1300 |
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King Wenceslas II ascends the
throne in Poland.
Birth of Guillaume de Machaut,
French musician and poet.
c. 1300 Cursor Mundi written and Marco Polo's Travels.
1300-1400 English displacing French as language of the upper classes and in schools and law courts. Mystery plays increasingly performed by guilds rather than churches--more actors, more spectacles, outdoor stages, comic elements. |
1301 |
Edward
I of England invests his baby son Edward as Prince of
Wales |
1302 |
Battle
of Courtrai: Flemish burghers defeat the flower of French
chivalry and save Flanders from French occupation. |
1303 |
Guillaume
de Nogaret, emissary of Philip IV of France, kidnaps
Pope Boniface VIII and beats him. The pope is rescued
by Italians from Anagni, but dies shortly thereafter
in Rome, probably as a result of his injuries.
His death ends the struggle between Philip IV of France
and the pope over papal powers in France. |
1304 |
Francis
Petrarch (Franceswco Petrarca), Italian poet born. |
1305 |
Pope
Clement V (Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux)
claims the Papal See. The "Babylonian Captivity"
begins as the Papal See removed from Rome to Avignon,
defying medieval custom.
The English capture and execute
Scottish rebel William Wallace. |
1306 |
Philip
IV expels the Jews from France.
New Scottish rebellion against
English rule led by Robert the Bruce. Robert is crowned
King of Scotalnd at Scone, rules until 1329. This ends
the ten-year interregnum in Scotland. |
1307 |
King
Edward dies while on campaign against Robert the Bruce.
Edward II, King of England, rules
until 1327.
Dante's Divine Comedy written about 1307-1321 |
1308 |
Albert
I, Holy Roman Emperor, dies. His replacement: Henry VII,
Holy Roman Emperor to 1313. |
1310 |
English
barons appoint appoint 21 peers--the Lords Ordainers--to
manage Edward II's household and control the country until
the king reaches his maturity. |
1312 |
The King
of France abolishes the Order of Knights Templar, accusing
them of witchcraft.
Birth of Geoffrey Chaucer's father, John Chaucer. |
1313 |
Birth of Giovanni Boccaccio. |
1314 |
Battle
of Bannockburn: Robert the Bruce defeats Edward II and
makes Scotland independent.
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
at civil war withhis rival, Frederick of Austria.
Louis X, (Louis the Quarrelsome)
King of France to 1316. |
1315 |
Swiss
forces beat Leopold of Austria at battle of Morgarten. |
1316 |
John
XXII becomes Pope. He holds the papal see until 1334.
The papacy orders eight Dominican
friars to travel to Ethiopia in search of Prester John,
a legendary Christian emperor. |
1317 |
France
adopts the Salic Law, excluding women from succession
to the throne. |
1318 |
The Swiss
make peace with the Habsburgs. |
1320 |
Tughluk
Dynasty in Delhi rules until 1413. Founded in 1320 by
the Turk Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluk. |
1321 |
Death of Dante Alighieri shortly after
his completion of the Divina Commedia. |
1322 |
Charles
IV, the Fair, King of France. (Rules until 1328). |
1325 |
Traditional
date of the Aztecs arrival in Tenochtitlán (Mexico
City). |
1326 |
The
Teutonic Knights go on crusade in Poland and Lithuania.
They defeat the Poles in 1333.
Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer
sail from France with an army to rebel against Edward
II, King of England. |
1327 |
Edward
III crowned king. He comes to power at age fourteen
after a coup d'état takes place against
his father, Edward II. (According to legend, Edward
II was killed in a particularly gruesome manner nine
months later while in prison.)
Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV invades
Italy and declares Pope John XXII deposed. |
1328 |
Edward marries
Filipino of Hainault. He is fifteen years old.
Philip VI, King of France ascends
to the throne. He is the first king of the House of
Valois. |
1329 |
David II, King of Scotland succeeds to
the Scottish throne after his father, Robert the Bruce,
dies. David II rules until 1371. |
1330 |
Edward, the Black
Prince, born as son of Edward IV.
Edward III assumes full royal
authority.
Birth of John Gower (dies 1408)
|
1331 |
England at war with
Scotland and Scotland's French allies. |
1332 |
Edward Balliol, son of John Balliol, attempts
to seize the throne of Scotland with the help of the English.
The Scots repel his advance and force him back across
the border. |
1333 |
Edward III invades Scotland on Balliol's
behalf and defeats the Scots at the battle of Halidon
Hill.
Emperor Daigo II of Japan overthrows the Hojo family
of Shoguns and sets up a period of dictatorship until
1336. |
1334 |
Pope Benedict XII ascends to Papal See.
He holds the See until 1342. |
1335 |
Pope Benedict XII issues reforms for
the monastic orders.
