrees and ends the threat of a Spanish foothold in Italy.

title: 1742

date: August 15

text: August 15 – The Third Family Compact is executed by King Charles III of Spain and King Louis XV of France, as well as representatives of members of the House of Bourbon, King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Philip, Duke of Parma.

title: 1761

date: November 13

text: November 13 – In the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Louis XV secretly cedes Louisiana (New France) to Charles III of Spain to compensate his ally for territorial losses to Britain.

title: 1762

date: April 17

text: April 17 – King Carlos III of Spain issues a royal cédula from Aranjuez to round up all ethnic Chinese in the Philippines and to move them to ghettoes in various provinces.

title: 1766

section: Religion & Belief

date: February 27

text: February 27 – King Carlos III of Spain issues a decree expelling the Jesuits from the dominions of the Spanish Empire worldwide.

title: 1767

date: May 14

text: May 14 – Charles III of Spain sends Spanish missionaries, who found California missions in San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Monterey, and begin the settlement of California.

title: 1769

date: June 21

text: June 21 – King Charles III of Spain issues a declaration of war against Great Britain.

title: 1779

text: King Charles III of Spain authorizes land grants in Alta California.

title: 1784

section: Events › Date unknown


slug: charles-iv-holy-roman-emperor

label: Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

description: Holy Roman Emperor

section: Births

text: May 14 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1378)

title: 1316

date: July 11

text: July 11 – Charles IV, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, is elected King of the Romans.

title: 1346

section: Events

text: Elizabeth of Pomerania, fourth and final wife of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1393)

title: 1347

date: April 5

text: April 5 – Charles IV is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.

title: 1355

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, promulgates the Golden Bull, a constitution for his empire.

title: 1356

section: Events › January–December

text: July 11 – Anna von Schweidnitz, empress of Charles IV (b. 1339) (childbirth)

title: 1362

date: October 17

text: October 17 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Urban V meet at Viterbo in Italy and make plans to enter Rome together after the Pope's travel from Avignon.

title: 1368

date: March 14

text: March 14 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a deed in Wrocław, acknowledging the sovereignty of King Louis I of Hungary as ruler of Hungary, Croatia and Poland.

title: 1372

date: October 2

text: October 2 – Wenzel of Luxembourg, son of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is installed by the Empire as the new Margrave of Brandenburg, ending the war with Pomerania and entering into an alliance with the Pomeranian dukes.Buchholz (1999), p.161

title: 1373

date: June 10

text: June 10 – Wenceslaus the Idle, son of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is elected King of the Romans by the prince-electors.

title: 1376

date: January 6

text: January 6 – At the Great Hall of the Conciergerie in Paris, King Charles V of France hosts the Banquet of the Three Kings with his uncle, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and the Emperor's son, Wenzel the Idle, King of the Romans as his guests (along with 800 German and French knights), to celebrate the friendship between the nations. The banquet, held on the day of the Feast of the Epiphany, has three courses, with 10 dishes in each course.

title: 1378

date: November 29

text: November 29 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1316)

title: 1378

text: November 29 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, dies in Prague. He is succeeded by his son, Wenceslaus, as King of Bohemia, but the office of Holy Roman Emperor falls into abeyance, until Charles's son Sigismund is crowned in 1433.

title: 1378

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Princess Anne of Bohemia, a daughter of the late Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, becomes the Queen Consort of England by marrying King Richard II; the marriage produces no heirs before her death in 1395.

title: 1382

date: November 1

text: November 1 – Sigismund of Luxembourg, Margrave of Brandenburg and son of the late Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, enforces a 1373 agreement of betrothal and marries Mary, Queen of Hungary, citing an agreement that had been made by King Louis I of Hungary.

title: 1385

date: May 31

text: May 31 – Sigismund is crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. The Imperial throne has been vacant for more than 52 years since the death of Sigismund's father, Charles IV, in 1378.

