496 Religion Christianisation France
Baptism of Clovis
At Reims the Frankish king converts to Nicene Christianity. The alliance of throne and altar shapes the medieval West.
A shared history
European construction did not begin in 1950. This thread links the ancient inheritance, the Judeo-Christian matrix and the contemporary Union.
326
events
3600 BC
earliest marker
46
countries covered
0
already discussed
Event density
One century per bar before 1500, one decade after: archives are not evenly spread.
400 :
1 event
500 :
5 events
600 :
1 event
700 :
3 events
800 :
7 events
900 :
9 events
1000 :
3 events
Ancient Greece
Early Middle Ages
Renaissance
Enlightenment
Concert of Europe
European integration
Rome
High and Late Middle Ages
Reformation and wars of religion
Age of revolutions
World wars
Cold War
400
749
1099
29 events
400 499
Rome 1 event500 599
Early Middle Ages 5 events529 Event Christianisation Italy
Rule of Saint Benedict
At Monte Cassino, Benedict writes the rule that will structure Western monasticism and preserve ancient texts.
537 Event Christianisation Türkiye
Hagia Sophia
Justinian completes a dome that European architecture will take a thousand years to equal.
589 Religion Christianisation Spain
Third Council of Toledo
The Visigothic king Reccared abjures Arianism. Spain joins Nicene Christendom and shapes its liturgy.
590 Event Christianisation Ireland
Columbanus on the continent
The Irish monk founds Luxeuil then Bobbio and replants monastic life in Gaul and Italy.
597 Religion Christianisation United Kingdom
Augustine’s mission
Sent by Gregory the Great, he founds the see of Canterbury and ties the island to Rome.
600 699
Early Middle Ages 1 event681 Event Middle Ages Bulgaria
First Bulgarian Empire
Byzantium recognises a Bulgarian state south of the Danube: Europe’s oldest still-named Slavic state.
700 799
Early Middle Ages 3 events711 War Middle Ages Spain
Muslim conquest
The Visigothic kingdom collapses. By the tenth century Córdoba is one of the largest cities in the world.
756 Event Middle Ages Vatican City
Birth of the Papal States
The Donation of Pepin founds a temporal power that will last eleven centuries.
793 War Middle Ages Norway
Raid on Lindisfarne
The sack of the English monastery conventionally opens the Viking age.
800 899
Early Middle Ages 7 events800 Figure Christianisation Germany France
Charlemagne crowned Emperor
In Rome, Pope Leo III restores the Western Empire for the King of the Franks — the shared political matrix of France and Germany.
800 Text Middle Ages Ireland
The Book of Kells
A masterpiece of insular illumination, symbol of Ireland’s role in transmitting texts.
863 Religion Christianisation Slovakia
Mission of Cyril and Methodius
The two brothers from Thessalonica create the Glagolitic alphabet and the first Slavic liturgy.
864 Religion Christianisation Bulgaria
Baptism of Khan Boris
Bulgaria adopts Byzantine Christianity and welcomes the disciples of Cyril and Methodius.
870 Event Middle Ages Malta
Arab period
Two centuries of Aghlabid rule give Maltese its Semitic base.
886 Institution Christianisation North Macedonia
School of Ohrid
Clement and Naum train thousands of clerics there and spread Slavic writing.
893 Event Christianisation Bulgaria
Birth of the Cyrillic alphabet
The school of Preslav devises the script that will serve Russian, Serbian and Ukrainian.
900 999
Early Middle Ages 9 events907 Event Middle Ages Slovakia
End of Great Moravia
The first West Slavic state collapses; the territory passes to Hungary for a thousand years.
925 Event Middle Ages Croatia
Kingdom of Croatia
Tomislav is recognised as king; the country anchors itself in Latin Christendom.
930 Institution Middle Ages Iceland
Foundation of the Althing
At Þingvellir the world’s oldest still-functioning parliament is born.
962 Event Middle Ages Germany
Birth of the Holy Roman Empire
Otto I is crowned in Rome. The Empire claims direct descent from ancient Rome and acts as the secular arm of the Church.
963 Institution Middle Ages Luxembourg
Foundation of Lucilinburhuc
Siegfried acquires a rock on the Alzette: the castle will give the country its name.
965 Event Christianisation Denmark
Jelling stone
Harald Bluetooth proclaims the Christianisation of the Danes: the kingdom’s birth certificate.
966 Religion Christianisation Poland
Baptism of Mieszko I
Poland chooses Latin Christianity, a decision that durably fixes its cultural place in Europe.
988 Religion Christianisation Ukraine
Baptism of Rus’
Vladimir chooses Byzantine Christianity; Eastern Europe swings into Constantinople’s orbit.
996 Event Middle Ages Austria
First mention of Ostarrîchi
An imperial charter names for the first time the “eastern realm”, origin of the name Österreich.
1000 1099
High and Late Middle Ages 3 events1000 Figure Christianisation Hungary
Coronation of Stephen I
Pope Sylvester II sends a crown: Hungary enters Latin Christendom.
1000 Religion Christianisation Iceland
Christianisation by vote
The assembly collectively decides to adopt Christianity to preserve civil peace.
1000 Religion Christianisation Sweden
Christianisation of Sweden
The baptism of Olof Skötkonung anchors the kingdom to Latin Christendom and to writing.