5th Century
401 November 9 – St Martin
“I am a soldier of Christ. I must not fight.” St Martin.
The Octogenarian Bishop of Tours, Martin, dies at Candes and is buried at Tours, attended
by two thousand monks.
402 – Ravenna
Establishment of capital of western empire at Ravenna.
404 – Emperor Honorius
During a gladiatorial show in the Colosseum in Rome, a Christian monk, Telemachus tried
to stop the combat but was killed by angry spectators. Emperor Honorius then closed down all
the gladiator schools in Rome.
406 – The Great Invasion
The Great invasion of Vandals, Sueves, and Burgundians across the Rhine.
Huns drive out Vandals from the Oder River on the Baltic Sea. The Vandals flee south into
Gaul where they are defeated by Roman commander Flavius Constantine.
The Vandals flee to Spain where they resist Roman attacks.
Roman troops leave London.
Britain becomes independent.
410 – Aleric the Visigoth
The legions of Roman soldiers occupying Britain are recalled to defend Rome against the
waves of Barbarians.
The Goths led by Alaric invade Northern Italy forcing the local populations of Veneto to
shelter on the islands of the lagoons and to settle there.
A young Gothic general in the Roman army led another rebellion. The Visigoths enter the
gates of Rome and sack the Eternal City for three days.
The crown and title Roman Emperor, Caesar, Czar, Kaiser is taken to Magog “the Land of
the Goths”.
Emperor Honorius calls on Britons to defend themselves.
411 – Marseilles
Foundation of Monasteries of Marseilles (John Cassian) and Lerins (Honoratus).
412 – St Cassius
St Cassius at Marseilles.
414 – Catapult
Greeks invent the catapult. The first artillery weapon.
418 – Toulouse
Visigoths settle in Aquitaine with capital at Toulouse.
421 – The Veneto
The Veneto claim the outcroppings and lagoons.
425 – St Augustine of Hippo
St Augustine completes his book on The City of God. The consolation of Christianity.
‘The City of God’ (L: De Civitate Dei) is a book written by Augustine of Hippo in the early
400’s dealing with issues concerning God, martyrdom, Jews, and other Christian philosophies.
It was written soon after Rome was sacked by the Visigoths.
Jus ad bellum (Just War). “An Offensive War” is just when waged against a state that
refuses to make reparations for wrongs committed or fails to return seized property.” – Bishop
Augustine of Hippo.
428 – Tangier
80,000 Vandals, in the largest sea-borne movement of a barbarian people, land near
Tangier.
429 – Vandals Invade Carthage
A Germanic people known as Vandals invade the Roman province of Carthage in North
Africa and rule as an independent kingdom.
430 – St Augustine of Hippo
Death of St Augustine.
431 – Nestorian and Monophysite Heresies
Condemnation of Nestorian heresy in the east and rise of Monophysite heresy.
432 – Santa Maria Maggiore
The basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is built in Rome.
434 to 453 – Attila the Hun
Attila the Hun comes to power after murdering his brother.
Reign of Attila, king of the Huns, who laid waste to large parts of Europe contributing to
local tribes being pushed further westward.
438 – The Theodosian Code
The Theodosian Code is compiled by the Byzantine emperor, Theodosius.
439 – Vandals Sack Carthage
With the sack of Carthage, Vandals control most of North Africa. Building a large naval
base, they raid the major cities of the western Mediterranean.
443 – Savoy
Settlement of Burgundians in Savoy.
448 to 751 – The Merovingians
The Merovingians rule the Frankish kingdom.
449 to 457 – English Settlements
Foundation of English Settlements in Britain.
450 – The Big Push
Under the leadership of Attila, the Huns, a nomadic equestrian tribe from central Asia,
invade northern Europe and the Eastern Roman Empire pushing the local inhabitants
westward.
Attila the Hun raids Gaul and Italy and builds his palace in Hungary.
Angles, Saxons and Jutes from northern tribes of Germanic Goths push westward and
begin invading Scotland displacing the local inhabitants of ‘painted people’ the Picts.
The Angles claimed the territories of East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria.
Appeal by Britons to Aetius for help against the Saxons.
The territories of the West, South and East Saxons gave rise to the counties of Wessex,
Sussex and Essex respectively.
Christian kingdom of Axum in Ethopia at the height of its power.
451 – Battle of Chalons-sur-Marne
Defeat of Attila and the Huns near Chalons-sur-Marne.
Formulation of orthodox christological doctrine at Council of Chalcedon.