title: 1433


slug: charles-iv-of-france

label: Charles IV of France

description: King of France and Navarre from 1322 to 1328 (1294–1328)

date: June 18

text: June 18 or June 19 – Charles IV of France (d. 1328)

title: 1294

date: September 23

text: September 23 – A marriage contract is concluded between the Otto IV, Count of Burgundy and King Philip IV of France for the marriage of Otto's 11-year-old daughter Blanche to the King's 13-year-old son, Prince Charles. The marriage takes place on February 2, 1308, but will be annulled on May 19, 1322, shortly after Prince Charles assumes the throne as King Charles IV.

title: 1307

section: Events › July – September

date: January 3

text: January 3 – Charles IV the Fair, the last member of the House of Capet and younger brother of King Philip V, becomes the new King of France upon Philip's death at Longchamp Abbey, near Paris. After Charles assumes the throne, he refuses to release his wife Blanche of Burgundy, who is imprisoned for adultery with a Norman knight, from prison, and asks that the marriage be annulled.

title: 1322

section: Events › January – March

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Marie of Luxembourg is formally crowned as Queen consort of France at Sainte-Chapelle after her September 21 marriage to King Charles IV.

title: 1323

section: Conflict & Security

date: October 15

text: October 15 – Hostilities that will lead to the War of Saint-Sardos between England and France begin when King Charles IV of France has a royal sergeant place a stake claiming to claim the French town of Saint-Sardos, territory within the jurisdiction of King Edward II of England (who is also the ruler of the Duchy of Aquitaine in southeastern France).

title: 1323

section: Events › October – December

date: January 23

text: January 23 – England's envoy to France, Ralph Basset, and Raymond-Bernard de Montpezat, decline to obey an order to appear before King Charles IV of France to answer for the October 16 burning of Saint-Sardos. King Charles orders their properties forfeited to the crown.

title: 1324

date: December 16

text: December 16 – Charles, Count of Valois, uncle of King Charles IV of France and heir apparent to the throne, dies at the age of 55 at Nogent-le-Roi, leaving his son Philip as heir to the throne.

title: 1325

date: March 9

text: March 9 – Queen Isabella of England, wife of King Edward II of England and sister of King Charles IV of France, departs from England on a mission to Paris to mediate an end to the war between the two kingdoms. She is directed to return to England by midsummer.

title: 1325

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April 19

text: April 19 – The Peace of Arques, brokered by King Charles IV of France, ends the Flemish Revolt, but the treaty is not supported by rebel districts in Flanders.

title: 1326

date: March 31

text: March 31 – King Charles IV of France makes a peace treaty with England. He returns Aquitaine and Gascony to English rule. Charles receives 50,000 livres. The territories of Limousin, Quercy and Périgord county come under control of France.

title: 1327

date: February 1

text: February 1 – King Charles IV of France (b. 1294)

title: 1328

date: May 29

text: May 29 – King Philip VI of France is crowned, founding the House of Valois, after the death of King Charles IV of France, who has no sons to inherit.

title: 1328


slug: charles-ix-of-france

label: Charles IX of France

description: King of France (1550–1574)

date: December 5

text: December 5 – Charles IX succeeds his brother Francis as King of France, after Francis dies of a severe ear infection at the age of 16. Francis's mother (Mary's mother-in-law), Catherine de' Medici, becomes regent of France.

title: 1560

section: Events › October–December

text: April 19 – The Edict of 19 April, confirming the recent recommendation by the Estates General, is promulgated by the regency council for King Charles IX of France in an attempt to prevent a civil war between the Roman Catholic and the Protestant Huguenot citizens of France

title: 1561

date: March 19

text: March 19 – The Edict of Amboise is signed at the Château d'Amboise by Catherine de' Medici, acting as regent for her son Charles IX of France, having been negotiated between the Huguenot Louis I, Prince of Condé, and Anne, duc de Montmorency, Constable of France. It accords some toleration to the Huguenots, especially to aristocrats. It officially ends the first phase of the French Wars of Religion, and the combined Huguenot and royal armies then march north to besiege the English in Le Havre.

title: 1563

date: December 7

text: December 7 – King Charles IX of France agrees to the terms of a treaty with the cantons of Switzerland, agreeing for French payment of debts owed to the Swiss for loans made to Charles's father, King Henri II.

