1000s (32 events)
1000
ID: 3715
Leif Erikson reaches North America - Vikings land in Vinland (Newfoundland), first Europeans in Americas
ID: 3715
1000
ID: 3716
Iceland converts to Christianity - Althing votes to adopt Christianity, avoiding civil war
ID: 3716
1000
ID: 3748
Battle of Svolder - Sweyn Forkbeard defeats Olaf Tryggvason, Denmark gains control of Norway
ID: 3748
1000
ID: 3975
Pope Sylvester II introduces Arabic numerals to Europe - brilliant mathematician, suspected of sorcery
ID: 3975
1000
ID: 4207
Tugarin the Dragon defeated at Kiev - flying dragon Tugarin Zmeyevich killed by hero Alyosha Popovich (Rus' chronicles)
ID: 4207
1000
ID: 4210
Dragons create Halong Bay - Vietnamese chronicle records dragons descending to protect Vietnam from invaders, create bay with tails
ID: 4210
1000
ID: 4881
Leningrad Codex written - Oldest complete Masoretic Text manuscript, basis for modern Hebrew Bibles
ID: 4881
1000
ID: 5070
Manichaeism survives secretly in Fujian - disguised as Buddhism, called 'Religion of Light', continues until modern times
ID: 5070
1000
ID: 5102
Doge Pietro II Orseolo conquers Dalmatia - establishes Venice's Adriatic empire, begins annual 'Marriage of the Sea' ceremony
ID: 5102
1000
ID: 5179
Robert II begins healing scrofula by royal touch - establishes sacred kingship tradition lasting 800 years
ID: 5179
1000
ID: 5459
Cluny develops elaborate liturgical practices with nearly perpetual prayer - monks spend up to 8 hours daily in choir, influencing Western liturgy
ID: 5459
1000
ID: 5687
Totonac people of Mexico cultivate vanilla orchids - used to flavor chocolate drinks, considered sacred
ID: 5687
1000
ID: 5737
Banda Islands only source of nutmeg in world - tiny islands control global nutmeg supply, worth more than gold
ID: 5737
1000
ID: 5873
November 1000
Death of Aelfthryth at Wherwell - dies at abbey she founded, remembered as both murderess and holy patron
ID: 5873
1000
ID: 5545
December 25, 1000
Stephen I crowned first King of Hungary with crown sent by Pope Sylvester II, establishing Christian kingdom
ID: 5545
1001
ID: 3732
Richard II refounds Fécamp Abbey - brings Italian reformers, becomes intellectual center of Normandy
ID: 3732
1001
ID: 5872
Aethelred promotes Edward's cult - officially recognizes murdered half-brother as martyr, encourages veneration
ID: 5872
1002
ID: 4986
St. Gregory of Narek completes 'Book of Lamentations' - masterpiece of mystical poetry and theology
ID: 4986
1002
ID: 5806
Third Danegeld payment - 24,000 pounds of silver paid to Viking army
ID: 5806
1002
ID: 5876
April 1002
Aethelred marries Emma of Normandy - alliance to prevent Vikings using Norman ports, Emma becomes queen, takes English name Aelfgifu
ID: 5876
1002
ID: 2565
November 13, 1002
St. Brice's Day Massacre - Ethelred orders killing of all Danes in England, Sweyn Forkbeard's sister killed
ID: 2565
1002
ID: 3717
November 13, 1002
St. Brice's Day Massacre - Ethelred orders killing of all Danes in England, triggers massive Viking retaliation
ID: 3717
1003
ID: 3976
John XVII becomes hundred-fortieth pope - dominated by Crescentii family, dies after six months
ID: 3976
1003
ID: 3977
John XVIII becomes hundred-forty-first pope - possibly abdicated to become monk at St. Paul's
ID: 3977
1003
ID: 4987
Death of St. Gregory of Narek - Doctor of the Church, bridge between Eastern and Western spirituality
ID: 4987
1005
ID: 5874
Monastic chroniclers remain critical - despite Aethelred's repentance, monks never forgive early anti-monastic stance
ID: 5874
1005
ID: 5877
Emma bears Aethelred sons Edward and Alfred - future Edward the Confessor born, creating succession complications
ID: 5877
1007
