slug: kingdom-of-england

label: Kingdom of England

description: historic kingdom on the British Isles (927–1649; 1660–1707)

text: Æthelstan, king of England (approximate date)

title: 894

text: Lady Æthelflæd expands her policy by building defensive burghs at Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. The fortifications are needed to protect Mercia against plundering Vikings from the Danelaw (Danish territory in England).

title: 912

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Battle of Confey: The Norse Vikings under Sigtrygg Caech defeat and kill King Augaire mac Ailella of Leinster in battle. Sigtrygg re-captures Dublin and establishes himself as king, while his kinsman Ragnall ua Ímair returns to England to become King of Northumbria.

title: 917

title: 917

text: Edmund I (the Magnificent), king of England (d. 946)

title: 921

text: Eadred (or Edred), king of England (d. 955)

title: 923

text: King Æthelstan sets the border between the Kingdom of England and Cornwall as the east bank of the River Tamar.

title: 936

text: October 27 – Æthelstan, king of England

title: 939

text: Eadwig ("the All-Fair"), king of England (approximate date)

title: 940

text: Oda ("the Good") is appointed archbishop of Canterbury in England after the death of Wulfhelm.

title: 941

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Edgar I (the Peaceful), king of England (approximate date)

title: 943

text: Dunstan becomes abbot of Glastonbury Abbey in England. He re-creates monastic life by establishing Benedictine monasticism in the monastery.

title: 945

section: Crime & Justice

date: May 26

text: May 26 – King Edmund I is murdered at age 25 by an outlawed robber while attending St. Augustine's Day mass in Pucklechurch (Gloucestershire). He is succeeded by his brother Eadred (or Edred) as king of England.

title: 946

text: May 26 – Edmund I, king of England (b. 921)

title: 946

text: St Albans School in Hertfordshire is founded by Wulsin, an abbot of St Alban's Abbey, England.

title: 948

text: King Eric I (Bloodaxe) is killed at Stainmore allowing King Eadred to recover York, reuniting Northumbria with that of All England. High-Reeve Osulf I of Bamburgh is appointed ealdorman ("earl") of Northumbria.

title: 954

date: November 23

text: November 23 – Eadred (or Edred), king of England (b. 923)

title: 955

date: October 1

text: October 1 – King Eadwig dies after a 4-year reign. He is succeeded by his 16-year-old brother Edgar I (the Peaceful), who effectively completes the unification of England, when Northumbria submits to his rule.

title: 959

text: October 1 – Eadwig (the All Fair), king of England

title: 959

text: Tavistock Abbey is founded by Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devon, in England.

title: 961

text: Edward II (the Martyr), king of England (approximate date)

title: 962

text: Æthelred the Unready, king of England (approximate date)

title: 968

text: Skagul Toste leads a Viking expedition to England and demands Danegeld.

title: 970

section: Climate & Environment

text: A great earthquake occurs in England.

title: 974

date: July 8

text: July 8 – King Edgar I (the Peaceful) dies at Winchester after a 16-year reign. He is succeeded by his 12-year-old son Edward the Martyr as ruler of England.

title: 975

text: July 8 – Edgar I (the Peaceful), king of England

title: 975

date: March 18

text: March 18 – King Edward the Martyr is murdered at Corfe Castle (Dorsetshire) upon the orders of his step-mother Ælfthryth (or Elfrida). He is succeeded by his half-brother Æthelred II (the Unready) who becomes king of England. During his reign Æthelred tries to keep his realm from being overrun by Danish Viking invaders.

title: 978

text: March 18 – Edward the Martyr, king of the English

title: 978

text: Viking raids from Scandinavia threaten the southern English coast after a pause of 25 years. Hampshire and the Isle of Thanet are ravaged.

title: 980

text: Emma of Normandy, noblewoman, queen consort of England (twice), Denmark and Norway (d. 1052; approximate date)

title: 984

text: Edmund II (Ironside), king of England (d. 1016)

title: 990

text: Cnut (the Great), king of Denmark, Norway and England (d. 1035)

title: 995

text: In Great Britain, a unified Kingdom of England had developed out of the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

title: AD 1000

section: Events › Christendom

text: King Edward the Martyr of England is canonized.

title: 1001

date: November 13

text: November 13 – St. Brice's Day massacre: King Æthelred the Unready orders all Danes in England killed. Æthelred marries (as his second wife) Emma, daughter of Duke Richard I of Normandy.

title: 1002

text: Edward the Confessor, king of England (d. 1066)

title: 1003

text: Danish Viking raiders led by Sweyn Forkbeard repeatedly attack southern England, destroying the land to avenge the St. Brice's Day massacre of 1002.

title: 1009

text: Summer – Danish Viking raiders led by Sweyn Forkbeard (accompanied by his son Cnut) sail from Denmark to attack England. Again London defends itself and the Vikings move elsewhere, plundering Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria. King Æthelred the Unready sends his sons Edward and Alfred to Normandy. Æthelred retreats to the Isle of Wight and follows them later into exile.

title: 1013

date: February 3

text: February 3 – Sweyn Forkbeard, king of Denmark and England (b. 960)

title: 1014

text: February 3 – King Sweyn Forkbeard dies at Gainsborough after a reign of five weeks. He is succeeded by Harald II who becomes king of Denmark, while Cnut is elected by the Vikings of the Danelaw as king of England.

title: 1014

text: Summer – King Cnut the Great of Denmark launches an invasion of Mercia and Northumbria in England.

title: 1015

date: April 23

text: April 23 – Æthelred the Unready, king of England

title: 1016

text: January 6 – Cnut ("the Great") is crowned king of England. In July he marries Emma of Normandy, the widow of Æthelred the Unready, securing his ties with Normandy.

title: 1017

text: Buckfast Abbey (located near Buckfastleigh) is founded as a Benedictine monastery in England.

title: 1018

text: King Canute the Great codifies the laws of England (approximate date).

title: 1020

text: Harold II, king of England (approximate date)

title: 1022

text: Cnut the Great sails from England to Norway with a fleet of 50 ships. He defeats Olaf Haraldsson and is crowned king of Norway. Cnut becomes the sole ruler of England, Denmark and part of Sweden (known as the Danish North Sea Empire).

title: 1028

text: William I (the Conqueror), king of England (approximate date) (d. 1087)

title: 1028

text: Matilda of Flanders, queen consort of England (d. 1083)

title: 1031

text: November 12 – King Cnut the Great dies at Shaftesbury, leaving the rule of England in dispute between his sons Harthacnut and Harold Harefoot. The earls of Northumbria and Mercia support Harold's claim, while Godwin (Earl of Wessex) supports Harthacnut. Harold is elected as regent (or joint ruler) of England. Cnut is buried in the Old Minster, in Winchester.

title: 1035

text: November 12 – Cnut, king of Denmark, Norway and England

title: 1035

text: February 5 – Edward the Confessor's younger brother Alfred Aetheling is blinded and murdered, in an apparent attempt to seize the throne of England from Harold I.

title: 1036

text: King Harold I seizes the throne of England from his half-brother Harthacnut. His mother, Emma of Normandy, flees to Bruges in Flanders (modern Belgium).

title: 1037

text: June 17 – Harthacnut lands at Sandwich and reclaims the throne of England which had been taken by Harald Harefoot in 1035.

title: 1040

text: March 17 – Harold Harefoot, king of England

title: 1040

text: King Harthacnut invites his half-brother Edward the Confessor to return to England from exile in Normandy as his heir as king of England, with the support of Godwin, Earl of Wessex.

title: 1041

text: June 8 – Harthacnut, king of Denmark and England

title: 1042

text: June 8 – King Harthacnut collapses and dies while attending a party. His half-brother Edward the Confessor becomes king of England.

title: 1042

text: April 3 – Edward the Confessor is crowned king of England at Winchester Cathedral. He learns that his mother, Queen Emma of Normandy is plotting with Magnus the Good to take control of the English throne. Edward strips her land and treasure, but she is allowed to stay in England.

title: 1043

text: January 23 – Edward the Confessor, King of England, marries Edith of Wessex (daughter of Earl Godwin) and she is crowned queen consort at Winchester. This year also in England, Edward begins construction of Westminster Abbey.

title: 1045

text: Ealdred, bishop of Worcester, leads troops from England on an unsuccessful punitive raid against the Welsh leaders Gruffydd ap Rhydderch, Rhys ap Rhydderch and Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.

title: 1046

text: 1048 or 1066 – End of the Viking Age: Vikings make an unsuccessful raid on the Kingdom of England; The raiders flee to Flanders (modern Belgium).

title: 1048

text: Eustace II, count of Boulogne, visits England and is received with honour at the court by King Edward the Confessor. In Dover a fight breaks out between the Norman visitors and the locals, resulting in the deaths of several people. Edward blames the people of Dover and orders Godwin, earl of Wessex, to deal with them. Godwin refuses to obey Edward's order, and in response Edward raises an army and forces the Godwin family into exile.

title: 1051

text: Edgar Ætheling, uncrowned king of England (d. c. 1126) (approximate date)

title: 1052

text: March 6 – Emma of Normandy, queen consort of England (twice), Denmark and Norway (b. 984)

title: 1052

text: William II (William Rufus), king of England (d. 1100) (approximate date)

title: 1057

text: Duke William I (the Bastard) demands the release of Harold Godwinson from Guy I (after a ransom being paid). Harold must swear an oath to aid William to the throne of England.

title: 1064

text: January 5 – Edward the Confessor dies after a 24-year reign at London. The Witenagemot (or Witan) proclaims Harold Godwinson king of England.

title: 1066

text: Odo of Bayeux, a half-brother of William I, is appointed Earl of Kent and becomes William's deputy (or de facto regent) in England. His wealth and land become considerable.

title: 1067

text: Henry I, king of England (approximate date) (d. 1135)

title: 1068

text: May 11 – William I brings his wife Matilda of Flanders to England. She is crowned queen in Westminster Abbey.

title: 1068

text: Winter of 1069–1070 – Harrying of the North: King William the Conqueror quells rebellions made by his English subjects against his rule, campaigning through the north of England with his forces, burning houses, crops, cattle and land from York to Durham, resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 people, mainly from starvation and winter cold.

title: 1069

text: Harrying of the North: William the Conqueror quells rebellions in the north of his Kingdom of England following the invasion by Sweyn II. Widespread famine follows the devastation wrought.

title: 1070

text: The Bayeux Tapestry (embroidery) is completed, probably in England, possibly to unveil at the dedication of Bayeux Cathedral this year.

title: 1077

text: Matilda of Scotland, queen consort of England (d. 1118)

title: 1080

text: Construction of the Rochester Cathedral is completed in England.

title: 1082

text: November 2 – Matilda of Flanders, queen consort of England

title: 1083

text: The Domesday Book is completed. Drawn up on the orders of William I; it describes in detail the landholdings and resources in England.