Boccaccio begins Il Filostrato (source of
Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde) |
1336 |
Revolution in Japan; Daigo II enters exile. |
1337 |
Birth of Jean Froissart, French poet and chronicler
(he dies 1404) |
1337-1453 |
The Hundred Years'
War, a conflict between France and England. Edward
III,
provoked by French attacks on his territories in France,
declares himself king of France based on his mother's
lineage. His ambition is to recover the territories
England used to hold in France. The wars end in 1453. |
1338 |
Declaration of Rense: Electors of the
Holy Roman Empire declare the empire to be a separate
entity from the papacy.
Treaty of Coblenz forms an alliance between England
and the Holy Roman Empire.
Giovanni Boccaccio completes Il Filostrato. |
1338-1339 |
England unsuccessfully
attempts to invade northern France (First major military
expedition of the Hundred
Years' War, often considered the conflict's beginning).Geoffrey
Chaucer's father (John Chaucer) participates in the
company of Edward III.
|
1339 |
Boccaccio begins Il Teseida delle Nozze d'Emilia
(source of Chaucer' s "The Knight's Tale") |
1340 |
Naval victory at Sluys gives England
the command of the English Channel.
English Parliament passes four statutes providing that
taxation shall be imposed only by parliament.
1340, birth of John of Gaunt.
Edward III takes title, "King of France."
Birth of Eustache Deschamps,
French poet. |
1340-1343 |
Approximate date of Chaucer's birth. |
1341 |
Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) crowned poet
Laureate in Rome.
Boccaccio finishes Il Teseida delle Nozze d'Emilia (source
of Chaucer' s "The Knight's Tale") |
1342 |
Clement VI becomes Pope. He holds the Papal
See until 1352. |
1343 |
Peace of Kalisch gives Teutonic Knights
land cutting off Poland from access to the Baltic Sea.
|
1344 |
First known use of the term Hanseatic League. |
1346 |
Battle of Crecy,
the first major engagement of the Hundred Years' War.
English soldiers defeate a much large number of French
under Philip VI near Abbeville in northern France, primarily
due to the supremacy of he English and Welsh longbow.
Battle of Neville's Cross--David
II of Scotland defeated and captured by the English.
Birth of Eustache Deschamps,
French poet (d. 1406). |
1347 |
England captures
Calais. Truce between England and France.
Plague arrives in Italy and Cypress,
carried there from eastern Asia.
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor,
ascends throne. He rules until 1378.
Italian patriot Cola da Rienzi
assumes power in Rome, calling himself "tribune."
He is quickly overthrown--at least until his return
in 1354. |
1348 |
Black Plague strikes
England. The outbreak in 1348 marks the most devastating
plague outbreak in recorded history for Britain, and deaths
continue through 1350. |
1349 |
Persecution of Jews in Germany. |
1350 |
John II, King of France takes throne.
Rules until 1364.
Pedro the Cruel becomes king of Castile. Rules until
1369.
c. 1350s "alliterative
revival" in West and North-West
of England. |
1350-1353 |
Boccaccio writes the Decameron. |
1351 |
Parliament passes
the Statute of Laborers to keep down wages in London.
The English refuse to comply
with the Pope's power to give English benefices to foreigners. |
1353 |
Boccaccio writes
the Decameron.
Statute of Praemunire: English
Parliament forbids appeals to the Pope. |
1354 |
Rienzi returns to power in Rome and is killed
by his opponents. |
1356 |
English win at
the Battle of Poitiers
The Golden Bull--a new constitution
for the Holy Roman Empire in Germany--provides for seven
electors.
Edward the Black Prince, son
of Edward III, defeats the French at the battle
of Poitiers,
capturing King John II. King John ends up living at
English court from 1357-1360. |
1357 |
First
record of Geoffrey Chaucer working as a page in
the household of the
Countess of Ulster (wife of Lionel, Earl of Ulster,
second son of Edward III).
The French Estates-General, lead
by the merchant Etienne Maarcel, attempts a series of
reforms.
The Scots ransom David II from
the English. |
1358 |
The Jacquerie, revolt by French peasants.
It is suppressed by the French Regent, Charles, son of
John II. |
1359 |
May (?):
Chaucer attends wedding of John of Gaunt and Blanche
of Lancaster.
Gaunt becomes Duke of Lancaster.Sept. Prince Lionel's
company is part of a a large expeditionary
force under the king.
November 3: Chaucer
serves Lionel as part of his retinue in the French
war. |
1360 |
Chaucer
captured by French soldiers at the siege of Reims.
King Edward III contributes
funding to help pay Chaucer's ransom of sixteen pounds
in March, 1360.
Chaucer carries letters to England
from Calais to England for Lionel, earl of Ulster,
as part of peace negotiations.
Treaty of Bretigny ends the first
phase of the Hundred Years' War, ensuring temporary
peace between England and France. Edward III gives up
the claim to the French throne. The war will not pick
up again until 1369. |
1361 |
The Black Prince
marries Joan of Kent.