ID: 4935
Birth of St. Peter Damian in Ravenna - future Doctor of the Church and reformer
ID: 4935
1007
ID: 5807
Fourth Danegeld payment - 36,000 pounds paid, massive tax burden on England
ID: 5807
1009
ID: 3978
Sergius IV becomes hundred-forty-second pope - Peter Pig's Mouth, dies during solar eclipse
ID: 3978
1009
ID: 5808
Thorkell the High arrives with massive Viking fleet - 45 ships raid Kent and demand tribute
ID: 5808
1009
ID: 5875
Aethelred links Viking raids to sins - royal charter suggests invasions are divine punishment for crimes against Church
ID: 5875
1010s (26 events)
1010
ID: 5492
Lady Murasaki Shikibu completes Tale of Genji - world's first psychological novel
ID: 5492
1011
ID: 5525
Goryeo begins carving first Tripitaka Koreana - complete Buddhist canon on woodblocks
ID: 5525
1011
ID: 5862
Vikings target wealthy monasteries - Canterbury sacked, monasteries' vast wealth makes them prime targets
ID: 5862
1011
ID: 5809
September 19, 1011
Canterbury sacked and Archbishop Aelfheah captured - Thorkell's Vikings destroy cathedral, hold archbishop for ransom
ID: 5809
1012
ID: 2637
Massive Danegeld of 48,000 pounds paid - largest payment ever to Vikings, Thorkell the High enters English service
ID: 2637
1012
ID: 3979
Benedict VIII becomes hundred-forty-third pope - Count of Tusculum, defeats Saracens, crowns Henry II
ID: 3979
1012
ID: 5811
Aethelred establishes heregeld tax system - permanent annual tax to maintain standing army of Danish mercenaries
ID: 5811
1012
ID: 5810
April 19, 1012
Murder of Archbishop Aelfheah at Greenwich - killed by drunken Vikings, causes Thorkell to defect to Aethelred
ID: 5810
1013
ID: 2566
Sweyn Forkbeard conquers England - Ethelred flees to Normandy, Sweyn recognized as king
ID: 2566
1013
ID: 3718
Sweyn Forkbeard conquers England - Danish king drives out Ethelred, becomes King of England
ID: 3718
1013
ID: 5812
Thorkell defends London against Sweyn - Viking mercenary fights for England against Danish invasion
ID: 5812
1013
ID: 5863
Secular bishops dominate under late Aethelred - monastic reform effectively reversed, married clergy common again
ID: 5863
1013
ID: 5878
Emma flees to Normandy with children - escapes Sweyn's invasion, seeks refuge with brother Duke Richard II
ID: 5878
1014
ID: 4773
Battle of Kleidion - Basil II blinds 15,000 Bulgarian prisoners, leaves one eye per hundred to guide home
ID: 4773
1014
ID: 5879
Emma returns as queen - accompanies Aethelred back to England after Sweyn's death
ID: 5879
1014
ID: 2567
February 3, 1014
Death of Sweyn Forkbeard - dies after five weeks as king, Ethelred returns from exile
ID: 2567
1014
ID: 3719
April 23, 1014
Battle of Clontarf - Brian Boru defeats Viking-Leinster alliance, ends Viking power in Ireland but dies in victory
ID: 3719
1016
ID: 2568
Cnut becomes King of England - defeats Edmund Ironside, begins Danish dynasty, marries Aethelred's widow Emma of Normandy (1017)
ID: 2568
1016
ID: 3720
Cnut becomes King of England - Danish prince conquers England, later rules Denmark and Norway as North Sea Empire
ID: 3720
1016
ID: 5832
Cnut replaces ealdormen with earls - Danish term 'jarl' becomes 'earl', fewer but more powerful than old ealdormen, govern multiple shires
ID: 5832
1016
ID: 5880
April 23, 1016
Death of Aethelred leaves Emma vulnerable - widow with young sons, Edmund Ironside becomes king briefly
ID: 5880
1017
ID: 5882
Emma-Cnut marriage agreement - any son by Emma to inherit throne over Cnut's existing sons, sidelining Aethelred's sons
ID: 5882
1017
ID: 5885
Emma's sons by Aethelred remain in Norman exile - Edward and Alfred stay in Normandy while mother reigns with their father's conqueror