title: 1086

text: September 9 – William the Conqueror dies in Rouen after a fall from his horse. He is succeeded as king of England by his third son William II.

title: 1087

text: William II lays siege to Pevensey Castle on the south coast where Odo of Bayeux has taken shelter with Robert. Odo is forced to surrender, and agrees to go to Rochester to convince the rebels to accept William as the rightful king of England.

title: 1088

text: August 11 – A powerful earthquake is recorded in England.

title: 1089

text: July – King Malcolm III of Scotland invades England, reaching as far south as Durham. The Normans led by William II and Robert march north to oppose the Scots, but a conflict is averted. Malcolm is forced to accept the terms of the Treaty of Abernethy (1072) and pays homage to William.

title: 1091

text: The first documented teaching at the University of Oxford in England occurs.

title: 1096

text: October – Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, goes into exile. Conflicts between him and William II result in Anselm leaving England and heading for Rome. William confiscates Anselm's land.

title: 1097

text: Adeliza of Louvain, queen of England (d. 1151)

title: 1103

text: Henry I meets Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, under threat of excommunication at L'Aigle in Normandy to settle their disputes that has led to Anselm's exile from England (see 1103).

title: 1105

text: John FitzGilbert, Marshal of England (d. 1165)

title: 1105

text: Autumn – King Sigurd I sails for the Holy Land with 60 ships (with some 5,000 men) on the first stage of the Norwegian Crusade to Palestine. Now 17, he is the first European king to support the Crusaders in the Levant. Sigurd leaves his older brother Eystein I to rule the kingdom in his absence – and visits England, France, Galicia and Sicily en route.

title: 1107

text: Spring – King Sigurd I sails from England, on the Norwegian Crusade to Palestine. He repels a Muslim fleet near the Tagus River, then attacks Sintra, Lisbon and Alcácer do Sal, and finally defeats a second Muslim fleet further south.

title: 1108

text: Chichester Cathedral is consecrated under Ralph de Luffa, bishop of Chichester, in England.

title: 1108

text: Bridlington Priory is founded in England, in the Diocese of York (approximate date).

title: 1113

text: The monastery and cathedral at Peterborough in England are destroyed by fire.

title: 1116

text: May 3 – Merton Priory (previously established at Huntingdon) is consecrated at a site near London. The priory becomes an important centre of learning and diplomacy in England.

title: 1117

text: Peace between England and Flanders is agreed upon.

title: 1118

text: May 1 – Matilda of Scotland, queen of England (b. c.1080)

title: 1118

text: The Pseudo-Ingulf's Croyland Chronicle records Cornwall as a nation distinct from England.

title: 1120

text: Henry I founds Reading Abbey in England. The Cluniac Order populates the abbey.

title: 1121

text: Furness Abbey (or St Mary of Furness) is founded in England by Stephen, count of Boulogne, for the Order of Savigny.

title: 1123

text: King Henry I of England arranges a marriage between his nephew Stephen of Blois and the 20-year-old Matilda, daughter and heiress of Eustace III, count of Boulogne. This gives Stephen control of the County of Boulogne and also lands in England that have belonged to Eustace (who dies on his return from the Holy Land).

title: 1125

text: Edgar the Ætheling, uncrowned king of England (b. c. 1052)

title: 1126

text: King Henry I of England arranges the marriage of his daughter Matilda (the widow of Emperor Henry V) to the 14-year-old Geoffrey of Anjou (son of Count Fulk V). This is done to ensure an alliance between England and Anjou, and to prevent Fulk allying with Louis VI. Henry has the English nobles swear allegiance to Matilda as the rightful heir to the throne. Upon his death, her cousin Stephen of Blois crosses the channel and usurps her throne, becoming the King of England. She wages a lengthy civil war known as the Anarchy, which lasts from 1135–1154.

title: 1127

text: Honorius II recognizes and confirms the Order of the Knights Templar. The French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux codifies the rule of the Order. Hugues de Payens, French Grand Master of the Order, visits both England and Scotland, where he raises men and money for the Order.

title: 1128

text: January 23 – Henry of Blois becomes bishop of Winchester after the death of William Giffard (who was also Lord Chancellor to King Henry I) in England.

title: 1129

text: March 5 – Henry II (Curtmantle), king of England (d. 1189)

title: 1133

text: January – Byland Abbey is founded in England by the Congregation of Savigny.

title: 1135

text: Spring – King David I of Scotland invades northern England and captures many of the major towns including Carlisle and Newcastle. In response, King Stephen raises an army (with Flemish mercenaries), and marches to Durham. David agrees to negotiate a peace between the two countries.

title: 1136

text: August 22 – Battle of the Standard: King David I of Scotland gives his full support to Matilda (daughter of the late King Henry I), and invades the north of England – travelling as far south as Lincolnshire. The Scottish army (some 15,000 men) is defeated by English forces under Earl William le Gros in Yorkshire. David retreats to Carlisle and reassembles an army.

title: 1138

text: February 2 – The Anarchy in the Kingdom of England – Battle of Lincoln: Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester and Empress Matilda wrest control of the throne of England from King Stephen, who is captured and imprisoned.

title: 1141

text: September 14 – The Anarchy in the Kingdom of England – Rout of Winchester: Empress Matilda returns to the throne, after Robert is captured by loyalist forces.

title: 1141

text: Autumn – The 9-year-old Henry of Anjou, a son of Empress Matilda, lands on the south coast of England with his uncle, Earl Robert of Gloucester and several knights. Henry travels to Bristol, centre of Angevin opposition to King Stephen, where he is educated by Master Matthew. Meanwhile, Robert captures Lulworth Castle, Rufus Castle ("Bow and Arrow Castle") on the Isle of Portland and Wareham Castle.

title: 1142

text: March 22 – The first example of an anti-Semitic blood libel is recorded in England, in connection with the murder of William of Norwich.

title: 1144

text: Woburn Abbey is founded by the Cistercians in England. A colony of monks arrive from Fountains Abbey to establish a community that will survive until 1234.

title: 1145

text: Late spring – An expedition of Crusaders and Englishmen, together with forces from Flanders, Frisia, Scotland and some German polities, leaves from Dartmouth in England for the Holy Land. Leadership is provided by Hervey de Glanvill, a Norman nobleman and constable of Suffolk, who leads a fleet of some 200 ships. Bad weather forces them to take refuge at the mouth of the Douro River, on the Portuguese coast, on June 16.

title: 1147

text: April – Southern French crusaders under Alfonso Jordan of Toulouse arrive by sea at Acre. Alfonso dies suddenly at Caesarea, resulting in the accusation that he has been poisoned by Count Raymond II of Tripoli. Most of the Provençal forces turn back and return home. Meanwhile, an unknown proportion of northern European naval crusaders (from England and Germany) arrive at Acre.

title: 1148

text: March – The 16-year-old Henry of Anjou, eldest son of Queen Matilda, lands in England in a second attempt to take the English throne from Stephen. He travels up via Salisbury and Gloucester north to Carlisle (Scotland).

title: 1149

text: Bolton Abbey is founded in North Yorkshire, England.

title: 1151

text: May 3 – Matilda of Boulogne, queen of England

title: 1152

text: Spring – The 19-year-old Henry II of England lands with a Norman fleet (some 40 ships) on the south coast of England. He defeats King Stephen (a cousin of his mother, Queen Matilda) with a small army at Malmesbury. Henry travels north through the Midlands, while a temporary truce is accepted. Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, announces his support for the cause. Hoping to dethrone Stephen and replace him with Matilda.

title: 1153

text: December 19 – The 21-year-old Henry II is crowned as sole ruler of England along with his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.

title: 1154

text: Margaret of France, Queen of England and Hungary, Queen of England by marriage to Henry the Young King and queen of Hungary and Croatia by marriage to Béla III of Hungary (d. 1197)

title: 1157

text: Summer – King Henry II of England travels to France to meet King Louis VII and propose a marriage between his three-year-old son Henry and Louis' daughter Margaret (less than a year old). She is shipped to England, as the future wife and queen. The Vexin region is promised to Margaret as dowry and is put under the care of the Knights Templar, until her future husband is old enough to take control of it.

title: 1158

text: (Approximate date): Churchman Richard FitzNeal is appointed Lord High Treasurer in England, in charge of Henry II of England's Exchequer, an office he will hold for almost 40 years.

title: 1159

text: Approximate date – Derby School is founded by Walkelin de Derby in Derby (England); it will survive until 1989.

title: 1160

text: July 22 – John Marshal (or FitzGilbert), Marshal of England (b. 1105)

title: 1165

text: December 24 – John, king of England (d. 1216)

title: 1166

text: Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony, marries the 12-year-old Matilda (or Maud), daughter of King Henry II of England.

title: 1168

text: December 1 – Becket controversy: Henry II sends word that his conflict with Thomas Becket is at an end, and his lands will be restored. Becket returns to England, landing at Sandwich.

title: 1170

text: July – King Henry II decides to lead a military expedition to Ireland and summons Richard de Clare (Strongbow) to join forces. In September, Richard travels to England and promises his loyalty to Henry. He is granted Leinster as a fiefdom and is honored with the post of "royal constable in Ireland". The army is assembled at Pembroke – several siege towers are shipped over, should Henry need to assault the Norman-held towns (or others such as Cork and Limerick).

title: 1171

text: April 7 – Pope Alexander III consecrates Richard of Dover as archbishop of Canterbury at Anagni. Richard returns to England bearing his pallium which he has received directly from the pope.

title: 1174

text: July 13 – Battle of Alnwick: King William I (the Lion), supported by Flemish mercenaries, invades England, to help fight in the baronial rebellion against King Henry II. William attacks Prudhoe Castle in Northumberland, but is unable to capture it. He is captured by Lord Ranulf de Glanvill, and brought back to Newcastle. Henry occupies a part of Scotland, with its five strongest castles: Roxburgh, Berwick, Jedburgh, Edinburgh and Stirling.

title: 1174

text: possible date – Richard FitzNeal begins to write his treatise Dialogus de Scaccario ("Dialogue concerning the Exchequer") in England.

title: 1177

text: Westminster School is founded by Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey (by papal command) in England.

title: 1179

text: Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony, submits to Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) at an Imperial Diet in Erfurt. He is banished to England and retains only Brunswick among his former lands.

title: 1181

text: May 20 – Diet of Pentecost: Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, organises a conference in Mainz. During the diet Frederick negotiates with Henry the Lion about an anti-French alliance with England.

title: 1184

text: Spring – King Henry II and Philip II (Augustus) meet at Le Mans, with Archbishop Josias (or Joscius) in attendance. Both kings agree to peace terms, and to contribute to a joint Crusade. It is decided to raise a new tax to pay for the expedition. This tax, known as the Saladin Tithe, is imposed on the people of England and France to raise funds for the Third Crusade.

