slug: france

label: France

description: country in Western Europe and other continents (through its overseas territories in America, Africa and Oceania)

year_label: 600 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Victorious over the Carthaginians in a naval battle, the Greeks of Phocaea establish the city of Marseille in today's France.

title: 600 BC

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

year_label: 44 BCE

date: June

text: June – Antony is granted a five-year governorship of northern and central Transalpine Gaul (France) and Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy).

title: 44 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 2 CE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: AD 2 – Maison Carrée, Nîmes, France, is built.

title: 0s

section: Events › Roman Empire

text: Roman usurper Proculus starts a rebellion at Lugdunum (Lyon, France), and proclaims himself emperor.

title: 280

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Religion & Belief

date: September 25

text: September 25 – On a voyage preaching the gospel, Saint Fermin of Pamplona is beheaded in Amiens (Modern day France).

title: 303

date: May

text: May – Battle of Argentovaria: Emperor Gratian is forced to recall the army he has sent East. The Lentienses are defeated by Mallobaudes near Colmar (France). Gratian gains the title Alemannicus Maximus.

title: 378

text: A synod is held in Bordeaux (France).

title: 384

date: November 8

text: November 8 – The first Council of Orange is convened under the guidance of Hilary of Arles in Orange (France).

title: 441

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Clovis I (Chlodowech) becomes the first Catholic king of the Franks, uniting all the Frankish tribes under his rule. He controls an immense territory in Gaul (modern France), and delivers a major blow for the Church against the Arian heresy.

title: 509

text: Battle of Autun - The Franks, under command of King Childebert I and his brother Chlothar I, invade the Kingdom of Burgundy. They defeat the Burgundians under King Godomar near Autun (modern France).

title: 532

text: Heavy taxes levied by Merovingian king Chilperic I of Neustria produce a revolt at Limoges (central France), as he sells bishoprics to the highest bidder.

title: 579

date: September

text: September – King Chilperic I is stabbed to death while returning from a hunt near Chelles, after a 23-year reign over a territory extending from Aquitaine, to the northern seacoast of what later will be France. His wife Fredegund, who has paid for his assassination, seizes his wealth, flees to Paris with her son Chlothar II, and persuades the nobles to accept him as legitimate heir while she serves as regent, continuing her power struggles with Guntram, king of Burgundy, and her sister Brunhilda, queen mother of Austrasia.

title: 584

text: Columbanus, Irish missionary, gathers 12 companions for his journey to Britain, probably to the Scottish coast. After a short time, he crosses the English Channel and lands in Brittany (France).

title: 585

text: Pope Gregory I criticizes the bishops of Arles and Marseille for allowing the forced baptism of Jews in Provence (France).

title: 591

section: Deaths

date: January 28

text: January 28 – King Guntram, age 59, dies after a 31-year reign, and is succeeded by his nephew Childebert II, who becomes ruler of Burgundy. He is buried at Saint Marcellus of Chalons Church, in Chalon-sur-Saône (Eastern France).

title: 592

text: Wilfrid, Anglo-Saxon abbot, refuses to be consecrated in Northumbria as bishop, and travels to Compiègne (France) to be consecrated by Agilbert, archbishop of Paris.

title: 665

text: The Abbey of St. Vaast in Arras (France) is founded.

title: 667

text: Wulfram of Sens attends the assembly of bishops at Valenciennes (Northern France).

title: 693

text: Lupus I, duke of Gascony, is assassinated in his attempt to seize Limoges (France). Eudes becomes ruler over both Gascony and Aquitaine.

title: 710

text: Tariq ibn Ziyad conquers the cities of Barcelona and Narbonne, where Visigothic nobles accept Umayyad overlordship, in return for autonomy in Septimania (Southern France). Muslims also raid Avignon and Lyon (approximate date).

title: 714

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: A Muslim expedition under Al-Hurr ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Thaqafi cross the Pyrenees into Aquitanian territory, leading a small raiding party into Septimania (Southern France).

title: 717

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul (first major Muslim attack upon Visigothic Septimania, in southern France): Governor Al-Samh takes or re-takes Narbonne (Arbouna for the Arabs), before raiding the Toulouse area. Many town defenders and inhabitants are killed in the aftermath by the Umayyad forces.

title: 719

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul: Governor Al-Samh continues his campaign; he makes Narbonne the capital city of Muslim Septimania (Southern France), and uses it as a base for razzias. King Ardo is killed, and becomes the last ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania. Some Visigoths refuse to adopt the Muslim faith, and flee north to Aquitaine. This marks the end of the Visigothic Kingdom.

title: 720

text: Summer – Charles Martel restores the authority of the Austrasian palace throughout the Frankish Kingdom, including against Frankish-claimed Aquitaine and Provence (Southern France). He exiles Rigobert, bishop of Reims, to Gascony.

title: 721

text: Charles Martel leads two raids across the Loire River into the Berry region. The Franks seize and plunder Bourges (central France), but the city is immediately recaptured by Eudes of Aquitaine.

title: 731

date: October 10

text: October 10 – Battle of Tours: The Frankish and Burgundian forces under Charles Martel defeat a large army of Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, near Poitiers, halting the Islamic advance into Western Europe; Rahman Al Ghafiqi is killed during the battle. Charles extends his authority in the south of France, which gives him the nickname Martellus ("The Hammer"). The outcome of the victory is a turning point, and establishes a balance of power between Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire.

title: 732

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

title: 736

text: Tassilo III, duke of Bavaria, recognizes the supremacy of King Pepin III ("the Short") at an assembly held at Compiègne (Northern France), and becomes a vassal of the Frankish Kingdom. He swears an oath (commendatio) to Pepin, and promises his allegiance.

title: AD 757

text: Angilbert, Frankish diplomat (primicerius palatii) of King Charlemagne, is made abbot of Saint-Riquier (Northern France).

title: 790

date: October

text: October – Lothair I, co-emperor and eldest son of Louis I, marries Ermengarde in Thionville (northeastern France). She is the daughter of Count Hugh of Tours.

title: 821

text: Ragnar Lodbrok, a Norse Viking ruler, rises to power. He becomes the scourge of France and England (approximate date).

title: 835

date: May 20

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

title: 839

date: June 25

text: June 25 – Battle of Fontenay: Frankish forces of Emperor Lothair I, and his nephew Pepin II of Aquitaine, are defeated by allied forces of King Louis the German, and his half-brother Charles the Bald, at Fontenoy (Eastern France), in a civil war among the three surviving sons of the former emperor Louis the Pious. A total of 40,000 men are killed, including the Frankish nobles Gerard of Auvergne and Ricwin of Nantes, fighting on the side of Charles.

title: 841

text: Frankish forces under King Charles the Bald invade southern France, and conquer the territory of Toulouse. He appoints Fredelo as count (comté) of Toulouse, who founds the Rouergue dynasty. Aquitaine is submitted to the West Frankish Kingdom.

title: 849

date: October 1

text: October 1 – King Æthelwulf of Wessex marries the 12- or 13-year-old Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, at Verberie (Northern France). She is crowned queen and anointed by Hincmar, archbishop of Reims. The marriage is a diplomatic alliance between Wessex and the West Frankish Kingdom.

title: 856

text: Viking raiders, led by Björn Ironside, set fire to the earliest church on the site of Chartres Cathedral. Charles the Bald pays him tribute (Danegeld) to save Verberie (Northern France).

title: 858

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Battle of St. Quentin: Frankish forces, led by Humfrid, defeat King Louis the German at Saint-Quentin (Northern France). Humfrid is enfeoffed with the County of Autun, and appointed Margrave of Burgundy, by King Charles the Bald.

title: 859

date: March

text: March – Viking raiders led by Weland are trapped at Trilbardou Bridge (Northern France), and submit to King Charles the Bald. He and his family accept Christianity (they are baptised) before leaving Neustria.

title: 862

section: Events › By place › Central Europe

text: Viking leader Guthrum becomes 'king' of East Anglia. A Viking fleet sails up the River Thames, and builds a camp at Fulham (near London) to prepare for an invasion of France.

title: 879

text: Winter – King Arnulf of Carinthia leads an East Frankish expedition into Italy, after he is recognized as overlord of France and Burgundy. Arnulf descends with an army over the Brenner Pass, and meets King Berengar I at a peace conference at Trento. Berengar grants him two counties in the Val d'Adige (Northern Italy), and does homage to Arnulf as overlord. In turn, Arnulf confirms Berengar as king of Lombardia, and returns to Germany.

title: AD 888

date: January 1

text: January 1 – King Odo I (or Eudes) dies at La Fère (Northern France) after a 10-year reign. His rival, the 18-year-old Charles the Simple in Laon, gains sovereignty and becomes ruler (with no real authority) of the West Frankish Kingdom. This puts an end to five years of civil war between the Frankish nobles.

