Middle Ages
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731)
Bede's five-book history became the foundation of early English history and helped make AD dating standard in Western Europe.
Region
Europe
Middle Ages
Battle of Tours (732): Charles Martel Halts the Umayyad Advance
Frankish victory; Abd al-Rahman was killed and the Umayyad army withdrew south, ending the largest raid north of the Pyrenees.
Middle Ages
Ardagh Chalice: Treasure of Early Christian Ireland
The chalice became the best-known example of early medieval Irish church metalwork and is displayed in the National Museum of Ireland.
Middle Ages
Donation of Constantine: The Forgery Behind Papal Power
A forged imperial grant supported papal claims for centuries until humanist scholars, above all Lorenzo Valla, proved it a fake.
Middle Ages
Birka: Viking Age Trading Town on Lake Mälaren (c. 750)
Birka flourished as a hub of long-distance trade for about two centuries and was abandoned in the late 10th century; it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Middle Ages
Pepin the Short Crowned King (751): The Carolingian Takeover
Pepin replaced the Merovingian dynasty and became the first Carolingian king of the Franks; the papacy and the Frankish monarchy formed a lasting alliance.
Middle Ages
Donation of Pepin (756): The Origin of the Papal States
Pepin forced the Lombards to give up the former Byzantine lands around Ravenna and granted them to the pope, creating the core of the Papal States.
Middle Ages
Abd al-Rahman I and the Emirate of Cordoba (756)
Abd al-Rahman I made al-Andalus an independent Umayyad emirate, ruled by his dynasty from Córdoba until 1031.
Middle Ages
Charlemagne Conquers the Lombard Kingdom (774): Siege of Pavia
Pavia surrendered in June 774; Desiderius was exiled to Francia and Charlemagne became King of the Franks and the Lombards.
Middle Ages
Battle of Roncevaux Pass (778): Roland and the Rearguard
Basque victory; Charlemagne's rearguard and baggage train were destroyed and several leading Franks, including Roland, were killed.
Middle Ages
Carolingian Renaissance: Learning Under Charlemagne
A revival of Latin education, book production and scholarship that reformed handwriting and preserved much of classical Latin literature.
Middle Ages
Massacre of Verden (782) and Charlemagne's Saxon Wars
According to the Royal Frankish Annals, 4,500 Saxons were beheaded in a single day; Saxon resistance continued until about 804, when Saxony was absorbed into the Frankish empire.