title: 1188

text: July 6 – King Henry II of England ("Curtmantle") dies at the Château de Chinon, near Tours, after doing homage to Philip II (Augustus), and surrendering the territories around Issoudun in the Centre-Val de Loire. He ends the hostilities against Philip, by agreeing to the peace terms and pays him 20,000 marks in tribute. Henry is succeeded by his son, Richard I ("the Lionheart"), as ruler of England and his remaining territories in France.

title: 1189

text: Cartmel Priory is founded by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, in England.

title: 1190

text: March – Richard returns to England, and remains for only a few weeks before returning to the Continent. He leaves the administration of England in the hands of Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, who accompanied Richard on the Third Crusade and led his army back to England. He levied the taxes to pay the king's ransom and put down a plot against Richard by his younger brother John.

title: 1194

text: England is struck by pestilence and a resulting famine.

title: 1196

text: March 26 – Richard I besieges the unarmed castle of Châlus-Chabrol, and is shot in the left shoulder with a crossbow, by the French boy Pierre Basile. The war between the kingdoms of England and France has become so brutal, that Hugh of Lincoln is warned that "nothing now is safe, neither the city to dwell in nor the highway for travel".

title: 1199

text: August 1 – Battle of Mirebeau: Arthur of Brittany, supported by the Lusignans, lays siege to Mirebeau Castle trapping Eleanor of Aquitaine inside. John launches a rescue mission to free his mother, and with a mercenary army defeats the Breton-Lusignan forces. Arthur is captured by William de Braose and is handed over to John who imprisons him in the Château de Falaise in Normandy. Many other important knights are captured and shipped to England (where John treats them badly and keeps them as prisoners in dungeons).

title: 1202

text: At Rouen, William de Braose, an English nobleman, becomes the guardian of the imprisoned 16-year-old Arthur of Brittany, designated heir to the throne of England – who is not known to be alive after April and is probably murdered by or at the orders of his uncle, King John.

title: 1203

text: Summer – King Philip II ("Augustus") conquers most of the Angevin lands, including much of Aquitaine. Fearing a French invasion of England itself, John, King of England ("Lackland") requires every English male over 12 years to enter a mobilization "for the general defense of the realm and the preservation of peace". John prepares an expedition force of his own, but the barons refuse to cross the Channel.

title: 1205

text: May 24 – John still refuses to accept Stephen Langton as archbishop; Innocent III threatens to place England under an Interdict. In response, John confiscates church property. Many of the English bishops of the great churches in the country flee abroad to the Continent.

title: 1207

text: March 24 – Innocent III places England under a Papal Interdict, as punishment for John, King of England ("Lackland")'s refusal to accept Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. During the interdict, religious services as marriages, burials, or baptisms cannot be performed. John confiscates church property of clergy who are unwilling to conduct services. Many bishops in the country flee abroad to the Continent.

title: 1208

text: In England, an exodus of scholars from Oxford leads to foundation of the University of Cambridge.

title: 1209

text: The Papal Interdict of 1208 laid on England and Wales by Innocent III remains in force.

title: 1212

text: July 2 – The Papal Interdict of 1208, laid against the Kingdom of England, is lifted.

title: 1214

text: June 20 – A papal ordinance defines the rights of the scholars at the University of Oxford in England.

title: 1214

text: September 13 – King John of England seeks help from Innocent III in his fight against the Barons. In a letter, written while staying at Dover Castle, he states that the defense of England is the responsibility of God and the Pope.

title: 1215

text: May 21 – Prince Louis of France, son of King Philip II ("Augustus"), invades England in support of the barons, landing in Thanet. He enters London without opposition, and is proclaimed, but not crowned, King of England at Old St Paul's Cathedral. In June, Louis captures Rochester Castle and Winchester, and soon controls over half of the English kingdom.

title: 1216

text: May 20 – Battle of Lincoln: Henry III's forces led by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke defeat the French army of Prince Louis and the rebel barons who are besieging Lincoln Castle. During the battle, Thomas, Comte du Perche is killed and Louis is expelled from his base in the southeast of England. The looting that takes place afterward is known as the "Lincoln Fair". The citizens of Lincoln are loyal to Louis so Henry's forces sack the city. To the south, inhabitants of towns between Lincoln and London ambush and kill many of the French soldiers.

title: 1217

text: October – Al-Kamil sends two captive knights as envoys, to renew his former offers of an armistice. If the Crusaders evacuate Egypt, he will return the True Cross (lost in the Battle of Hattin) and they can have Jerusalem, all central Palestine and Galilee. John I advised its acceptance, along with the nobles from England, France and Germany. Pelagius again refuses the peace terms.

title: 1219

text: Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (d. 1291)

title: 1223

text: December 23 – Stephen of Anagni, Italian papal chaplain, is commissioned to collect a special tax in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to finance Gregory X's War of the Keys against Frederick II.

title: 1228

text: December 23 – Berengaria of Navarre, queen consort of England

title: 1230

text: June 17 or June 18 – Edward I ("Longshanks"), king of England (d. 1307)

title: 1239

text: April 27 – Treaty of Bordeaux: King Louis IX (the Saint) and King Henry III agree to a truce that ends the Saintonge War. The truce does not stop the on-going clashes (and further tensions) between France and England.

title: 1243

text: June 4 – Isabella of Angoulême, queen consort of England

title: 1246

text: May 14 – Battle of Lewes: English rebels led by Simon de Montfort defeat Henry III and Prince Edward ("the Lord Edward"), at Lewes. Henry leaves the safety of Lewes Castle and St. Pancras Priory, to engage the rebels. Edward routes part of the rebel army (some 5,000 men) with a cavalry charge, but during the battle de Montfort's forces capture both Henry and Edward, making Simon the "uncrowned king of England" for 15 months.

title: 1264

text: August 2 – Edward I of England finally returns from the Holy Land to be crowned king of England on August 19 at Westminster Abbey two years after his father King Henry III's death.

title: 1274

text: September 11 – 1275 British earthquake: An earthquake strikes the south of Great Britain. The epicentre is unknown, although it may have been in the Portsmouth-Chichester area on the south coast of England or in Glamorgan, Wales.

title: 1275

text: The final expansion of Lincoln Cathedral in England is completed.

title: 1280

text: April 25 – Edward II, king of England (d. 1327)

title: 1284

text: December 14 – A huge storm and associated storm tide in the North Sea and English Channel, known as St. Lucia's flood in the Netherlands, kills thousands and reshapes the coastline of the Netherlands and England. In the Netherlands, a fringing barrier between the North Sea and a shallow lake collapses, causing the fifth-largest flood in recorded history – which creates the Zuider Zee inlet, and kills over 50,000 people. It also gives sea access to Amsterdam, allowing its development as an important port city.

title: 1287

text: "Year without winter" – An exceptionally rare instance of uninterrupted transition, from autumn to the following spring, in England and the mainland of Western Europe.

title: 1290

text: November 28 – Eleanor of Castile, queen consort of England (b. 1241)

title: 1290

text: June 25 – Eleanor of Provence, queen consort of England (b. 1223)

title: 1291

text: England and Portugal enter into the first iteration of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, the oldest alliance in the world still in force.

title: 1294

text: October 23 – The first treaty forming the Auld Alliance ("Old Alliance"), between Scotland and France against England, is signed in Paris by Kings John Balliol and Philip IV.

title: 1295

text: The spinning wheel is now in widespread use in England for manufacturing woolen yarn.

title: 1299

section: Events › By topic › Science and technology

text: May 20 – Treaty of Paris: King Philip the Fair of France signs a peace treaty with Edward Longshanks, King of England. According to the terms of the treaty, Gascony is restored to England – as well as the cities of Bordeaux and Bayonne. In return, Edward swears allegiance to Philip as his vassal and agrees that Philipp's daughter, Isabella of France, be married to his son Edward of Caernarfon, until she is old enough.

title: 1303

text: July 22 – The Great Exile of 1306: King Philip IV of France turns his attentions to Italian bankers and orders the Jews to be exiled in France. The Jewish quarter in Paris is cleared and goods are confiscated – to regain money spent on expanding the domains of Flanders and Gascony. Meanwhile, rumors of a secret initiation ceremony of the Knights Templar create distrust, and Philip – while being deeply in debt to the Order for loans from his war against England, uses this distrust for political and religious motivations against the Templars.

title: 1306

text: July 7 – King Edward I of England, known as Edward Longshanks, dies at Burgh by Sands after a 34-year reign. He is succeeded by his son 23-year-old Edward II, who becomes new ruler of England. After his death Edward's body is embalmed and transported to Waltham Abbey in Essex. Here it lay unburied for several weeks so that people can come and see the body lying in state. After this, Edward is taken to Westminster Abbey for a proper burial on October 28.

title: 1307

text: The first purpose-built accommodation for students (the Mob Quad) is completed at Merton College, Oxford, England.

title: 1310

text: Lincoln Cathedral in England is completed; with the spire reaching around 525 feet (160 m), it becomes the world's tallest structure (surpassing the Great Pyramid of Giza, which held the record for almost 4,000 years), a record it holds until the spire is blown down in 1549.

title: 1311

text: November 13 – Edward III, king of England and Ireland (d. 1377)

title: 1312

text: April 4 – Exeter College, Oxford, in England is founded by Walter Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, and his brother for the education of clergy.

title: 1314

text: February 14 – Margaret of France, queen consort of England (b. 1279)

title: 1318

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

text: May 1 – Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton: England recognises Scotland as an independent nation, after the Wars of Scottish Independence.

title: 1328

text: August 10–11 – Battle of Dupplin Moor: Edward Balliol rebels, and the English defeat the loyalists of David II in Scotland.

title: 1332

text: July 19 – Wars of Scottish Independence - Battle of Halidon Hill: Edward III of England decisively defeats Sir Archibald Douglas. Berwick-upon-Tweed returns to English control.

title: 1333

text: July 21–22 – Second War of Scottish Independence: Aberdeen, Scotland is burned by the English.

title: 1336

text: Bisham Priory is founded in England.

title: 1337

text: Philip VI of France besieges Guienne in Southwest France, and his navy attacks Portsmouth, England.

title: 1338

text: January 18 – The Queen's College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, is founded.

title: 1341

text: Bablake School is founded in Coventry, England by the dowager Queen Isabella.

title: 1344

text: By June 24 – The Black Death pandemic reaches England, having probably been brought across the English Channel by fleas on rats aboard a ship from Gascony to the south coast port of Melcombe (modern-day Weymouth, Dorset); by November it will have reached London and by 1350 will have killed one third to a half of its population.

title: 1348

text: August 29 – Battle of Winchelsea (Les Espagnols sur Mer) off the south coast of England: An English fleet personally commanded by King Edward III defeats a Castilian fleet.

title: 1350

text: March 26 – War of the Breton Succession: Combat of the Thirty – Thirty chosen knights each, from the Kingdoms of France and England, fight to determine who will rule the Duchy of Brittany; a Franco-Breton victory is assured by the squire Guillaume de Montauban.