title: 898

text: William I (the Pious) of Aquitaine, donates land in Burgundy for the building of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to the saints Peter and Paul. Hence the Abbey of Cluny, becomes the largest in the West. In the foundation charter, William renounces all rights to the monastery and nominates Berno as the first abbot of Cluny (Eastern France). He places the monastery directly under the control of the Papal See.

title: 910

text: March 24 – Hungarian Magyar forces led by General Szalárd, capture Pavia, capital of the Kingdom of Italy within the Holy Roman Empire, at the request of the Holy Roman Emperor Berengar. Later, after crossing the Alps via the St. Bernard Pass, the Magyars pillage Provence, Septimania and Nismes in southern France).

title: 924

text: King Rudolph I loses the support of Herbert II, count of Vermandois, who controls the prison at Péronne in which former King Charles III (the Simple) is imprisoned. Herbert brings him before William I (Longsword), count of Rouen, for homage and then to Rheims as leverage to blackmail Rudolph to make him cede sovereignty over Laon (Northern France).

title: 928

text: Acfred II, count of Carcassonne and Razès (France)

title: 933

text: Pietro I Orseolo, doge of Venice, escapes from Venice and travels to the Benedictine abbey of Michel-de-Cuxa (Southern France). He is succeeded by Vitale Candiano (not the bishop of Grado) as doge of Venice.

title: 978

text: Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine (younger brother of the late King Lothair of France), revolts against Hugh Capet. He conquers the city of Laon in northern France with support of his half-brother Arnulf (archbishop of Reims).

title: 988

text: June 27 – Battle of Conquereuil: The Angevins under Fulk III "the Black", Count of Anjou, defeat the forces of Conan I, duke of Brittany, who is killed in the battle at Conquereuil (France).

title: 992

text: February 13 – Fulcran, bishop of Lodève (France)

title: 1006

text: The Abbey of Bec is founded at Le Bec-Hellouin in Normandy (modern France).

title: 1039

text: Spring – William of Normandy consolidates his power in Normandy. He fights over the control of Maine (after the death of Count Hugh IV), and lays siege to the fortresses of Alençon and Domfront (Western France).

title: 1051

text: March 21 – Cîteaux Abbey, the first Cistercian monastery, is established by a group of French monks under Robert of Molesme in southern France.

title: 1089

text: November 27 – Urban II preaches the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont; Peter the Hermit begins to preach throughout France.

title: 1095

text: Spring – Peter the Hermit begins his preaching of the First Crusade, traveling from Berry (in central France) across Champagne, and down the Meuse Valley to Cologne (modern Germany). He gathers the People's Crusade (some 40,000 supporters), which departs about April 20. Peter's speeches appeal not only to nobles and knights, but also laborers, tradesmen and peasants (among them are former brigands and criminals).

title: 1096

text: April 21 – The new basilica at Vézelay Abbey (located in northern Burgundy in France) is dedicated.

title: 1104

text: Autumn – Bohemond I and papal legate Bruno travel to the north of France and visit the court of King Philip I ("the Amorous"). Bohemond gets permission to recruit men throughout the kingdom.

title: 1105

text: February 3 – Ramon Berenguer III ("the Great"), count of Barcelona, obtains the county of Provence through his marriage to the heiress, Douce I. Ramon's dominion stretches as far east as Nice (modern France).

title: 1112

text: The third and largest church is completed at Cluny Abbey (modern France).

title: 1121

text: February 14 – Pope Innocent II succeeds Pope Honorius II, as the 164th pope. Other factions (including Roger II of Sicily), however, support Anacletus II as pope, leading to the papal schism of 1130, and Innocent flees to France.

title: 1130

text: Ramon Berenguer III (the Great), count of Barcelona, dies after a 34-year reign. He leaves most of his Catalonian territories to his elder son Ramon Berenguer IV, who continues the fight against the Almoravid Muslims. His younger son Berenguer Ramon inherits Provence (Southern France) and will reign as Ramon I (until 1144).

title: 1131

text: Much of Chartres, France, is destroyed by fire.

title: 1134

text: A Moorish fleet raids the Catalan port-town of Elna (Southern France).

title: 1135

text: The word Albigensians is first used by Geoffroy du Breuil of Vigeois, French abbot and chronicler, to describe the inhabitants of Albi in southern France.

title: 1181

text: June – The 12-year-old Stephen of Cloyes leads a group across France to Vendôme. Attracting a following of over 30,000 adults and children. After arriving in Marseille the vast majority return home to their families.

title: 1212

text: Jean Mouflet makes an agreement with the abbot of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif in the Senonais region in France: in return for an annual payment, the monastery will recognize Jean as a "citizen of Sens". He is a leather merchant, with a leather shop that he leases for the rent of 50 shillings a year. The agreement is witnessed by Jean's wife, Douce, daughter of a wealthy and prominent citizen of Sens, Felis Charpentier.

title: 1249

text: The consequences of the volcanic 1257 Samalas eruption in Indonesia include the following anecdotal accounts: very dry fog in France; lunar eclipses in England; severe winter in Europe; a harsh spring in Iceland; famine in England, Germany, France and Italy; and pestilence in London, parts of France, Austria, Iraq, Syria, and southeast Turkey.

title: 1258

text: In France, the gold écu (or crown) and silver grosh coins are minted for the first time during the reign of Louis IX.

title: 1266

text: Pope Nicholas IV formally constitutes the University of Montpellier in France by papal bull, combining various existing schools under the mantle of a single university.

title: 1289

text: August 1 – The "ideal city" of Marciac in southern France is founded by King Philip IV ("the Fair") and his Seneschal Guichard de Marzé (or Marciac).

title: 1298

text: December 5 – Pope Boniface VIII issues the papal bull Ausculta Fili ("Listen, my son"), accusing King Philip IV of France ("Philip the Fair") of malfeasance of office.

title: 1301

text: December 18 – Pope Benedict XI issues a mandate directing that the rights of Cardinal Jean Lemoine of France, to income from the dioceses of Bayeux and Amiens is to be protected while Lemoine is serving as papal legate.

title: 1303

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: March 21 – In France, Hugh V, at the age of 11, becomes the new Duke of Burgundy upon the death of his father, Robert II.

title: 1306

text: Hundred Years' War (1337–1360): The effects of the Black Death cause a de facto truce to be observed between England and France until 1355.

title: 1348

text: August 23 – John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, lands with English troops at Calais to begin a raid in France while Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, assembles troops to confront the English invasion. The standoff continues while Lancaster waits for additional troops from the Earl of Warwick.

title: 1369

text: The Château de Compiègne royal residence is built in France.

title: 1374

text: June 27 – Hundred Years' War: The English, weakened by the plague, lose so much ground to the French that they agree to sign the Treaty of Bruges, leaving them with only the coastal towns of Calais, Bordeaux and Bayonne.

title: 1375

text: September 4 – In the Duchy of Aquitaine, now part of France but at the time ruled by the King of England, the civic leaders of the town of Soule sign an agreement with Gaston III of Foix, popularly known as "Fébus", for his protection against raids from John of Gaunt.

title: 1375

text: June 18 – Saint Catherine of Siena, now the Roman Catholic patron saint of Italy, visits Pope Gregory XI in Avignon in France, to attempt to persuade him to make peace with Florence, and move the Papacy back to Rome.

title: 1376

text: October 12 – Pope Gregory XI and several cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church depart on a ship from the port of Marseille in France, and encounter severe storms before arriving in Genoa. He will finally arrive in Rome on January 17, 1377.

title: 1376

text: November 28 – From Avignon in France, the antipope Clement VII issues his own a papal bull confirming the foundation of the University of Perpignan.

title: 1379

text: March 16 – In France, Évrart de Trémaugon, an adviser to King Charles V, interrupts the King's dinner at the Louvre Palace and accuses Guillaume de Chamborant, the King's equerry, of the murder of Evrart's brother Yvon.Famiglietti 2015, vol.1, p.279. Charges are eventually dropped against Chamborant 16 months later and Evrart is ordered on July 30, 1484, to pay 500 Livres tournois, equivalent to more than 404 kilograms of fine silver, to Chamborant.

title: 1383

text: November 23 – The Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos leaves France after a stay of almost two years.

title: 1402

text: January 12 – Western Schism: King Charles VI of France sends a letter to the Antipope Benedict XIII at Avignon, giving an ultimatum to Benedict and the other Avignon Papacy proponents to end the schism in the Roman Catholic Church against the Roman Obedience, headed by Pope Gregory XII. King Charles VI threatens that unless the schism ends by Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter (in 1408, April 24, with Ascension Day on June 3), France will end its support of the Avignon Obedience.

title: 1408

text: November 2 – A temporary halt to the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War in France is reached with the signing of a truce at Bicêtre, near Paris.