title: 1564

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: May 1

text: May 1 – Charles IX, King of France, completes his grand tour of his kingdom, returning to Paris a little more than 27 months and 2500 mi km after his departure on January 24, 1564.

title: 1566

date: September 29

text: September 29 – The Second War of Religion begins in France, when Louis I, Prince of Condé and Gaspard de Coligny fail in an attempt to capture King Charles IX and his mother at Meaux. The Huguenots do capture several cities (including Orléans), and march on Paris.

title: 1567

date: March 23

text: March 23 – The Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. Again Catherine de' Medici and Charles IX make substantial concessions to the Huguenots.

title: 1568

date: November 16

text: November 16 – Michele Bonelli is sent as the legate a latere by Pope Pius V to work directly with King Charles IX of France. From June 18 until his new assignment, Bonelli had been the legate to the King of Spain and the King of Portugal.

title: 1571

date: August 24

text: August 24 – St. Bartholomew's Day massacre: Catholics in Paris murder thousands of Protestants, including Gaspard de Coligny and Petrus Ramus, at the order of King Charles IX, with Catherine de Medici's connivance. Henry of Navarre and the Prince of Condé barely escape the same fate. This brings about the Fourth War of Religion in France.

title: 1572

date: July 11

text: July 11 – The Edict of Boulogne is signed by Charles IX of France, granting limited rights to Huguenots, and ending the Fourth War of Religion in France.

title: 1573

date: May 30

text: May 30 – On the death of King Charles IX of France of a tubercular condition at the Château de Vincennes, he is succeeded by his brother King Henry of Poland, who becomes King Henry III of France. His mother, Catherine de' Medici, acts as Regent, until Henry arrives from Poland.

title: 1574

date: February 13

text: February 13 – The formal coronation of Henry III as King of France takes place at the Reims Cathedral. Henry inherited the throne on May 30, 1574, upon the death of his older brother, Charles IX. He marries Louise of Lorraine.

title: 1575


slug: charles-ix-of-sweden

label: Charles IX of Sweden

description: King of Sweden in 1604–1611

text: September 29 – The Swedish king Eric XIV is deposed by his half-brothers John and Charles. John proclaims himself king John III the next day.

title: 1568

section: Events › July–September

section: Culture & Society

date: March 5

text: March 5 – The city of Karlstad, Sweden gaines city status by Duke Charles.

title: 1584

text: The Riksdag of the Estates at Söderköping in Sweden elects the Lutheran Duke Charles as the country's regent, in place of Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland and Sweden.

title: 1595

date: September 25

text: September 25 – Battle of Stångebro at Linköping in Sweden: The Catholic King Sigismund of Sweden and Poland is defeated in his attempt to resume control of Sweden by the Protestant forces of his uncle, Charles. Sigismund is deposed shortly thereafter.

title: 1598

date: July 24

text: July 24 – Swedish King Sigismund III Vasa is dethroned by his uncle Duke Charles, who takes over as regent of the realm until 1604, when he becomes King Charles IX.

title: 1599

date: February 24

text: February 24 – At Linköping in Sweden, the Riksdag declares that Sigismund, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, who has been absent for five years, has effectively abdicated as King of Sweden, and recognizes Karl, Duke of Södermanland, as the new monarch.

title: 1604

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: March 22

text: March 22 – Karl IX begins his reign as King of Sweden.

title: 1604

date: October 2

text: October 2 – King Charles IX of Sweden founds the city of Vaasa, in the parish of Korsholm in Coastal Ostrobothnia.

title: 1606

date: October 30

text: October 30 – At the age of 16, Gustav II Adolf succeeds his father Charles IX as King of Sweden.

title: 1611


slug: charles-martel

label: Charles Martel

description: Frankish military and political leader (c. 688–741)

text: Charles Martel, Frankish statesman and founder of the Carolingian dynasty (d. 741)

title: 688

section: Deaths

date: December 16

text: December 16 – Pepin II (of Herstal), mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). His grandson Theudoald (who at age eight was still well into early childhood) becomes the nominal mayor of the palace, while his wife Plectrude holds actual power and imprisons Pepin's illegitimate son Charles Martel.

