May

Key events in medieval history.

  1. 1118 Death of Matilda of Scotland (Queen Consort of England)
    1169 The Norman Invasion of Ireland begins with mercenary forces landing in Leinster.
    1171 Death of King Diarmait Mac Murchada (of Leinster)
    1225 Birth of Jean de Joinville – Chronicler of the Seventh Crusade
    1255 Death of Walter de Gray – Archbishop of York
    1328 Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton ratified by English parliament, formally recognising Scotland as a state, and Robert Bruce its king.
  2. 1450 Death of William de la Pole – Lord High Admiral of England
  3. 1152 Death of Matilda of Boulogne (Queen Consort of England)
  4. 1008 Birth of Henry I (King of England)
    1415 Council of Constance declares John Wycliffe and Jan Hus to be heretics
    1471 Battle of Tewkesbury (Wars of the Roses)
  5. 1215 Rebel barons renounce allegiance to King John of England
  6. 973 Birth of Henry II ([Holy] Roman Emperor)
    1002 Death of Ealdwulf (Archbishop of York)
    1236 Death of Roger of Wendover – English chronicler
  7. 973 Death of Otto I ([Holy] Roman Emperor)
  8. 1360 Treaty of Brétigny drafted, halting the Hundred Years’ War (briefly)
    1429 Siege of Orléans lifted under the direction of Jeanne d’Arc
  9. 1170 Birth of Valdemar II (King of Denmark)
    1280 Death of King Magnus VI (of Norway)
    1386 Treaty of Windsor establishes a diplomatic alliance between England and Portugal (still in force, it is the oldest active diplomatic alliance in the world)
  10. 1291 Edward I meets claimants to the Scottish throne, demanding feudal authority
  11. 973 Edgar the Peaceful crowned King of England at Bath – a highly ritualised event guided by St Dunstan, in form it is the basis of the modern coronation ceremony
    1092 Consecration of Lincoln Cathedral
  12. 805 Death of Æthelhard (Archbishop of Canterbury)
    1182 Death of King Valdemar I (of Denmark)
    1191 King Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre
  13. 1024 Birth of S. Hugh of Cluny
    1221 Birth of Alexander Nevsky (Prince of Novgorod)
    Feast of S. Julian of Norwich (died c.1430, feast marks the day in 1373 she received her visions)
  14. 1097 Siege of Nicaea begins (First Crusade)
    1219 Death of William Marshall (English magnate, knight, and politician)
    1264 Battle of Lewes (Second Barons’ War)
    1315 Birth of Charles IV (Holy Roman Emperor)
  15. 1252 papacy issues the bull ad extirpanda, authorising torture of heretics
  16. 1204 Baldwin IX of Flanders crowned Emperor of ‘Latin Empire’ after the fall of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade
    Feast of S. Simon Stock (died 1265)
  17. 1215 London capture by rebellious barons (First Barons’ War)
  18. 1096 Worms Massacre (expulsion and execution of Jews – First Crusade)
    1152 [King] Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine
    1268 Antioch falls to the forces of Sultan Baibars
    1291 Acre falls to the forces of the Mamluk Sultanate, ending the Crusader states
  19. Feast of St Dunstan (died 988)
    1218 Death of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
  20. 685 Death of King Ecgfrith (of Northumbria)
    Feast of St Æthelberht of East Anglia (died c. 794)
    1217 Battle of Lincoln (First Barons’ War)
  21. 996 Otto III crowned Holy Roman Emperor
    1216 Prince Louis of France lands at Thanet, claiming the English crown
    1471 Death of King Henry VI (of England)
  22. 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet seeks to resolve King John’s claims to French lands
    1370 Massacre of Brussels (expulsion and execution of the city’s Jews)
    1377 papal bulls issued to condemn the teachings of John Wycliffe
    1455 First Battle of St Albans (Wars of the Roses)
  23. 1052 Birth of Philip I (King of France)
    1125 Death of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
    1430 Jeanne d’Arc captured by Burgundian forces
  24. 1089 Death of Lanfranc (Archbishop of Canterbury)
    1153 Death of King David I (of Scots)
    1218 Fifth Crusade departs for Egypt
  25. Feast of S. Aldhelm, scholar and Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey (died 709)
    Feast of the Venerable Bede, scholar and historian (died 735)
  26. Feast of S. Augustine of Canterbury, first archbishop (died c. 604)
    946 Death of King Edmund I (of England)
  27. 1199 John crowned King of England
  28. 1023 Death of Wulfstan II ‘Lupus’ (Archbishop of York)
  29. 1176 Battle of Legnano (Lombard League v. Holy Roman Empire)
    1328 Philip VI crowned King of France
    1453 Fall of Constantinople and end of the Eastern Roman Empire
  30. 1381 The Peasants’ Revolt begins
    1416 Jerome of Prague burned by the Council of Constance for heresy
    1431 Jeanne d’Arc burned at the stake in Paris for heresy

Calendar header images are taken from the decoration adorning the corresponding month in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (c. 1416).

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