title: 1410

text: January 24 – France and England agree to extend their truce in the ongoing Burgundian War after the English Bishop of Durham and of Norwich meet with representatives of King Charles VI, prolonging a ceasefire until May 1.

title: 1415

text: July 29 – The Army of England, led by King Henry V, begins the siege of Rouen, the capital of Normandy in France. The siege lasts almost six months before the Burgundian French defenders surrender

title: 1418

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: July 15 – The Siege of Montargis is started in France by 1,000 Englishmen led by the Earl of Warwick and lasts for seven weeks.

title: 1427

text: April 28 – The militia of francs-archers, the first regular infantry in France, is created by the ordonnance of Montil-lès-Tours during the reign of King Charles VII, directing that in each parish, the person most skilled in the use of archery would be exempt from certain obligations in return for perfecting his skills on a weekly basis and being ready to be summoned for combat.

title: 1448

text: March 16 – The English garrison at Le Mans in France surrenders to the French Army.

title: 1448

text: March 15 – English commander Thomas Kyriell and 2,500 soldiers land at Cherbourg in English-occupied France, where they join another 1,800 English troops recruited by the Duke of Somerset from the garrisons at Bayeux, Caen and Vire.

title: 1450

text: July 26 – The University of Valence is founded in France by the Dauphin Louis, son of King Charles VII. The university lasts for 330 years until being closed during the French Revolution.

title: 1452

text: July 31 – In France, the rebel Pierre II de Montferrand, former Governor of Baye, is beheaded, drawn and quartered after his July 14 conviction for treason. Shortly afterward, Montferrand is beheaded, then drawn and quartered.

title: 1454

text: August 1 – The Order of Saint Michael ( Ordre de Saint-Michel) is founded by King Louis XI of France as a response to the 's Order of the Golden Fleece.

title: 1469

text: August 1– Accompanied by his own troops and French mercenaries, Henry Tudor sets sail from Honfleur in France with 30 ships to begin his second attempt to invade the Kingdom of England.

title: 1485

text: January 1 - King Louis XII of France dies of severe gout after a reign of 17 years, and his son-in-law, François, inherits the throne.

title: 1515

text: May 20 – At the Battle of Pampeluna in Spain, and alliance of forces from French and the Kingdom of Navarre forces defeat those of Spain.

title: 1521

text: December 4 – A fire strikes the cathedral in Chambéry, now a part of France, but at the time a part of Italy's Duchy of Savoy. The fire burns several holes in the Shroud of Turin, believed by some Roman Catholics to be the burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth after the crucifixion, and to have a miraculous imprint of Jesus, but the shroud is repaired by nuns at the cathedral.

title: 1532

text: August 13 – King François of France dispatches Colonel Pierre de Piton to Morocco with a letter addressed to the ruler, Sultan Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad, in order to establish a trade agreement.

title: 1533

text: October 18 – Huguenots post placards all over France attacking the Catholic Mass, provoking a violent sectarian reaction (Affair of the Placards).

title: 1534

text: September 1 – King James V becomes the first Scottish monarch since 1346 to voluntarily leave his kingdom, leaving six vice-regents— the Lord Chancellor Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow; James Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews; the earls of Huntly, Montrose, and Eglinton, and Lord Maxwell— to govern the nation during his absence. King James sails from Kirkcaldy on the Royal Scots Navy flagship Mary Willoughby, along with 500 men and five other ships, to travel to France to meet his future bride, Princess Madeleine of Valois. The Scottish entourage docks in France at Dieppe one week later.

title: 1536

text: August 15 – King Francis I of France issues the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêt, that places the whole of France under the jurisdiction of the royal law courts, and makes French the language of those courts, and the official language of legal discourse.

title: 1539

text: September–October – Landrecies in Picardy is besieged by forces under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, but the siege is withdrawn on the approach of the French army.

title: 1543

text: May 25 – On orders of King Henry VIII, the English Navy, commanded by Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, begins crossing the English Channel to invade from the west with 19,000 troops, while Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, commences an invasion of France from the east.

title: 1544

text: September 8 – The first Protestant Huguenot church in France, established by Pierre LeClerc and Etienne Mangin at Meaux 25 mi from Paris, is seized by the French Army and its 60 members are arrested. Ten women are released and 50 others put on trial for heresy. LeClerc, Mangin and 12 others are burned at the stake on October 8.

title: 1546

text: June 13 – A peace treaty is signed between representatives of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Ottoman Empire and France after the Holy Roman Empire's defeat at the 1543 Siege of Nice.

title: 1547

text: January 27 – King Henri II of France makes the Châtillon agreement, a contract for betrothal for an arranged marriage between his four year old son, Prince Francois, to the five year old Mary, Queen of Scots, to take place in 1558.

title: 1548

text: May 27 – Italian War of 1551–1559: A defensive alliance, placing the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza under the protection of France, is signed between representatives of King Henry II of France and Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma, placing Parma under French protection.

title: 1551

text: April 25 – English aristocrat Thomas Stafford attempts a rebellion against Queen Mary I, landing at Scarborough, North Yorkshire with two ships and 32 followers after crossing the English Channel from Dieppe in France. Upon landing, he captures Scarborough Castle and proclaims himself "Protector of the Realm".

title: 1557

text: April 2 – Civil war breaks out in the Kingdom of France as Louis I, Prince of Condé, leader of the Protestant Huguenots, declares war against the French Catholic rulers, in retaliation for the March 1 massacre of Vassy. Condé and Gaspard de Coligny seize control of Orléans, and other uprisings follow throughout France.

title: 1562

text: February – The fifth War of Religion against the Huguenots begins in France.

title: 1574

text: April 10 – In the village of Cuers in France, near Toulon rebel peasants kill 600 nobles and upper-class gentlemen of the Catholic League serving the Count of Carces.

title: 1579

text: December 9 (Julian) (December 19 Gregorian) – France discards the Julian Calendar at the end of the day and adopts the Gregorian Calendar at midnight. Sunday, December 9 is followed the next day in France by Monday, December 20.

title: 1582

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: September 20 – Samuel Champlain arrives back in France.

title: 1603

text: May 14 – King Henry IV of France is assassinated in Paris by François Ravaillac, a French Catholic activist who resents the Protestant monarch's decision to launch a war against the Catholic Spanish Netherlands. Ravaillac rushes up to a horse-drawn carriage and stabs King Henry in the chest. Henry's 8-year-old son becomes King Louis XIII, with Henry's widow, Marie de' Medici, governing France as queen regent.

title: 1610

text: A locust swarm destroys La Camarque, France.

title: 1613

text: January 11 – Workers in a sandpit in the Dauphiné region of France discover the skeleton of what is alleged to be a 30-foot tall man (the remains, it is supposed, of the giant Teutobochus, a legendary Gallic king who fought the Romans).

title: 1613

text: June 28 – France's Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique begins its occupation of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, with Charles Liénard de L'Olive as its first Governor.

title: 1635

text: June 1 – In Paris, representatives of Portugal and France sign a treaty of alliance.

title: 1641

text: September 14 – The Treaty of Péronne is signed between Honoré II, Prince of Monaco and France's King Louis XIII, guaranteeing the Grimaldi family the right to rule Monaco in return for the principality becoming a French protectorate.

title: 1641

text: October 20 – The Battle of Bordeaux is fought between French and Spanish warships in the Gironde estuary of France as part of the Franco-Spanish War. The Spanish fleet of 30 warships, under the command of Álvaro de Bazán y Manrique de Lara, Marquis of Santa Cruz, overwhelms the French fleet of César, Duke of Vendôme and captures ten galleys and brigantines, as well as burning four other warships and 15 barges.

title: 1653

text: March 31 – The war in the West Indies between the indigenous Carib people, and the French Jesuits and English people who have colonized the islands, is ended with a treaty signed at Basse-Terre at Guadeloupe at the residence of the French Governor, Charles Houël du Petit Pré.

title: 1660

text: May 27 – William Morice takes office as the first Secretary of State for the Northern Department in Great Britain, with responsibility for conducting foreign relations with the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire. Relations with France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Italian states, and the Ottoman Empire are assigned to the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The position will eventually evolve into the office of the Foreign Secretary.

title: 1660

text: September 5 – Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finances for France, is arrested in Nantes and charged with embezzlement of the state treasury. Spared the death penalty by a jury, Fouquet spends the rest of his life in prison until his death in 1680.

title: 1661

text: February 26 – Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy, appointed by King Louis XIV of France as Lieutenant Général of the Americas, departs from the port of La Rochelle with 1,200 men and seven ships to expand France's property in the Caribbean Sea and in South America.

title: 1664

text: August 10 – The Siege of Lille, at this time part of the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) begins and becomes the only major engagement of the "War of Devolution" between France and Spain. The Spanish Army surrenders after 16 days.

