800s (17 events)
800
ID: 4091
Alcuin absent from imperial coronation - possibly disapproves of surprising Pope Leo III
ID: 4091
800
ID: 4879
Masoretic Text standardized - Ben Asher family creates definitive Hebrew text with vowel points
ID: 4879
800
ID: 5776
Medieval monasteries perfect apple cultivation - develop new varieties, cider becomes safer than water to drink
ID: 5776
800
ID: 2911
December 25, 800
Charlemagne crowned Emperor - Pope Leo III crowns him in St. Peter's on Christmas, Charlemagne claims surprise, Western Empire restored
ID: 2911
801
ID: 2914
Barcelona captured - Louis the Pious takes city after two-year siege, establishes Spanish March against Muslims
ID: 2914
801
ID: 4092
Alcuin presents Tours Bible to Charlemagne - Christmas gift, masterpiece of Carolingian manuscripts
ID: 4092
802
ID: 2910
Elephant arrives at Aachen - Abul-Abbas, gift from Harun al-Rashid, only elephant in Europe, dies in 810
ID: 2910
802
ID: 2912
Byzantine negotiations - Empress Irene proposes marriage to unite empires, she's deposed before completion
ID: 2912
802
ID: 2913
Administrative reforms - Charlemagne sends missi dominici (royal inspectors) throughout empire, issues capitularies
ID: 2913
802
ID: 4093
Alcuin's letter collection preserved - over 300 letters survive, major historical source
ID: 4093
803
ID: 4094
Alcuin's students spread learning - Rabanus Maurus becomes 'Teacher of Germany', legacy continues
ID: 4094
804
ID: 2915
Final pacification of Saxony - after 32 years of war, Saxony fully incorporated and Christianized, 10,000 Saxons relocated
ID: 2915
804
ID: 2916
Death of Alcuin - Charlemagne's chief scholar dies at Tours, leaves legacy of Carolingian Renaissance
ID: 2916
804
ID: 4095
Alcuin dies at Tours on May 19 - buried at St. Martin's, called 'most learned man of his age'
ID: 4095
804
ID: 4096
Alcuin's works preserved - 50+ treatises on theology, education, biblical commentary, 300+ poems
ID: 4096
804
ID: 4097
Alcuin's impact assessed - saved classical learning, created educational system for medieval Europe
ID: 4097
806
ID: 2917
Divisio Regnorum - Charlemagne plans division of empire among three sons, but two die before him
ID: 2917
810s (15 events)
810
ID: 2919
Death of Pepin of Italy - Charlemagne's second son dies, only Louis remains as heir
ID: 2919
810
ID: 3698
Danish King Godfred attacks Frisia - destroys Frisian fleet and imposes tribute, challenges Charlemagne's empire
ID: 3698
810
ID: 5096
Capital moved to Rialto - Doge Agnello Participazio transfers seat from Malamocco to Rialto islands after Frankish attack
ID: 5096
811
ID: 2920
Death of Charles the Younger - Charlemagne's eldest son dies, Louis the Pious now sole heir
ID: 2920
812
ID: 2921
Byzantine recognition - Emperor Michael I recognizes Charlemagne as Emperor of the West, two Roman Empires acknowledged
ID: 2921
813
ID: 2922
Louis the Pious crowned co-emperor - Charlemagne personally crowns son at Aachen, no papal involvement
ID: 2922
814
ID: 2923
January 28, 814
Death of Charlemagne - dies at 71 after 46-year reign, buried in Aachen chapel, Louis inherits intact empire
ID: 2923
815
ID: 5037
Second Iconoclasm begins - Emperor Leo V revives icon destruction after Nicaea II restoration
ID: 5037
816
ID: 2924
Benedict of Aniane's reforms - Louis the Pious enforces Benedictine Rule in all monasteries, religious revival
ID: 2924
816
ID: 2925
Louis re-crowned by Pope - Stephen IV comes to Reims, papal coronation becomes tradition
ID: 2925
816
ID: 3931
Stephen IV becomes ninety-seventh pope - crowns Louis the Pious at Reims
ID: 3931
817
ID: 2926
Ordinatio Imperii - Louis names eldest son Lothair co-emperor, younger sons get kingdoms, attempts to preserve unity
ID: 2926
817
ID: 2927
Bernard of Italy rebels - nephew Bernard rebels against Ordinatio, captured, blinded, dies from wounds
ID: 2927
817
ID: 3932
St. Paschal I becomes ninety-eighth pope - crowns Lothair, creates beautiful mosaics
ID: 3932
819
ID: 2929
Louis marries Judith of Bavaria - second marriage produces Charles the Bald (823), disrupts succession plans