title: 1351

text: February 10 – St Scholastica Day riot in Oxford, England, breaks out, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead in two days.

title: 1355

text: May 25 – The French States-General repudiates the terms of the Second Treaty of London, signed earlier in the year between England and France.

title: 1359

text: June 22 – An alliance is formed between England and Castile.

title: 1362

text: April 3 – Battle of Nájera: Pedro of Castile is restored as King of Castile (in modern-day Spain) after defeating his half-brother, King Enrique the Fratricidal. Pedro is aided in the battle by the English under Edward the Black Prince, and Henry by the French.

title: 1367

text: May – King Charles V of France renounces the Treaty of Brétigny, and war is declared between France and England.

title: 1369

text: September 19 – The Siege of Limoges takes place in the course of the Hundred Years' War as the English Army, led by Edward the Black Prince, retakes the of Limoges from the French by storm with wide destruction, effectively ending the Limoges enamel industry.

title: 1370

text: February 21 – Jean, County of Montfort, Duke of Brittany makes a secret agreement with the Kingdom of England to allow English troops to pass through the lands he owns during the English war with France, event though he had previously allied with King Charles V of France in the same war.

title: 1372

text: June 22 – The Kingdom of France and the Crown of Castile defeat the Kingdom of England in the Battle of La Rochelle, and France gains control of the English Channel for the first time since 1340.

title: 1372

text: August 8 – Bristol perambulation: Bristol is made a county corporate, the first town in he Kingdom of England outside London to be granted this status.

title: 1373

text: March 12 – The Treaty of Bruges, signed on June 27, 1375 between England and France to end hostilities in the Hundred Years' War for a year, is extended by agreement to June 24, 1377.

title: 1376

text: June 30 – New College, Oxford, is founded in England by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester.

title: 1379

text: June 12 – Peasants' Revolt: In England, rebels from Kent and Essex, led by Wat Tyler and Jack Straw, meet at Blackheath. There the rebels are encouraged by a sermon, by renegade priest John Ball.

title: 1381

text: October 20 – Winchester College is founded in England.

title: 1382

text: The revision of Wycliffe's Bible is completed by John Purvey, and Wyclif's followers, known as the Lollards, begin to be persecuted in England.

title: 1388

text: July 18 – The Hundred Years' War is temporarily halted as the Truce of Leulinghem goes into effect after having been signed in June by the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of France. The peace will last for 13 years.

title: 1389

text: Penistone Grammar School, later to be one of the first community comprehensive schools in England, is founded near Barnsley, England.

title: 1392

text: Mount Grace Priory is established in Yorkshire, England.

title: 1398

text: September 16 – Owain Glyndŵr is proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers, and begins attacking English strongholds in northeast Wales.

title: 1400

text: June 14 – Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndŵr enters an alliance with the French against the English. He has begun to hold parliamentary assemblies (first on May 10 at Dolgellau).

title: 1404

text: May 29 – In England, Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, meets Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York and Earl of Norfolk Thomas Mowbray in Shipton Moor, tricks them to send their rebellious army home, and then imprisons them.

title: 1405

text: January 1 – The Welsh surrender Harlech Castle to the English.

title: 1409

text: The Black Death sweeps England for a final time, in a 60-year period.

title: 1412

text: March 21 – Henry, Prince of Wales becomes King Henry V of England the day after the death of his father Henry IV.

title: 1413

text: Alien priory cells are suppressed in England.

title: 1414

text: August 12 – King Henry V of England begins using the English language in correspondence back to England from France, where he is leading a campaign, marking the beginning of this king's continuous usage of English in prose, and the beginning of the restoration of English as an official language for the first time since the Norman Conquest, some 350 years earlier.

title: 1417

text: July 31 – Hundred Years' War – Battle of Cravant: The French army is defeated at Cravant, on the banks of the River Yonne near Auxerre, by the English and their Burgundian allies.

title: 1423

text: August 17 – Battle of Verneuil: An English force under John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, defeats a larger French army under John II, Duke of Alençon, John Stewart, and Archibald, Earl of Douglas. Alençon is captured and Douglas killed.

title: 1424

text: A serious fire occurs at Baynard's Castle in the City of London, England.

title: 1428

text: May 7 – The Tourelles, the last English siege fortification at Orléans, falls. Joan of Arc becomes the hero of the battle by returning, wounded, to lead the final charge.

title: 1429

text: January 9 – Pretrial investigations for Joan of Arc begin at Rouen in France, which is under English occupation.

title: 1431

text: Sir Richard Molyneux is appointed constable of Liverpool Castle, in England.

title: 1440

text: A fourth tower is added to Liverpool Castle in England.

title: 1442

text: May 22 – The Treaty of Tours, signed between England and France, secures a truce in the Hundred Years' War for five years.

title: 1444

text: December – King Henry VI of England having regained his sanity dismisses the Duke of York as Protector.

title: 1454

text: May 22 – The Wars of the Roses begin in England at the Battle of St Albans, as Richard, Duke of York, captures King Henry VI as a prisoner of war.

title: 1455

text: September 23 – Wars of the Roses: At the Battle of Blore Heath in the Kingdom of England, Yorkists under Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, defeat a Lancastrian force.

title: 1459

text: June 26 – Wars of the Roses: Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Edward, Earl of March (eldest son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York) land in England at Sandwich, Kent with an army, and march on London.

title: 1460

text: October 8 – The Truce of Hesdin ends French support for the House of Lancaster in England.

title: 1463

text: April 25 – Battle of Hedgeley Moor in England: Yorkist forces under John Neville defeat the Lancastrians under Sir Ralph Percy, who is killed.

title: 1464

text: June 1 – The Treaty of York, a 15-year-truce is signed by representatives of the kingdoms of England (ruled by King Edward IV) and Scotland (ruled by King James III).

title: 1464

text: February 28 – The Treaty of Utrecht puts an end to the Anglo-Hanseatic War, restoring the status quo that had existed before the war, with the Kingdom of England and the states of the Hanseatic League agreeing to respect each other's trading rights.

title: 1474

text: July 21 – The 1475 Treaty of Picquigny between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France, is extended by agreement between England's King Edward IV and France's King Louis XI, with a provision that the cessation of hostilities will continue for one year after the death of one of the two monarchs.Louis.

title: 1477

text: September 21 – Treaty of Nottingham: A three-year truce between the kingdoms of England and Scotland is signed.

title: 1484

text: August 5– The first outbreak of sweating sickness in England begins.

title: 1485

text: Stockport Grammar School is founded, in the north of England.

title: 1487

text: December 21 – The Truce of Coldstream secures a five-year peace between Scotland and England.

title: 1491

text: October 3 – The English army besieges Boulogne.

title: 1492

text: England imposes sanctions on Burgundy for supporting Perkin Warbeck, the pretender to the English throne.

title: 1493

text: May 14 – At Augsburg, Maximilian, King of the Romans, grants an audience to Sir Christopher Urswick, the Kingdom of England's ambassador to the Empire, and informs his advisers that he believes the Ambassador is a spy gathering intelligence on the Empire's intentions toward England. Zacharia Contarini, the Empire's ambassador to France, then sends the report to the Doge of the Republic of Venice, Agostino Barbarigo.

title: 1496

text: September 21– King James IV of Scotland and his army invade Northumberland in the Kingdom of England, in support of the pretender to the English throne, Perkin Warbeck. The invaders leave on September 25 and travel back to Scotland.

title: 1496

text: January 24 – Commissioners from Scotland and England meet at Richmond Palace in London to finalize an agreement on the marriage between Scotland's King James IV to the daughter of England's King Henry VII, the princess Margaret Tudor, with a dowry of 35,000 Scottish Punnds and an agreement for a "treaty of perpetual peace". The marriage will be completed by proxy on January 25, 1503.

title: 1502

text: April 21 – Henry VIII becomes King of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.

title: 1509

text: April 9 – St John's College, Cambridge, England, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, receives its charter.

title: 1511

text: August 10 – War of the League of Cambrai – Battle of Saint-Mathieu: The English navy defeats the French-Breton fleet. Both navies use ships firing cannons through ports, and each loses its principal ship — Regent and Marie-la-Cordelière — through a large explosion aboard the latter.

title: 1512

text: August 16 – Battle of the Spurs (or Battle of Guinegate, part of the War of the League of Cambrai): English and allied troops under Henry VIII defeat French cavalry under Marshal La Palice.

title: 1513

text: October 9 – King Louis XII marries Mary Tudor (sister of King Henry VIII) at Abbeville, as part of the Kingdom of England's peace with France.

title: 1514

text: July 2 – Manchester Grammar School is endowed by Hugh Oldham, the first free grammar school in England.

title: 1515

text: Gillingham School is founded, the oldest in Dorset, England.

title: 1516

text: August 10 – Construction of the Manchester Grammar School is completed in England. The total cost of the project was £218 13s 5d.

title: 1518

text: May 29 – England formally declares war on France and Scotland.

title: 1522

text: June 4 – 1525 Bayham Abbey riot; Villagers from Kent and Sussex, England riot and occupy Bayham Old Abbey for a week in protest against Cardinal Thomas Wolsey's order to suppress the monastery in order to fund two colleges founded by him.

title: 1525

text: Aylesbury is granted the county town of Buckinghamshire, England by King Henry VIII.

title: 1529

text: October 26 – Cardinal Thomas Wolsey falls from power in England, due to his failure to obtain an annulment of Henry VIII's marriage and to prevent Habsburg expansion in Europe. Thomas More succeeds him as Lord Chancellor.

title: 1529

text: May 16 – Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.

title: 1532

text: April 7 – The Statute in Restraint of Appeals in England, declaring the king to be the supreme sovereign and forbidding judicial appeals to the papacy, is given royal assent.

title: 1533

text: March 23 – English forces under William Skeffington storm Maynooth Castle in Ireland, the stronghold of Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare, after a siege that began on March 16. Skeffington shows little mercy to the 25 surviving defenders, and has them decapitated in front of the castle two days after the surrender.

title: 1535

text: February 9 – The first horse race is held at Chester Racecourse, the oldest still in use in England.

title: 1539

text: January 12 – Treaty of Toledo: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (aka Charles I of Spain) and Francis I of France agree to make no further alliances with England. The treaty comes after Henry VIII of England's split with Rome and Pope Paul III.

title: 1539

text: August 24 – Battle of Haddon Rig: Scotland defeats England.

title: 1542

text: November 24 – Battle of Solway Moss: An English army invades Scotland, and defeats a Scottish army.

title: 1542

text: May 3 – Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, with an English army, captures Leith and Edinburgh from the Kingdom of Scotland.

title: 1544

text: February 27 – Battle of Ancrum Moor: The Scots are victorious over numerically superior English forces.