title: 1667

text: July 31 – Second Anglo-Dutch War – The Treaty of Breda ends the war by England against the Dutch Republic, France and Denmark and Norway. In the Americas, the Dutch retain control of Surinam, the English retain New Netherland and the French Acadia.

title: 1667

text: May 24 – After King Philip IV of Spain reneges on payment of a large dowry to King Louis XIV of France, promised to Louis as a gift for Louis' marriage to Philip's daughter Princess Maria Theresa, the War of Devolution begins between France and Spain. The French Army invades the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), entering Flanders and Franche-Comté. By the time the war ends on May 2, 1668, parts of the Spanish Netherlands are ceded to France.

title: 1667

text: January 17 – Raphael Levy, a Jewish resident of the city of Metz in France, is burned at the stake after being accused of the September 25 abduction and ritual murder of a child who had disappeared from the village of Glatigny. The prosecutor applies to King Louis XIV for an order expelling all 95 Jewish families from Metz, but the king refuses.

title: 1670

text: June 17 – French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet reach the headwaters of the Mississippi River, and descend to Arkansas.

title: 1673

text: November 16 – French troops occupy Freiburg.

title: 1677

text: Chambers of Reunion (French courts under Louis XIV) decide on the complete annexation of Alsace.

title: 1680

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

title: 1680

text: February 22 – Catherine Deshayes Monvoisin, a fortune teller in France who organized a ring of killers in what became known as the "Affair of the Poisons" that killed at least 1,000 people, is burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft. In all, 36 people are executed for their role in the poisoning.

title: 1680

text: The Barrage Vauban, a defensive work in the city of Strasbourg (in modern-day France), is completed.

title: 1690

text: July 11 (July 1 O.S.) – Battle of the Boyne in Ireland: King William III of England (William of Orange) defeats the deposed James II, who returns to exile in France. The rebellion in Ireland continues for a further year until the Orange army gains full control.

title: 1690

text: December 8 – Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville, French orientalist (b. 1625)

title: 1695

text: June 11 – André Félibien, French architect (b. 1619)

title: 1695

text: October 7 – The Convention of Vigevano is signed, bringing a general ceasefire in Italy and an end to the Nine Years' War between France and the remaining members of the Grand Alliance.

title: 1696

text: May 6 – General Bernard Desjean, Baron de Pointis of France carries out an attack and pillaging of the Spanish South American fort of Cartagena de Indias (now in Colombia) with 1,200 soldiers and 650 pirate mercenaries. The French attackers overwhelm the city for the next 18 days. The Baron reneges on a contract to share the wealth with the pirates, who will come back to Cartagena a second time and makes a more violent attack.

title: 1697

text: October 14 – War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Friedlingen – France defeats forces of the Holy Roman Empire.

title: 1702

text: August 13 (August 2 OS) – War of the Spanish Succession – Battle of Blenheim: Allied troops under John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy defeat the Franco-Bavarian army.

title: 1704

text: January 1 – Battle of St. John's: The French capture St. John's, the capital of the British colony of Newfoundland.

title: 1709

text: October 11 – Panic kills 241 people in the stampede on the Guillottière bridge in France near Lyon. Revelers returning from a festival on the other side of the Rhône river are blocked by from crossing after a collision between a carriage and a cart. At least 25 fall off the bridge and into the river, while 216 are trampled by people behind them.

title: 1711

text: March 7 – The Treaty of Rastatt is signed between Austria and France, concluding the War of the Spanish Succession between them. Austria receives the Spanish territories in Italy (the Kingdom of Naples, Duchy of Milan and Kingdom of Sardinia), as well as the Southern Netherlands; and from France, Freiburg and Landau. The Austrian Habsburg Empire reaches its largest territorial extent yet, with Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor succeeding Philip V of Spain, as ruler in the ceded territories.

title: 1714

text: September 14 – Less than two weeks after King Louis XIV's death, Daniel Voysin de la Noiraye, France's Secretary of State for War since 1709, steps down at the request of the new regent, the Duke of Orleans.

title: 1715

text: February 17 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed between Spain, Britain, France, Austria and the Dutch Republic, ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance with effect from May 20.

title: 1720

text: August 10 – Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who had served as the Regent of France to rule for King Louis XV from 1715 until the latter's attainment of majority on February 15, is appointed by the King to serve as his Prime Minister, but dies in office less than four months later.

title: 1723

text: July 23 – Seventeen Ursuline Sisters from France land in New Orleans, in the Louisiana territory of New France, after a journey that began on February 22. They later create the orphanage which is the predecessor of Catholic Charities and the Ursuline Academy, the oldest Catholic school in the United States.

title: 1727

text: November 9 – The Treaty of Seville is signed between Great Britain, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1729

text: March 7 – Louis Auguste Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, last prime minister of the French monarchy (d. 1807)

title: 1730

text: June 15 – The Danish West India Company buys the island of Saint Croix from France for 750,000 livres.

title: 1733

text: October 10 – France declares war on Austria and Saxony.

title: 1733

text: June 21 – In Montreal, New France, a black slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is tortured then hanged by the French authorities for allegedly setting a fire that destroyed part of the city.

title: 1734

text: June 30 – War of the Polish Succession: Russian troops take Gdańsk (German: Danzig), which had been besieged since February 1734, after the failure of a French expedition to relieve the city.

title: 1734

text: February 20 – France's Foreign Minister, Germain Louis Chauvelin, is dismissed by King Louis XV's Chief Minister, Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury

title: 1737

text: February 22 – Brussels, at the time part of the Austrian Netherlands, surrenders to France's Marshal Maurice de Saxe.

title: 1746

text: May 10 – As word arrives that the Dutch Republic has agreed to return control of Maastricht to France, the French Army's leader of the siege, Count Löwendal, marches through the opened city gates with his troops and accepts its surrender.

title: 1748

text: June 21 – Pickawillany (now Piqua, Ohio), the capital of the Miami Indian nation, is attacked and burned by Odawa, Ojibwe and French soldiers under the command of Odawa War Chief Charles Michel de Langlade.

title: 1752

text: May 10 – At Marly-la-Ville in France, physicist Thomas-François Dalibard successfully conducts the kite experiment proposed by Benjamin Franklin in the 1750 book Franklin's Experiments and Observations on Electricity.

title: 1752

text: May 3 – France dispatches 3,600 troops to protect its Canadian colonies in Quebec from a British invasion, dispatching 2,400 to Quebec city and 1,200 to Louisbourg in Nova Scotia, unaware that a squadron of 11 fully armed warships from Britain's Royal Navy had sailed toward Canada on April 27.

title: 1755

text: February 2 – At Versailles in France, representatives of the Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire enter into an alliance against Prussia, with each nation pledging 80,000 troops. Other clauses to the treaty, not disclosed to the public, commit Austria to pay Russia one million rubles per year during the war to pay for the expenses of 24,000 of the Russian troops, and two million rubles upon the conquest of Silesia (a Prussian province that had been seized from Austria in 1746).

title: 1757

text: March 21 – Sweden signs an alliance treaty with France and Austria in the multinational effort to remove King Frederick the Great, even though Queen Consort Ulrika of Sweden is Frederick's sister. Sweden agrees to contribute 25,000 troops to the French and Austrian force.

title: 1757

text: May 1 – France and Austria sign a second Treaty of Versailles, committing France to sending an additional 105,000 troops to the war against Prussia, and to pay expenses to Austria at the rate of 12 million florins annually.

title: 1757

text: April 10 – France's Minister of the Navy Nicolas René Berryer finally receives permission to send ships to assist French forces at Quebec, and a fleet of six ships under the command of Captain François Chenard de la Giraudais of the departs Bordeaux, albeit too late to prevent the loss of New France to the British.

title: 1760

text: April 12 – Spain and France secretly sign the Convention of Aranjuez, with Spain joining an alliance against Great Britain in return for France's pledge to recover all Spanish territory lost to the British.

title: 1779

text: June 4 – Élisabeth Thible is the first woman to ascend in a hot-air balloon, at Lyon, France.

title: 1784

text: September 19 – In France, the Robert brothers (Anne-Jean Robert and Nicolas-Louis Robert) and a Mr. Collin-Hullin (whose first name is lost to history) become the first people to fly more than 100 km or 100 miles in the air, lifting off from Paris and landing 6 hours and 40 minutes later near Bethune after a journey of 186 km.

title: 1784

text: October 13 – France mints new Louis d'or coins, with the image of King Louis XVI on the obverse, and one-sixth less gold than the coins with King Louis XV's image.

title: 1785

text: September 13 – Benjamin Franklin returns to Philadelphia after seven years as the U.S. Ambassador to France and prepares to take office as the new Governor of Pennsylvania.

title: 1785

text: November 25 – Fifty consecutive days of temperatures below freezing strike France, a record that will be unbroken more than 200 years later.