ID: 5885
1017
ID: 5881
July 1017
Emma marries Cnut the conqueror - extraordinary political marriage, former enemy becomes husband, secures her position
ID: 5881
1018
ID: 2638
Cnut's law code issued - synthesis of Anglo-Saxon and Danish law, effective administration
ID: 2638
1018
ID: 5883
Emma bears Harthacnut to Cnut - creates rival line to her sons by Aethelred, complex succession situation
ID: 5883
1020s (8 events)
1020
ID: 5884
Emma at height of power - queen of England, Denmark, and Norway through Cnut, wealthiest woman in Europe
ID: 5884
1024
ID: 3980
John XIX becomes hundred-forty-fourth pope - brother of Benedict VIII, layman who bought papacy
ID: 3980
1025
ID: 4774
Death of Basil II - Byzantine Empire at medieval peak, stretches from Danube to Syria
ID: 4774
1027
ID: 2639
Cnut's pilgrimage to Rome - attends Conrad II's imperial coronation, negotiates for English traders
ID: 2639
1027
ID: 3733
Robert the Magnificent becomes Duke - rebels against brother Richard III who dies mysteriously
ID: 3733
1027
ID: 5180
Henry I crowned co-king at Reims - Robert II associates eldest surviving son after deaths of older brothers
ID: 5180
1027
ID: 5456
Saint Odilo of Cluny promotes the Truce of God movement, forbidding warfare on certain holy days - spreads from Cluny throughout France
ID: 5456
1028
ID: 2640
Cnut and the tide (legend) - demonstrates limits of royal power by commanding tide to stop, throne gets wet
ID: 2640
1030s (11 events)
1030
ID: 3721
July 29, 1030
Battle of Stiklestad - Olaf II killed trying to reclaim Norway, later becomes St. Olaf, patron saint of Norway
ID: 3721
1031
ID: 5182
Queen Mother Constance supports younger sons against Henry I - civil war erupts, Henry prevails with help from Robert of Normandy
ID: 5182
1031
ID: 5181
July 20, 1031
Death of Robert II the Pious - Henry I becomes sole king after civil war with younger brothers
ID: 5181
1032
ID: 3981
Benedict IX becomes hundred-forty-fifth pope - nephew of previous two popes, possibly age 12, most scandalous pope
ID: 3981
1034
ID: 3734
Robert the Magnificent goes on pilgrimage - leaves for Jerusalem, appoints young bastard son William as heir
ID: 3734
1035
ID: 3735
William the Bastard becomes Duke at age 7 - Robert dies on return from Jerusalem, anarchy threatens duchy
ID: 3735
1035
ID: 5886
Cnut's death creates succession crisis - Emma backs son Harthacnut but Harold Harefoot seizes throne
ID: 5886
1035
ID: 2569
November 12, 1035
Death of Cnut the Great - ruled England, Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden, empire divides among sons
ID: 2569
1036
ID: 5887
Emma holds Winchester treasury - controls royal treasure against Harold Harefoot, acts as regent for absent Harthacnut
ID: 5887
1038
ID: 4867
Babylonian academies decline - Last major Gaon dies, center of Jewish life shifts to Spain and Europe
ID: 4867
1038
ID: 5546
August 15, 1038
King Stephen I dies, later canonized as Saint Stephen, patron saint of Hungary
ID: 5546
1040s (14 events)
1040
ID: 3736
Murder of William's guardians - multiple protectors assassinated, young duke sleeps in peasant houses for safety
ID: 3736
1040
ID: 5463
Cluny establishes extensive charitable operations, feeding thousands of poor annually and providing hospitality to pilgrims on route to Santiago de Compostela
ID: 5463
1041
ID: 5888
Edward returns after Harthacnut's invitation - Emma's son by Aethelred reconciles with her after 25 years
ID: 5888
1042
ID: 2570
Edward the Confessor becomes king - son of Ethelred, raised in Normandy, dominated by Earl Godwin
ID: 2570
1042
ID: 3722
Edward the Confessor restores Anglo-Saxon rule - son of Ethelred returns from Norman exile, ends Danish dynasty
