1066

Harold II is crowned king the day after Edward the Confessor dies. Tostig and Harold Hardraada of Norway invade England: Harold defeats them at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, killing both.

Battle of Hastings: 19 days after battle of Stamford Bridge, William of Normandy lands at Pevensey, defeats and kills Harold

William I, the Conqueror, first Norman King of England (to 1087)

1067

Work is begun on building the Tower of London.

1068

The Norman Conquest continues until 1069: William subdues the north of England (the "Harrying of the North" ): the region is laid waste

1070

Hereward the Wake begins a Saxon revolt in the Fens of eastern England

1072

William invades Scotland, and also receives the submission of Hereward
the Wake.

1086

Domesday Book is completed in England

1087

William II, Rufus, King of England (to 1100); his elder brother, Robert, is Duke of Normandy

1093

Donald Bane, King of Scots (to 1097), following the death of his brother, Malcolm III, in battle against the English

1097

Edgar, second son of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland (to 1107); he defeats Donald Bane with the assistance of William II of England

1099

Crusaders capture Jerusalem; Godfrey of Bouillon is elected King of Jerusalem

1100

Henry I, youngest son of William the Conqueror, King of England (to 1135), following assassination of William Rufus

1106

Henry I defeats his brother Rober, Duke of Normandy, at battle of Tinchebrai: Robert remains captive for life

1113

Founding of the Order of St. John is formally acknowledged by the papacy

1114

Matilda (Maud), daughter of Henry I of England marries Emperor Henry V

1118

Hugues de Payens founds the order of Knights of Templars

1120

William, heir of Henry I of England, is drowned in wreck of the "White Ship"

1129

Empress Matilda, widow of Henry V, marries Geoffrey the Handsome, Count of Anjou, nicknamed " Plantagenet "

1139

Matilda lands in England

1141

Matilda captures Stephen at the battle of Lincoln, and reigns disastrously as queen; she is driven out by a popular rising and Stephen restored

1148

Matilda leaves England for the last time

1152

Marriage of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine is annulled on grounds of blood relationship

Eleanor marries Henry of Anjou, allying Aquitaine to his lands of Anjou and Normandy, two months after her divorce

1153

Henry of Anjou, son of Matilda, invades England and forces Stephen to make him heir to the English throne

1154

Henry II, King of England (to 1189); he also rules more than half of France

Pope Adrian IV (to 1159) (Nicholas Breakspear, the only English pope)

1155

Henry II appoints the Archdeacon of Canterbury, Thomas a Becket, as Chancellor

1159

Henry II levies scutage, payment in cash instead of military service

1162

Becket is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and at once quarrels with Henry II over the Church's rights

1164

Constitutions of Clarendon; restatement of laws governing trial of ecclesiastics in England; Becket is forced to flee to France

1170

Becket is reconciled with Henry II, returns to Canterbury; is murdered by four knights after Henry's hasty words against him

1173

Rebellion of Henry's eldest sons, Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey, supported by their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine

Thomas a Becket canonized

1189

Richard I, Coeur de Lion, eldest surviving son of Henry II, King of England (to 1199)

1191

Richard I conquers Cyprus and captures the city of Acre

1192

Richard I captures Jaffa, makes peace with Saladin; on the way home he is captured by his enemy, Duke Leopold of Austria

1193

Leopold hands Richard over to Emperor Henry VI, who demands ransom

1194

Richard is ransomed and returned to England

1199

John Lackland, youngest son of Henry II, King of England (to 1216)

1203

John of England orders the murder of his nephew Arthur, Duke of Brittany

1207

Pope Innocent III appoints Stephen Langton Archbishop of Canterbury; John refuses to let him take office

1208

Innocent III lays England under interdict

1209

Cambridge University is founded in England

Innocent III excommunicates John for attacks on Church property

1213

Innocent III declares John deposed; John hurriedly makes peace

1215

Magna Carta; English barons force John to agree to a statement of their rights

1216

Henry III becomes king of England at age nine (to 1272)

1227

Henry III begins personal rule in England

1256

Prince Llewellyn sweeps English from Wales

1264

Simon de Montfort and other English barons defeat Henry III at battle of Lewes

1265

De Montfort's Parliament: burgesses from major towns summoned to Parliament for the first time

Henry III's son Edward defeats and kills Simon de Montfort at battle of Evesham

1272

Edward I, King of England (to 1307)

1283

Edward I defeats and kills Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and executes Llewellyn's brother David; conquest of Wales complete

1290

Edward I expells all Jews from England

1291

Scots acknowledge Edward I of England as suzerain; he arbitrates in succession dispute

1295

Model Parliament of Edward I : knights and burgesses from English shires and towns summoned. First representative parliament

1296

Edward I of England deposes John Balliol from Scottish throne

1297

Battle of Cambuskenneth: Scottish patriot William Wallace defeats English army

1298

Edward I defeats Wallace at battle of Falkirk and reconquers Scotland

1301

Edward I of England invests his baby son Edward as Prince of Wales

1305

The English capture and execute William Wallace

1306

New Scottish rebellion against English rule led by Robert Bruce

Robert I, the Bruce crowned King of Scotland (to 1329) at Scone

1307

Edward I dies on march north to crush Robert Bruce

Edward II, King of England (to 1327)

1310

English barons appoint 21 peers, the Lords Ordainers, to manage Edward II's household

1312

Order of Knights Templar abolished

1314

Battle of Bannockburn: Robert Bruce defeats Edward II and makes Scotland independent