Severe outbreak of plague continues
until 1362. |
1361-67 |
Jean Froissart serves in the houshold of Queen Philipa
(wife of Edward III). |
1362 |
First version ("the
A-text") of Piers Plowman, the first major
literary work to be written in the English language since
the Norman conquest. |
1363 |
Philip the Bold, son of John II, becomes
Duke of Burgundy.
Timur the Lame (Tamerlane) begins campaigns to conquer
Asia. |
1364 |
Charles V, the Wise, becomes King of France
after his father John II dies in English captivity. Charles
the Wise rules until 1380.
c. 1364-1366 William Langland begins writing the 'A'-text
of Piers Plowman. |
1366 |
c. 1365-66, Chaucer marries Philippa Roet, "Damoiselle"
of Queen Philippa herself. Philippa is the eldest daughter
of the Flemish knight Sir Paon de Roet, and sister
of Katherine Swynford.
Later that year, Chaucer's father, John Chaucer dies
and his mother Agnes promptly remarries.
Chaucer travels to Spain. |
1367 |
Edward,
Prince of Wales leads an expedition to Spain in aid
of Pedro the Cruel, the deposed King of Castile.
For the first time, the king
addresses parliament in English rather than French.
Confederation of Cologne: 77
Hanse towns prepare for struggle with expansionistic
Denmark.
Birth of Chaucer's son Thomas.
Chaucer serves as a valettus and then squire
in the court of Edward III; he is granted an annuity
of 20 marks for the rest of his life.
Birth of Richard of Bordeaux
(the future Richard II). He is the second and only
surviving son of Edward, the Black Prince. |
1368 |
Death of Blanche,
Duchess of Lancaster. French war intensifies.
Chaucer travels to the continent
on "the king's business."
Birth of Thomas Hoccleve, a young
poetic friend of Chaucer who will be one of the 15th
century "Chaucerians." |
1369 |
Timur the Lame
becomes king of Samarkand.
Another outbreak of Plague.
Assassination of Pedro the Cruel
of Castile.
Queen Philippa dies in August 1369.
Hostilities resume in the Hundred
Years' War, marking the second major phase of military
engagement. Chaucer serves with John of Gaunt's armies
in France. |
1370 |
Peace of Stralsund establishes the power
of the Hanse towns, with the right to veto Danish kings.
Edward the Black Prince sacks Limoges.
Gregory XI becomes Pope. He holds the Papal See until
1378.
Chaucer again serves with John of Gaunt's armies in
France during another military campaign.
Birth of John Lydgate, an imitator of Chaucer and one
of the fifteenth-century "Chaucerians." He
will die 1449. |
1371 |
Gaunt marries
Princess Costanza of Castile, daughter of Pedro
the Cruel.
Robert II, King of Scotland,
takes Scottish throne. He rules until 1390 as the first
Stuart monarch in Scotland. |
1372 |
Britain faces setbacks in Hundred Years'
War. French troops recapture Poitou and Brittany. Naval
battles at La Rochelle allow French to regain control
of the English Channel.
Chaucer's wife, Philippa, serves in the houshold of
John of Gaunt's wife.
Chaucer travels to Italy (Genoa and Florence) on a diplomatic
mission. |
1373 |
Gaunt
goes to French wars. He leads a new English invasion. |
1374 |
April
10: Gaunt returns from
French wars. He takes control of the government while
Edward III shows signs of increasing senility. The Black
Prince falls ill.
Death of Petrarch in Italy.
Chaucer granted a gallon pitcher
of wine daily for life by the King. John of Gaunt
grants Chaucer an annuityof 10 pounds.
Chaucer appointed comptroller
of customs for hides, skins, and wool in London
Port. He takes a lease on a dwelling over Aldgate. |
1375 |
Outbreak of Plague.
Death of Boccaccio in Italy.
Truce of Bruges temporarily ends
hostilities between England and France.
Chaucer and Otho de Graunson
receive financial grants from John of Gaunt. (Otho
de
Graunson is a French knight and poet whose poems inspired
Chaucer's "The Complaint of Venus.") |
1376 |
Edward the Black Prince calls the Good
Parliament to convene. The Good Parliament introduces
many long overdue reforms of government.
Death of Edward the Black Prince
at age 45.Edward III's succession will fall to Richard
at this point upon Edward III's death (though Richard
is only ten years of age).
Parliament impeaches royal servants
belonging to the faction of John of Gaunt, the king's
fourth son.
The Civil Dominion published
by Oxford don, John Wycliffe, calling for reforms in
the church. |
1377 |
Death of Edward
III, unofficial accession of his grandson Richard
II, still only
11 years old.
Poll tax levied.
Pope Gregtory XI condemns the doctrines of John Wycliffe.