ID: 3722
1042
ID: 3749
Magnus the Good becomes King of Denmark - son of Olaf II rules both Norway and Denmark
ID: 3749
1043
ID: 5889
Edward the Confessor strips Emma of property - son punishes mother for preferring Danish children, confiscates her lands
ID: 5889
1045
ID: 2571
Edward the Confessor begins building Westminster Abbey - Norman-style church, his life's work
ID: 2571
1045
ID: 3982
Benedict IX sells papacy to his godfather Gregory VI - unprecedented act of simony
ID: 3982
1046
ID: 5547
Andrew I restores Hungarian independence after defeating German Emperor Henry III's puppet ruler
ID: 5547
1047
ID: 3737
Battle of Val-ès-Dunes - William with French King Henry I defeats Norman rebels, secures his duchy
ID: 3737
1047
ID: 3750
Sweyn II Estridsen becomes King - nephew of Cnut, fights Magnus for Danish throne, establishes independence
ID: 3750
1049
ID: 5051
Berengar of Tours denies Real Presence - claims Eucharist only symbolic, begins decades of controversy
ID: 5051
1049
ID: 5447
Hugh the Great becomes sixth abbot of Cluny, begins his 60-year abbacy - longest in Cluny's history
ID: 5447
1050s (19 events)
1050
ID: 5285
Arabic love poetry influences Aquitaine - through contact with Moorish Spain, zajal and muwashshah forms inspire troubadour lyrics
ID: 5285
1050
ID: 5462
Cluny's scriptorium produces magnificent illuminated manuscripts, spreading Cluniac artistic style throughout European monasteries
ID: 5462
1050
ID: 5467
Cluny develops innovative agricultural practices and becomes major wine producer, with estates throughout Burgundy supporting the monastery
ID: 5467
1050
ID: 5468
Cluny becomes major pilgrimage site housing relics of Saints Peter and Paul, attracting thousands of pilgrims annually
ID: 5468
1051
ID: 2572
Godwin family exiled - Edward the Confessor breaks free from Godwin control, Norman influence increases
ID: 2572
1052
ID: 2573
Godwin returns with fleet - forces Edward to restore him, Norman courtiers flee, Godwin power restored
ID: 2573
1053
ID: 3738
William marries Matilda of Flanders - strategic marriage despite papal opposition over consanguinity
ID: 3738
1053
ID: 5046
Michael Cerularius revives anti-Latin measures - closes Latin churches in Constantinople, attacks azymes and filioque
ID: 5046
1053
ID: 2574
April 15, 1053
Death of Earl Godwin - dies of stroke at Easter feast with king, son Harold becomes Earl of Wessex
ID: 2574
1054
ID: 3739
Battle of Mortemer - William defeats French invasion, King Henry I's brother captured
ID: 3739
1054
ID: 4775
Great Schism - Papal legate and Patriarch excommunicate each other, permanent Christian division
ID: 4775
1054
ID: 5183
Henry I defeated by William of Normandy at Mortemer - French royal power at nadir, confined to Île-de-France
ID: 5183
1054
ID: 5047
July 16, 1054
Great Schism - Cardinal Humbert excommunicates Cerularius, who excommunicates papal legates, East-West split formalized
ID: 5047
1057
ID: 3740
Battle of Varaville - William crushes French army at tidal crossing, ensures Norman independence
ID: 3740
1057
ID: 4936
St. Peter Damian made Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia - reluctantly accepts to help reform the Church
ID: 4936
1059
ID: 3741
Lanfranc at Bec - Italian scholar makes Norman monastery leading center of learning in Europe
ID: 3741
1059
ID: 5048
Death of Michael Cerularius - dies unrepentant, schism continues and deepens
ID: 5048
1059
ID: 5052
Berengar condemned at Rome - forced to sign confession of Real Presence, will later recant
ID: 5052
1059
ID: 5184
Philip I crowned co-king at age 7 - Henry I ensures succession before death
ID: 5184
1060s (18 events)
1060
ID: 5185
