Characters of the British Middle Ages
Early Britain
Saxons, Danes, and Normans
Plantagenet Kings
Tudor England
Stuart England
Scotland
European Middle Ages
Early Britain (56 b.c. to 784 a.d.)
Invasion of Julius Caesar to the first Viking Raids on Saxon England
Character | Dates | Short Biography |
Caswallon | fl. 54 B.C. | Celtic chieftain in Britain who resisted Julius Caesar's invasion. |
Saint Alban | died 304 | First martyr of England. Killed for hiding a priest in his home. |
Vortigern | fl. 488 | Celtic prince who usurped the throne of Britain. Invited Hengist and Horsa to England. |
Sir Galahad | fl. 500 | Knight of the Round Table. Noblest and worthiest of the knights. |
Sir Gawain | fl. 500 | Knight of the Round Table. Famous for his encounter with the Green Giant. |
King Arthur | 460-510 | Legendary king of the Britons. |
Sir Perceval | fl. 500 | Knight of the Round table. Raised by his mother who didn't want him to be a knight. |
Boadicea | died 61 | Queen of the Iceni. Led the largest revolt of Celtic Britons against the Romans. |
Saint Patrick | 389-461 | Kidnapped as a child and brought to Ireland, spread Christianity there. |
Saint Brigid | 451-525 | Patron Saint of Ireland (with Patrick). Founded a monastery at Kildare in Ireland. |
Hengist and Horsa | died 488 | Two Jute princes invited to Britain in order to help fight the Picts. |
Augustine of Kent | died 604 | Sent by St. Gregory to Britain to preach to the Saxons. Converted Ethelbert. |
Bertha | 539-612 | Christian princess who married the Saxon King, Ethelbert. Helped convert him to Christianity. |
Ethelbert | 552-616 | First Christian Saxon king. Invited St. Augustine to Kent to preach in Britain. |
Saint Cuthbert | 634-687 | Bishop at Lindisfarne. Helped to unify the Celtic and Roman Churches. |
Venerable Bede | 672-735 | Monk at Jarrow. Scholar and author of The Ecclesiastical History of English People. |
Saint Mungo | fl. 540 | Early Christian missionary to Scotland. |
Saint Columba | 521-597 | Missionary who helped to Christianize Scotland. Founded a monastery on Iona in Scotland. |
Saint George | 275-303 | Patron saint of England. Legendary soldier who fought a dragon and died a martyr's death. |
Saxons, Danes, and Normans (802 to 1154 a.d.)
Egbert the Saxon becomes first King of Wessex to Death of the Last Norman King
Character | Dates | Short Biography |
Egbert the Saxon | 770-837 | United the Saxon and Anglo kingdoms into a federation to resist the Danes. |
Guthrum | died 890 | Danish king defeated by Alfred the Great. Agreed to become Christian and settle in England. |
Alfred the Great | 849-899 | Noblest of Saxon kings. Fought the Danes and made peace. Built churches and schools. |
Athelstan | 895-939 | Grandson of King Alfred. Fought the Danes and Celts at the Battle of Brunanburh. |
Elfrida | fl. 960 | Saxon queen, wife of Edgar, mother of Ethelred. Thought to be involved in stepson's murder. |
Saint Dunstan | 909-988 | Influential archbishop at the court of Edgar of England. |
Ethelred the Unready | 968-1016 | Ascended to the Saxon throne at a young age and was ineffective against the Danes. |
Edmund Ironside | 988-1016 | Eldest son of Ethelred the Unready, fought Canute for the throne, but then died. |
Canute | 994-1035 | Danish King of Britain. Married Emma, widow of his enemy, Ethelred the Unready. |
Emma of Normandy | 988-1052 | Norman princess, wife first of Ethelred, then of Canute. Mother of Edward the Confessor. |
Godwin | 1001-1053 | Influential Earl of Wessex during reigns of Canute and Edward Confessor. Father of Harold. |
Hereward the Wake | fl. 1066 | Saxon rebel who led resistance to William the Conqueror for many years. |
Harold Godwinson | 1022-1066 | Son of Godwin. Ascended to the Saxon throne when Edward the Confessor died childless. |
Tostig Godwinson | 1026-1066 | Brought an army of Vikings to fight his brother Harold Godwinson, at Stamford Bridge. |
Edward the Confessor | 1004-1066 | Last Saxon king of the Wessex line. Raised in Normandy with William the Conqueror. |
William the Conqueror | 1028-1087 | Won the crown of England at the Battle of Hastings. Ruled forcefully, but justly. |
Margaret of Scotland | 1045-1093 | Young wife of Malcolm Canmore. Pious and noble queen. Mother of Maude the Good. |
William II | 1056-1100 | Son of William the Conqueror. A bad and brutal king. Killed in the New Forest. |
