1307-1327 Edward II Great Famine (1315-1322) 1327-1377 Edward III
Edward III was 17 when he began ruling on his own behalf in 1330. When the male line of the French royal house ended, Edward claimed the throne of France through his mother and thus began the "Hundred Years' War." His reign also saw the Black Death hit England, and Edward introduced stiff laws to fix wages and prices. Near the end of his reign, 1376, the "Good Parliament" met, the first that elected a "Speaker" to represent the Commons.
Text: Thomas Walsingham: The Good Parliament of 1376, from Chronicon Angliae 1337 Hundred Years' War Black Death (1347-1349)
The onset of the Plague caused mass death throughout Europe. Repeated epidemics for the next few centuries meant that the population declined by half by 1400, and only began to increase again in mid-15th century.
Text: Boccaccio. The Plague from The Decameron
Text: Jean de Venette. The Plague in Paris
Text: The Black Death and the Jews 1348-1349 CE
Photo: Death Triumphant
Weblink: Discovery Online: The Black Death 1346 Victory at Crecy
The Battle of Crecy, an early English victory in the Hundred Years' War, is notable as the first occasion when gunpowder was used as a military weapon in Europe. In practice, a long period of development was necessary before guns could dominate battles: longbows and crossbows continued to be the prime weapons of the late Middle Ages.
Text: Jean Froissart: Battles of Crecy 1346
Image: Battle of Crecy 1356 Victory at Poitiers 1377-1399 Richard II Papal Schism (1378-1415)
When the pope decided to return to Rome in 1377, there was much opposition, especially from French cardinals. At the papal election of 1378, a new Italian pope was elected, but the French cardinals refused to accept his election and elected their own candidate as pope, thus creating a schism that lasted over forty years and severely damaged the reputation and power of the papacy.
Text: The Great Schism: Manifesto of the Revolting Cardinals, 1378. 1381 Peasant's Revolt 1399-1413 Henry IV 1413-1422 Henry V
Henry V began the second phase of the Hundred Years' War, and his great victory was at the Battle of Agincourt.
Text/Image: Modern Account 1415 Victory at Agincourt
Agincourt was Henry V's great victory. By the Treaty of Troyes (1420), he gained recognition as heir to the French throne and married Charles VI's daughter Katherine.
Text: Hundred Years War: Treaty of Troyes, 1420 and Conditions in France in 1422. 1422-1461 Henry VI Fall of Constantinople (1453)
The conquest of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, but not the end of Byzantine culture, which continued in the traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church, in Serbia, and in Russia.
Text: The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Text: Eulogy of Istanbul, from The Counsels of Nabi Efendi to his Son Aboul Khair
Image: Growth of the Ottoman Empire From the Early 14th Century Till 1512
Weblink: Byzantine Studies Site 1455-1485 War of the Roses 1461-1483 Edward IV 1483-1485 Richard III 1485 Beginning of the Tudor Dynasty 1485 Henry VII
Following his triumph at the Battle of Bosworth field, Henry VII established the Tudor dynasty in England.
Text: Anonymous: The Ballad of Bosworth Field
Weblink: Richard III Society | Tudor History: Henry VII Conquest of Granada (1492)
Following the conquest of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, Muslims and Jews living in Spain were forced to convert or leave.
Text: The Expulsion from Spain, 1492 Account by an Italian Jew.
Image: Spanish Jews, 14th Cent: Fresco with Jews Wearing the Roule. Page 354 Great Famine (1315-1322) 1322-1328 Charles IV 1328-1350 Philip VI
Philip of Valois became king of France when the Capetian royal line ended with Charles IV. His claim to the throne over Edward III of England was based on the claim that the "Salic Law" forbade women in the line of succession of the French throne.
Image/Weblink: Images of Philip VI 1337 Hundred Years' War Black Death (1347-1349)
The onset of the Plague caused mass death throughout Europe. Repeated epidemics for the next few centuries meant that the population declined by half by 1400, and only began to increase again in mid-15th century.
Text: Boccaccio. The Plague from The Decameron
Text: Jean de Venette. The Plague in Paris
Text: The Black Death and the Jews 1348-1349 CE
Photo: Death Triumphant
Weblink: Discovery Online: The Black Death 1346 Defeat at Crecy
The Battle of Crecy, an early English victory in the Hundred Years' War, is notable as the first occasion when gunpowder was used as a military weapon in Europe. In practice, a long period of development was necessary before guns could dominate battles: longbows and crossbows continued to be the prime weapons of the late Middle Ages.
Text: Jean Froissart: Battles of Crecy 1346
Image: Battle of Crecy 1350-1364 John II, the Good 1356 Defeat at Poitiers 1357 The Great Ordinance 1358 Jacquerie Revolt 1364-1380 Charles V
King of France reversed the tide of English victories in the first part of the Hundred Years' War. Unfortunately, these gains were lost under Charles VI, The Mad (1380-1422).