August 4, 1060
Death of Henry I - Philip I becomes king at age 8, regency of Baldwin V of Flanders
ID: 5185
1063
ID: 4184
Sockburn Worm slain by John Conyers - knight kills dragon terrorizing Durham, granted lands by Prince-Bishop (Durham chronicles)
ID: 4184
1064
ID: 2575
Harold's visit to Normandy - allegedly swears oath to support William's claim to throne (Norman sources)
ID: 2575
1065
ID: 3742
William begins planning English invasion - builds fleet, gains papal support, recruits mercenaries
ID: 3742
1065
ID: 2576
December 28, 1065
Westminster Abbey consecrated - Edward too ill to attend, dies eight days later
ID: 2576
1066
ID: 5777
Normans bring advanced cider-making to England - cider becomes English national drink, orchards expand rapidly
ID: 5777
1066
ID: 2577
January 5, 1066
Death of Edward the Confessor - dies childless, allegedly names Harold as successor on deathbed
ID: 2577
1066
ID: 2578
January 6, 1066
Harold Godwinson crowned - coronation day after Edward's burial, knows invasions coming
ID: 2578
1066
ID: 2579
April 1066
Halley's Comet appears - visible for weeks, seen as omen of disaster, depicted in Bayeux Tapestry
ID: 2579
1066
ID: 2580
May 1066
Tostig raids English coast - Harold's exiled brother attacks with fleet, driven off to Scotland
ID: 2580
1066
ID: 2581
September 20, 1066
Harald Hardrada invades - 'Last Viking' lands with 300 ships and Tostig, defeats earls at Fulford
ID: 2581
1066
ID: 2582
September 25, 1066
Battle of Stamford Bridge - Harold defeats and kills Hardrada and Tostig, only 24 of 300 Viking ships return
ID: 2582
1066
ID: 2583
September 28, 1066
William lands at Pevensey - 7,000 Normans land while Harold in York, builds castle, ravages Sussex
ID: 2583
1066
ID: 2584
October 6, 1066
Harold's forced march south - covers 250 miles from York to London in 4-5 days, gathers fresh troops
ID: 2584
1066
ID: 2585
October 14, 1066
Battle of Hastings - all-day battle, Harold killed by arrow to eye (tradition), Norman Conquest begins
ID: 2585
1066
ID: 2586
December 1066
Submission at Berkhamsted - Edgar Atheling and English nobles submit to William, path to throne clear
ID: 2586
1066
ID: 2587
December 25, 1066
William crowned King of England - coronation at Westminster on Christmas Day, soldiers think riot and burn houses
ID: 2587
1069
ID: 2588
Harrying of the North - William devastates Yorkshire, 100,000 die from famine, land desolate for decades
ID: 2588
1070s (9 events)
1070
ID: 5816
William the Conqueror retains shire reeve system - Normans call them 'sheriffs' (shire-reeve), expand their powers as direct royal agents
ID: 5816
1071
ID: 4776
Battle of Manzikert - Seljuk Turks capture Emperor Romanos IV, Anatolia lost, empire never recovers
ID: 4776
1072
ID: 5817
Sheriffs established as crown's counter to feudal lords - collect taxes directly for king even from lands granted to nobles, preventing alienation of royal revenues
ID: 5817
1072
ID: 4937
February 22, 1072
Death of St. Peter Damian - Doctor of the Church, wrote against simony and clerical corruption
ID: 4937
1073
ID: 5461
Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand), influenced by Cluniac ideals, begins Gregorian Reform to eliminate simony and enforce clerical celibacy
ID: 5461
1075
ID: 2129
Pope Gregory VII issues Dictatus Papae - 27 propositions asserting papal supremacy over temporal rulers and exclusive right to depose emperors
ID: 2129
1077
ID: 5465
King Alfonso VI of Castile brings Cluniac monks to Spain, doubling annual tribute to Cluny and spreading Cluniac reform in Iberian peninsula
ID: 5465
1078
ID: 2589
Tower of London White Tower begun - massive Norman keep, symbol of conquest and royal power
