X | From the Signing of Magna Charta to the Discovery of America by Columbus, 1215-1492 A. D.
Great Events of Period. 1200-1300: Hanse League established. Great conquests Tartars in Asia; they overrun Russia and establish a dynasty at Moscow. 1300-1400: Growth of cities and trade—especially in Italy, where also literature and art, inspired by Dante and Giotto, make progress. Popes at Avignon. Era of Wyclif: his teaching spreads in Bohemia. Invention of gunpowder. Mariner’s compass comes into use in the West. 1400-1500: Turks take Constantinople. Revival of learning and advance of art in the West—especially in Italy. Consolidation of France and Spain. End of Tartar rule in Russia. Invention of printing. Formation of modern “middle classes.” Maritime discoveries: The cape route to India; the “New World.” End of the Middle Ages.
| A. D. | Spain, Portugal | Britain | France | Holy Roman Empire | Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Bohemia | Scandinavia and Russia | Eastern Empire | Saracens | China, Japan, India | A. D. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy and Church | Germany | ||||||||||
| 1214-1292. ROGER BACON. | Struggle of the Guelfs and Ghibelines. The power of the Roman pontiffs is carried to the highest pitch during this century. | ||||||||||
| 1217. Ferdinand, King of Castile. | 1216-1272. Henry III. | 1219. Japan: The shogunate seized by the Fujiwara. | |||||||||
| 1224-1240. Mongolian invasion of Russia. | 1221. Robert Guiscard, Emperor. | 1221. The Khorasmian Empire overthrown by Genghis Khan. | |||||||||
| 1225 | 1230. Castile and Leon united by Ferdinand III., who takes large territory from the Moors. | 1228. The Fifth Crusade. Many English and French nobles join. | 1226-1270. LOUIS IX., Saint. Blanche of Castile, his mother, regent. | 1227-1274. THOMAS AQUINAS. | 1225 | ||||||
| 1248. The king sets out on The Sixth Crusade. | 1243. Struggle of Pope Innocent IV. with the Emperor Frederick. | 1243. The Hanseatic League. | 1242. Alexander Nevski, Prince of Novgorod. | 1244. The Khorasmians take Jerusalem. | |||||||
| 1250 | 1253. The Alhambra founded. | 1250. Conrad IV., Emperor. | 1250. Egypt: The Mamelukes rule; take Damascus and Aleppo. | 1250 | |||||||
| 1263-1265. CIVIL WAR. | 1262. Norway: Iceland subjected. Greenland tributary to Norway. | 1261. Michael Palæologus recovers Constantinople and overthrows the Latin Empire. | 1258. Hulaku Khan enters Persia, takes Bagdad, and an end to the caliphate. | 1259-1294. China: Kublai Khan, Emperor of all China, founder of the Mongol dynasty. | |||||||
| 1265. Parliament of Simon of Montfort. Beginning of the House of Commons. Defeat and death of Simon of Montfort at Evesham. | 1264. China: Kublai Khan builds Pekin, and makes it his capital. | ||||||||||
| 1270. The Seventh and Last Crusade. | House of Hapsburg | ||||||||||
| 1274. Crown of Navarre passes to France. | 1272-1307. Edward I., Longshanks. | 1274. Fourteenth General Council at Lyons. | 1273. Rudolf, Emperor, founds House of Hapsburg. | ||||||||
| 1275 | 1283. England and Wales united. Robert Bruce and John Balliol contend for the crown of Scotland. | 1276. France at war with Castile. | 1279. Russia: Hanseatic settlement at Novgorod. | 1281. Japan: Invasion of Mongol Tatars. | 1275 | ||||||
| 1284. Annexation of Wales to England. | |||||||||||