ID: 2929
820s (6 events)
822
ID: 2928
Public penance at Attigny - Louis does penance for Bernard's death, perceived as weakness, nobles gain power
ID: 2928
824
ID: 3933
Eugene II becomes ninety-ninth pope - accepts Frankish supervision with Constitutio Romana
ID: 3933
827
ID: 3934
Valentine becomes hundredth pope - dies after forty days, little known
ID: 3934
827
ID: 3935
Gregory IV becomes hundred-first pope - makes All Saints universal, mediates between Louis and sons
ID: 3935
828
ID: 5097
Body of St. Mark stolen from Alexandria - Venetian merchants smuggle evangelist's relics hidden in pork, St. Mark replaces St. Theodore as patron
ID: 5097
829
ID: 2625
Egbert of Wessex becomes Bretwalda - overlord of all English kingdoms, Wessex supremacy begins
ID: 2625
830s (5 events)
832
ID: 5098
First St. Mark's Basilica built - Doge Giustiniano Participazio builds church to house St. Mark's relics, Byzantine style
ID: 5098
833
ID: 2930
Field of Lies - Louis's sons rebel, army deserts him at Rothfeld, temporarily deposed, later restored
ID: 2930
834
ID: 2931
Louis restored - loyalists and clergy restore Louis, Lothair flees to Italy, empire increasingly divided
ID: 2931
834
ID: 3699
Vikings raid Dorestad - major Frankish trading center repeatedly attacked, demonstrating Viking reach into heart of Europe
ID: 3699
834
ID: 5261
Drought ends after procession with Genevieve's relics - Bishop carries relics to Notre-Dame, rain begins before returning to church
ID: 5261
840s (13 events)
840
ID: 5099
Pactum Lotharii - Treaty with Carolingians confirms Venice's independence from Western Empire, Byzantine allegiance maintained
ID: 5099
840
ID: 2932
June 840
Death of Louis the Pious - dies on campaign against rebellious son Louis the German, civil war erupts immediately
ID: 2932
841
ID: 3700
Vikings establish Dublin as permanent base - Turgeis founds fortress, becomes center of Viking slave trade
ID: 3700
841
ID: 2933
June 25, 841
Battle of Fontenoy - Louis the German and Charles the Bald defeat Lothair, 40,000 dead, Frankish nobility decimated
ID: 2933
842
ID: 2626
Vikings attack London - great slaughter in London, first major Viking assault on the city
ID: 2626
842
ID: 2934
Oaths of Strasbourg - Louis and Charles swear alliance in vernacular languages (Old French and Old High German), first such texts
ID: 2934
843
ID: 5038
Restoration of Icons - Empress Theodora definitively restores icon veneration, Feast of Orthodoxy established
ID: 5038
843
ID: 5069
Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution in China - also suppresses Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity, and Zoroastrianism
ID: 5069
843
ID: 2935
August 843
Treaty of Verdun - Carolingian Empire permanently divided: Lothair gets Middle Francia and imperial title, Louis gets East (Germany), Charles gets West (France)
ID: 2935
844
ID: 3701
Vikings raid Seville in Muslim Spain - first attack on Iberia, defeated by Abd al-Rahman II's forces
ID: 3701
844
ID: 3936
Sergius II becomes hundred-second pope - Saracens attack Rome, damage St. Peter's
ID: 3936
845
ID: 2936
Vikings sack Paris - Ragnar Lothbrok's fleet of 120 ships, Charles the Bald pays 7,000 pounds silver ransom
ID: 2936
847
ID: 3937
St. Leo IV becomes hundred-third pope - builds Leonine walls after Saracen attack, defeats Muslim fleet
ID: 3937
850s (10 events)
850
ID: 4213
Ragnar Lodbrok kills lindworm - Viking hero kills giant serpent to win Thora, wears shaggy breeches for protection (Saga accounts)
ID: 4213
850
ID: 4880
Tiberian Masoretes flourish - Most accurate Hebrew Bible tradition, competes with Babylonian pointing
ID: 4880
850
ID: 5686
Coffee discovered in Ethiopia - legend says goat herder Kaldi notices energized goats eating coffee berries
ID: 5686
850
ID: 5827
Hundred system develops - subdivision of shires, theoretically 100 hides, with hundred-moot court meeting monthly for justice
ID: 5827
855
ID: 2937
Death of Lothair I - Middle Francia divided among his three sons, imperial title to Louis II