title: 1545

text: June 7 – The Treaty of Ardres (also known as the Treaty of Camp) is signed, resulting in peace between the kingdoms of England and France and ending the Italian War of 1542–1546.

title: 1546

text: January 28 – King Henry VIII of England dies in London, and is succeeded by his 9-year-old son Edward VI, as King of England.

title: 1547

text: June 9 – The Book of Common Prayer is introduced in English churches; the Prayer Book Rebellion against it breaks out in the West Country.

title: 1549

text: October 11 – John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, de facto Lord Protector of the Kingdom of England, is created Duke of Northumberland.

title: 1551

text: April 15 – The Act of Uniformity is given royal assent and imposes use of the Protestant Book of Common Prayer on England.

title: 1552

text: February 24 – The privileges of the Hanseatic League are abolished in England.

title: 1552

text: August 24 – English explorer Richard Chancellor enters the White Sea and reaches Arkhangelsk. He goes on afterwards to the court of Ivan the Terrible of Russia, opening up trade between England and Russia.

title: 1553

text: May 12 – St Albans, in England, receives its first royal charter as a borough.

title: 1553

text: February 12 – After claiming the throne of England the previous year, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason.

title: 1554

text: The following schools are founded in England:

title: 1557

text: January 7 – French troops, led by François, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of the Kingdom of England, in the Siege of Calais.

title: 1558

text: February 27 – Treaty of Berwick: Terms are agreed upon with the Lords of the Congregation in Scotland, for forces of the Kingdom of England to enter Scotland, to expel French troops defending the Regency of Mary of Guise.

title: 1560

text: Dudley Grammar School is established, and Gresham's School is granted a royal charter, in England.

title: 1562

text: October 4 – English forces under Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, land at Le Havre to aid the Huguenots against the French Crown.

title: 1562

text: May 16 – Mary, Queen of Scots, flees across the Solway Firth from Scotland to England but on May 19 is placed in custody in Carlisle Castle on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I, her cousin.

title: 1568

text: January 11 — The first recorded lottery in England begins and continues, nonstop, at the west door of St Paul's Cathedral in London until May 6, when the winner is drawn. Each share costs ten shillings, and proceeds are used to repair harbours, and for other public works.

title: 1569

text: January 23 – The Royal Exchange opens in London, England.

title: 1571

text: July 11 – English navigator Martin Frobisher sights Greenland.

title: 1576

text: December 13 – Francis Drake leaves Plymouth, England, aboard the Pelican, with four other ships and 164 men, on an expedition against the Spanish, along the Pacific coast of the Americas, which will become his circumnavigation.

title: 1577

text: June 21 (8 Cemazi ul-evvel 988 AH) – England signs a commercial treaty with the Ottoman Empire, and Sultan Murad III sends a letter to Queen Elizabeth I informing her, "Just as the merchants of Poland and France and Venice come and go, the merchants of your domain also shall bring wares to our Well-Protected Domains and take away wares." In return, Murad III is able to purchase English metals (iron, brass and tin) for his war with Iran.

title: 1580

text: July 26 – Battle of Ponta Delgada (War of the Portuguese Succession): Spanish admiral Santa Cruz decisively defeats a larger mercenary fleet from France, England, supporters of the Portuguese claimant António, Prior of Crato, and the Dutch Republic, under Filippo di Piero Strozzi (who is killed) off the Azores, the first engagement between large fleets of galleons, operating at any great distance from the mainland.

title: 1582

text: March 10 (February 28 O.S.) – The Queen Elizabeth's Men troupe of actors is founded in England by order of Queen Elizabeth to Edmund Tilney, the royal Master of the Revels.

title: 1583

text: August 27 – Governor John White leaves the Roanoke Colony to get more supplies from England.

title: 1587

text: April 16 – Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby (b. 1559), second in line to the throne of England

title: 1594

text: July 23 – The Spanish raid Cornwall, England.

title: 1595

text: December 31 – The East India Company is granted a Royal charter in the Kingdom of England for trade with Asia.

title: 1600

text: July 25 – The formal coronation of James I as King of England takes place at Westminster Abbey. Ceremonies are limited because of plague.

title: 1603

text: March 24 – Queen Elizabeth I of England dies at Richmond Palace (having ruled since 1558). She is succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, King James VI of Scotland (where he has ruled since 1567), uniting the crowns of Scotland and England.

title: 1603

text: April 12 – The first version of the Union Flag is created, to be worn as a national flag by English and Scottish ships.

title: 1606

text: September 10 – Jamestown: Capt. George Percy replaces Captain John Smith as president of the Council, and Smith returns to England.

title: 1609

text: December 6 – In England, John Winthrop, later governor of the future Massachusetts Bay Colony, marries his second wife (of four), Thomasine Clopton, daughter of William Clopton of Castleins, near Groton, Suffolk.

title: 1615

text: January 3 – In the court of James I of England, the king's favorite George Villiers becomes Master of the Horse (encouraging development of the thoroughbred horse); on April 24 he receives the Order of the Garter; and on August 27 he is created Viscount Villiers and Baron Waddon, receiving a grant of land valued at £80,000. In 1617, he will be made Earl of Buckingham. After the Earl of Pembroke, he is the second richest nobleman in England.

title: 1616

text: December 4 – Thirty-eight colonists from England disembark in Berkeley Hundred, Virginia from the Margaret of Bristol and have a day of celebration to give thanks to God, in what is considered by some historians to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.

title: 1619

text: September 16 (September 6 OS) – Mayflower departs from Plymouth in England on her third attempt to cross the Atlantic. The Pilgrims on board comprise 41 "saints" (English separatists largely from Holland), 40 "strangers" (largely secular planters from London), 23 servants and hired workers, together with c. 30 crew.

title: 1620

text: June 13 – King Charles I of England marries Catholic princess Henrietta Maria of France and Navarre, at Canterbury.

title: 1625

text: February 18 – Eighty Years' War: Battle off Lizard Point – Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.

title: 1637

text: Adams' Grammar School at Newport, Shropshire, England is founded by William Adams.

title: 1656

text: May 19 – Great fire of Newport, Shropshire, England.

title: 1665

text: January 23 – The Triple Alliance of 1668 is formed between England, Sweden and the United Provinces of the Netherlands.

title: 1668

text: March 17 – The Third Anglo-Dutch War begins as the Kingdom of England declares war on the Dutch Republic.

title: 1672

text: March 29 – Test Act: Roman Catholics and others who refuse to receive the sacrament of the Church of England cannot vote, hold public office, preach, teach, attend the universities or assemble for meetings in England. On June 12, the king's Catholic brother, James, Duke of York, is forced to resign the office of Lord High Admiral because of the Act.

title: 1673

text: February 19 – England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Its provisions come into effect gradually (see November 10).

title: 1674

text: March 11 – Work begins on construction of the Royal Hospital Chelsea for old soldiers in London, England.

title: 1682

text: March 1 – A great fire devastates Bungay, England.

title: 1688

text: April 11 (O.S.) – William III and Mary II are crowned in London as King and Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Ireland does not recognise them yet, while the Estates of Scotland declare King James VII deposed.

title: 1689

text: February 23 (February 13, 1688 O.S.) – William III and Mary II are proclaimed co-rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland.

title: 1689

text: January 22 (January 12, 1688 O.S.) – Glorious Revolution in England: The Convention Parliament is convened to determine if King James II of England, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, vacated the throne when he fled to France, at the end of 1688. The settlement of this is agreed on 8 February.

title: 1689

text: May 20 – England passes the Act of Grace, forgiving followers of the deposed James II.

title: 1690

text: August 11 – Battle of La Prairie in Canada: An English and Iroquois force come north from Albany, New York to attack Montreal, but are repulsed with significant casualties by the French and their First Nations allies.

title: 1691

text: September 8 – An earthquake in Brabant of scale 5.8 is felt across the Low Countries, Germany and England.

title: 1692

text: A £2 fine is imposed for swearing in England.

title: 1695

text: January 4 – The Palace of Whitehall in London, England is destroyed by fire.

title: 1698

text: June 11 – England, France and the Dutch Republic agree on the terms of the Treaty of London (1700) (Second Partition Treaty) for Spain.

title: 1699

text: January 1 – Protestant nations in Western Europe, except England, start using the Gregorian calendar. Catholic nations have been using the Gregorian calendar since its introduction in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.

title: 1700

text: March 24 – The Treaty of London is signed between France, England and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1700

text: June 16 – The English East India Company founds a settlement on Pulo Condore (modern-day Côn Sơn Island) off the coast of southern Vietnam as an entrepôt for ships travelling between India and China.

title: 1702

text: May 14 (N.S.) – War of the Spanish Succession: War is declared on France by the Grand Alliance (Kingdom of England, Dutch Republic and Holy Roman Empire).

title: 1702

text: August 3 (July 23 Old Style) – War of the Spanish Succession – Gibraltar is captured from Spain, by English and Dutch forces under Sir George Rooke.

title: 1704

text: July 22 – The Treaty of Union between Scotland and England is agreed upon in London, for ratification by the national legislatures.

title: 1706

text: April 25 (April 14 Old Style) – War of the Spanish Succession – Battle of Almansa: The Bourbon army of Spain and France (with Irish mercenaries) under the French-born Englishman James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, soundly defeats the allied forces of Portugal, England, and the Dutch Republic led by the French-born Huguenot (in English service) Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway. Following this, Philip V of Spain promulgates the first Nueva Planta decrees, bringing the Kingdoms of Valencia and Aragon under the laws of the Crown of Castile.

title: 1707

text: January 16 – The Treaty (or Act) of Union, of the two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, is ratified by the Parliament of Scotland by a vote of 110 to 68.

title: 1707

text: May 12 (May 1 Old Style) – The new sovereign state of Great Britain comes into being, as a result of the Acts of Union, which combine the Kingdoms of Scotland and England into a single united Kingdom of Great Britain, and merge the Parliaments of England and Scotland, to form the Parliament of Great Britain.

title: 1707


slug: kingdom-of-essex

label: Kingdom of Essex

description: former kingdom on the island of Britain (527–825 CE)

section: Culture & Society

text: Approximate year of the founding of the Kingdom of Essex.

title: AD 500

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

section: Conflict & Security

text: Æscwine becomes the first king of Essex (approximate date), defeating Octa in battle at Hackney, west of the River Lea.

title: 527

section: Events › By place › Britannia

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Kingdom of Essex is founded by the Saxons, who land north of the Thames. They take control of the land between what is now London and St Albans, ceding from the Kingdom of Kent

title: 527

text: Sledd succeeds his father Æscwine as king of Essex (approximate date).

title: 587

section: Deaths

text: Æscwine, king of Essex (approximate date)

title: 587

section: Religion & Belief

text: Sæbert succeeds his father Sledd as king of Essex. He is persuaded to convert to Christianity through the intervention of his uncle, King Æthelberht of Kent.