| 1291. James II., King of Aragon. | 1297. War between England and Scotland. | 1297. Invasion of Flanders. | 1293. Naval war between Genoa and Venice. | 1298. Adolphus, Emperor, deposed and Albert I. enthroned. | 1295. Poland: Vladislav the Dwarf, founder of Polish greatness. | 1291. Capture of Acre by the Mamelukes; end of the European states in Asia Minor. | 1288. Othman begins to lay the foundations of the Turkish power in Asia Minor. | ||||
| 1300 | 1302. First convocation of the states-general in France. | 1303. Papal power declines. | 1300 | ||||||||
| 1304. War with Flanders. | 1304. Rise of the Swiss towns. | ||||||||||
| 1306. Robert Bruce proclaimed king of Scotland. | 1306. Rudolf of Austria, Emperor. | ||||||||||
| 1309. Seat of the popes transferred to Avignon. | 1308. Henry of Luxemburg, Emperor. General insurrection in Switzerland. | ||||||||||
| 1312. Alphonso XI., King of Castile and Leon. | 1311. General Council at Vienna. | 1314. Louis of Bavaria and Frederick of Austria contend for the crown. | 1315-1388. AUSTRO-SWISS WAR. | ||||||||
| 1265-1321. DANTE. | 1322. Frederick of Austria defeated. | ||||||||||
| 1325 | 1326. Death of Othman; Orkhan, son of Othman, makes Prusa his capital. | 1325 | |||||||||
| 1327. Arrival of 200,000 Moors to assist Granada. | 1327-1377. Edward III. | 1327. Nicomedia taken by Orkhan. | |||||||||
| 1328-1400. CHAUCER. | 1328-1498. The House of Valois. 1328-1350. Philip VI. | 1328. Moscow under the Grand-duke Ivan Kalita becomes paramount in Russia. | 1329. Andronicus III. defeated by the Turks in the battle of Pelekanon. 1330. Nicæa taken. | ||||||||
| 1265-1337. GIOTTO. | 1333. Poland: Casimir the Great becomes King. | 1333. China: Shun-te last of the Mongol Emperors succeeds. Japan: Fall of the Hojo family. | |||||||||
| 1340. Moors defeated at Tarifa. | 1337. Edward lays claim to France which gives rise to: 1337-1453. HUNDRED YEARS WAR. | 1339. Struggle in Rome between the Colonna and the Ursini. | House of Luxemburg | 1342. Hungary: Louis the Great. | 1340. Denmark: Waldemar III. | 1341. John V. (Paleologus), Emperor. | 1336-1392. Japan: Feudalism reached its height. | ||||
| 1347. Democracy in Rome under Rienzi, last of the Tribunes. | 1346-1378. Charles IV., King of Bohemia. | ||||||||||
| 1350 | Heroic Age of Portugal. | 1354. Rienzi killed; papal dominion restored. | 1355-1356. Promulgation of the golden bull; it fixes the prerogatives of the electoral college. Fundamental law of the empire. | 1354. Turks seize Gallipoli in Europe. | 1350 | ||||||
| 1359. Murad I., conquered Adrianople. | |||||||||||
| 1364-1380. Charles V. the Wise. | 1365. Adrianople residence of sovereigns. | 1363. Timur, or Tamerlane, begins his career of conquest. | |||||||||
| 1368-1398. China: Hung Woo establishes the native Ming dynasty. | |||||||||||
| 1370. Poland: Extinction of the royal race of Piasts with Casimir III. | 1369. Timur becomes king of Transoxiana and makes Samarcand the capital of his new empire. | ||||||||||
| 1375 | 1378. Wenceslas, King of Bohemia, Emperor. | 1382. Russia: The Tartars sack Moscow. | 1381. The empire pays tribute to the Turks. | 1375 | |||||||
| 1394-1460. Henry the Navigator, King of Portugal. | 1387. Denmark and Norway: Margaret, the Semiramis of the North, becomes queen. | 1392. Timur subjugates Persia. | |||||||||
| 1399-1461. House of Lancaster. 1399. Henry IV., King of England. | 1397. Union of Calmar, forming Denmark, Sweden and Norway into a single monarchy. | 1398. Invasion of India by Timur; he takes Delhi. | |||||||||