title: 1788

text: September 4 – The Coup of 18 Fructidor is carried out in France as three of the five members of The Directory, France's executive council, arrested royalist members of the Council of Five Hundred, the national legislature, and discard the results of the spring elections.

title: 1797

text: Mutuelle de L'assurance contre L'incendie ("L'Anciente Mutuelle"), predecessor of Axa, the global insurance and financial services company, is founded in Rouen, France.

title: 1816

text: October 20 – The Congress of Verona opens in the Austrian-ruled province of Lombardy-Venetia. The event is the largest diplomatic gathering since the Congress of Vienna seven years earlier. The Congress lasts until December 14, and Russia, Austria and Prussia approve French intervention in Spain.

title: 1822

text: Between June 4–July 18 – In Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France, Nicéphore Niépce makes the first photograph, View from the Window at Le Gras.

title: 1827

text: May 20 – Zarafa, the first giraffe to be seen in Europe for over three centuries, arrives in Marseille as a gift from the Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, Mehmet Ali Pasha, to King Charles X of France. The giraffe then begins a 50-day journey to Paris, walking with its handlers toward Paris where it will arrive on July 9.

title: 1827

text: October 30 – Louis Napoleon launches the unsuccessful Strasbourg Coup to overthrow the July Monarchy in France

title: 1836

text: May 12 – Socialist activist Louis Auguste Blanqui and the Société des Saisons begin an uprising against the government of France. The insurrection is suppressed, but not before 50 people are killed and 190 wounded. Blanqui is imprisoned until 1848.

title: 1839

text: October 15 – Emir Abdelkader declares a jihad against the French.

title: 1839

text: The Polynesian islands of Tahiti and Tahuata are declared a protectorate of France.

title: 1842

text: August 19 – A tornado kills 75 in France at Montville while destroying two large factories.

title: 1845

text: Cartier, a luxury brand in France, is founded.

title: 1847

text: May 4 – Société Générale, a major financial group in France, is founded.

title: 1864

text: March 3 – Bizet's Carmen is first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, France, three months before the composer's death.

title: 1875

text: March 28 – Prince Leopold, the youngest son and eighth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, dies, aged 30 in Cannes (France) following a fall complicated by his haemophilia. His son, Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, is born nearly 4 months later.

title: 1884

text: May 28 – Rubber tire company Michelin is registered by Édouard and André Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

title: 1889

text: January 10 – In France, the Irish Nationalist leaders hold a conference at Boulogne. The French government promptly takes loan.

title: 1891

text: October 10 – The first car number plates appear in Paris, France.

title: 1893

text: October 13 – The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1893 is signed, as the Kingdom of Siam cedes all of its territories east of the Mekong River to France, creating the territory of Laos.

title: 1893

text: Giros-Loucheur Group, predecessor of Vinci, a worldwide construction and infrastructure industry, founded in France.

title: 1899

text: April 19 – France adds the Kingdom of Laos, a protectorate since 1893, to the existing colony of French Indochina.

title: 1899

text: August 31 – The Olympique de Marseille association football club is founded in France.

title: 1899

text: May 2 – The Kingdom of Siam (modern-day Thailand) cedes its province of Luang Prabang (now Laos) to France.

title: 1899

text: December 13 – The United Kingdom, France and Italy sign an agreement to preserve, in Ethiopia, the integrity of the ancient empire of Abyssinia.

title: 1906

text: March 8 – In France, Raymonde de Laroche is awarded Pilot's license No. 36 by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, becoming the first woman authorized to fly an airplane.

title: 1910

text: May 1–November 1 – The Exposition Internationale is held at Lyon, France.

title: 1914

text: January 4 – The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Soviet Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.

title: 1918

text: January 18 – The Paris Peace Conference opens in France, with delegates from 27 nations attending for meetings at the Palace of Versailles.

title: 1919

text: January 25 – The League of Nations is founded in Paris, France.

title: 1919

text: March 14 – El Virilla train accident in Costa Rica: 385 people are killed and 93 injured when an overloaded pilgrim special derails on a bridge. The SS Ile de france Was Launched at Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards in Saint Nazaire, France As one of the first ships to embrace the Art Deco style

title: 1926

text: February 9 – Gaston Doumergue forms a new government in France.

title: 1934

text: June 21 – The coalition government of Léon Blum resigns in France.

title: 1937

text: December 24 – Leading Korean dancer Choi Seung-hee arrives in Le Havre, France after her tour in the United States. This is to begin her European tour in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. She is the first Korean Wave entertainer.

title: 1938

text: January 1 – State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS).

title: 1938

text: October 24 – The United Nations is founded by ratification of its Charter, by 29 nations including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Egypt, Brazil, Haiti, Luxembourg, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and others.

title: 1945

text: March 25 – First issue of weekly magazine Paris Match published in France.

title: 1949

text: January 28 – French submarine Minerve sinks in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 52.

title: 1968

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

title: 1969

text: August 11 – Creation of the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts in Confolens, France.

title: 1970

text: July 3 – Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, dies of a heart failure at the age of 27 in the bathtub of his apartment on the 3rd floor of the Rue Beautreillis 17 in Paris, France.

title: 1971

text: November 15 – The "Group of 6" industrialized nations (G-6) is formed and holds its 1st summit at the Château de Rambouillet in France.

title: 1975

text: January 1 – Following a deal agreed during 1978, French carmaker Peugeot completes a takeover of American manufacturer Chrysler's European operations, which are based in Britain's former Rootes Group factories, as well as the former Simca factories in France.

title: 1979

text: Aer Lingus flight 164 is hijacked just before landing at London Heathrow airport. The flight continues on to France before the hijacker who reportedly demanded for the releasing of the third secret of Fatima, is subdued.

title: 1981

text: February 5 – Eurosport, a multiple-language sports broadcasting station in Europe, begins broadcasting, from Issy-les-Moulineaux, Île-de-France, France.

title: 1989

text: March 15 – Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the U.K., the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.) relinquish all remaining rights to the country.

title: 1991

text: March 30 – French woman and supercentenarian Jeanne Calment surpasses the final age achieved by Easter Wiggins (1874–1990) of 116 years, 36 days and becomes the oldest verified person in history.

title: 1991

text: June 29 – The iPhone, the first modern smartphone, is released in the United States. It is later released in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, and Austria, in November 2007.

title: 2007

text: February 12 – Leaders from Russian Federation, Ukraine, Germany and French Republic reach an agreement on the war in eastern Ukraine that includes a ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons. However, several days later, the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels claim that, within its first day, the ceasefire was broken 139 times, as both sides failed to withdraw their heavy weapons and fighting had continued.

title: 2015

text: June 10–July 10 – France hosts the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament, which is won by Portugal.

title: 2016

text: April 14 – Syrian Civil War: The United States, the United Kingdom and France order the bombing of Syrian military bases in response to the sarin attack allegedly by the Bashar al-Assad regime on civilians in Ghouta.

title: 2018

text: December 1–8 – France experiences its worst civil unrest since the protests of 1968 due to the yellow vests movement. Protests in Paris morph into riots, with hundreds of people injured and thousands arrested; over 100 cars are burned, the Arc de Triomphe is vandalized and numerous other tourist sites are closed, both in the capital and elsewhere in the country.

title: 2018

text: March 23 – An Islamic terrorist attack in Carcassonne and Trèbes, France, kills five people, including the perpetrator.

title: 2018

text: June 7–July 7 – The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup is held in France and is won by the United States.

title: 2019

text: May 16 – Félicien Kabuga, a Rwandan businessman responsible for supporting the Rwandan genocide, is arrested in Asnières-sur-Seine, France, after 26 years as a fugitive.

title: 2020

text: January 1 – France takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Slovenian presidency.

title: 2022

text: April 28 – A widespread power outage affects Spain and Portugal for hours. Andorra is affected for a few seconds while southern France is lightly affected.

title: 2025

text: December 13 – The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2025 is held in Tbilisi, Georgia. French contestant Lou Deleuze wins with the song "Ce monde".

title: 2025

text: September 21 – The UK, Canada, and Australia announce their formal recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state, with France also doing so the next day.

title: 2025


slug: francia

label: Francia

description: Frankish Kingdom from 481 to 843

text: The Franks conquer the city of Trier. The Frankish Kingdom becomes a military power and gets involved in Roman politics.

title: 459

text: Franco-Roman War of 486 – Battle of Soissons (Gaul): Frankish forces under King Clovis I defeat the Roman army of Syagrius. Roman rule under Syagrius ends. The land between the Somme and the Loire becomes a part of the Frankish Empire. Syagrius flees to the Visigoths (under King Alaric II), but Clovis threatens war, and he is handed over for execution.