1326

Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer sail from France with an army to rebel against Edward II of England

1327

Parliament declares Edward II deposed, and his son accedes to the throne as Edward III

Edward II is hideously murdered, nine months later

1333

Edward III invades Scotland on Balliol's behalf and defeats the Scots at battle of Halidon Hill

1337

Edward III of England, provoked by French attacks on his territories in France, declares himself king of France

Beginning of "The Hundred Years' War " between England and France (ends 1453)

1338

Treaty of Koblenz: alliance between England and the Holy Roman Empire

1340

Naval victory at Sluys gives England the command of the English Channel

English Parliament passes four statues providing that taxation shall be imposed only by Parliament

1346

Edward III of England invades France with a large army and defeats an even bigger army under Philip VI at the battle of Crecy

1347

The English capture Calais

1348

Edward III establishes the Order of the Garter

Black Death reaches England

1351

The English remove the Pope's power to give English benefices to foreigners

1353

Statue of Praemunire: English Parliament forbids appeals to Pope

1356

Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward III, defeats the French at the battle of Poitiers, capturing King John II

1360

Treaty of Bretigny ends the first stage of the Hundred Years' War. Edward III gives up claim to French throne

1369

Second stage of war between England and France begins

1370

Edward the Black Prince sacks Limoges

1372

French troops recapture Poitou and Brittany.

Naval battle of La Rochelle: French regain control of English Channel

1373

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of Edward III, leads new English invasion of France

1374

John of Gaunt returns to England and takes charge of the government.

Edward III in his dotage, the Black Prince is ill

1375

Truce of Bruges ends hostilities between England and France

1376

The Good Parliament in England, called by Edward the Black Prince, introduces many reforms of government

Death of Edward the Black Prince, aged 45

The Civil Dominion of John Wyclif, an Oxford don, calling for Church reforms

1377

Richard II, son of the Black Prince, King of England (to 1399)

1382

John Wyclif is expelled from Oxford because of his opposition to Church doctrines

1386

John of Gaunt leads an expedition to Castile, which he claims in his wife's name; fails 1388

1387

Geoffrey Chaucer begins work on The Canterbury Tales

1389

Richard II, aged 22, assumes power

1394

Richard II leads expedition to subdue Ireland; returns to England 1395

1396

Richard II marries the seven-year old Princess Isabella of France

1399

Death of John of Gaunt.

Gaunt's eldest son, Henry of Bolingbroke, lands in Yorkshire with 40 followers, and soon has 60,000 supporters: Richard II is deposed; Bolingbroke becomes Henry IV, King of England (to 1413)

1400

Richard II murdered at Pontefract Castle

Owen Glendower proclaims himself Prince of Wales and begins rebellion

1402

Henry IV enters Wales in pursuit of Glendower

1403

Battle of Shrewsbury; rebellion by the Percy family: Henry IV defeats and kills Harry "Hotspur" Percy

1406

Henry, Prince of Wales, defeats Welsh

1413

Henry V, King of England (to 1422)

1415

Henry V invades France, and defeats the French at Agincourt

1416

Death of Owen Glendower

1422

Deaths of Henry V of England and Charles VI of France

Henry VI, King of England (to 1461)

1424

John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England, defeats the French at Cravant

1428

English begin siege of Orleans

1429

Jeanne d'Arc, appointed military commander raises siege of Orl`eans:

Charles VII crowned king of France at Rheims

1430

Burgundians capture Jeanne d'Arc and hand her over to the English

1431

Jeanne d'Arc burned as a witch at Rouen

Henry VI of England crowned king of France in Paris

1453

Hundred Years' War ends: Englands only French possession is Calais

Henry VI becomes insane

1454

Richard, Duke of York, is regent of England while Henry VI is insane

Printing with movable type is perfected in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg

1455

Henry VI recovers. Richard of York is replaced by Somerset and excluded from the Royal Council

War of the Roses - civil wars in England between royal houses of York and Lancaster (until 1485)

Battle of St. Albans. Somerset defeated and killed

1460

Battle of Westfield. Richard of York is defeated and killed

Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker) captures London for the Yorkists

Battle of Northampton: Henry VI is captured by Yorkists

1461

Battles of Mortimer's Cross and Towton: Richard's son, Edward of York, defeats Lancastrians and becomes king

Edward IV, King of England (to 1483)

1465

Henry VI imprisoned by Edward IV

1466

Warwick's quarrels with Edward IV begin; forms alliance with Louis XI

1470

Warwick turns Lancastrian: he defeats Edward IV and restores
Henry VI

1471

Battle of Barnet. Edward IV defeats and kills Warwick
Henry VI dies, probably murdered in the Tower of London

1475

Edward IV invades France
Peace of Piequigny between England and France

1476

William Caxton sets up printing press at Westminster

1483

Death of Edward IV

Edward V, King of England; he is deposed by his uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester

Richard III, King of England (to 1485)

Edward V and his brother are murdered in the Tower of London

1484

Caxton prints Morte D'Arthur, the poetic collection of legends about King Arthur compiled by Sir Thomas Malory

1485 Battle of Bosworth Field: Henry Tudor, with men, money and arms provided by Charles VIII of France, defeat and kill Richard III in the decisive (but not final) battle of the Wars of the Roses.

1487

Battle of Stoke Field: In final engagement of the Wars of the Roses, Henry VII, defeats Yorkist army "led" by Lambert Simnel (who was impersonating Edward, the nephew of Edward IV, the only plausible royal alternative to Henry, who was confined in the Tower of London).

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