| 1400 | 1400. Robert, Count of Palatine, Emperor. | 1402. Bajazet defeated and made prisoner by Timur at the battle of Angora. | 1400-1573. Japan: The Shoguns dominate for almost two centuries. | 1400 | |||||||
| 1403. Empire of the Turks divided after death of Bajazet, among Solyman I., Musa and Mohammed I. | |||||||||||
| 1407. John II., King of Castile. | 1406. James I., King of Scotland. | 1410. Civil war between Orleans and Burgundy. | 1411. Sigismund, King of Hungary, Emperor. | ||||||||
| 1416. Alphonso V., King of Aragon and Sicily. | 1414. Henry V. claims the French crown. | 1414. Council of Constance. | 1419. Bohemia: HUSSITE WAR. | 1413. Mohammed I. sole ruler of the Turks. | |||||||
| 1422. Henry VI. proclaimed at Paris, King of France. War with France. | 1420. Sigismund becomes king of Bohemia. | ||||||||||
| 1424. Bohemia: Death of John Ziska, the Hussite leader. | |||||||||||
| 1425 | 1430. War between Castile and Granada. | 1427-1429. Siege of Orleans. The English defeated by the French under Joan of Arc. France saved from the fate of Ireland. Charles VII. crowned at Rheims. | 1429-1463. Cosmo de’ Medici in Florence, great patron of the arts and sciences. | 1425 | |||||||
| 1431. Joan of Arc burned. | |||||||||||
| 1438. House of Austria. Albert II. (King of Bohemia and Hungary), Emperor. | 1438-1439. The emperor visits Italy to obtain help against the Turks. | ||||||||||
| 1444. Truce with France. Marriage of Henry to Margaret of Anjou. | 1446. War with Hungary. | 1448. Denmark: Christian I., of Oldenburg, King. Sweden: Charles VIII. | 1448. Constantine XII., last of the Greek emperors. | ||||||||
| 1450 | 1450-1560. Period of great maritime power of the Portuguese. | 1450. Richard, Duke of York, claims the throne. | 1450-1466. House of Sforza in Milan. | 1451. Mohammed II., sultan of the Turks. | 1450 | ||||||
| 1452. Civil war in Navarre, in which Castile and Aragon join. | 1453. End of the French and English wars, without any formal peace. | 1453. Austria made an hereditary duchy by Emperor Frederick III. | 1453. Siege and capture of Constantinople by the Turks, ending the Eastern Empire. | ||||||||
| 1454. Henry IV. of Castile, King of Spain. | 1455-1485. WARS OF THE ROSES. | 1454. Struggle between Cosmo de’ Medici and the aristocracy. | Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| 1458. Hungary: Matthias Corvinus makes his country formidable to her neighbors. | 1458. Greece subjected to the Turks. | ||||||||||
| 1461-1485. House of York. 1461. Edward IV., King. House of York. | 1461. Louis XI., King. | 1462. The emperor besieged in court at Vienna. | 1464. War with Hungary. | ||||||||
| 1468. Uzun Hasan, master of all Persia. | |||||||||||
| 1469. Marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon with Isabella of Castile. | 1470. Henry VI. restored by Warwick. | 1469. Lorenzo de’ Medici at Florence. | 1469-1480. Invasion of the Turks. | 1470. Forms an alliance with the Venetians and the Duke of Burgundy against the Turks; conquers Bagdad. | 1469. India: The Sikhs become powerful. | ||||||
| 1471. Return of Edward IV. Deaths of Warwick and Henry VI. | 1471. Increase of the power of the Medici. Rise of learning. Sixtus IV., Pope. | 1472. Russia: Ivan III. marries Sophia, niece of the Greek Emperor. | |||||||||
| 1475 | 1475. Edward IV. invades France. | 1477. Artois and Burgundy united to France. | 1477. Marriage of Maximilian and Maria of Burgundy. | 1477. Hungary: War with Frederick III. | 1475 | ||||||
| 1479. Union of Castile and Aragon. | 1480. War between England and Scotland. | 1480. Otranto taken. 1481. Bajazet II., Sultan. | |||||||||