Weblink: Charles V and His Time: 1364-1422 Charles VI Papal Schism (1378-1415)
When the pope decided to return to Rome in 1377, there was much opposition, especially from French cardinals. At the papal election of 1378, a new Italian pope was elected, but the French cardinals refused to accept his election and elected their own candidate as pope, thus creating a schism that lasted over forty years and severely damaged the reputation and power of the papacy.
Text: The Great Schism: Manifesto of the Revolting Cardinals, 1378. 1415 Defeat at Agincourt
Agincourt was Henry V's great victory. By the Treaty of Troyes (1420), he gained recognition as heir to the French throne and married Charles VI's daughter Katherine.
Text: Hundred Years War: Treaty of Troyes, 1420 and Conditions in France in 1422. 1422-1461 Charles VIII 1429 Victories of Joan of Arc
After a period of disaster for French forces, and with the English controlling much of France, a young girl -- Joan of Arc -- appeared on the scene, claimed divine inspiration, and led French armies with great success. She was captured and executed by an English-dominated church at the age of 19 in 1431. As a result she became one of the greatest French heroes and was proclaimed a saint in 1931.
Text: The Trial of Joan of Arc, 1431
Text: Johann Nider: On Joan of Arc, (d. 1438)
Image: Joan of Arc At the Stake Fall of Constantinople (1453)
The conquest of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, but not the end of Byzantine culture, which continued in the traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church, in Serbia, and in Russia.
Text: The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Text: Eulogy of Istanbul, from The Counsels of Nabi Efendi to his Son Aboul Khair
Image: Growth of the Ottoman Empire From the Early 14th Century Till 1512
Weblink: Byzantine Studies Site 1461-1483 Louis XI
Louis XI "The Spider," king of France, was noted for developing the concept of a full-time, paid professional army.His single-minded desire to consolidate his power laid the ground for French royal absolutism.
Text: Philippe de Commynes: Portrait of Louis IX [r. 1461-1483]
Weblink: The New Monarchies: France 1483-1498 Charles VIII Conquest of Granada (1492)
Following the conquest of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, Muslims and Jews living in Spain were forced to convert or leave.
Text: The Expulsion from Spain, 1492 Account by an Italian Jew.
Image: Spanish Jews, 14th Cent: Fresco with Jews Wearing the Roule.
Weblink: Jewish History Sourcebook Page 358 Great Famine (1315-1322) 1328-1350 Philip VI Black Death (1347-1349)
The onset of the Plague caused mass death throughout Europe. Repeated epidemics for the next few centuries meant that the population declined by half by 1400, and only began to increase again in mid-15th century.
Text: Boccaccio. The Plague from The Decameron
Text: Jean de Venette. The Plague in Paris
Text: The Black Death and the Jews 1348-1349 CE
Photo: Death Triumphant
Weblink: Discovery Online: The Black Death 1356 Golden Bull (Constitution for the Holy Roman Empire) Papal Schism (1378-1415)
When the pope decided to return to Rome in 1377, there was much opposition, especially from French cardinals. At the papal election of 1378, a new Italian pope was elected, but the French cardinals refused to accept his election and elected their own candidate as pope, thus creating a schism that lasted over forty years and severely damaged the reputation and power of the papacy.
Text: The Great Schism: Manifesto of the Revolting Cardinals, 1378. 1386 Marriage of Jadwiga of Poland and Jagiello of Lithuanian (Uniting Their Realms) 1397 Union of Kalmar (Scandinavia United) 1410 Battle of Tannenberg (Defeat of Teutonic Knights by Polish and Lithuanian Forces) Fall of Constantinople (1453)
The conquest of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, but not the end of Byzantine culture, which continued in the traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church, in Serbia, and in Russia.
Text: The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Text: Eulogy of Istanbul, from The Counsels of Nabi Efendi to his Son Aboul Khair
Image: Growth of the Ottoman Empire From the Early 14th Century Till 1512
Weblink: Byzantine Studies Site 1469 Marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon (Beginning of the Spanish State)
When Isabella of Castile married Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469, it effected the creation of a new and powerful Spain, a country that was going to be the dominant power in Europe for much of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Weblink: Isabella of Spain 1480 Ivan III of Muscovy Discontinues the Mongol Tribute
With the end of the Byzantine Empire, the Grand Duchy of Muscovy was left as the most powerful Orthodox Christian State. Ivan III (1462-1505) married Zoe, a Byzantine princess, and adopted the old Byzantine two-headed eagle symbol to make Russian claims clear.
Weblink: Russian History Homepage
Text: Filofei: Moscow the Third Rome Conquest of Granada (1492)
Following the conquest of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, Muslims and Jews living in Spain were forced to convert or leave.
Text: The Expulsion from Spain, 1492 Account by an Italian Jew.
Image: Spanish Jews, 14th Cent: Fresco with Jews Wearing the Roule.
Weblink: Jewish History Sourcebook | 
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