ID: 2589
1079
ID: 5053
Berengar's final recantation - definitively accepts Real Presence at Roman synod, retires to hermitage
ID: 5053
1080s (13 events)
1080
ID: 5464
Cluny's library becomes one of largest in Europe with over 570 manuscripts, making it major center of learning and theological study
ID: 5464
1082
ID: 5106
Golden Bull of Alexios I - grants Venice duty-free trade throughout Byzantine Empire for helping against Normans
ID: 5106
1082
ID: 5738
Venice gains Byzantine spice monopoly - controls European pepper distribution, one pound costs month's wages for laborer
ID: 5738
1085
ID: 2590
Domesday Book commissioned - comprehensive survey of English land ownership for taxation, completed 1086
ID: 2590
1086
ID: 5833
Domesday Book shows social change - most ceorls now recorded as villeins (unfree peasants), Norman conquest degrades Saxon freemen
ID: 5833
1086
ID: 5834
Domesday records land measurements - southern England uses hides, Danelaw uses carucates (ploughlands), both equal ~120 acres
ID: 5834
1087
ID: 5835
Thegns become knights - Norman feudalism transforms Anglo-Saxon thegns into knights, similar military obligations but different legal status
ID: 5835
1087
ID: 2591
September 9, 1087
Death of William the Conqueror - dies from injury falling from horse, buried at Caen
ID: 2591
1087
ID: 2592
September 26, 1087
William II Rufus crowned - second son takes England while Robert gets Normandy, barons rebel
ID: 2592
1088
ID: 2130
University of Bologna founded - Irnerius begins teaching Roman law from newly discovered Digest of Justinian, birth of legal science in Western Europe
ID: 2130
1088
ID: 2593
Rebellion of 1088 - barons supporting Robert Curthose defeated, Bishop Odo of Bayeux exiled
ID: 2593
1088
ID: 5054
Death of Berengar of Tours - dies in communion with Church after genuine conversion
ID: 5054
1088
ID: 5448
Construction begins on Cluny III, the third abbey church - will become largest church in Christendom until St. Peter's Basilica
ID: 5448
1090s (12 events)
1090
ID: 2131
Irnerius establishes the glossator method - systematic commentary on Roman law texts, creating foundation for European legal education
ID: 2131
1090
ID: 4938
Birth of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Burgundy - future Doctor of the Church and 'Mellifluous Doctor'
ID: 4938
1092
ID: 5186
Philip I 'abducts' Bertrade de Montfort - abandons wife for Count of Anjou's wife, excommunicated for bigamy
ID: 5186
1093
ID: 2594
Anselm becomes Archbishop of Canterbury - conflict with Rufus over church reform and investiture begins
ID: 2594
1094
ID: 5103
New St. Mark's Basilica consecrated - current Byzantine-style basilica completed with golden mosaics, becomes symbol of Venice
ID: 5103
1095
ID: 4777
Alexios I requests Western help - triggers First Crusade, unintended consequences follow
ID: 4777
1095
ID: 5449
November 25, 1095
Pope Urban II, former prior of Cluny, consecrates the high altar of Cluny III during his journey to preach the First Crusade
ID: 5449
1098
ID: 178
Cistercian Order founded at Cîteaux - seeking return to strict Benedictine rule, will have 500 houses by 1200
ID: 178
1098
ID: 4981
Birth of St. Hildegard of Bingen in Germany - future Doctor of the Church, visionary, and polymath
ID: 4981
1098
ID: 5187
Louis VI designated heir - Philip I associates son Louis the Fat despite Church opposition
ID: 5187
1099
ID: 5105
Venice transports First Crusade - provides ships for crusaders, establishes trading posts in conquered territories
ID: 5105
1099
ID: 177
July 15, 1099
First Crusade captures Jerusalem - Crusaders massacre Muslims and Jews, blood knee-deep in streets
ID: 177