| House of Tudor | 1483-1498. Charles VIII. | ||||||||||
| 1485-1509. Henry VII. | 1485. Hungary: Matthias Corvinus takes Vienna. | ||||||||||
| 1492. Conquest of Granada and union of the kingdom with Castile. | |||||||||||
| 1492. America discovered by Columbus. | |||||||||||
| A. D. | Spain, Portugal | Britain | France | Holy Roman Empire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy and Church | Germany | ||||
| 1214-1292. ROGER BACON. | Struggle of the Guelfs and Ghibelines. The power of the Roman pontiffs is carried to the highest pitch during this century. | ||||
| 1217. Ferdinand, King of Castile. | 1216-1272. Henry III. | ||||
| 1225 | 1230. Castile and Leon united by Ferdinand III., who takes large territory from the Moors. | 1228. The Fifth Crusade. Many English and French nobles join. | 1226-1270. LOUIS IX., Saint. Blanche of Castile, his mother, regent. | 1227-1274. THOMAS AQUINAS. | |
| 1248. The king sets out on The Sixth Crusade. | 1243. Struggle of Pope Innocent IV. with the Emperor Frederick. | 1243. The Hanseatic League. | |||
| 1250 | 1253. The Alhambra founded. | 1250. Conrad IV., Emperor. | |||
| 1263-1265. CIVIL WAR. | |||||
| 1265. Parliament of Simon of Montfort. Beginning of the House of Commons. Defeat and death of Simon of Montfort at Evesham. | |||||
| 1270. The Seventh and Last Crusade. | House of Hapsburg | ||||
| 1274. Crown of Navarre passes to France. | 1272-1307. Edward I., Longshanks. | 1274. Fourteenth General Council at Lyons. | 1273. Rudolf, Emperor, founds House of Hapsburg. | ||
| 1275 | 1283. England and Wales united. Robert Bruce and John Balliol contend for the crown of Scotland. | 1276. France at war with Castile. | |||
| 1284. Annexation of Wales to England. | |||||
| 1291. James II., King of Aragon. | 1297. War between England and Scotland. | 1297. Invasion of Flanders. | 1293. Naval war between Genoa and Venice. | 1298. Adolphus, Emperor, deposed and Albert I. enthroned. | |
| 1300 | 1302. First convocation of the states-general in France. | 1303. Papal power declines. | |||
| 1304. War with Flanders. | 1304. Rise of the Swiss towns. | ||||
| 1306. Robert Bruce proclaimed king of Scotland. | 1306. Rudolf of Austria, Emperor. | ||||
| 1309. Seat of the popes transferred to Avignon. | 1308. Henry of Luxemburg, Emperor. General insurrection in Switzerland. | ||||
| 1312. Alphonso XI., King of Castile and Leon. | 1311. General Council at Vienna. | 1314. Louis of Bavaria and Frederick of Austria contend for the crown. | |||
| 1265-1321. DANTE. | 1322. Frederick of Austria defeated. | ||||
| 1325 | |||||
| 1327. Arrival of 200,000 Moors to assist Granada. | 1327-1377. Edward III. | ||||
| 1328-1400. CHAUCER. | 1328-1498. The House of Valois. 1328-1350. Philip VI. | ||||
| 1265-1337. GIOTTO. | |||||
| 1340. Moors defeated at Tarifa. | 1337. Edward lays claim to France which gives rise to: 1337-1453. HUNDRED YEARS WAR. | 1339. Struggle in Rome between the Colonna and the Ursini. | House of Luxemburg | ||
| 1347. Democracy in Rome under Rienzi, last of the Tribunes. | 1346-1378. Charles IV., King of Bohemia. | ||||
| 1350 | Heroic Age of Portugal. | 1354. Rienzi killed; papal dominion restored. | 1355-1356. Promulgation of the golden bull; it fixes the prerogatives of the electoral college. Fundamental law of the empire. | ||
| 1364-1380. Charles V. the Wise. | |||||
| 1375 | 1378. Wenceslas, King of Bohemia, Emperor. | ||||