title: 714

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Dagobert III dies of an illness and is succeeded by Chilperic II, son of Childeric II, as king of Neustria. Charles Martel is freed from prison at Cologne, and is proclaimed Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia at the capital Metz.

title: 715

text: Battle of Cologne: Charles Martel, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, is defeated by the Neustrians under King Chilperic II and his mayor Ragenfrid near Cologne (now part of Germany), who have invaded Austrasia to impose their will on the competing Frankish factions of Theudoald and Plectrude, the child grandson (and designated heir) and widow respectively of Pepin of Herstal. Simultaneously, Radbod, king (or duke) of the Frisians, attacks Austrasia and allies with the Neustrians. Charles is forced to flee into the mountains of the Eifel (Ardennes).

title: 716

section: Events › Byzantine Empire › Europe

date: March 21

text: March 21 – Battle of Vincy: Charles Martel invades Neustria and defeats the forces of King Chilperic II at Vincy, near Cambrai. He pursues him and his mayor of the palace Ragenfrid to Paris, before turning back to deal with his stepmother Plectrude at Cologne, to turn over half the wealth of his late father Pepin of Herstal. Charles allows both Plectrude and his nephew Theudoald (who at eleven was still a little child) to live (a gesture uncommon for the time), and obliges her to accept his sovereignty.

title: 717

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

text: Battle of Soissons: King Chilperic II of Neustria and his mayor of the palace Ragenfrid, allied with Eudes, independent duke of Aquitaine, march on Soissons in Picardy (northern France) but an army of Frankish veterans under Charles Martel defeat the Neustrian allies, who sue for peace. Chilperic flees to the land south of the River Loire and Ragenfrid escapes to Angers. Charles diplomatically chooses not to execute the enemy leaders, and becomes undisputed dux Francorum, ending the Frankish civil war.

title: 718

text: Frisian–Frankish War: Charles Martel defeats Redbad, King of the Frisians. He easily invades Frisia (modern Netherlands) and subjugates the territory. Charles also crosses the Rhine and annexes "farther" Frisia, to the banks of the River Vlie.

title: 719

text: February 13 – King Chilperic II dies at Attigny (Ardennes), after a five-year reign. He is succeeded by Theuderic IV, infant son of Dagobert III, as Merovingian ruler of the Franks, under the control of the mayor of the palace, Charles Martel.

title: 721

date: November 30

text: November 30 – Wessex-born Boniface is ordained as bishop of Germany by Pope Gregory II. Under the protection of Charles Martel (mayor of the palace), he concentrates his religious work in Hessia and Thuringia.

title: 722

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Ragenfrid, ex-mayor of the palace of Neustria, revolts against Charles Martel. He is easily defeated, and Ragenfrid gives up his sons as hostages, in return for being allowed to keep his lands in Anjou.

title: 724

text: Rotrude of Treves, wife of Charles Martel

title: 724

text: Charles Martel invades Bavaria, and kills Duke Grimoald in battle. His son Hugbert submits to Frankish suzerainty, and Charles brings back the Agilolfing princess Swanachild, who becomes his concubine (later his wife).

title: 725

text: Grifo, Frankish duke and son of Charles Martel (d. 753)

title: 726

text: Charles Martel defeats the last independent dukedom of Alamannia, and incorporates it into the Frankish Empire. He also launches raids on the Saxons beyond the Rhine.

title: 730

text: Ragenfrid, ex-mayor of the palace of Neustria, meets Duke Eudes of Aquitaine, to accept his rule and independence from the Frankish Kingdom. Fearing an alliance against him, Charles Martel exiles Ragenfrid's supporter Wandon of Fontenelle, and imprisons bishop Aimar of Auxerre.

title: 731

text: Summer – Eudes of Aquitaine heads for the Frankish city of Reims, to warn Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, of the Umayyad invasion in Gaul, and ask for his support against the invaders. The two leaders meet near Paris; Charles issues a 'general ban' to raise an army, which includes large numbers of Austrasians, Neustrians, and Burgundians. Meanwhile, Arabians ravage the cities of Périgueux, Saintes, and Angoulême, then sack the basilica of Saint-Hilaire outside Poitiers.