Saint Anselm | 1033-1109 | Archbishop of Canterbury under William Rufus and Henry I. Feuded with both kings. |
Maude the Good | 1080-1118 | Scottish wife of Henry I. Grandmother of Henry II. Patron and benefactor to poor. |
Henry I | 1068-1135 | Competent son of William the Conqueror who reigned 35 years. Left throne to Matilda. |
Stephen | 1096-1154 | Profligate grandson of William the Conqueror who usurped throne from Matilda. |
Matilda | 1102-1167 | Daughter of Henry I who fought Stephen for the throne. Her son Henry II became king. |
Saint Hugh | 1140-1200 | Patron of Lincoln. Known for his charity, dedication to education, and protecting Jews. |
Plantagenet Kings (1154 to 1485 a.d.)
Henry Plantagenet claims throne of England to War of the Roses
Character | Dates | Short Biography |
Thomas a Becket | 1118-1170 | Appointed archbishop by Henry II, but strove for an independent church. Martyred. |
Henry II | 1133-1189 | Reclaimed throne of England after chaotic reign of Stephen. Founded Plantagenet dynasty. |
Richard I | 1157-1199 | Son of Henry II. Spent almost his entire reign crusading and fighting in France. |
Robin Hood | fl. 1200 | Leader of a band of benevolent brigadiers who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. |
Eleanor of Aquitaine | 1122-1204 | Wife of Henry II, Queen of Aquitaine. Led life of high drama and adventure. |
John I | 1167-1216 | Wicked king who murdered his nephew and usurped the throne. Signed the Magna Carta. |
Archbishop Langton | 1150-1228 | Archbishop who rallied opposition to King John and forced signing of Magna Carta. |
Richard de Wyche | 1197-1253 | Appointed by the Pope against the wishes of Henry III. Faithful servant of the poor. |
Simon de Montfort | 1208-1265 | French nobleman who led resistance to Henry III, laid foundations of Parliament. |
Henry III | 1207-1272 | Blundering king whose government was in the hands of Simon de Montfort. |
William Wallace | 1272-1305 | Commoner who led resistance to Edward I's conquest of Scotland. |
Edward I | 1239-1307 | Competent and decisive king of England. Reformed government, pacified Wales and Scotland. |
Edward II | 1284-1327 | Very weak and profligate son of Edward I. Lost all his father's holdings in Scotland. |
Robert Bruce | 1274-1329 | Scottish nobleman who claimed the crown and led resistance to England at Bannockburn. |
Philippa of Hainault | 1313-1369 | Wife of Edward III, and mother of 13. Intervened at siege of Calais in favor of citizens. |
The Black Prince | 1330-1376 | Excellent general who ruled alongside his father, Edward III. Victor at Poitiers. |
Edward III | 1312-1377 | Reigned for nearly 50 years. Invaded France, and won the Battles of Crecy and Calias. |
Wat Tyler | died 1381 | Leader of a peasant rebellion during reign of Richard II. He was killed during talks. |
John Wycliffe | 1335-1384 | Early proponent of reform in the Catholic Church. Favored power of state over church. |
Geoffrey Chaucer | 1340-1400 | Wrote the first widely read epic poem in the English language, The Canterbury Tales. |
Richard II | 1367-1400 | Son of the Black Prince. Reigned after Edward III. Deposed by Henry Bolingbroke. |
Henry IV | 1367-1413 | Son of John of Gaunt. Assumed the throne after Richard II was deposed. |
Owen Glendower | 1359-1416 | Last Welshman to be crowned Prince of Wales. He led an unsuccessful Welsh revolt. |
Henry V | 1387-1422 | Led a victorious army of longbowmen against France at Agincourt. |
Jack Cade | died 1450 | Led a rebellion against Henry VI's government. Rebels looted London, and many were killed. |
Duke of York | 1411-1460 | Aspirant to the throne in early years of War of the Roses. Killed in action with eldest son. |
Earl of Warwick | 1428-1471 | Primary figure in War of the Roses. Changed sides from York to Lancaster. Killed at Barnet. |
Margaret of Anjou | 1429-1482 | Ruled in place of the weak Henry VI. Led armies against the Yorkists. Exiled after Hexham. |
Edward IV | 1442-1483 | Son of the Duke of York. Became King of England when other aspirants were dead or exiled. |
Richard III | 1432-1485 | On death of his brother Edward IV, he killed his nephews and usurped the throne. |
Margaret Beaufort | 1441-1509 | Mother of Henry Tudor. Benefactor of Cambridge University. |
Tudor England (1485 to 1603 a.d.)