The Lollard movement grows.
Under Gregory XII, the papacy
returns to Rome from Avignon, where it had resided for
decades. |
1378 |
June
22: death of Edward
III and accession of his grandson, Richard II, age 10.
Government controlled by John of Gaunt.
The Great Schism:
Pope Gregory XI dies. The French-dominated College of
Cardinals is intimidated by the Roman mob into choosing
an Italian candidate, Pope Urban VI, as head of the
church. Urban upsets the cardinals, who declare him
deposed, and elect a Frenchman, Clement VII. Clement
sets up papal court in Avignon, but Urban continues
holding court in Rome. England, Scandinavia, Germany,
and northern Italy support the Roman Pope. France, Scotland,
Naples, Sicily, and the kingdoms in Spain support the
French Pope. This schism will remain unreconciled until
a truce in 1409 and reunion in 1417.
Urban VI, Pope at Rome. He holds the Papal See in Rome
until 1389.
Clement VII, antipope at Avignon. Holds the Papal See
in France until 1394.
Wenceslas IV becomes Holy Roman Emperor. He rules in
Germany until 1400.
First mystery plays in York. |
1380 |
John Wycliffe,
an advocate of religious reform, is forced to stop his
teaching at Oxford.
Charles VI becomes King of France.
He rules until 1422.
Chaucer accused and acquited
of the raptus of Cecily Champain. |
1381 |
Wat
Tyler's Peasant Revolt (June 1381) begins in Southwest
Essex. Its cause was the proclamation of a poll
tax, but the fires fueled by corruption among government
officials.
Death
of Agnes Copton, Chaucer's mother. |
1382 |
Richard II marries
Anne of Bohemia.
John Wycliffe and his Lollard
followers complete the first full English translation
of the Bible. Wycliffe expelled from Oxford because
of his opposition to Church doctrines and his views
officially condemned as heresy. A later version
of the Wycliffite Bible follows in 1388.
John I becomes King of Portugal.
He rules until 1433, founding the Avis Dynasty.
The Scots, along with a French
army, attack England.
Richard II marries Anne of Bohemia.
(1382-1386) Chaucer write Troilus and Criseyde,
Legend of Good Women |
1383 |
|
1384 |
John Wycliffe dies. |
1385 |
Richard
II and his uncle, John of Gaunt, undertake a fruitless
military campaign in Scotland.
Political
struggle between Gaunt and his brother, Thomas of Woodstock.
September: death of Joan of Kent. |
1386 |
Battle of Sempach--Swiss
beat Austrian army and kill Leopold III of Austria.
John of Gaunt leads an expensive
and unsuccessful military expedition to Spain in an
effort to win the crown of Castile, which he claims
by right of marriage to his second wife. He is eventually
beaten in 1388. |
1387 |
|
1388 |
Scottish Parliament at Otterburn.
The Lords Appellant and Parliament
impeach several of King Richard II's favorite courtiers.
These include close supporters of the king such as Thomas
Usk, one of Chaucer's "disciples" in literature.
|
1389 |
Truce halts fighting between England,
Scotland, and France.
Richard
II assumes power as an adult at age 22.
Boniface
IX becomes Pope at Rome. He holds the Papal See until
1404. |
1390 |
Robert III becomes King of Scotland.
He rules until 1406.
Outbreak of Plague.
Turks complete their conquest of Asia Minor.
John Gower distributes first version of his Confessio
amantis. |
1391 |
|
1392 |
The I Dynasty in Korea. (Lasts until
1910 CE).
Charles VI of France goes insane. |
1393 |
|
1394 |
Richard II campaigns
in Ireland. Returns to England in 1395.
Death of Queen Anne.
Benedict XIII antipope at Avignon. He holds the Avignon
Papal See until 1423.
Prince Henry the Navigator born (son of John I of Portugal). |
1395 |
Richard marries Isabella
of France. |
1396 |
John
of Gaunt marries longtime mistress, Katherine Swynford.
Richard II marries Isabella of
France. Isabella is seven years old.
Ottoman Turks conquer Bulgaria.
|
1398 |
Absolute rule of Richard II.
Tamerlane ravages kingdom of Dehli, massacres 100,000
prisoners. He returns home in 1399. |
1399 |
Richard II overthrown.
Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV) lands in Yorkshire with
40 followers, and soon has 60,000 supporters. He takes
control of government and is "elected" regent.
Death of John of Gaunt. |
1400 |
Richard II, the
deposed English king, is murdered in his prison at Pontefract
Castle.
Chaucer writes "The Complaint of Chaucer to His
Purse."
Outbreak of Plague.
Owen Glyndwr proclaims himself
Prince of Wales and rebels against England.
Holy Roman Emperor Wenceslas
IV is deposed for drunkenness.
Chaucer's traditional date of death given as October
25th, 1400. |