ID: 2937
855
ID: 3938
Benedict III becomes hundred-fourth pope - reign gives rise to false Pope Joan legend
ID: 3938
856
ID: 2938
Vikings establish permanent bases - settle on Loire islands, raids become constant threat
ID: 2938
858
ID: 3939
St. Nicholas I the Great becomes hundred-fifth pope - deposes Patriarch Photius, asserts papal supremacy
ID: 3939
858
ID: 5039
Photius usurps Patriarchate of Constantinople - St. Ignatius deposed, Photius a layman consecrated in six days
ID: 5039
859
ID: 3702
Bjorn Ironside's Mediterranean expedition begins - four-year voyage raiding Spain, North Africa, and Italy
ID: 3702
860s (12 events)
860
ID: 2627
Vikings sack Winchester - West Saxon capital burned, but Vikings driven off by relieving force
ID: 2627
862
ID: 3703
Rurik founds Novgorod - Viking establishment of Rus' dynasty, beginning of Russian state
ID: 3703
863
ID: 5040
Pope Nicholas I deposes Photius - declares Ignatius rightful patriarch, Photius responds by 'deposing' the Pope
ID: 5040
865
ID: 2628
Great Heathen Army arrives - Ivar the Boneless and brothers lead massive Viking force to conquer, not just raid
ID: 2628
866
ID: 2549
Great Heathen Army takes York - Ivar the Boneless captures Northumbrian capital, establishes Viking kingdom
ID: 2549
867
ID: 3940
Adrian II becomes hundred-sixth pope - supports Cyril and Methodius's Slavic mission
ID: 3940
867
ID: 4771
Basil I founds Macedonian dynasty - begins Byzantine golden age, murders predecessor
ID: 4771
867
ID: 5041
Photius adds filioque controversy - accuses West of heresy for saying Spirit proceeds from Father 'and Son'
ID: 5041
867
ID: 3704
March 21, 867
Blood Eagle execution of King Aella - Northumbrian king killed by sons of Ragnar in ritual revenge execution
ID: 3704
868
ID: 4713
Diamond Sutra printed - world's oldest dated printed book, woodblock printing
ID: 4713
869
ID: 5042
Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eighth Ecumenical) - condemns Photius, restores Ignatius, last council recognized by East and West
ID: 5042
869
ID: 2550
November 20, 869
Martyrdom of King Edmund of East Anglia - tied to tree and shot with arrows by Vikings for refusing to renounce Christianity
ID: 2550
870s (17 events)
870
ID: 2939
Treaty of Mersen - Louis the German and Charles the Bald divide Lotharingia after death of Lothair II
ID: 2939
870
ID: 2629
November 20, 870
St. Edmund martyred - King of East Anglia tortured and killed by Vikings for refusing to renounce Christianity
ID: 2629
871
ID: 2551
Alfred becomes King of Wessex - youngest son inherits during Viking invasion, Wessex last independent Saxon kingdom
ID: 2551
871
ID: 5828
Alfred organizes fyrd system - every 5 hides must provide one armed man for militia, thegns serve as mounted warriors
ID: 5828
871
ID: 2552
January 8, 871
Battle of Ashdown - Alfred defeats Danish Great Army, first major Saxon victory over Vikings
ID: 2552
872
ID: 3705
Harald Fairhair begins unification of Norway - battles to become first King of all Norway, causes Viking emigration
ID: 3705
872
ID: 3941
John VIII becomes hundred-seventh pope - first pope assassinated, pays tribute to Saracens
ID: 3941
874
ID: 3706
Vikings permanently settle Iceland - Ingolfr Arnarson establishes Reykjavik, beginning of Icelandic Commonwealth
ID: 3706
875
ID: 2940
December 875
Charles the Bald crowned Emperor - bribes Pope John VIII, Louis the German's sons protest
ID: 2940
876
ID: 2941
Death of Louis the German - East Francia divided among three sons, beginning German stem duchies
ID: 2941
877
ID: 5043
Photius restored after Ignatius dies - gains papal recognition through deception, holds false council
ID: 5043
877
ID: 2942
October 877
Death of Charles the Bald - dies crossing Alps, son Louis the Stammerer inherits weakened West Francia
ID: 2942
878
ID: 2554
Alfred hides at Athelney - burns the cakes (legend), organizes resistance from marsh fortress
ID: 2554
878
ID: 2556
Treaty of Wedmore - Guthrum converts to Christianity, England divided between Wessex and Danelaw