title: 486

text: Battle of Tolbiac: King Clovis I defeats the Alamanni at Zülpich (Germany). Gibuld, last king of the Alamanni, is killed in battle and the territory is incorporated into the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 496

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Frankish Kingdom is formed (approximate date).

title: AD 500

text: Clovis I dictates the Salic Law (Code of the Barbaric Laws) to the Franks (a written codification of civil law for citizens of the Frankish Kingdom).

title: 507

text: King Clovis I fails in an effort to take the walled city of Carcassonne (Southern Gaul). He establishes Paris (Lutetia) as his capital and gets baptized, making Roman Catholicism the official religion of the Kingdom of the Franks.

title: 508

date: November 27

text: November 27 – King Clovis I dies at Paris (Lutetia) at age 45, and is buried in the Abbey of St. Genevieve. The Merovingian dynasty is continued by his four sons (Theuderic I, Chlodomer, Childebert I and Chlothar I), who divide the Frankish Kingdom and rule from the capitals at Metz, Orléans, Paris and Soissons, respectively.

title: 511

date: May 1

text: May 1 – King Sigismund of Burgundy is executed at Orléans after an 8-year reign, and is succeeded by his brother Godomar. He rallies the Burgundian army and begins plundering Frankish territory.

title: 524

text: The Franks under King Chlothar I march against the Thuringi with Chlothar's nephew Theudebert I. The Kingdom of Thuringia comes under Frankish domination.

title: 531

date: December 13

text: December 13 – King Chlothar I reunites the Frankish Kingdom after his brother Childebert I dies, becoming sole ruler of the Franks.

title: 558

date: November 29

text: November 29 – King Chlothar I ("the Old") dies at Compiègne at age 64. The Merovingian dynasty is continued by his four sons (Charibert I, Guntram, Sigebert I and Chilperic I), who divide the Frankish Kingdom and rule from the capitals at Paris, Orléans, Reims and Soissons, respectively.

title: 561

text: Gundoald, illegitimate son of Clotaire I, arrives with the financial support of Constantinople in southern Gaul. He claims as usurper king the cities Poitiers and Toulouse, part of the Frankish Kingdom (approximate date).

title: 582

text: Chlothar II, age 13, becomes sole ruler of Neustria, and continues his mother's feud with Brunhilda. He is advised to prepare for war against Austrasia, the eastern part of the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 597

section: Crime & Justice

text: Chlothar II reunites the Frankish Kingdom by ordering the murder of Sigebert II. He accuses Brunhilda, age 70, of killing ten kings of the Franks (according to the Liber Historiae Francorum). She is dragged to death behind a wild horse at Abbeville.

title: 613

date: October 18

text: October 18 – King Chlothar II promulgates the Edict of Paris (Edictum Chlotacharii), a sort of Frankish Magna Carta that defends the rights of the Frankish nobles and the church, and regulates the appointment of counts (secular officials in charge of law courts, collecting taxes, and assembling contingents for the army), while it excludes Jews from all civil employment in the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 614

section: Culture & Society

text: Judicaël, high king of Domnonée (Brittany), visits King Dagobert I at his palace in Clichy (northwest of Paris), to promise he will remain under Frankish lordship. The Breton king arrives with gifts, but insults Dagobert by refusing to eat at the royal table.

title: 635

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Disibod, Irish monk and hermit, arrives as a missionary in Francia. He begins his religious work in the Vosges and Ardennes.

title: 640

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Pepin the Elder, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, dies and is succeeded by his son Grimoald. He becomes the head of the Frankish household, and the most powerful man in the Frankish Kingdom (approximate date).

title: 640

text: Burgundian nobles, under the leadership of bishop Leodegar and Adalrich, invite Childeric II to become king in Neustria and Burgundy. He invades Theuderic's kingdom and displaces his brother, becoming sole king of the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 673

date: December 23

text: December 23 – King Dagobert II is murdered in a hunting accident, near Stenay-sur-Meuse (Ardennes), probably on orders from Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace of Austrasia. He is succeeded by Theuderic III, who becomes sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom.

title: AD 679

text: Ghislemar, mayor of the palace in Neustria and Burgundy, dies after a 2-year reign, and is succeeded by his father Waratto. He makes peace between the three Frankish kingdoms.

title: 684

text: Battle of Tertry: King Theuderic III of Neustria is defeated by Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, near Péronne (modern France), at the River Somme. Theuderic withdraws to Paris and is forced to sign a peace treaty. Pepin becomes "de facto" ruler of the Frankish Kingdom, and begins calling himself Duke of the Franks. He establishes a base for the future rise of the Pippinids and the Carolingians. Pepin appoints Nordebert as Duke of Burgundy, and puts him in charge of Neustria and Burgundy (as a sort of regent).

title: 687

text: King Theuderic III dies and is succeeded by his son Clovis IV, age 9, as sole ruler of the Franks. He becomes a puppet—a roi fainéant—of his uncle Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia.

title: 691

text: Childebert III succeeds Clovis IV as sole king of the Franks. He is the son of Theuderic III and becomes a puppet—a roi fainéant—of Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia.

title: 695

section: Births

text: Dagobert III, king of the Franks (approximate date; d. 715)

title: 699

text: Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace, extends the Frankish Kingdom and annexes Thuringia. He turns the war towards the Alemanni (approximate date).

title: 700

text: Peaceful relations between Franks and Frisians are consolidated by the marriage of Pepin of Herstal's son Grimoald to Theudesinda, daughter of King Radbod.

title: AD 711

text: Pepin the Short, king of the Franks (d. 768)

title: 714

text: Dagobert III, king of the Franks (b. 699)

title: 715

date: September 26

text: September 26 – Battle of Compiègne: Ragenfrid, mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy (appointed by King Dagobert III), defeats Theudoald in the first battle of the Frankish civil war, following the death of Pepin II (of Herstal).

title: 715

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

title: 716

section: Events › Byzantine Empire › Europe

text: Childeric III, king of the Franks (d. 754)

title: 717

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

title: 718

text: May – Chilperic II is raised on the shield after the death of Chlothar IV, and recognized by Charles Martel as king (roi fainéant) of the Franks. Charles, however, gains a monopoly on power and royal offices.

title: 719

text: Summer – Charles Martel restores the authority of the Austrasian palace throughout the Frankish Kingdom, including against Frankish-claimed Aquitaine and Provence (Southern France). He exiles Rigobert, bishop of Reims, to Gascony.

title: 721

text: Boniface makes Büraburg, a fortified Frankish settlement, his temporary religious base.

title: 723

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

title: 725

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

title: 730

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

title: 731

text: September – Charles Martel leads his Frankish army (30,000 men) to Orléans and crosses the Loire River, probably accompanied by Eudes of Aquitaine, with his remaining troops. He makes camp near Tours, probably at Ballan-Miré south-west of the fortress city, in order to protect the abbey of Saint Martin. Charles defeats or forces back Umayyad scouts or an advance guard, between the rivers Indre and Creuse. Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi pulls back to establish a position at the Vienne River.

title: 732

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

title: 734

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

title: 735

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

title: 736

text: Following the death of Theuderic IV, king of the Franks, the throne is left vacant for seven years. Charles Martel has his son Childeric III exiled to a monastery, and becomes sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom.

title: AD 737

text: Boniface visits Rome, and is made papal legate of the Frankish Kingdom. He establishes many bishoprics in Bavaria.

title: 738

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

title: 742

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

title: 742

text: Childeric III succeeds to the throne of the Frankish Kingdom as the last Merovingian king, (until his death in 754) following an interregnum of seven years after the throne was left vacant after the death of the previous king Theuderic IV. Power remains firmly in the hands of the major domus, currently Carloman and Pepin the Short.

title: 743

text: Hunald I, duke of Aquitaine, retires to a monastery, probably on Île de Ré. He is succeeded by his son Waifar, who struggles during his rule for independence against the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 745

text: August 15 – Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, renounces his position as majordomo, and withdraws from public life. He retires to a monastery near Rome, being tonsured by Pope Zachary, and leaves his brother Pepin the Short as sole ruler (de facto) of the Frankish Kingdom.

title: AD 747

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

title: 748

text: June – Stephen II recognizes the Carolingian dynasty as legitimate rulers of the Frankish Kingdom. He travels to Paris and appeals for Frankish support against the Lombards.

title: 752

text: Childeric III, king of the Franks (approximate date)

title: 754

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

title: 754

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

title: 756

text: Tassilo III, duke of Bavaria, recognizes the supremacy of King Pepin III ("the Short") at an assembly held at Compiègne (Northern France), and becomes a vassal of the Frankish Kingdom. He swears an oath (commendatio) to Pepin, and promises his allegiance.

