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.