REL 231 - History of the Christian Church

Course Notes

Time-Line for Chapter 6

The textbook does not give clear indications of the dates of events in this chapter.
For many years, Britain was isolated from the Roman Church, and developed independently of it. Then when communication was restored, there was a period of adjustment as local British traditions came into conflict with those of continental Europe.

The time line below is intended to help clarify the time periods, events, and geographic areas covered in this chapter. Modern names of countries and regions are used rather than the less familiar historical names
All dates are approximate

Rome and Italy Europe Britain Ireland
ca. 250 or ca. 300 Alban, first known British martyr
314 Bishops from Britain attend the "Council of Arles" called by Constantine to deal with the Donatists - evidence for the presence of the Christian Church in Britain
341 Eusebius consecrates Ulfilas as "Bishop in the land of the Goths"
  • 350 Ulfilas translates the Greek New Testament into Gothic
360-435 John Cassian founder of some of the first monasteries in Europe
340-420 Jerome (Hieronymus)
350 Founding of the Schola Cantorum for Church singing, in Rome
366-384 Pope Damasus I
  • 382-384 Damasus has Jerome revise and unify the Latin Bibles
  • 384 Jerome presents Pope Damasus with new Latin translations of the Gospels
  • 386 Jerome moves to Bethlehem, lives as a monk in a cave, learns Hebrew
  • 400 Jerome completes his translation of the whole Bible into Latin
386 Ambrose of Milan introduces the singing of hymns as part of the Church liturgy
383 Roman Legions start to evacuate Britain
  • 410 all Roman Legions leave Britain
410 Alaric and the Goths sack Rome
416 Visigoths take Spain
418 Franks take Gaul
429 Saxons, Angles, and Jutes start to invade southern Britain, drive the Picts and Scots northwards
422-432 Palladius sent as first Bishop of Ireland, by Pope Celestine I
433 Patrick lands in Ireland
  • 433-460 Patrick's mission in Ireland
440-461 Pope Leo I
  • 452 Leo parlays with Attila the Hun
455-526 Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths
  • 489 Theodoric invades and conquers Italy
481-511 Clovis, King of the Franks
  • 493 Clovis marries a Christian princess, Clothilde
  • 496 Clovis baptized as a Christian by Remigius (St. Remy), Bishop of Rheims
480-524 Boëthius
480-550 Benedict of Nursia
  • 529 Monastery of Monte Cassino founded by Benedict
  • 530 Monastic "Rule" of Benedict
500 Battle of Badon Hill - Britons defeat the Saxons. The British leader may be the prototype for the legends of King Arthur
537 Battle of Camlan - death of "King Arthur"
490-580 Cassiodorus
525 Dionysius Exiguus sets the Christian calendar (AD - Anno Domini, Year of the Lord). He was probably off by several years.
542-594 The Plague spreads from Constantinople and kills about half of the total population of Europe
St. David brings Christianity to Wales
560 Deniol founds the Abbey of Bangor in Wales
563 Columba goes from Ireland to the Isle of Iona, founds a monastery, and starts his mission to the Picts of Scotland
590-604 Pope Gregory the Great
597 Augustine lands in Kent
600 Isidore becomes bishop of Seville
625 Paulinus of Rome goes as a missionary to Northumbria (Northern England)
626 Edwin of Northumbria sets about bringing Christianity to his people
640 Aidan goes as a missionary to Northumbria
664 Synod of Whitby. Oswy of Northumbria adopts the Roman traditions
669 Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, re-organization of the Church in England
671 Caedmon of Whitby, first Christian English Poet and Song-writer
673-735 The Venerable Bede
673-754 Boniface
  • 715 Boniface starts his missionary work in Germany
  • 725 Boniface chops down the sacred Donar oak tree
700 The Lindisfarne Gospels - Book of Gospels
711 Moors invade Spain
688-741 Charles Martel
  • 732 Charles Martel wins the Battle of Tours against the Moors
750 Moors driven out of Galicia
742-814 Charlemagne
  • 771 Charlemagne becomes King of the Franks
  • 800 Charlemagne crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III
735-804 Alcuin of York,
  • 766 Alcuin makes York a center for learning
  • 782 Alcuin goes to the court of Charlemagne to develop schools and learning
  • 796 Alcuin becomes head of the University of Tours
787 Danes start to invade England
792 Vikings start to invade Britain
800 The Synod of Aix-la-Chapelle introduces the "Filioque" clause into the Creed
800 approximate date for the Book of Kells - Book of Gospels
806 Norsemen sack the Monastery of Iona
834 Danes raid England
849-899 King Alfred the Great of Wessex
  • 871 Alfred becomes King
  • 878 Alfred defeats the Danes and recaptures London
  • 880 Alfred translates some of the New Testament into Anglo-Saxon
  • 898 Treaty of Wedmore, between King Alfred and the Danes
910 Cluniac Order founded
911 Rollo and his Norsemen settle in northern France - become the Normans
925-940 Athelstan, King of England, recaptures Northumberland
  • 937 Battle of Brunanburgh - Athelstan defeats Danes and Scots
940-946 Edmund I, brother of Athelstan, King of England
959-988 Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury
975-979 King Edward the Martyr of England
979 King Edward murdered. Ethelred II, the Unready, becomes king
1014 Battle of Clontarf ends Norse rule in Ireland
1033-1109 Anselm of Canterbury
1042-1066 Edward the Confessor, King of England
1065 Westminster Abbey consecrated

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Dr. Rollinson

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Last Updated : February 26, 2013

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