title: AD 757

text: Frankish King Pepin III ("the Short") begins his expedition to Septimania and Aquitaine. He conquers the cities of Carcassonne, Toulouse, Rodez and Albi. Duke Waifer of Aquitaine confiscates the Church lands, and plunders Burgundy. Pepin invades Aquitanian-held Berry and the Auvergne, capturing the fortresses of Bourbon and Clermont. Waifer's Basque troops are defeated by the Franks, and deported into northern France with their children and wives.

title: 760

text: August – Byzantine troops invade the Papal States, in alliance with King Desiderius of the Lombards. King Pepin III ("the Short") intervenes, and begins negotiations between the Lombards and Pope Paul I. Desiderius promises to end the hostilities, but on condition that Pepin sends back Lombard hostages held by the Franks.

title: 763

text: Cancor, a Frankish count (possibly of Hesbaye), founds Lorsch Abbey (modern-day Germany).

title: 764

text: The Franks, under King Pepin III ("the Short"), destroy resistance in central Aquitaine. They conquer the capital of Bordeaux, and devastate the whole region.

title: AD 767

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

title: 768

text: September 24 – Pepin the Short, king of the Franks (b. 714)

title: 768

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

title: 769

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

title: 770

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

title: 771

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

title: 772

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

title: 773

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

title: 774

text: Saxon Wars: The Saxons again revolt against Christianity and Frankish rule. Eresburg falls, but a Saxon assault upon the castle of Syburg fails. Charlemagne hurriedly returns from Italy, launching a counter-offensive which defeats the Saxons. Most of their leaders are summoned to the Lippe at the town of Bad Lippspringe (North Rhine-Westphalia), to submit formally to Charlemagne.

title: 776

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

title: AD 777

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

title: 778

text: Ermengarde of Hesbaye, queen of the Franks (d. 818)

title: 778

text: Massacre of Verden: Charlemagne executes 4,500 rebel Saxons at Verden for practicing paganism. He issues the Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae and imposes Christianity on the Saxons, making Saxony a Frankish province.

title: 782

text: Winter – Charlemagne returns to Eresburg and builds a church, probably on the site of the Irminsul (a pagan religious site). Frankish forces based at Eresburg attack rebel Saxon settlements, and take control of the roads. Charlemagne himself takes part in some of these raids.

title: 784

text: The Frankish Kingdom conquers Girona and Urgell (modern Spain) from the Moors. The Franks divide Catalonia into 14 countships. Charlemagne suppresses a rebellion by count Hardrad of Thuringia.

title: 785

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

title: AD 787

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

title: 788

text: Charlemagne issues the Admonitio generalis, which covers educational and ecclesiastical reforms within the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 789

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

title: 791

text: Charlemagne's son Pepin the Hunchback attempts to rebel against him with the aid of some Frankish nobles. The plot is discovered and Pepin is banished to a monastery at Prüm.

title: 792

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

title: 794

text: Charlemagne creates the Hispanic Marches, a buffer zone beyond the former province of Septimania. A group of Iberian lordships form a defensive barrier between the Umayyad Moors of Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 795

text: Lothair I, king and emperor of the Franks (d. 855)

title: 795

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

title: 797

text: King Alfonso II of Asturias campaigns against the Arab Muslims in Al-Andalus. With Frankish military support, he raids into Andalusia and sacks Lisbon (modern Portugal).

title: 798

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

title: 799

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

title: 800

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

title: 803

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

title: 806

text: King Eardwulf of Northumbria is expelled from his kingdom by his rival Ælfwald II, who takes the throne. Eardwulf flees to the Frankish court of Charlemagne, and later visits Pope Leo III in Rome.

title: 806

text: A Byzantine fleet lands in the Venetian Lagoon, and attacks a Frankish flotilla at Comacchio, but is defeated. Doge Obelerio degli Antenori marries a Frankish bride, Carola; she becomes the first dogaressa of Venice.

title: 809

text: Synod of Aachen: The council adopts a capitulare monasticum, containing the Benedictine rules of monastic life in the Frankish realm.

title: 817

text: April 17 – King Bernard of Italy, illegitimate son of Pepin of Italy, is tried and condemned to death by Emperor Louis I. The Kingdom of Italy is reabsorbed into the Frankish Empire.

title: 818

text: October 3 – Ermengarde, queen of the Franks

title: 818

text: Ljudevit, duke of the Slavs in Lower Pannonia, raises a rebellion against the Frankish Empire. Louis I sends an army led by Cadolah of Friuli, but is defeated by the Pannonian Slavs.

title: 819

text: February – Duke Borna of Croatia dies after an 11-year reign, as vassal of the Frankish Empire. He is succeeded by his nephew, Vladislav. Emperor Louis I recognizes him as prince of Dalmatia and Liburnia, at the Council of Aachen.

title: 821

text: Emperor Louis I performs public penance for causing his nephew Bernard's death 4 years earlier, at his palace of Attigny (Ardennes), before Pope Paschal I, and the Frankish nobles (this to restore harmony and re-establish his authority).

title: 822

text: Ermentrude of Orléans, queen of the Franks (d. 869)

title: 823

text: June 13 – Charles the Bald, king of the Franks (d. 877)

title: 823

text: Iñigo Arista revolts against the Frankish Empire, and establishes the Kingdom of Pamplona, with the support of the Caliphate of Córdoba.

title: 824

text: Emperor Louis the Pious begins a military campaign against the Wends and Sorbs. Duke Tunglo surrenders his son as hostage, and submits to Frankish rule (approximate date).

title: 825

text: Giustiniano Participazio deposes his younger brother Giovanni I, and is appointed doge of Venice. Giovanni, who is part of a pro-Frankish faction, is exiled to Zara (modern Croatia).

title: 827

text: Emperor Louis the Pious is reinstated as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. He promises his sons Pepin I and Louis the German a greater share of the inheritance. His eldest son Lothair I is pardoned, but disgraced and banished to Italy.

title: 831

text: Berengar the Wise, count (or duke) of Toulouse, attacks the Frankish domains of Bernard of Septimania, taking Roussillon (along with Vallespir, Razès, and Conflent).

title: 832

text: March 1 – Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. After his re-accession to the throne, his eldest son Lothair I flees to Burgundy.

title: 834

text: November 1 – Pope Gregory IV promotes the celebration of the feast of All Saints on this day throughout the Frankish Empire.

title: 835

text: December 13 – King Pepin I of Aquitaine dies after a 21-year reign. Emperor Louis the Pious appoints his youngest son Charles the Bald as his successor. The Aquitainian nobility, however, elects Pepin's son Pepin II as the new Frankish ruler.

title: 838

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

title: 840

text: June 25 – Battle of Fontenay: Frankish forces of Emperor Lothair I, and his nephew Pepin II of Aquitaine, are defeated by allied forces of King Louis the German, and his half-brother Charles the Bald, at Fontenoy (Eastern France), in a civil war among the three surviving sons of the former emperor Louis the Pious. A total of 40,000 men are killed, including the Frankish nobles Gerard of Auvergne and Ricwin of Nantes, fighting on the side of Charles.

title: 841

text: February 14 – Oaths of Strasbourg: King Louis the German, ruler of East Francia, and his half-brother Charles the Bald, ruler of West Francia, meet with their armies at Strasbourg. They agree to swear allegiance (recorded in vernacular languages) to each other, and to support each other against their brother Lothair I (nominal emperor of all the Frankish kingdoms and the Holy Roman Empire).

title: 842

text: Summer – King Charles the Bald struggles against the repeated rebellions in Aquitaine, and against the Bretons in West Francia. He besieges Bernard I at the Battle of Toulouse, while Duke Nominoe raids into Maine, and plunders other Frankish territory.

title: 844

text: November 22 – Battle of Ballon: Frankish forces (3,000 men) led by Charles the Bald are defeated by Nominoe, count of Vannes, near Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine. After the battle, Brittany becomes a regnum 'kingdom' within the Frankish Empire.

title: 845

text: Prince Pribina becomes a vassal of the Frankish Empire. King Louis the German grants him land near Lake Balaton (modern Hungary). He establishes Blatnohrad, capital of Balaton Principality.

title: 846

text: Viking Age: The Vikings plunder the Lower Rhine, as part of their attacks on the Empire of Francia.

title: 847

text: April 21 – Rabanus Maurus, a Frankish Benedictine monk, becomes archbishop of Mainz after the death of Odgar.

title: 847

text: Summer – Bordeaux, capital of Aquitaine, falls into the hands of Viking raiders. King Charles the Bald sends a Frankish fleet to lift the siege. Despite destroying some Viking longships on the Dordogne River, they fail to save the city. The Abbey of Saint-Pierre in Brantôme is sacked.

title: 848

text: August 22 – Battle of Jengland: Duke Erispoe takes command of the Breton forces after his father Nominoe, king of Brittany, dies. He continues an offensive against the Franks in alliance with Lambert II of Nantes. In Ille-et-Vilaine near Grand-Fougeray (Brittany), Erispoe defeats a Frankish-Saxon army (4,000 men) led by King Charles the Bald.