Henry Tudor defeats Richard III at Bosworth Field to Death of Queen Elizabeth
Character | Dates | Short Biography |
Henry VII Tudor | 1457-1509 | Descendent of John of Gaunt, who fought Richard the Usurper for the throne. |
Thomas Wolsey | 1471-1530 | Rose from humble station to Chancellor of England. Stalled on Henry VIII's divorce. |
Anne Boleyn | 1502-1536 | Second wife of Henry VIII, mother of Elizabeth. Executed when she fell from grace. |
Thomas Cromwell | 1489-1540 | Minister under Henry VIII who encouraged his divorce and dissolved the monasteries. |
James V of Scotland | 1512-1542 | Father of Mary Stuart. He was defeated in battle and died shortly after Mary was born. |
Saint Thomas More | 1478-1543 | Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII. Fired and executed when he opposed Henry's divorce. |
Margaret Roper | 1501-1544 | Daughter of Thomas More. Primary support for him throughout his ordeal. |
Henry VIII | 1491-1547 | King of England, famous for marrying and dispensing with six wives. |
Lady Jane Grey | 1537-1554 | Cousin of Edward VI, executed for conspiracies engineered by ambitious relatives. |
Thomas Cranmer | 1489-1556 | Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII. Broke with Rome. Founded Anglican Church. |
Mary I | 1516-1558 | Eldest daughter of Henry VIII. Tried to restore Catholicism to England. |
Sir Humphrey Gilbert | 1537-1583 | Sea-faring adventurer. Founded the first English colony in the new world, in Canada. |
Sir Philip Sidney | 1554-1586 | Favorite of Queen Elizabeth's court. Was a poet, soldier, courtier, and adventurer. |
Mary, Queen of Scots | 1542-1587 | Queen of Scotland. Deposed and exiled. Held captive by Queen Elizabeth. |
Robert Dudley | 1532-1588 | Favorite courtier of Queen Elizabeth. Granted many favors, but not much power. |
Sir Martin Frobisher | 1535-1594 | Explored much of Canada in search of the Northwest Passage. Fought in the Armada. |
Sir Francis Drake | 1540-1596 | Notorious adventurer. Sailed around the world, harassed Spanish ships. Fought in Armada. |
William Cecil | 1520-1598 | Minister of Queen Elizabeth throughout her entire reign. |
Edmund Spenser | 1552-1599 | Elizabethan era poet. Wrote The Faerie Queen. |
Earl of Essex | 1566-1601 | Favorite of Queen Elizabeth. Involved in a conspiracy and died in prison. |
Elizabeth I | 1533-1603 | Led England through tumultuous age of reformation and exploration. Reigned 45 years. |
John Knox | 1533-1603 | Religious leader in Scotland who embraced Calvinism; founder of Presbyterian Church. |
John Davis | 1550-1605 | British explorer who sought a Northwest Passage through Canada. |
William Shakespeare | 1564-1611 | Greatest dramatist in the history of the English language. |
Sir Walter Raleigh | 1552-1618 | Courtier of Queen Elizabeth. Explorer, mastermind of the Jamestown colony in Virginia. |
Stuart England (1603 to 1714 a.d.)