| 1394-1460. Henry the Navigator, King of Portugal. | |||||
| 1399-1461. House of Lancaster. 1399. Henry IV., King of England. | |||||
| 1400 | 1400. Robert, Count of Palatine, Emperor. | ||||
| 1407. John II., King of Castile. | 1406. James I., King of Scotland. | 1410. Civil war between Orleans and Burgundy. | 1411. Sigismund, King of Hungary, Emperor. | ||
| 1416. Alphonso V., King of Aragon and Sicily. | 1414. Henry V. claims the French crown. | 1414. Council of Constance. | |||
| 1422. Henry VI. proclaimed at Paris, King of France. War with France. | 1420. Sigismund becomes king of Bohemia. | ||||
| 1425 | 1430. War between Castile and Granada. | 1427-1429. Siege of Orleans. The English defeated by the French under Joan of Arc. France saved from the fate of Ireland. Charles VII. crowned at Rheims. | 1429-1463. Cosmo de’ Medici in Florence, great patron of the arts and sciences. | ||
| 1431. Joan of Arc burned. | |||||
| 1438. House of Austria. Albert II. (King of Bohemia and Hungary), Emperor. | |||||
| 1444. Truce with France. Marriage of Henry to Margaret of Anjou. | 1446. War with Hungary. | ||||
| 1450 | 1450-1560. Period of great maritime power of the Portuguese. | 1450. Richard, Duke of York, claims the throne. | 1450-1466. House of Sforza in Milan. | ||
| 1452. Civil war in Navarre, in which Castile and Aragon join. | 1453. End of the French and English wars, without any formal peace. | 1453. Austria made an hereditary duchy by Emperor Frederick III. | |||
| 1454. Henry IV. of Castile, King of Spain. | 1455-1485. WARS OF THE ROSES. | 1454. Struggle between Cosmo de’ Medici and the aristocracy. | |||
| 1461-1485. House of York. 1461. Edward IV., King. House of York. | 1461. Louis XI., King. | 1462. The emperor besieged in court at Vienna. | |||
| 1469. Marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon with Isabella of Castile. | 1470. Henry VI. restored by Warwick. | 1469. Lorenzo de’ Medici at Florence. | 1469-1480. Invasion of the Turks. | ||
| 1471. Return of Edward IV. Deaths of Warwick and Henry VI. | 1471. Increase of the power of the Medici. Rise of learning. Sixtus IV., Pope. | ||||
| 1475 | 1475. Edward IV. invades France. | 1477. Artois and Burgundy united to France. | 1477. Marriage of Maximilian and Maria of Burgundy. | ||
| 1479. Union of Castile and Aragon. | 1480. War between England and Scotland. | ||||
| House of Tudor | 1483-1498. Charles VIII. | ||||
| 1485-1509. Henry VII. | |||||
| 1492. Conquest of Granada and union of the kingdom with Castile. | |||||
| 1492. America discovered by Columbus. | |||||
| A. D. | Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Bohemia | Scandinavia and Russia | Eastern Empire | Saracens | China, Japan, India |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1219. Japan: The shogunate seized by the Fujiwara. | |||||
| 1224-1240. Mongolian invasion of Russia. | 1221. Robert Guiscard, Emperor. | 1221. The Khorasmian Empire overthrown by Genghis Khan. | |||
| 1225 | |||||
| 1242. Alexander Nevski, Prince of Novgorod. | 1244. The Khorasmians take Jerusalem. | ||||
| 1250 | 1250. Egypt: The Mamelukes rule; take Damascus and Aleppo. | ||||
| 1262. Norway: Iceland subjected. Greenland tributary to Norway. | 1261. Michael Palæologus recovers Constantinople and overthrows the Latin Empire. | 1258. Hulaku Khan enters Persia, takes Bagdad, and an end to the caliphate. | 1259-1294. China: Kublai Khan, Emperor of all China, founder of the Mongol dynasty. | ||
