from the fall of Rome to the dawn of the Renaissance the Middle Ages was an era of history that encompassed massive social change a time of international Warfare National Rebellion devastating disease and at times brutal cruelty here are a few of the highlights or low lights depending on your point of view that occurred over the 1,000 year period welcome to Medieval Madness 455 the fall of Rome after being sacked by allar King of the Visigoths in 410 and then by Jen serak the king of the vandals some 45 years later this was the death nail that told the end of the Roman Empire in 480 the violent murder of nepos the last Roman emperor ushered in what is considered by many to be the beginning of the Middle Ages now with no single state or government to unite the people of Europe it was the Catholic church that became the most powerful institution in the Middle [Music] Ages 481 rise of the Franks Clovis was the first king of the Franks who was able to unite the Frankish tribes together under one ruler and Usher in the maravian age which rolled over what would eventually become known as France for the next two 200 years Clovis converted to Christianity in 496 and the Franks defeated the visago in the Battle of vuer in the spring of 507 535 the Justinian Code Justinian the first became Eastern Roman emperor in 527 and began his restoration of the Empire he published a code of civil law 2 years later that is still the basis of civil law in many countries today and became known known as the code of Justinian his Reign marked a development in Byzantine culture 570 Muhammad is born Muhammad was born in Mecca he is regarded as the last of the sent prophets and his Revelations from God are recorded in the Quran the central religious text of Islam and the holy book of the Muslim people 597 first Archbishop of can B Augustine a Christian monk from Rome was said to be the Apostle to the English and was created Archbishop by Pope Gregory the Great he was sent to England and was successful in converting king aalbert of Kent to Christianity Augustine was a founding figure in the Church of England 793 the era of the Vikings begins Raiders sack the Church of St cber at lindes Fan off the English Coast said to be the birthplace of Christianity in Britain the assault sent shock waves across the whole of Europe the Viking age saw 200 years of Terror as Scandinavian Warriors pillaged and plundered killing thousands of Europeans Russians and bantin in their quest to conquer a group of Vikings settled in Northwest France and became known as the Normans 800 rise of the carolingian shalaman was crowned the emperor of the Romans by the Pope the first in 300 years already having conquered a huge Empire in the west he Allied closely with the Catholic church consolidating both religious and political power he has been referred to as the father of Europe 886 Alfred the Great Alfred became the first king of a United England after he drove the Danes from London 961 Otto the great after Shaman it was the ambitious Otto who made his Mark as Holy Roman Emperor he continued to unite the German tribes asserted control over the church and strengthened his authority by expanding his powers Otto was known as a great military commander and conquered the Kingdom of Italy 10:21 the first novel the Japanese epic the tale of Genji said to be the world's first novel was written by the noble woman and poet marusak shikibu 1066 William the Conqueror the Duke of Normandy conquered England after he defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings ended Anglo-Saxon Rule and started the Norman lineage it is seen seen as the most important event in medieval England as it transforms society and politics affecting both English culture and the language 1088 the first University the oldest European Center for Education was formed in bolognia Italy by a guild of students and was the first University to employ a woman as a lecturer in 1239 batia gadini first studied at bolognia and then there but was supposedly asked to wear a veil so that she would not distract her students 1095 the First Crusade the first of nine major Crusades began when Pope Urban asked for support to capture the Holy Land from the Muslims who had captured the portions of the Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire the First Crusade ended in Victory for the Europeans but triggered more fighting which continued off and on until the end of the 15th century thousands of Muslims and Christians were killed in the religious wars to conquer Jerusalem and the surrounding [Music] areas 11:19 the knight's Templar the military order of the poor fellow Soldiers of Christ in the temple of Solomon was formed to protect Christian pilgrims when visiting the Holy Land known for their distinctive white mantles with a red cross they quickly Rose to power becoming wealthy by establishing an early form of banking they were brought down in 1312 by King Philip I of France and many members were accused of heresy and executed 12:06 the Mongols Genghis Khan was elected as ruler of the Mongols and their empire was established the Mongols would go on to conquer much of Eurasia during the 13th and 14th centuries becoming the largest Empire in history 12:15 Magna carter King John of England was forced to sign the great Charter at Ryme by a group of Rebel Barons stating that he was not above the law the document granted greater power to the nobility and laid the foundations for democracy 1271 Marco Polo at the age of 17 the Italian explorer set off on his journey to Asia he spent 24 years exploring before returning to Venice and Publishing a book about his travels in which he documented his adventures in countries such