__NOTOC__ This is a timeline of English history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in England and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of England.

Prehistory: Mesolithic/Neolithic periodsBronze/Iron AgesCenturies: 1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th20th21stReferencesSources

1st century BC Year Date Event 55 BC Roman general Julius Caesar invades for the first time, gaining a beachhead on the coast of Kent.Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 4.20–35, 5.1, 8–23; Dio Cassius, Roman History 39.50–53, 40.1–3; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 1.45 54 BC Caesar invades a second time. These two invasions are known as Caesar's invasions of Britain.

Centuries in 1st millennium: 1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th

1st century Year Date Event c.10–c.40 Reign of Cuno, an influential king of southern England before the Roman occupation; son of Tasciovanus 43 Aulus Plautius leads an army of forty thousand to invade Great Britain; Emperor Claudius makes it a part of the Roman EmpireSheppard Frere, Britannia: A history of Roman Britain, revised edition (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978), p. 82c. 47 – 50London settled by the Romans, known as Londinium

2nd century Year Date Event 122 – 128 Emperor Hadrian orders a 73-mile (117 km) wall built to mark the Northern Roman Empire's province on the British Isle. Hadrian's Wall, as it comes to be known, is intended to keep the Caledonians, Picts, and other tribes at bay.

3rd century Year Date Eventc. 213Britain is divided into two provinces, Britannia Inferior and Britannia Superior. This is likely due to the Roman emperor at the time, Caracalla.286Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius, a Roman military commander at the time, usurps power during the Carausian Revolt.

4th century Year Date Event367The Great Conspiracy begins, starting a year-long period of disorder and war in Britain.

5th century Year Date Event401Romans begin their withdrawal from Britain.449The Angles begin their invasion of England and establish tribal kingdoms on the east coast.

6th century Year Date Event 597 Christianisation of the Kingdom of Kent and its leader King Æthelberht by Saint Augustine.Bede, Ecclesiastical History, Book I, Ch. 25 & 26

7th century Year Date Event 616 24 February King Æthelberht of Kent dies and is succeeded by his son Eadbald of Kent.

8th century Year Date Event740-756Reign of Cuthred, King of Wessex.Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 204757Offa becomes King of Mercia.7938 JuneViking raid on a monastery in Lindisfarne, often taken as the beginning of the Viking age.79629 JulyOffa of Mercia dies.

9th century Year Date Event802 Ecgberht of Wessex is enthroned.849Alfred the Great, the future king of Wessex (r. 871-899), is born to Aethelwulf of Wessex and Osburh. 865Arrival of the Great Heathen Army.871AprilAlfred the Great succeeds his brother Æthelred as King of the West Saxons.874Edward the Elder, the future king of England (r. 899-924), is born to Alfred the Great and Ealhswith. 894Æthelstan the Glorious, the future king of England (r. 927-939), is born to Edward the Elder and Ecgwynn.

10th century Year Date Event921Edmund the Magnificent, the future king of England (r. 939-946), is born to Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent. 923Eadred, the future king of England (r. 946-955), is born to Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent.924Æthelstan becomes king of England.940Eadwig All-Fair, the future king of England (r. 955-959), is born to Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury. 943Edgar the Peaceful, the future king of England (r. 959-975), is born to Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury. 962Edward the Martyr, the future king of England (r. 975-978) is born to Edgar the Peaceful and Æthelflæd. 96317 AprilSweyn Forkbeard, the future king of England (r. 1013-1014), is born in Denmark to Harald Bluetooth and either Tove or Gunhild. 966Æthelred the Unready, the future king of England (r. 978~1013), is born to Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth.990Edmund Ironside, the future king of England (r. 1016-1016), is born to Æthelred and Ælfgifu of York. 991 Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns lead the English against a Viking invasion in the Battle of Maldon in Essex.995Cnut the Great, the future king of England (r.1016-1035), is born to Sweyn Forkbeard and Gunhilda of Poland.

11th century Year Date Event1003Edward the Confessor, the future king of England (r. 1042-1066), is born to Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy.1016Harold Harefoot, the future king of England (r.1035-1040), is born to Cnut the Great and Ælfgifu of Northhampton. 1016 Cnut the Great of Denmark becomes king of all England1018Harthacnut, the future king of England, (r. 1040-1042), is born to Cnut the Great and Emma of Normandy. 1022Harold II, the future king of England (r. 1066-1066), is born to Godwin of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir.1028William the Conqueror, the future king of England (r.1066-1087), is born to Robert the Magnificent and Herleva. 1042 Edward the Confessor becomes king of all England 1054 The Great Schism, culmination of theological and political differences between Eastern and Western Christianity1056William II, the future king of England (r. 1087-1100), is born to William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. 1066 Battle of Fulford: English forces are defeated by Norse invaders in northeastern England. Battle of Stamford Bridge: the remaining Norse under Harald Hardrada are defeated by the bulk of England's army under the command of its king. Battle of Hastings: England's remaining forces defeated by invaders from Normandy, known as the Norman Conquest; William the Conqueror crowned king of England.1068Henry I, the future king of England (r.1100-1135), is born to William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. 1086 Work commences on the Domesday Book.1096Stephen of Blois, the future king of England (r. 1135-1154), is born to Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of Normandy.

