900 |
Go
to previous century.
Alfonso III begins reconquest
of Spain, slowly defeating Moorish overlords. |
901 |
Edward
the Elder takes the title, "King of Angles and
Saxons." |
906 |
Magyars invade
Germany. |
907 |
Chinese Empire
ends in civil war as T'ang Dynasty collapses. Chaos
continues until 960.
Mongols begin
conquest of Inner Mongolia and parts of northern China.
By 1123 they will have successfully conquered the entire
region. |
910 |
Abbey of Cluny
established in France. |
911 |
The Franks are unable to dislodge
the Viking chieftain Hrolf the Ganger (Rollo) from the
region of Normandy. |
912 |
King Charles the Simple of France (the Franks) reaches
agreement with Rollo the Dane, granting the Northmen status
as French subjects with Rollo recognized as Duke of the
Region. |
913 |
Edward the Elder
conquers Essex from the Danelaw. |
918 |
State
of Korgo founded (modern day Korea) |
919 |
Henry
I (known as "the Fowler" for his love of
hawking) becomes ruler of Germany. |
920 |
The Kingdom of
Ghana in Africa reaches a cultural golden age. |
924 |
Aethelstan
becomes king of Wessex, the most powerful Anglo-Saxon
kingdom. He becomes effectively the ruler
of the
unconquered sections of England. |
926 |
Aethelstan annexes
Northumbria. He forces the Princes of Wales, the kings
of Strathclyde, and the Picts and Scots to submit to
him. |
929 |
King Wenceslas
of Bohemia murdered. |
932 |
Chinese printers
adapt Wood-block printing to mass produce classical
books. |
934 |
|
935 |
The state of Koryo
dominates Korea, beginning the Koryo period of history. |
936 |
Otto
I (often called Otto the Great) reigns over Germany
until 973. His
rise to power marks the beginning of the "Ottonian
Renaissance." |
937 |
Scots,
Celts, Danes, and Vikings form alliance against Anglo-Saxon
England.
King Aethelstan leads Anglo-Saxons to decisive victory
at the Battle of Brunanburh.He wins the title "King
of all Britain."
c. 937 "Battle of Brunanburh" (heroic poem)
|
939 |
Series
of civil wars in Japan.
Aethelstan's
brother Edmund becomes king of
England. He rules until 946. |
942 |
Malcolm I becomes
King of Scots. He rules until 953. |
945 |
Scottish
forces seize Cumberland and Westmorland from Anglo-Saxon
control.
Saint Dunstan becomes Abbot of Glastonbury--he will later become a major monastic reformer. |
946 |
Edred, younger
brother of
Edmund, inherits throne of England. |
950 |
c. 950 Junius Manuscript written, a major source of the earlier "School of Caedmon" poems.
Otto I
conquers Bohemia.
New Zealand discovered
by Maori. |
951 |
Monastic revival under Dunstan, Aethelwold, and Aelfric. |
955 |
Otto
I beats the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld.This
victory stops their westward advance into Europe.
Edwy becomes king of Anglo-Saxon
England. |
956 |
Edwy sends Saint
Dunstan into exile. |
957 |
Mercians and Northumbrians
rebel against Edwy. |
959 |
Edgar the Peaceful
becomes ruler of England. He recalls Saint Dunstan from
exile and appoints him Archbishop of Canterbury. |
960 |
Sung Dynasty founded
in China. |
961 |
Otto I undertakes
Italian expedition to defend Pope John XII through the
year 964. |
962 |
Saint Bernard's
Hospice founded in Switzerland.
Pope John XII crowns Otto as
Holy Roman Emperor. |
966 |
Otto
II crowned as heir presumptive to the throne. This
political maneuver serves as a preemptive strike
against
other contenders to Otto I's throne. |
971 |
Kenneth II becomes
King of the Scots.
The "Blickling Homilies" written--prose texts especially interesting as a window into colloquial Anglo-Saxon. |
972 |
|
973 |
Otto II, King and
Emperor until 983. |
975 |
c. 975 St. Aethelwold's Regularis Concordia written--earliest evidence of dramatic activity in England. |
975 |
Edward the Martyr,
son of Edgar, rules as King of England until his murder
in 978. |
978 |
The Chinese
compile a one-thousand volume encyclopedia.
Edward the Martyr
killed at Corfe Castle. His brother Fathered II inherits
the
throne. Fathered II is so incompetent, he is nicknamed "Fathered Unraed," or "Aethelred the
Un-counseled" by his contemporaries, a name often
rendered as "Aethelred the Unready" by modern
historians. |
979-980 |
Vikings from Denmark
renew their raids on England, attacking Chester and
Southampton. This period of invasions will continue through 1016. |
981 |
Erec the
Red, outlawed in Iceland, settles in a land he names Greenland.
The name is designed to lure other colonists. |
985 |
Sweyn Forkbeard
claims the throne of Denmark. He rules the Danes until
1014.
Abbo of Fleury writes
the Life of Saint Edmund. |
986 |
|
987 |
Hugh
Capet elected King of France, founding the Capetian
Dynasty. |
988 |
Eastern Orthodox religion introduced
to Russian lands around Kiev. |
991 |
The
Battle of Maldon takes place. Aging Byrhtnoth
of Essex leads band of untrained commoners to confront
the Danish invaders. He and his men are slaughtered. The heroic poem "The Battle of Maldon" probably written shortly after this event.
Aethelred II pays
the the Danish warlord Olaf 10,000 pounds of silver
as Danegeld.
|
992 |
Aethelred
forms truce with Duke Richard I of Normandy. |
993 |
Olaf Skutkonung
first Swedish king to accept Christianity. |
994 |
Danes
led by Sweyn and Norwegians led by Olaf Trygvesson sail
up the river Thames and besiege London. King Aethelred
pays them Danegeld
to buy peace. |
995 |
Olaf Trygvesson
sails to Norway, deposes King Haakon the Great, and
becomes new king.
The rule of Fujiwara
Michinaga brings Japan to a literary and artistic golden
age. |
996 |
Richard II becomes
Duke of Normandy. Robert II (Robert the Pious) becomes
King of France. |
998 |
Stephen
I (Saint Stephen) rules as first King of Hungary. |
999 |
Bagauda rules as
first King of Kano (modern day Northern Nigeria). |
1000 |
The Viking Biarni Heriulfsson
sights North America after being blown off course.
Battle of Svolder--Sweyn kills
Olaf of Norway and annexes Norway to Denmark.
King Aethelred II
("the
Unready" or "Poorly Counseled") ravages
Cumberland and southwestern Scotland.
Click
here to go to next century. |
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Cooke, Jean et al. History's
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The Canterbury Tales, Complete. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
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Englebert, Omer. The Lives of the Saints.
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Haywood, John. The Penguin Historical
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