title: 604

text: Sledd, king of Essex (approximate date)

title: 604

text: Sæbert, king of Essex (approximate date)

title: 616

text: Sigeberht becomes king of Essex, after his father Sæward and uncle Sexred are killed in battle against the West Saxons.

title: 617

text: Sexred, king of Essex (approximate date)

title: 626

text: King Sigeberht I of Essex dies after a 36-year reign, and is succeeded by his relative Sigeberht II.

title: 653

text: King Sigeberht II of Essex is murdered by his brothers, Swithelm and Swithfrith, and other kinsmen for being "too ready to pardon his enemies"; that is to say, the Christians. Swithelm becomes king of Essex, with Swithfrith as joint-monarch for a period (approximate date).

title: 660

text: Sigeberht II, king of Essex (approximate date)

title: 660

text: King Swithelm of Essex is converted to Christianity and baptised by Cedd, at the court of King Æthelwald of East Anglia, who acts as his sponsor. East Anglia may have held some sort of overlordship over Essex at this time (approximate date).

title: 662

text: Swithelm, king of Essex (approximate date)

title: 664

text: King Frithuwold of Surrey flourishes under Mercian domination. The marriage of his daughter Osgyth to King Sighere of Essex breaks down. She desires the religious life, and flees the Essex court to the protection of bishop Bedwinus of North Elmham (Norfolk).

title: 673

text: King Æthelred of Mercia establishes Mercian dominance over most of Southern England. He installs Oswine, minor member of the Kentish royal family (second cousin of king Eadric), as king of Kent. Prince Swæfheard of Essex is given West Kent.

title: 688

text: King Oswine of Kent is toppled by Wihtred, brother of the late king Eadric of Kent, after a 2-year reign. He takes his lands north of the River Thames, in revenge against the East Saxons (approximate date).

title: 690

text: Prince Æthelbald returns from Crowland Fens to Mercia, and seizes the throne after the death of his cousin King Ceolred, who had driven him into exile (see 709). He gains hegemony over London, Essex, and all of the English Midlands. By 731, Æthelbald will have subjugated all provinces south of the Humber River under his overlordship.

title: 716

section: Events › Byzantine Empire › Britain

text: King Swæfberht of Essex dies after a 23-year reign. He is succeeded by Saelred, a minor member of the Essex royal family.

title: 738

text: King Æthelbert II of Kent dies, and is succeeded by his nephew Eadberht II. He possibly rules all Kent for a time. Sigered, probably an East Saxon, succeeds in West Kent. Eadberht dies after a short reign, followed by Ealhmund as ruler of Kent.

title: 762

text: Offa arranges coastal defences to fend off Viking attacks. He forms an alliance with Essex, Kent and Sussex, in an attempt to unify England (approximate date).

title: 792

text: King Offa of Mercia and Charlemagne seal a trading agreement, and a marriage alliance is proposed. However, Offa dies after a 39-year reign, that has incorporated Kent, Essex, Sussex, and East Anglia into the Mercian realm. Offa is buried at Bedford, and succeeded for a short time by his son Ecgfrith, and then a distant cousin, Coenwulf.

title: 796

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Sigeric I of Essex abdicates and departs for a pilgrimage to Rome. He is succeeded by his son Sigered.

title: 798

text: Battle of Ellandun: King Egbert of Wessex defeats Beornwulf of Mercia near Swindon. The battle marks the end of the Mercian domination of southern England. The kingdoms of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex submit to Wessex, and East Anglia acknowledges Egbert as overlord (bretwalda).

title: 825

text: Ecgberht, King of Wessex, dies after a 37-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Æthelwulf ("Noble Wolf") as ruler of Wessex. Æthelwulf's eldest son, Æthelstan, is made sub-king of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex, under his father.

title: 839

text: King Æthelstan, the eldest son of Æthelwulf, is killed by a Viking raiding party. He is succeeded by his brother Æthelberht, who becomes sub-king of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex (approximate date).

title: 852

text: Spring – King Æthelwulf of Wessex decides to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, accompanied by his youngest son Alfred (age 6) and a large retinue. He divides the kingdom between his two eldest sons; Æthelbald receives the western part of Wessex, while Æthelberht becomes ruler over Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex.

title: 855

text: Winter – Æthelwulf returns to Wessex to face a revolt by his eldest son Æthelbald, who usurps the throne. Æthelwulf agrees to give up the western part of his kingdom, in order to avoid a civil war. He keeps control over Sussex, Surrey, Essex and Kent, over which Prince Æthelberht has presided.

title: 856


slug: kingdom-of-france

label: Kingdom of France

description: monarchical state that ruled France from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848 (except during the Hundred Days in 1815)

date: August 8

text: August 8 – Treaty of Meerssen: King Louis the German forces his half-brother Charles the Bald to accept a peace treaty, which partitions the Middle Frankish Kingdom into two larger east and west divisions. Louis receives most of Austrasia (which evolves into the Kingdom of Germany), and Charles receives territory in Lower Burgundy (which evolves into the Kingdom of France). However, large parts of the Frisian coast are under Viking control.

title: 870

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: June

text: June – The Pax Ecclesiae, an edict by the Catholic Church, is promulgated. Held at three synods in different parts of southern and central France (at Charroux, Narbonne and Puy), it attempts to outlaw acts of war against non-combatants and the clergy.

title: 990

date: October 24

text: October 24 – Hugh I Capet, king of France (b. 941)

title: 996

text: October 24 – King Hugh I Capet dies in Paris after a 9-year reign and is interred in the Basilica of St. Denis. He is succeeded by his 24-year-old son Robert II (the Pious) as king of France. Robert tries (during his reign) to increase his power, by pressing his claim of feudal lands that become vacant. This results in many territorial disputes.

title: 996

text: In the Kingdom of France, Robert II, the son of Hugh Capet, was the first King of the Capetian royal dynasty.

title: AD 1000

text: The Château de Goulaine vineyard was founded in France.

title: AD 1000

section: Births

text: Hugh Magnus (Hugues le Grand), king of France (d. 1025)

title: 1007

date: May 4

text: May 4 – Henry I, king of France (d. 1060)

title: 1008

text: The name of Versailles, at this time a small village, appears for the first time in a medieval charter in France.

title: 1038

text: Louis VI ("the Fat"), king of France (approximate date)

title: 1081

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Battle of Brémule: King Henry I of England defeats King Louis VI ("the Fat") of France and his 400 knights in Normandy. A skirmish that begins with the French launching a fierce but disordered attack, and ends with the French turning tail. Louis agrees to make peace and formally recognizes William Adelin as duke of Normandy.

title: 1119

section: Events › Europe

text: Robert of Ketton and Herman of Carinthia travel throughout France, the Byzantine Empire, and the Crusader States.

title: 1134

section: Events › By topic › Culture

text: The Basilica of Saint-Denis is completed to designs by Abbot Suger in Paris, France.

title: 1136

section: Events › By topic › Arts and Culture

text: Construction begins on Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France.

title: 1145

section: Events › By topic › Art and Culture

date: April

text: April – King Louis VII and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine sail homeward in separate Sicilian ships. While the fleet rounds the Peloponnese (southern Greece) it is attacked by ships of the Byzantine navy. Louis gives orders to raise the French flag and is allowed to sail on. But the ships containing many of his followers and his possessions are captured and taken as a war-prize to Constantinople.

title: 1149

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: June – Otto IV arrives in Flanders with a small army; four German nobles have joined him, but he is soon reinforced by troops of Renaud I, duke of Boulogne, Ferdinand, (jure uxoris) count of Flanders and the mercenaries under William Longespée. On July 26, Philip II arrives at the Flemish town of Tournai with his army (some 7,000 men), while the allied forces encamp 12 kilometers south at the Castle of Mortagne (France).

title: 1214

text: June – The rebel English barons besiege Windsor Castle and Dover Castle; the latter is strategically important as the 'gateway to England', controlling the shortest route to France. Meanwhile, King John uses Corfe Castle in the southwest as his base of operations while he plans his campaign against the barons and the French invading army under Louis.

title: 1216

section: Events › By continent › Europe

date: April 5

text: April 5 – The Treaty of Melun is concluded between France (ruled by King Louis VIII) and Flanders, ruled jointly of by Jeanne, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, with France agreeing to release her husband Count Ferrand

title: 1226

section: Events › April – June

date: November 8

text: November 8 – At the age of 12, Louis IX becomes the new King of France when his father, King Louis VIII, dies of dysentery at the Château de Montpensier while on his way back home after victory in the Albigensian Crusade. The boy's mother, Queen Blanche of Castile, rules the kingdom as regent during his minority.

title: 1226

section: Events › October – December

text: The University of Toulouse is founded in France. Raymond VII is forced to finance the teaching of theology.

title: 1229

text: A general inquisition begins in France.

title: 1235

section: Events

text: April – The first Shepherds' Crusade, a domestic French uprising in response to events in Egypt during the Seventh Crusade, occurs.

title: 1251

text: Peter III of Aragon obtains the support of Nasrid Granada preparing for the incoming Aragonese Crusade, led by Philip "the Fair" of France.

title: 1282

text: Philip VI of France besieges Guienne in Southwest France, and his navy attacks Portsmouth, England.

title: 1338

section: Events › Date unknown

date: January 26

text: January 26 – King Edward III of England declares himself King of France at Ghent, Flanders.

title: 1340

date: July

text: July – Edward III orders the closing of English ports to stop information from reaching France.

title: 1346

section: Health & Medicine

date: November 1

text: November 1 – The Black Death spreads to Aix-en-Provence in France.

title: 1347

section: Events › January–December

text: February 3 – The Estates General in France meets and passes Étienne Marcel's Great Ordinance in an attempt to impose limits on the monarchy, in particular in fiscal and monetary matters.

title: 1357

date: May 25

text: May 25 – The French States-General repudiates the terms of the Second Treaty of London, signed earlier in the year between England and France.

title: 1359

date: April 8

text: April 8 – Charles V becomes King of France.

title: 1364

date: April 3

text: April 3 – Battle of Nájera: Pedro of Castile is restored as King of Castile (in modern-day Spain) after defeating his half-brother, King Enrique the Fratricidal. Pedro is aided in the battle by the English under Edward the Black Prince, and Henry by the French.

title: 1367

section: Events › April–June

date: March 14

text: March 14 – King Pedro of Castile loses the Battle of Montiel to French soldiers led by Bertrand du Guesclin and Castilians led by his half-brother, Enrique. Pedro takes refuge in a fortress and offers du Guesclin 200,000 gold coins and a promise of several towns in Castile, in return for betraying Enrique. Afterwards, du Guesclin informs Enrique of the offer.

title: 1369

section: Events › January–March

date: September 19

text: September 19 – The Siege of Limoges takes place in the course of the Hundred Years' War as the English Army, led by Edward the Black Prince, retakes the of Limoges from the French by storm with wide destruction, effectively ending the Limoges enamel industry.