452 – Venice
Invasion of northern Italy by Huns led by Attila. The Huns withdraw and Venice is founded.
The army of Attila the Hun is defeated by the Romans in Gaul. Pope Leo tries to persuade
Attila not to destroy Rome.
Upon his death the territory of Hungary would be his legacy.
453 – King Meroveus
Frankish King Meroveus kills Atilla the Hun engendering the Merovingian Dynasty.
454 – Aetius
Murder of Roman general Aetius.
455 – Sack of Rome
Rome is mercilessly sacked again by the Vandals in 455 AD. Effectively ending the Roman
Empire ruled from Rome.
456 – King Theoderic the Second
Visigothic hegemony in Spain established by King Theoderic the Second.
461 – Pope Leo I
Pope Leo establishes Roman primacy over the Catholic Church. His chair as Bishop of
Rome is the cathedral of St John in Lateran.
462 – The Scots
The vacuum caused by the redeployment of troops to Rome was filled with itinerant tribes of
Scots sweeping down from the north, plundering and causing mayhem from Hadrian’s Wall to
Northumbria. Irish tribes moved in from the west to wreck havoc on the mainland.
The Huns expanded their provinces pushing Germanic Saxons westward. Angles crossed
the channel to take control of the south and Londonium, the capital of Roman Brittania.
466 – Council of Venice
The Venetian islands form a council of their own representatives to govern their affairs.
471 – Aspar
Assassination of Alan general Aspar; reduction of barbarian influence in east.
476 – Fall of the Roman Empire
Germanic warriors led by Odoacer overthrow Emperor Romulus Augustulus bringing the
Western Roman Empire to an end. The Eastern Roman Emperor, or Byzantine Emperor, Zeno
claims to be Odoacer’s overlord and as such ruler of both empires, but he is ignored. The
Western Roman Empire will last another thousand years.
Start of the European Dark Ages.
480 to 543 – St Benedict
St Benedict of Nursia.
481 – The Franks
The Franks, Ostrogoths deriving their name from the weapons they bore; small throwing
axes. These weapons had a short haft and a small square shaped head called ‘francisa’. The
warriors who used them were called ‘Franks’.
482 – King Childeric
Death of King Childeric of the Franks, and the accession of Clovis.
486 – King Clovis
Although little more than a tribal chieftain Clovis, 481 to 511, conquers and unified Gaul into a
powerful Christian state. Leader of the Salian Dynasty of Franks, Clovis expels the last Roman
governor of Gaul, becoming the first King of France.
493 – King Theodoric the Great
“Religionem imperare non possumus, quia nomo cogitur ut credat inuitus.” – (We cannot
command religion, for no man can be compelled to believe anything against his will.)
-Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoth.
Theodoric the Great, leader of the Ostrogoth (Eastern Goths) assassinates Odoacer and
takes his place as ruler of large parts of Italy.
496 – King Clovis
Conversion of Clovis, King of the Franks, to Christianity.
499 – The Prophesies of Merlin
“For it is certain that Britons, at the last, shall have this land again.” Merlin.
Prophet and magician of Celtic tradition, Merlin’s birth was from an unfortunate beautiful girl
and the Devil at Salisbury where medieval tradition credits Merlin with the magical construction
of Stonehenge.
It is about this time Uther Pendragon successfully invaded Britain from Brittany in Gaul.
500 – King Arthur
Arthur is son of Uther Pendragon (Pendragon: chief leader in war). On Christmas Day, the
young Arthur draws the sword from the stone. Guided by Merlin the Magician, Arthur unites the
Britons by force of arms. The knightly code is established: courage, loyalty, honesty, courtesy
and charity.
Morgan Le Fay is Arthur’s half-sister and mother of Mordred. Arthur and Mordred inflict fatal
wounds on each other in the Last Battle of Camlann which ended the Age of Camelot.
Suspecting his dire fate, Arthur asks Sir Belvedere, his faithful knight, to throw the magic
sword Excalibur back into the lake from whence it came.
Merlin, Morgan le Fay and Taliesin accompany the mortally wounded Arthur across the water
to Avalon, the kingdom of the living dead, guided by Barinthus so that Arthur may one day rise
again from his eternal slumber and triumph over the forces of chaos once again. Three queens
attend to Arthur; the Queen of the Waste Lands, the Queen of Northgales, and the Lady of the
Lake.
King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are buried in a church at the site of the Holy Grail in
Glastonbury, England. Excalibur, the enchanted sword of the Britons is buried with them along
with a lead cross bearing the inscription. ‘Here lies Arthur, the famous king in the Island of
Avalon.’