title: 851

text: Summer – King Louis the German, summoned by the disaffected Frankish nobles, invades the West Frankish Kingdom and secures Aquitaine for his nephew Pepin II ("the Younger"). King Charles the Bald flees to Burgundy; he is saved by the help of the bishops, and by the fidelity of the family of the Welfs, who are related to Judith (second wife of former emperor Louis the Pious).

title: 858

text: King Charles the Bald gives the order to build fortified bridges across the Seine and Loire Rivers, to protect Paris and the Frankish heartland against Viking raids. He hires the services of Weland, a Viking chieftain based on the Somme, to attack the Seine Vikings at their base on the Isle of Oissel. Weland besieges the Vikings—they offer him a huge bribe (6,000 pounds of silver) to let them escape.

title: 860

text: Spring – Emperor Louis II (the Younger) marches with a Frankish army against Rome. While en route to the papal city, he becomes ill, and decides to make peace with Pope Nicholas I.

title: 864

text: Ratramnus, a Frankish monk and abbot of Corbie Abbey, writes Contra Graecorum Opposita.

title: 868

text: Summer – Emperor Basil I allies with the Frankish emperor Louis II against the Saracens. He sends a Byzantine fleet of 400 ships (according to the Annales Bertiniani), under the command of Admiral Niketas Ooryphas, to support Louis (who is besieging the city port of Bari) and to clear the south of the Adriatic Sea of Muslim raiders.

title: 869

text: Ermentrude of Orléans, queen of the Franks (b. 823)

title: 869

text: February 2 – Franco-Lombard forces, aided by a Croatian fleet (of Sclaveni), led by Emperor Louis II, capture Bari, capital of the Emirate of Bari in Southern Italy.

title: 871

text: Sancho III Mitarra (or Menditarra) becomes the founder and first 'king' of the independent Duchy of Gascony, with loose ties to the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 872

text: Svatopluk I, ruler (knyaz) of Great Moravia, concludes a peace treaty at Forchheim (Northern Bavaria). He is able to expand his territories outside the Frankish sphere, and subjugates the Vistulans.

title: 874

text: December 12 – Carloman II dies after a hunting accident. He is succeeded by his cousin, Emperor Charles the Fat, who for the last time reunites the Frankish Empire.

title: 884

text: January 13 – Emperor Charles III (the Fat) dies at Neidingen, after having suffered repeat bouts of an illness that may have been epilepsy. The Frankish Empire is split again, and falls apart into separate kingdoms. Count Odo, the hero of the Siege of Paris, is elected king of the West Frankish Kingdom, and crowned at Compiègne by Walter, archbishop of Sens. Other Frankish noblemen support the 8-year-old Charles the Simple (the posthumous son of the late king Louis the Stammerer).

title: AD 888

text: Battle of Leuven: Viking raiders on the Dyle River (near Leuven), in modern-day Belgium, suffer a crushing defeat by Frankish forces under King Arnulf of Carinthia.

title: 891

text: Arnulf of Carinthia crosses the Po River and divides his army in two: one corps (Swabian) proceeds to Florence (via Bologna), while the other corps (Franks) moves through the Lunigiana to the precincts of Rome.

title: 895

text: Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, launches another attempt to invade Italy. A Frankish expeditionary force, led by Adalbert I of Ivrea, captures Pavia, and Berengar I retires to Verona.

title: 905

text: November 7 – Treaty of Bonn: King Charles III (the Simple) and Henry I sign a peace treaty or 'pact of friendship' (amicitia) at a ceremony aboard a ship in the middle of the Rhine, recognising the border between their two Frankish kingdoms.

title: 921

text: The Hungarians besiege Augsburg in Bavaria, then conquer the monastery of St. Gallen (modern Switzerland). After an unsuccessful battle with the locals, they burn the suburbs of Konstanz, then they cross westwards and defeat a Frankish army led by Duke Liutfred of Alsace.

title: 926

text: October 2 – Battle of Andernach: Otto I crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard III, duke of Franconia, and other Frankish dukes, in Andernach on the Rhine River. Otto prevails, with support from Odo of Wetterau. Eberhard is killed while Gilbert, duke of Lotharingia (or Lorraine) drowns when trying to escape.

title: 939

text: Fall – Otto II invades the West Frankish Kingdom accompanied by Charles and ravages the cities of Reims, Soissons (where he halts at the Abbey of Saint Médard for devotions) and Laon. Lothair III escapes and flees to Paris, where he is besieged by imperial forces. Charles is proclaimed 'King of the Franks' by Dietrich I, bishop of Metz, at Laon.

title: 977


slug: francis-drake

label: Francis Drake

description: English sailor and privateer (c. 1540 – 1596)

date: April 1

text: April 1 – On his expedition to the New World, Francis Drake and his crew make their most lucrative capture by seizing a wagon train of silver at Panama, near the settlement of Nombre de Dios.

title: 1573

section: Events › April–June

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

section: Events › October–December

date: August 20

text: August 20–September 6 – After renaming this flagship, Pelican to the Golden Hind, Francis Drake and his fleet begin their passage through the Strait of Magellan.

title: 1578

section: Events › July–September

section: Conflict & Security

date: June 30

text: June 30 – After having come into conflict on May 17 with his fellow officer, Thomas Doughty, during their circumnavigation of the world, Francis Drake puts Doughty on trial while the flagship Pelican is docked at what is now Argentina. A jury of sailors convicts Doughty of treason and attempted mutiny. Doughty is beheaded on July 2.

title: 1578

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Francis Drake, during his circumnavigation of the world, lands in modern-day California, which he claims for Queen Elizabeth I. With an English claim here and in Newfoundland, it becomes the basis for English colonial charters which will claim all land from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from "sea to sea." Drake's claim is called Nova Albion (New England), and subsequent maps will show all lands north of New Spain and New Mexico under this name.

title: 1579

date: March 1

text: March 1 – Off of the coast of what is now Ecuador, the English galleon Golden Hind, captained by Francis Drake, captures the Spanish freighter Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (unofficially called "Cagafuego") and its cargo, including 26 tons of silver and 1,000 pounds of gold.

title: 1579

section: Events › January–March

text: September 26 – Francis Drake returns to Plymouth, England from his voyage of circumnavigation (westbound) on the Golden Hind, the second completed in a continuous voyage, and the first under its original commander.

title: 1580

date: April 4

text: April 4 – Following his circumnavigation of the world, Francis Drake is knighted by Elizabeth I of England.

title: 1581

date: November 28

text: November 28 – Anglo-Spanish War: The island of Santiago in Cape Verde is captured by Francis Drake.

title: 1585

date: April 29

text: April 29 – Singeing the King of Spain's Beard: On his expedition against Spain, English sailor Sir Francis Drake leads a raid in the Bay of Cádiz, sinking or capturing at least 30 ships of the Spanish fleet, delaying by a year the sailing of the Spanish Armada for England.

title: 1587

date: March 15

text: March 15 – English sailor Sir Francis Drake accepts a privateering commission from Queen Elizabeth to disrupt shipping routes in order to slow supplies from Italy and Andalucia to Lisbon, to trouble enemy fleets in their home ports, to capture Spanish treasure ships and to attack the Spanish Armada if it were to sail for England. On 12 April, his fleet sails from Plymouth.

title: 1587

date: July 31

text: July 31 – The first engagement between the English and Spanish fleets (off Plymouth) results in a victory for the English, under command of Lord Howard of Effingham and Sir Francis Drake.

title: 1588

date: April 13

text: April 13 – An English Armada, led by Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norreys, and largely financed by private investors, sets sail to attack the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic coast, but fails to achieve any naval advantage.

title: 1589

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: August 28

text: August 28 – Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins depart from England, on their final voyage to the Spanish Main, which ends in both of their deaths.

title: 1595

date: November 22

text: November 22 – The Battle of San Juan is fought off of the island of Puerto Rico as an English fleet of 27 ships and 2,500 men, led by Francis Drake, attempts to invade the Spanish colony. In a three-day battle, the English lose at least eight ships and 400 men, including Admiral John Hawkins. Drake's fleet withdraws and attempts to conquer Panama.

title: 1595

date: November 8

text: November 8 – The Battle of Guadalupe Island is fought between nine English Navy warships (led by Sir Francis Drake) and eight Spanish frigates off in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish force wins the battle, capturing one ship and killing 45 English sailors. Both sets of ships proceed toward Puerto Rico.

title: 1595

date: January 6

text: January 6 – Drake's Assault on Panama: Sir Francis Drake, General Thomas Baskerville and an English force of 15 ships land at the Atlantic Ocean port of Nombre de Dios in an attempt to capture the Isthmus of Panama.

title: 1596