title: 1370

section: Events › July–September

date: June 22

text: June 22 – The Kingdom of France and the Crown of Castile defeat the Kingdom of England in the Battle of La Rochelle, and France gains control of the English Channel for the first time since 1340.

title: 1372

date: March 12

text: March 12 – The Treaty of Bruges, signed on June 27, 1375 between England and France to end hostilities in the Hundred Years' War for a year, is extended by agreement to June 24, 1377.

title: 1376

text: In the Hundred Years' War, the French lose control of most of Brittany to the English.

title: 1379

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Construction of the Bastille fortress is completed in Paris, France.

title: 1383

text: March 25– The Battle of Margate, a naval battle off the coast of England at Margate, ends with the England navy, commanded by the Earl of Arundel, victorious over a combined fleet of shipsf rom the Kingdom of France, the Crown of Castile and the County of Flanders.

title: 1387

text: July 18 – The Hundred Years' War is temporarily halted as the Truce of Leulinghem goes into effect after having been signed in June by the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of France. The peace will last for 13 years.

title: 1389

text: May 27 – Dominique de Flourence, Bishop of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières, helps conclude a peace agreement between the Kingdom of France and the Crown of Castile, based on his influence as France's legate to King Juan I of Castile.

title: 1391

text: September 17 – King Charles VI of France orders the expulsion of all Jews from France.

title: 1394

text: September 25 – Battle of Nicopolis: The Ottomans defeat a joint crusade by Hungary, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Wallachia, led by King Sigismund of Hungary. This is the last large-scale crusade of the Middle Ages.

title: 1396

text: March 12 – As King Martin I of Aragon helps to end the siege by the French of the papal palace in Avignon, Antipope Benedict XIII flees to the Crown of Aragon.

title: 1403

text: June 14 – Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndŵr enters an alliance with the French against the English. He has begun to hold parliamentary assemblies (first on May 10 at Dolgellau).

title: 1404

text: August 12 – King Henry V of England begins using the English language in correspondence back to England from France, where he is leading a campaign, marking the beginning of this king's continuous usage of English in prose, and the beginning of the restoration of English as an official language for the first time since the Norman Conquest, some 350 years earlier.

title: 1417

text: August 17 – Battle of Verneuil: An English force under John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, defeats a larger French army under John II, Duke of Alençon, John Stewart, and Archibald, Earl of Douglas. Alençon is captured and Douglas killed.

title: 1424

text: The Celestine Order is established in France.

title: 1427

text: June 18 – Battle of Patay: French forces under Joan of Arc smash the English forces under Lord Talbot and Sir John Fastolf, forcing the withdrawal of the English from the Loire Valley.

title: 1429

text: January 9 – Pretrial investigations for Joan of Arc begin at Rouen in France, which is under English occupation.

title: 1431

text: May 22 – The Treaty of Tours, signed between England and France, secures a truce in the Hundred Years' War for five years.

title: 1444

text: April 15 – The Battle of Formigny takes place as French troops under the Comte de Clermont defeat an English army under Sir Thomas Kyriel and Sir Matthew Gough, which was attempting to relieve Caen

title: 1450

text: August 12 – Cherbourg, the last English territory in Normandy, surrenders to the French.

title: 1450

text: July 6 – Caen surrenders to the French.

title: 1450

text: June 5 – French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege Caen in English-occupied Normandy in France, attacking the fortress commanded by Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset.

title: 1450

text: March 10 – The city of Perpignan is recaptured by the army of the Kingdom of France after having been captured by the Spanish king John II of Aragon.

title: 1475

text: January 20 – In the Kingdom of France, Louis II, Duke of Orleans and François II, Duke of Brittany, are both declared rebels by the Parlement of Paris.

title: 1488

text: February 9 – The Treaty of Blois is signed between the Kingdom of France and the Republic of Venice as a secret military alliance between the two nations to attack the Duchy of Milan.

title: 1499

text: January 5 – Duke Ludovico Sforza recaptures Milan, but is soon driven out again by the French.

title: 1500

text: October 13 – Maximilian of Austria and Louis XII of France sign the Treaty of Trente with Austria recognizing all French conquests in the northern territories of Italy.

title: 1501

text: February 13 – Challenge of Barletta: Thirteen Italian knights defeat thirteen French knights, near Barletta.

title: 1503

text: January 1 – French troops of King Louis XII surrender Gaeta to the Spanish, under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba.

title: 1504

text: January 31 – Treaty of Lyon: France cedes Naples to Ferdinand II of Aragon, who becomes King of Naples as Ferdinand III.

title: 1504

text: November 17 – The Treaty of Westminster creates an alliance between Henry VIII of England and Ferdinand II of Aragon against France. Mallett and Shaw, The Italian Wars, 103; Hutchinson, Young Henry, 159.

title: 1511

text: April 11 – War of the League of Cambrai – Battle of Ravenna: French troops under Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours, assisted by the Duchy of Ferrara, defeat the Spanish and Papal States troops led by Ramón de Cardona. Gaston is killed in the pursuit as the Spanish retreat, and at least 3,000 of his troops are killed. More than 9,000 Spanish and Papal troops are killed, and 17,000 civilians in and around the city of Ravenna are massacred.

title: 1512

text: February 18 – War of the League of Cambrai: The French carry out the Sack of Brescia.

title: 1512

text: July 12 – The Treaty of Blois is signed in France between representatives of the Spanish Kingdom of Navarre and of the Kingdom of France guaranteeing French intervention to keep Navarre neutral and to prevent an attack by the "Holy League" alliance of Pope Julius II and Spain's King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Castile.

title: 1512

text: August 16 – Battle of the Spurs (or Battle of Guinegate, part of the War of the League of Cambrai): English and allied troops under Henry VIII defeat French cavalry under Marshal La Palice.

title: 1513

text: June 6 – Italian Wars: Battle of Novara – Swiss mercenaries supporting the Milanese defeat the French under Louis II de la Trémoille, forcing the French to abandon the Duchy of Milan and Italy.

title: 1513

text: August 7 – King Henry VIII of England concludes an independent peace treaty with France in the War of the League of Cambrai, negotiated by Thomas Wolsey.

title: 1514

text: Leonardo da Vinci accepts Francis I's invitation to France.

title: 1516

text: December 4 – Treaty of Brussels: Peace is declared between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.

title: 1516

text: November 29 – The "Treaty of Perpetual Peace" is signed in the city of Fribourg in Switzerland, between representatives of the Thirteen Cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy, and King Francis of the Kingdom of France, confirming the French victory in the 1515 Battle of Marignano. The Swiss Confederacy renounces all claims to the French protectorate of Milan in Italy, in for 700,000 gold crowns in compensation.

title: 1516

text: June 30 – Battle of Esquiroz: French forces under André de Foix, fighting for the exiled King of Navarre Henri d'Albret, are defeated by the Spanish, and forced to abandon their attempt to recover Henri's kingdom.

title: 1521

text: November 23 – Spanish–German–Papal forces under Prospero Colonna force French Marshal Odet de Lautrec to abandon Milan.

title: 1521

text: April 27 – In the Battle of Bicocca, French and Swiss forces under Odet de Lautrec are defeated by the Spanish in their attempt to retake Milan, and are forced to withdraw into Venetian territory.

title: 1522

text: May 29 – England formally declares war on France and Scotland.

title: 1522

text: April 30 – Battle of the Sesia: Spanish forces under Charles de Lannoy defeat the French army in Italy, under William de Bonnivet. The French, now commanded by François de St. Pol, withdraw from the Italian Peninsula.

title: 1524

text: The Bubonic plague spreads in southern France.

title: 1525

text: February 24 – Battle of Pavia: German and Spanish forces under Charles de Lannoy and the Marquis of Pescara defeat the French army, and capture Francis I of France, after his horse is wounded by Cesare Hercolani. While Francis is imprisoned in Lombardy and then transferred to Madrid, the first attempts to form a Franco-Ottoman alliance with Suleiman the Magnificent against the Habsburg Empire are made.

title: 1525

text: February 6 – Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, agrees to form a military alliance with France, after King François I sends a proposal by way of his envoy, Jean Frangipani.

title: 1526

text: April 28 – Battle of Capo d'Orso: The French fleet, under mercenary captain Filippino Doria, crushes the Spanish squadron trying to run the blockade of Naples.

title: 1528

text: September 12 – Italian Admiral Andrea Doria defeats his former allies, the French, and establishes the independence of Genoa.

title: 1528

text: June 21 – War of the League of Cognac – Battle of Landriano: French forces in northern Italy are decisively defeated by Spain.

title: 1529

text: August 13 – Union of Brittany and France: The Duchy of Brittany is absorbed into the Kingdom of France.

title: 1532

text: February 11 – King Henry VIII of England allies with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, against France.

title: 1543

text: April 11 – Battle of Ceresole: French forces under the Comte d'Enghien defeat forces of the Holy Roman Empire, under the Marques Del Vasto, near Turin.

title: 1544

text: January 13 – At Västerås, the estates of Sweden swear loyalty to King Gustav Vasa and to his heirs, ending the traditional electoral monarchy in Sweden. Gustav subsequently signs an alliance with the Kingdom of France.

title: 1544

text: June 7 – The Treaty of Ardres (also known as the Treaty of Camp) is signed, resulting in peace between the kingdoms of England and France and ending the Italian War of 1542–1546.

title: 1546

text: August 13 – The Duchy of Brittany unites with the Kingdom of France.

title: 1547

text: July 7 – A marriage treaty is signed between Scotland and France, whereby five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, is betrothed to the future King Francis II of France.

title: 1548

text: August 8– England and France declare war.

title: 1549

text: The false Martin Guerre appears in the French village of Artigat.

title: 1556

text: February 5 – Truce of Vaucelles: Fighting temporarily ends between France and Spain.

title: 1556

text: June 7 – Mary I of England joins her husband Philip II of Spain, in his war against France.

title: 1557

text: January 7 – French troops, led by François, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of the Kingdom of England, in the Siege of Calais.

title: 1558

text: July 13 – Battle of Gravelines: Near the border between the Kingdom of France and the Spanish Netherlands, Spanish forces led by Lamoral, Count of Egmont, and assisted by the English Navy, inflict a major defeat on the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes.

title: 1558

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

text: January 7 – In the Kingdom of Scotland, French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and Captain Corbeyran de Cardaillac Sarlabous sail across the Firth of Forth from Leith, which they are occupying, and fight with the Lords of the Congregation at Pettycur Bay near Kinghorn.

title: 1560

text: August 19 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is denied passage through England after returning from France. She arrives at Leith, Scotland later the same day.

title: 1561

text: January 31 – The Ordinance of Orléans suspends the persecution of the Protestant Huguenots in Kingdom of France.