James Stuart ascends to throne of England to Death of Queen Anne
Character | Dates | Short Biography |
Francis Bacon | 1561-1626 | Chancellor of England and advocate of the scientific method. |
Guy Fawkes | 1570-1606 | Explosives expert of the infamous "Gunpowder Plot" to blow up Parliament. |
Henry Hudson | 1575-1611 | Explorer who discovered Hudson Bay and other parts of North America. |
Arabella Stuart | 1575-1615 | Cousin of James Stuart. Prevented from marrying by jealous relations. |
James I | 1566-1625 | First Stuart king of England. Competent, but unable to work with Parliament. |
John Smith | 1580-1631 | Adventurer and early settler at Jamestown. Rescued by Pocahontas. |
Samuel de Champlain | 1580-1635 | Founded French colonies in the St. Lawrence seaway and Great Lakes region. |
Archbishop Laud | 1573-1645 | Governed the Church of England during the reign of Charles I. Unpopular with parliament. |
Charles I | 1600-1649 | Second Stuart king. His quarrels with parliament led to civil war and his execution. |
Robert Blake | 1599-1657 | Military commander turned admiral who took leading role in the Anglo-Dutch wars. |
Oliver Cromwell | 1599-1658 | Parliament Army leader who formed Commonwealth government after death of Charles I. |
Princess Elizabeth | 1596-1662 | Daughter of James I. Married Elector of Palatine, but lost duchy in Thirty Years' war. |
John Milton | 1608-1674 | Poet, author, and friend of Cromwell. His famous work is Paradise Lost. |
Charles II | 1630-1685 | Restored to the throne after death of Cromwell. Ruler during Great Fire and Plague. |
John Bunyan | 1628-1688 | Author of A Pilgrim's Progress, a widely-read allegory of spiritual awakening. |
George Fox | 1624-1691 | Founder of the 'Religious Society of Friends,' better known as Quakers. |
William III | 1650-1702 | King of Netherlands. Called to be king of England when James II was deposed. |
Samuel Pepys | 1633-1703 | Famous diarist during reign of Charles II; mentions Plague, Great Fire, and much else. |
Queen Anne | 1665-1714 | Last of the Stuart queens. Reigned during the War of the Spanish succession. |
Duke of Marlborough | 1650-1722 | Most renowned general of his age. Prevailed against the French at the Battle of Blenheim. |
Lady Russell | 1636-1723 | Wife of Lord Russell, who was executed for opposing the restoration of Charles II. |
Sir Isaac Newton | 1642-1727 | Outstanding scientist. Made great breakthroughs in physics, optics, and mathematics. |
Daniel Defoe | 1661-1731 | Author of the well-known Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders. |
Scotland (483 to 1707 a.d.)
Union of Picts and Scots under Kenneth Macalpine to the Act of Union
Character | Dates | Short Biography |
Saint Mungo | fl. 540 | Early Christian missionary to Scotland. |
Saint Columba | 521-597 | Missionary who helped Christianize Scotland. Founded a monastery on Iona in Scotland. |
Margaret of Scotland | 1045-1093 | Wife of Malcolm III of Scotland. Pious and noble queen. Mother of Maude the Good. |
William Wallace | 1272-1305 | Commoner who led resistance to Edward I's conquest of Scotland. |
Robert Bruce | 1274-1329 | Scottish nobleman who claimed the throne and led resistance to England at Bannockburn. |
Sir James Douglas | 1286-1330 | Associate of Robert the Bruce. Fought in Wars of Scottish Independence. |
James V | 1512-1542 | Father of Mary Stuart. He was defeated in battle and died shortly after Mary was born. |
Mary, Queen of Scots | 1542-1587 | Queen of Scotland. Deposed and exiled. Held captive by Queen Elizabeth. |
John Knox | 1533-1603 | Religious leader in Scotland who embraced Calvinism; founder of Presbyterian Church. |
Jenny Geddes | fl. 1637 | Commoner who led a rebellion against Church of England in Scotland. |
Young Pretender | 1720-1788 | Grandson of James II, led Jacobites in bid to restore Stuarts to the throne of England. |
Flora MacDonald | 1722-1790 | Heroine who helped Bonnie Prince Charles escape from Scotland. |
Adam Smith | 1723-1790 | Leading theorist of modern capitalism. Wrote The Wealth of Nations. |
Robert Burns | 1759-1796 | Romantic poet who wrote in a Scottish dialect. National poet of Scotland. |
James Watt | 1736-1819 | Inventor of the steam engine and founder of the Industrial Revolution. |
Sir Walter Scott | 1771-1832 | Author best known for novels set in Scotland. |
European Middle Ages (500 to 1650 a.d.)