as India Persia Japan and [Music] China 1273 the house of hapsburg count Rudolph the was the first king of Germany from the hapsburg dynasty to be made Holy Roman Emperor the family went went on to become one of the most important in Europe producing Kings of Croatia Spain Portugal and Hungary among others the family's desperation to consolidate their power led to inbreeding which produced physical impairments and facial deformities including the hapsburg jaw nose and lip 1296 Scottish Wars Edward the first of England invaded Scotland and the first Scottish War of Independence began resulting in the Battle of Sterling Bridge a year later William Wallace became one of the leaders of the resistance and was appointed guardian of Scotland he was later captured hanged drawn and quarted in London in 1305 Robert the Bruce was crowned King of the Scots in 1306 and the first war ended in Victory for the Scottish after the battle of banak bur with a treaty and recognized [Music] Independence 1299 the Ottoman Empire The Turk Osman the first founded the ottoman Emirate which became the most enduring Islamic empire lasting for over 600 years 1337 the 100 Years War lasting over 116 years the onoff hostilities between England and France began as each struggled in their domination over the other the war resulted in some 62 major battles and sieges including the battles of and aenor and the sieges of c and oon it eventually ended in 1453 with England losing control of all her French dominions except for the port of Cal in the north 1347 the Black [Music] Death the Bubonic plague arrived in Europe for the first time and wiped out an estimated 20 to 40% of the population in the first year the disease spread spread at an alarming rate especially in highly populated areas over 4 years it killed some 35 million people making it one of the worst human disasters in history 1368 the great [Music] Ming the start of the Ming dynasty in China was when a group of rebels overthrew the ruling mongal Ming was to be the last native born ruling house in the country and ruled for around 28 years 1380 the Canterbury Tales Joffrey shaer started work on his manuscript about a group of Storytelling pilgrims the Canterbury Tales became a foundation for the formation of the Modern English language 1415 the Battle of [Music] aenor at a turning point in the 100 Years War the the far superior French army suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of the Warrior King Henry VI of England and his small army this resulted in Henry being declared heir to the French throne 1428 rise of the azex the fourth Mexican King its kattle began his expansion of an Empire that lasted for 90 years highly intellectual both socially and artistically the Aztecs had a cast system similar to the feudal system in Europe with Nobles at the top and surfs at the bottom the Aztec empire fell to the Spaniards in the early 16th century 1431 death of jonak the teenager who was instrumental in the Hundred Years War in favor of the French was tried as a witch and executed by being burned at the stake Joan had help in lifting the siege of oon which made it possible for the French King Charles II to be crowned 1434 rise of the mediji in the 15th century Florence was one of the most prosperous trading centers in Europe The House of the medich Rose as a political power producing four Catholic Popes and two queens the medich bank formed in 1397 was one of the most respected and Wealthy institutions in Europe originally part of the prospering merchant class the family were great patrons of the Arts and Science funded the development of Opera and the piano and sponsored luminaries such as Da Vinci and [Music] Michelangelo 1439 the printing press the German Craftsman Johannes Guttenberg invented a movable type printing press his Bible was the earliest major book printed in Europe and had a direct influence on the development of the Renaissance Gutenberg has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history 1441 slavery Prince Henry the son of King John the of Portugal became known as the Navigator as he was the main instigator of the age of Discovery and a patron of Maritime exploration he was presented with slaves brought back from Africa this was the beginning of the African slave trade Lagos in what is now the Portuguese alav was the first point of entry for slaves into Europe 1453 the fall of Constantinople the city was captured after a 53 days Siege which saw the 21-year-old sulta memt the Conqueror make Constantinople the new capital of the Ottoman Empire this marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and many historians consider this the end of the medieval period 1455 Wars of the roses known at the time as these Civil Wars they were fought over 32 years as two branches from the Royal House of plantagenet York and Lancaster VI for control of the English Throne the Battle of St Albans is thought to Mark the beginning of the hostilities when Richard of York captured King Henry V 6 1492 the unification of Spain two of Spain 's most powerful monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile expelled all of the Jews from Spain by waging a military campaign against the Moos they also drove out all of the Muslims and United the country to become known as the Catholic monarchs in that same year the couple sponsored an Italian explorer named Christopher Columbus who left on a naval expedition to search for a western route to China he made landfall on an island in the Bahamas in October of 1492 thank you for watching this episode EP please do let us know in the comments if you enjoy this kind of format and I'll see you next week for another one have a great week cheers