The Anglo-Saxon Period and the Middle Ages 449 - 1485
449: Roman and Persian myths mingle with Celtic and Germanic myths – Western Literature 449: Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invade Britain 476: Roman Empire falls to Germanic tribes 597: St. Augustine converts Anglo-Saxon King Ethelbert, establishes the monastery at Canterbury Timeline
700: Beowulf is composed in Old English 793: Vikings invade Britain 810: Algebra is devised in Persia 975: The Exeter Book, a collection of English poetry, is first copied 1000: Lady Murasaki Shikibu of Japan writes the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji 1066: Normans invade England and defeat the Saxons – William the Conqueror becomes king
1150: Paper is mass-produced in Spain 1171: Henry II invades Ireland, beginning eight hundred years of British domination 1211: Ghenghis Khan invades China
1215: English barons force King John to sign the Magna Carta "No freeman shall be taken, imprisoned, disseised, outlawed, banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will We proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land." "To no one will We sell, to no one will We deny or delay, right or justice." 1215: English barons force King John to sign the Magna Carta
1325: Aztecs begin to establish empire in Mexico 1348: Black Death strikes England 1378: Legendary hero Robin Hood appears in Piers Plowman 1380: Entire Bible is translated in English for the first time
1381: Peasants’ Revolt takes place in England 1387: Chaucer begins The Canterbury Tales 1438: Incan Empire is established in Peru
1455 – 1485: War of the Roses is fought between the Houses of York and Lancaster 1455: Gutenberg prints first book with movable type 1475: William Caxton prints first book in England 1485: First Tudor king, Henry VII, is crowned