Conversion of Clovis to the Thirty Years' War
Character | Dates | Short Biography |
| | Christian Conversion and the Holy Roman Empire |
Clovis | 466–511 | Founder of the Frankish kingdom. Converted to Christianity by his wife Clotilda. |
Wittekind | fl. 780 | Leader of Saxon resistance to Charlemagne. After years of struggle, accepted baptism. |
Charlemagne | 742–814 | First Holy Roman Emperor. Unified most of Western Europe into a Frankish Empire. |
Saint Stephen | 975–1038 | First Christian king of Hungary. Defeated pagans and united Magyar clans. |
Henry the Fowler | 876–936 | United rival German duchies in a confederation to resist the Magyars. |
| | Vikings and Norsemen |
Rollo the Viking | died 931 | Viking Leader who was granted the Dukedom of Normandy if he became Christian. |
Rurik | 830–879 | Norseman who ruled over a Slavic tribe on Volga. First Russian monarch. |
| | The Moslem Threat and the Crusades |
Charles Martel | 686–741 | Frankish king who defeated the Moors at the Battle of Tours. |
Peter the Hermit | 1050–1115 | Monk who instigated the First Crusade by preaching against Moslem Turks. |
Barbarossa | 1122–1190 | German warrior king and crusader. Campaigned in Italy and Germany for many years. |
St. Louis IX | 1214–1270 | Crusading king. Canonized as a saint for his concern and compassion for the poor. |
Don John of Austria | 1545–1578 | Hero of the naval battle of Lepanto. Briefly governed Spanish Netherlands. |
Mohammed II | 1432–1481 | Ottoman Sultan who conquered Constantinople and much of the Balkans. |
Solyman | 1494–1566 | Most famous Ottoman Emperor. Extended Ottoman's reach to the Balkans and North Africa. |
Eugene of Savoy | 1663–1736 | Superlative Austrian general. Drove Turks out of Serbia and fought France during the War of the Spanish Succession. |
| | Church-State Conflicts |
Saint Benedict | 480–547 | Established the Benedictine order of monks. Founded the monastic movement in Europe. |
Pope Gregory VII | 1020–1085 | Tested wills with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over lay appointment of bishops. |
Catherine of Siena | 1347–1380 | Saint who helped resolve the Papal schism of the 14th century. |
Joan of Arc | 1412–1431 | Led the French army to victory at the Siege of Orleans, then burned at the stake. |
| | Renaissance |
John Gutenberg | 1400–1468 | Invented printing press. Improved types, inks and methods. Printed first Bible. |
Lorenzo de Medici | 1449–1492 | Banker and power broker of Renaissance Florence. Great Patron of the Arts. |
| | Reformation |
Martin Luther | 1483–1546 | Leader of the Protestant Reformation. Raged against indulgences and clerical abuse. |
Charles V | 1500–1558 | Holy Roman Emperor who ruled Austria, the Low Countries, Spain and Italy. |
Richelieu | 1585–1682 | Influential Minister of Louis XIII. Consolidated royal power and crushed dissenters. |
William the Silent | 1533–1584 | Hero of the Dutch Revolt. Led resistance to the Inquisition and Spanish tyranny. |
Henry IV of France | 1553–1610 | Popular Huguenot king who converted to Catholicism, but decreed religious toleration. |
Gustavus Adolphus | 1594–1632 | Renowned Protestant general during the Thirty Years War. King of Sweden. |
| | New World Exploration |
Marco Polo | 1254–1324 | Traveller from Venice who spent 30 years at the court of Kublai Khan in China. |
Columbus | 1451–1506 | Sailed across Atlantic Ocean and discovered the Americas. |
Vasco da Gama | 1460–1524 | Sailed from Europe to the Orient by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. |
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