ID: 2556
878
ID: 2553
January 878
Guthrum attacks Chippenham at Twelfth Night - Alfred flees to Somerset marshes, darkest hour of Saxon England
ID: 2553
878
ID: 2555
May 878
Battle of Edington - Alfred decisively defeats Guthrum's Vikings, saves Wessex and Christianity in England
ID: 2555
879
ID: 2943
Death of Louis the Stammerer - two posthumous sons, succession disputed, Vikings intensify raids
ID: 2943
880s (16 events)
880
ID: 5829
Burghal Hidage established - Alfred assigns hides to maintain fortified burghs, 1 man per 4 feet of wall, revolutionary defense system
ID: 5829
881
ID: 2944
Battle of Saucourt - Louis III defeats Vikings, celebrated in Old High German poem, but Vikings return
ID: 2944
882
ID: 3707
Oleg of Novgorod takes Kiev - unites northern and southern Rus' territories, founds Kievan Rus'
ID: 3707
882
ID: 3942
Marinus I becomes hundred-eighth pope - first bishop of another see elected pope
ID: 3942
884
ID: 2945
Charles the Fat reunites empire - briefly controls all Carolingian lands, but weak and incompetent
ID: 2945
884
ID: 3943
St. Adrian III becomes hundred-ninth pope - dies traveling to Germany
ID: 3943
885
ID: 2946
Great Siege of Paris begins - Count Odo defends against 40,000 Vikings with 700 ships, becomes hero
ID: 2946
885
ID: 3944
Stephen V becomes hundred-tenth pope - forbids Slavonic liturgy despite predecessors
ID: 3944
886
ID: 2630
Alfred retakes London - restores and refortifies city, all English not under Danish rule accept him as king
ID: 2630
886
ID: 2947
Charles the Fat pays off Vikings - instead of fighting, pays huge ransom and grants them Burgundy to pillage
ID: 2947
886
ID: 5044
Final deposition of Photius - Emperor Leo VI deposes him, dies in exile unrepentant
ID: 5044
886
ID: 5262
Paris survives Viking siege - citizens invoke St. Genevieve's protection, Odo of Paris leads successful defense
ID: 5262
887
ID: 2948
Charles the Fat deposed - East Frankish nobles depose him at Tribur, Carolingian unity permanently ends
ID: 2948
888
ID: 2950
Odo elected King of West Francia - hero of Paris siege, first non-Carolingian king, Robertian dynasty begins
ID: 2950
888
ID: 2951
Arnulf becomes King of East Francia - illegitimate Carolingian, defeats Vikings at Dyle (891)
ID: 2951
888
ID: 2949
January 888
Death of Charles the Fat - dies weeks after deposition, five kingdoms emerge from Carolingian Empire
ID: 2949
890s (13 events)
890
ID: 5813
Alfred the Great reorganizes shire system - establishes shire reeves (scir-gerefa) as royal officials to oversee justice and tax collection in each shire
ID: 5813
891
ID: 3945
Formosus becomes hundred-eleventh pope - body later exhumed and tried at Cadaver Synod
ID: 3945
893
ID: 5045
Death of Photius - architect of Greek schism dies in Armenian monastery, split continues
ID: 5045
895
ID: 5542
Magyar tribes led by Árpád arrive in Carpathian Basin, beginning Hungarian conquest of the homeland
ID: 5542
895
ID: 5814
Alfred establishes hundred courts - subdivisions of shires with reeves presiding over local justice and collecting royal dues
ID: 5814
896
ID: 2557
Alfred builds first English navy - designs new warships twice size of Viking longships, defeats Danish fleet
ID: 2557
896
ID: 3946
Boniface VI becomes hundred-twelfth pope - dies after fifteen days
ID: 3946
896
ID: 3947
Stephen VI becomes hundred-thirteenth pope - holds Cadaver Synod, later strangled in prison
ID: 3947
897
ID: 3948
Romanus becomes hundred-fourteenth pope - deposed after four months, becomes monk
ID: 3948
897
ID: 3949
Theodore II becomes hundred-fifteenth pope - rehabilitates Formosus, dies after twenty days
ID: 3949
898
ID: 2952
Charles the Simple becomes king - Carolingian restoration after Odo's death, but Robertians remain powerful
ID: 2952
898
ID: 3950
John IX becomes hundred-sixteenth pope - fully vindicates Formosus, prohibits trials of dead
ID: 3950
899
ID: 2558
October 26, 899
Death of Alfred the Great - only English king called 'Great', saved England, promoted learning and law
ID: 2558