| 1264. China: Kublai Khan builds Pekin, and makes it his capital. | |||||
| 1275 | 1279. Russia: Hanseatic settlement at Novgorod. | 1281. Japan: Invasion of Mongol Tatars. | |||
| 1295. Poland: Vladislav the Dwarf, founder of Polish greatness. | 1291. Capture of Acre by the Mamelukes; end of the European states in Asia Minor. | 1288. Othman begins to lay the foundations of the Turkish power in Asia Minor. | |||
| 1300 | |||||
| 1315-1388. AUSTRO-SWISS WAR. | |||||
| 1325 | 1326. Death of Othman; Orkhan, son of Othman, makes Prusa his capital. | ||||
| 1327. Nicomedia taken by Orkhan. | |||||
| 1328. Moscow under the Grand-duke Ivan Kalita becomes paramount in Russia. | 1329. Andronicus III. defeated by the Turks in the battle of Pelekanon. 1330. Nicæa taken. | ||||
| 1333. Poland: Casimir the Great becomes King. | 1333. China: Shun-te last of the Mongol Emperors succeeds. Japan: Fall of the Hojo family. | ||||
| 1342. Hungary: Louis the Great. | 1340. Denmark: Waldemar III. | 1341. John V. (Paleologus), Emperor. | 1336-1392. Japan: Feudalism reached its height. | ||
| 1350 | 1354. Turks seize Gallipoli in Europe. | ||||
| 1359. Murad I., conquered Adrianople. | |||||
| 1365. Adrianople residence of sovereigns. | 1363. Timur, or Tamerlane, begins his career of conquest. | ||||
| 1368-1398. China: Hung Woo establishes the native Ming dynasty. | |||||
| 1370. Poland: Extinction of the royal race of Piasts with Casimir III. | 1369. Timur becomes king of Transoxiana and makes Samarcand the capital of his new empire. | ||||
| 1375 | 1382. Russia: The Tartars sack Moscow. | 1381. The empire pays tribute to the Turks. | |||
| 1387. Denmark and Norway: Margaret, the Semiramis of the North, becomes queen. | 1392. Timur subjugates Persia. | ||||
| 1397. Union of Calmar, forming Denmark, Sweden and Norway into a single monarchy. | 1398. Invasion of India by Timur; he takes Delhi. | ||||
| 1400 | 1402. Bajazet defeated and made prisoner by Timur at the battle of Angora. | 1400-1573. Japan: The Shoguns dominate for almost two centuries. | |||
| 1403. Empire of the Turks divided after death of Bajazet, among Solyman I., Musa and Mohammed I. | |||||
| 1419. Bohemia: HUSSITE WAR. | 1413. Mohammed I. sole ruler of the Turks. | ||||
| 1420. Sigismund becomes king of Bohemia. | |||||
| 1424. Bohemia: Death of John Ziska, the Hussite leader. | |||||
| 1425 | 1429-1463. Cosmo de’ Medici in Florence, great patron of the arts and sciences. | ||||
| 1438-1439. The emperor visits Italy to obtain help against the Turks. | |||||
| 1448. Denmark: Christian I., of Oldenburg, King. Sweden: Charles VIII. | 1448. Constantine XII., last of the Greek emperors. | ||||
| 1450 | 1451. Mohammed II., sultan of the Turks. | ||||
| 1453. Siege and capture of Constantinople by the Turks, ending the Eastern Empire. | |||||
| Ottoman Empire | |||||
| 1458. Hungary: Matthias Corvinus makes his country formidable to her neighbors. | 1458. Greece subjected to the Turks. | ||||
| 1464. War with Hungary. | |||||
| 1468. Uzun Hasan, master of all Persia. | |||||
| 1470. Forms an alliance with the Venetians and the Duke of Burgundy against the Turks; conquers Bagdad. | 1469. India: The Sikhs become powerful. | ||||
| 1472. Russia: Ivan III. marries Sophia, niece of the Greek Emperor. | |||||
| 1475 | 1477. Hungary: War with Frederick III. | ||||
| 1480. Otranto taken. 1481. Bajazet II., Sultan. | |||||
| 1483-1498. Charles VIII. | |||||
| 1485. Hungary: Matthias Corvinus takes Vienna. | |||||