title: 732

text: Duke Eudes of Aquitaine, aged almost 80, abdicates and retires to a monastery. His lands are divided between his sons Hunald I and Hatton, who continue the conflict with Charles Martel, mayor of the palace of Neustria and Austrasia. In battles at Benest in Charente and La Rochefoucauld (near Angoulême), Charles probably defeats the Aquitainians. He also campaigns against the Burgundians.

title: 733

text: Battle of the Boarn: The Franks under Charles Martel, mayor of the palace of Neustria and Austrasia, defeat the Frisians near the mouth of the River Boarn (now the Dutch province of Friesland). During the battle, the Frisian army is beaten and King Poppo is killed. The Franks gain control of the Frisian lands west of the Lauwers (Netherlands), and begin plundering the pagan sanctuaries. The Frisians become Frankish vassals, apart from the tribes living in East Frisia in present-day Germany.

title: 734

text: Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, invades Burgundy. Duke Hunald I of Aquitaine refuses to recognise the authority of the Franks, whereupon Charles marches south of the River Loire, seizing the cities of Bordeaux and Blaye. Within 4 years he will have subdued all the Burgundian chieftains, while continuing to fight off Moorish advances into Gaul.

title: 735

text: Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, forms local alliances with the Burgundians, and imposes Frankish domination on Provence. He defeats Muslim forces at Sernhac and Beaucaire in Septimania (Southern France).

title: 736

text: Battle of Avignon: Frankish forces under Charles Martel, Merovingian Mayor of the Palace, retake Avignon from the Muslim forces, and destroy the Umayyad stronghold. Charles sends his brother Childebrand I, duke of Burgundy, to besiege the city. After his arrival, Charles leads the Frankish troops by using rope ladders and battering rams to attack the fortified walls, which are burned to the ground following its capture.

title: AD 737

text: Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, begins a campaign against the Saxons (in modern-day Westphalia) on the northeast frontier. They are subdued and must pay him tribute.

title: 738

text: The Lombards under King Liutprand sack the Exarchate of Ravenna, and threaten Rome. Pope Gregory III asks Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, to help fight the Lombards (he also requests assistance in fighting the Byzantines and the Arabs). Liutprand signs a peace accord, and pulls back his forces to Pavia. After the pope's appeal to the Franks, a relationship begins that will continue as the Frankish Kingdom gains power.

title: 739

date: October 22

text: October 22 – Charles Martel, Frankish statesman and founder of the Carolingian dynasty

title: 741

text: Chrodegang, chancellor of Charles Martel, is appointed bishop of Metz and embarks on a reorganisation of the Frankish church.

title: 742

date: January 18

text: January 18 – Duke Odilo of Bavaria dies after a 12-year reign. Grifo, youngest son of Charles Martel, seeks to establish his own rule by seizing the duchy for himself, and abducts Odilo's infant son Tassilo III.

title: 748

date: November

text: November – Pepin the Short, youngest son of Charles Martel, forces the last Merovingian king Childeric III to retire to the monastery of Saint-Bertin. He proclaims himself as king of the Franks with the support of Pope Zachary, and is crowned at Soissons by Boniface, bishop of Mainz, becoming, as Pepin III, the first Carolingian monarch of the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 751

text: Grifo, Frankish duke and illegitimate son of Charles Martel, rebels against King Pepin III ("the Short") (his half-brother), in alliance with the Bretons. He flees to Italy to join King Aistulf of the Lombards, but is caught and killed while passing the Alps.

title: 753

text: Grifo, Frankish duke and son of Charles Martel (b. 726)

title: 753

text: Remigius of Rouen, archbishop, illegitimate son of Charles Martel

title: 772

text: Summer – King Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard, son of Charles Martel, cross the Alps with a Frankish expeditionary force at the request of Pope Adrian I. At the foot of the mountains in the Susa Valley (Northern Italy), the Franks are hindered by Lombard fortifications. After scouting, Charlemagne attacks the defenders from the flank, and forces the Lombards to flee to the fortified capital Pavia.

title: 773