12th century

Year Date Event1120 White Ship disaster11335 MarchHenry II, the future king of England (r. 1154-1189), is born in Le Mans, France, to Geoffrey V of Anjou and Matilda. 1135 The Anarchy, a civil war resulting from a dispute over succession to the throne, begins; it lasts until 1153. 1138 The Battle of the Standard: the English defeat an invading Scottish army led by King David I.11578 SeptemberRichard the Lionheart, the future king of England (r. 1189-1199), is born to Henry II and Elanor of Aquitaine. 1164 The Constitutions of Clarendon, a set of laws which governed the trial of members of the Catholic Church in England, are issued.116624 DecemberJohn Lackland, the future king of England (r. 1199-1216), is born to Henry II and Elanor of Aquitaine. 1170 Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated. 1192 Crusades: King Richard I is captured by Austrian Duke Leopold V, Duke of Austria while returning from the Holy Land. 1194 Richard is ransomed and returned to England.

13th century Year Date Event12071 OctoberHenry III, the future king of England (r. 1216-1272), is born to John and Isabella of Angoulême. 1209 King John is excommunicated from the Catholic Church by Pope Innocent III.1214The English are defeated in Battle of Bouvinnes. 1215 Magna Carta is signed. 1237 The Treaty of York is signed, fixing the border between Scotland and England.123917 JuneEdward I, the future king of England (r. 1272-1307), is born to Henry III and Elanor of Provence. 1264 Battle of Lewes: Rebel English barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester defeat King Henry III. 1267 Henry recognises the authority of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in Gwynedd. 1277 England annexes Gwynedd. 1279 The Statute of Mortmain is issued.128425 AprilEdward II, the future king of England (r. 1307-1327), is born to Edward I and Elanor of Castile. 1287 Rhys ap Maredudd leads a revolt against English rule in Wales. 1294 Madog ap Llywelyn leads a revolt against English rule in Wales. 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge: The Scots, led by William Wallace, defeats the English.

14th century Year Date Event 1305 23 August William Wallace is executed by the English on a charge of treason.131213 NovemberEdward III, the future king of England (r. 1327-1377), is born to Edward II and Isabella of France. 1314 23–24 June Battle of Bannockburn: Scotland wins a decisive victory over England. 1328 1 May The Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, under which England recognises Scottish independence, is signed. 1348 The Black Death arrives in England. 1356 19 September Battle of Poitiers: Second of the three major battles of the Hundred Years' War takes place near Poitiers, France.13676 JanuaryRichard II, the future king of England (r. 1377-1399), is born to Edward the Black Prince and Joan of Kent. 1367AprilHenry IV, the future king of England (r. 1399-1413), is born to John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster. 1373 16 June The Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373 is signed, forming an alliance between England and Portugal; it remains an active treaty, most recently invoked in the Falklands War (see 1982) 1381 May–June Peasants' Revolt: a major uprising across large parts of England led by Wat Tyler; it is also called Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising.138616 SeptemberHenry V, the future king of England (r. 1413-1422), is born to Henry IV and Mary de Bohun. 1395 The Statute of Praemunire is issued.

15th century Year Date Event 1403 21 July Battle of Shrewsbury: fought between the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland. 1415 25 October Battle of Agincourt: a major English victory in the Hundred Years' War on Saint Crispin's Day, near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France.14216 DecemberHenry VI, the future king of England (r. 1422–1471), is born to Henry V and Catherine of Valois.144228 AprilEdward IV, the future king of England (r. 1461–1470), is born to Richard of York and Cecily Neville.14522 OctoberRichard III, the future king of England (r. 1483-1485), is born to Richard of York and Cecily Neville. 1455 22 May The start of the Wars of the Roses, a civil war for control of the throne of England between the House of York in Yorkshire and House of Lancaster in Lancashire.145728 JanuaryHenry VII, the future king of England (r. 1485-1509), is born to Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort. 1485 22 August Battle of Bosworth Field (Battle of Bosworth): the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the Houses of Lancaster and York. Richard III, the last Plantagenet king was killed, succeeded by Henry VII. 1487 16 June Battle of Stoke, the decisive engagement in a failed attempt by leading Yorkists to unseat Henry VII of England in favour of the pretender Lambert Simnel.14702 NovemberEdward V, the future king of England (r. 1483-1483), is born to Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. 149128 JuneHenry VIII, the future king of England (r. 1509-1547), is born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

16th century