title: 1561

text: January 17 – Treaty of Lyon: France gains Bresse, Bugey and Gex from Savoy, ceding Saluzzo in exchange.

title: 1601

text: March 15 – French explorer Samuel de Champlain departs from the Channel port of Honfleur in the Calvados département in the Kingdom of France for his first voyage to the settlement of New France in what is now Canada.

title: 1603

text: France begins settling Acadia, first successful French North American colony.

title: 1604

text: The rule of Andorra passes jointly to the king of France, and the Bishop of Urgell.

title: 1607

text: October 27 – The French Estates General begins its last session. The session, with 464 deputies representing the nobility, the lower and middle classes, and the clergy, closes on February 23, 1615. For the next 175 years, the Kingdom of France will be governed as an absolute monarchy until the calling of a new Estates General in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution.

title: 1614

text: June 2 – The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.

title: 1615

text: June 10 – Treaty of Compiègne is signed between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1624

text: January 23 – Thirty Years' War: Sweden and France sign the Treaty of Bärwalde, a military alliance in which France provides funds for the Swedish army invading northern Germany.

title: 1631

text: August 15 – The Spanish capture Corbie, France.

title: 1636

text: January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy Le Cid is first performed, in Paris, France.

title: 1637

text: March 5 – Thirty Years' War: The Treaty of Hamburg is signed by France and Sweden, providing the latter with funds.

title: 1638

text: March 14 – Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm.

title: 1647

text: May 21 – The Kingdom of France, the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic sign the Concert of The Hague, agreeing a common stance on the Second Northern War.

title: 1659

text: June 22 – Roux de Marsilly, accused of plotting the assassination of King Louis XIV, is publicly tortured in Paris, France.

title: 1669

text: April 8 – France declares war on the Dutch Republic, invading the country on April 29.

title: 1672

text: August 10 – The Treaties of Nijmegen end the Franco-Dutch War. The County of Burgundy is ceded to the Kingdom of France.

title: 1678

text: September 17 – The Franco-Dutch War between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic (and its allies) comes to an end after more than six years as the Treaties of Nijmegen bring about a ceasefire.

title: 1678

text: January 17 – King Louis XIV of France reports the success of the Edict of Fontainebleau, issued on October 22 against the Protestant Huguenots, and reports that after less than three months, the vast majority of the Huguenot population had left the country.

title: 1686

text: August 11 – Battle of La Prairie in Canada: An English and Iroquois force come north from Albany, New York to attack Montreal, but are repulsed with significant casualties by the French and their First Nations allies.

title: 1691

text: August 13–15 – Nine Years' War: Brussels is bombarded by French troops.

title: 1695

text: September 1 – Nine Years' War: France surrenders Namur, Spanish Netherlands to forces of the Grand Alliance, led by King William III of England, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, following the 2-month Siege of Namur.

title: 1695

text: June 11 – England, France and the Dutch Republic agree on the terms of the Treaty of London (1700) (Second Partition Treaty) for Spain.

title: 1699

text: March 24 – The Treaty of London is signed between France, England and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1700

text: April 25 (April 14 Old Style) – War of the Spanish Succession – Battle of Almansa: The Bourbon army of Spain and France (with Irish mercenaries) under the French-born Englishman James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, soundly defeats the allied forces of Portugal, England, and the Dutch Republic led by the French-born Huguenot (in English service) Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway. Following this, Philip V of Spain promulgates the first Nueva Planta decrees, bringing the Kingdoms of Valencia and Aragon under the laws of the Crown of Castile.

title: 1707

text: Coffee is first grown in the French colony of Saint-Domingue.

title: 1715

text: The Charleville musket enters service in France.

title: 1717

text: January 4 (December 24, 1716 Old Style) – The kingdoms of Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic sign the Triple Alliance, in an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Britain having signed a preliminary alliance with France on November 28 (November 17) 1716.

title: 1717

text: December 17 – The Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Great Britain and Dutch Republic join the Kingdom of France in formally declaring war on Spain, launching the War of the Quadruple Alliance.

title: 1718

text: September 16 – The Treaty of Hanover is signed between Great Britain, France and Prussia.

title: 1725

text: October 31 – Virginia Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie commissions 21-year-old militia Major George Washington to dissuade the French from occupying the Ohio Country.

title: 1753

text: July 9 – French and Indian War – Braddock Expedition: British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat inflicted by French and Indian forces. During the battle, British General Edward Braddock is mortally wounded. Colonel George Washington survives.

title: 1755

text: May 17 – The Seven Years' War formally begins, when Great Britain declares war on France.

title: 1756

text: September 10 – Battle of Pondicherry: An inconclusive naval battle is fought off the coast of India, between the French Admiral d'Aché and the British under George Pocock. The French forces are badly damaged and sail home, never to return.

title: 1759

text: The music for "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" ("Ah, would I tell you Mom?") is first published in France by a Monsieur Bouin in his book Les Amusements d'une Heure et Demy; in 1806, English poet Jane Taylor publishes her poem, The Star, whose words fit the rhythm of the tune and become the children's song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

title: 1761

text: The French government withdraws wartime taxes.

title: 1764

text: May 15 – After the Treaty of Versailles, the island of Corsica is ceded by Genoa to France.

title: 1768

text: May 9 – France conquers Corsica, ending the Corsican War of Independence.

title: 1769

text: October 23 – Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot demonstrates a steam-powered artillery tractor (see drawing) in France.

title: 1769

text: December 7 – King Louis XV of France issues the "Edict of December", dismissing the rebellious magistrates of the Parlements of Paris and the other 13 provinces.

title: 1770

text: Benjamin Franklin tries in vain to persuade the French to alter their clocks in winter to take advantage of the daylight.

title: 1784

text: November 21 – Treaty of Versailles (1787) signed, forming an alliance between the Kingdom of France and the Lord Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, future Emperor of Vietnam.

title: 1787


slug: kingdom-of-galicia

label: Kingdom of Galicia

description: historical state on the Iberian Peninsula (910–1126)

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Suebi live under a diarchy, and fight a civil war over the kingship in Galicia (Northern Spain).

title: 463

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Suevic nation in Galicia (Northern Spain) is unified under King Remismund.

title: 464

text: King Remismund establishes a policy of friendship with the Visigoths, and promotes the conversion of the Suebi into Arianism in Galicia (Northern Spain).

title: 465

text: King Eboric is deposed by his mother (second husband Andeca) who becomes the new ruler of the Kingdom of Galicia (Northern Spain) and the Suevi.

title: 584

section: Deaths

text: King Chintila dies of natural causes after a 3-year reign, in which he permitted the bishops wide authority in Hispania, Septimania and Galicia. He is succeeded by his son Tulga, who becomes ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom (approximate date).

title: 640

text: King Alfonso I of Asturias establishes the Kingdom of Galicia, in roughly the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The exact time this happened is contested.

title: 750

section: Births

text: Ordoño II, king of Galicia and León (d. 924)

title: 873

text: Sancho Ordóñez, king of Galicia (approximate date)

title: 895

text: Summer – King Alfonso III of Asturias is forced to abdicate the throne and partitions the kingdom among his three sons. The eldest son, García I, becomes king of León. The second son, Ordoño II, reigns in Galicia, while the third, Fruela II, receives Asturias with Oviedo as his capital.

title: 910

date: January 19

text: January 19 – King García I dies at Zamora (Spain) after a 4-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother Ordoño II, who becomes king of Galicia and León. Ordoño continues his expansion and settles his court in León.

title: 914

text: Elvira Menéndez, queen of Galicia and León

title: 921

date: June

text: June – Fruela II, King of Asturias in what is now Portugal, becomes the new ruler of the Kingdom of León and the Kingdom of Galicia in Spain upon the death of his younger brother, King Ordoño II, who dies after a 14-year reign. The ascent of Fruela reunites Asturias, Galicia and Leon. Fruela, who is not popular with the nobles, orders the assassination of the sons of Olmundo.

title: 924

section: Events › April—June

date: August

text: August — In Spain, Fruela II, King of León and King of Galicia, dies and is temporarily succeeded by his son, Alfonso Fróilaz.

title: 925

section: Events › By date › July – December

text: Before August 16 – Sancho Ordóñez, king of Galicia (Spain)

title: 929

text: Alfonso IV, king of León and Galicia (Spain)

title: 933

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Ramiro II, king of León and Galicia

title: 951

text: Bermudo II, king of León and Galicia

title: 953

text: King Ramiro III of León loses his throne to Bermudo II (the rival king of Galicia), who also becomes ruler of the entire Kingdom of León (modern-day Spain).

title: 984

date: December 24

text: December 24 – King Ferdinand I of León ("the Great") dies in León, Spain, after an 11-year reign as Emperor of All Spain. His kingdom is divided among his three sons: the eldest Sancho II, the second Alfonso VI and the youngest García II. The kingdoms of Galicia and Portugal become independent under the rule of García.

title: 1065

text: April – Urraca, queen regnant of León, Castile and Galicia (d. 1126)

title: 1079

date: March 22

text: March 22 – García II, king of Galicia and Portugal (b. 1042)

title: 1090

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Autumn – King Sigurd I sails for the Holy Land with 60 ships (with some 5,000 men) on the first stage of the Norwegian Crusade to Palestine. Now 17, he is the first European king to support the Crusaders in the Levant. Sigurd leaves his older brother Eystein I to rule the kingdom in his absence – and visits England, France, Galicia and Sicily en route.

title: 1107

date: May 24

text: May 24 – Raymond of Burgundy, count of Galicia

title: 1107

date: July 1

text: July 1 – Urraca of León becomes queen of León, Castile and Galicia after the death of her father, King Alfonso VI, making her the first European queen regnant. She marries Alfonso I.

title: 1109

text: The Almoravid fleet under Admirals Abu Abd Allah ibn Maymum of Almería and Isa ibn Maymum of Sevilla attacks the coastline of the Christian Kingdom of Galicia.

title: 1120

date: March 8

text: March 8 – Urraca, queen regnant of León and Galicia (b. 1079)

title: 1126

text: Ferdinand II, king of León and Galicia (d. 1188)

title: 1137

date: August 31

text: August 31 – King Sancho III ("the Desired") dies after a 1-year reign. He is succeeded as ruler of Castile by his 2-year-old son Alfonso VIII ("the Noble"). The noble houses of Lara and Castro claim the regency, as the boy's uncle, Ferdinand II (ruler of León and Galicia).

title: 1158

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Alfonso IX, king of León and Galicia (d. 1230)

title: 1171

date: January 22

text: January 22 – Ferdinand II, king of León and Galicia (b. 1137)

title: 1188

text: January 22 – King Ferdinand II dies after returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. He is succeeded by his 16-year-old son Alfonso IX, who becomes ruler of León and Galicia. He convenes representatives of the nobility, clergy and towns at the Basilica of San Isidoro the Cortes of León. These Corteses are considered to be the first parliament in Europe.

title: 1188