Several cultures around the world report seeing a large comet in the skies.

The chronicles report a comet seen in the skies at the end of the year.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

A severe frost hit England that lasted for 120 days. The weather turned so cold that the Thames froze over.

At a -7.5 visual magnitude, this supernova could be the brightest stellar event to be recorded. Civilisations around the world recorded the same event that was visible for several months. The minus figure indicating that it as a bright event as the magnitude scale runs backwards.

A map was produced in Canterbury showing an accurate representation of Britain, Europe and the World.

An eclipse of the sun was seen from France.

Stormy weather destroyed crops and diseases killed many cattle during the year.

Extremely cold weather caused many deaths amongst animals and people.

A large earthquake is supposed to have been felt across England.

A large earthquake was felt in Worcester and Derby and many people were reportedly killed.

Extremely strong winds destroyed churches and buildings.

The supernova that occurred in this year formed the Crab Nebula and the event was recorded by astronomers in China. The explosion was so great that the supernova would have been visible during the daytime. Due to the huge distances involved, the explosion would have happened thousands of years earlier but the light from the event only reached Earth in 1054.

A comet appeared in the skies and is shown on the Bayeux Tapestry. It is thought to be the same comet that was named after Edmund Halley who accurately predicted its return in 1758.

A large earthquake hit England in this year.

Violent storms killed many people while cattle died from disease.

An earthquake was felt across England.

London was hit by a terrible storm, possibly a tornado. Damage was done to the Tower of London, the old wooden London Bridge and many churches and buildings.

A comet was seen for several weeks with its tail pointing east.

A star with a long tail was seen in the south-west.

The sea rose in many places around England and Scotland and an area of land of Kent that belonged to Earl Godwin was covered in sand. The name being corrupted to Goodwin Sands.

A comet was seen and reported by several civilisations around the World. Lasting for forty days the comet grew steadily in brightness until finally fading away.

Venice was hit by severe floods. Shortly afterwards a fire broke out destroying several districts of the city. Several months later another more deadly fire started. As many of the buildings were constructed of wood the fire spread out of control. The disasters led to future buildings being constructed of stone and brick.

An earthquake is recorded to have struck Shropshire in this year.

The comet was visible from England for three weeks.

An extreme winter prevented the growing of crops and cattle died of disease.

A strange event took place in London where the tide went out and did not return for twenty-four hours. People were able to cross the river by wading across rather than using the bridge.

A large earthquake damaged the areas of the Frankish control in the East. Antioch and Edessa were hit by the shocks.

The series of large earthqukes began in January and may have lasted for several months. Many churches and cathedrals in and around northern Italy were damaged in the quakes.

An earthquake damages Crowland Abbey.

The Chronical of Florence of Worcester mentions the sighting of a comet seen for several days in October.

There was an eclipse of the Sun over Scotland and the north of England. Accounts detailed by Florence of Worcester report strange events happening including ships moving on their own accord and churches as if by a profuse pirspiration. The partial eclipse also being seen by King Henry when waiting to cross the Channel for Normandy. This may have happened in 1132.

An eye-witness account from William of Malmesbury tells of an earthquake affecting many parts of England. (Symeon of Durham's Historia Regum, by John of Hexham.) This is interesting as it occurred just after an eclipse. See year 1185 when another eclipse and earthquake occurred.

The Anglo Saxon Chronicles reported that an eclipse of the sun occurred.

Return of the comet now named after Edmond Halley who died in 1742 that returns approximately every 75 years.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'In the tenth year of Henry II, about the first hour there appeared in the sky three circles and two suns; and a dragon of immense size was seen in St. Osyth (Osey Island, co. Essex), sailing the air so close to the earth that divers houses were burnt by the heat.' Is this a report of an airburst meteor? An airburst meteor is a meteor that explodes in the air before it reaches the ground and doesn't create an impact crator. A more recent example of an airburst meteor occurred in Russia at a place called Tunguska. This event, known and the great Siberian explosion, happened in 1908 and resulted in the felling of millions of trees.

A large earthquake hit the eastern Mediterranean along the fault line that runs along that region. A huge amount of damage was done causing a major loss of life. The earthquake was so powerful that the massive castle Krak des Chevaliers was damaged and needed repairing.

At about midnight, for the space of an hour or more, the whole face of the sky towards the north part was seen to be suffused with a red colour like blood.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

Earth tremors damaged the Cathedral at Lincoln beyond repair. The earthquake must have been very powerful as it was said that it was felt throughout the country. Only the West front survived in good shape and rest of the building had to be demolished.

Reports of an earthquake in the Plantagenet Chronicles occurring in Sicily. Need to confirm.

There was an eclipse of the Sun over the north of Europe. Interestingly, there was an earthquake that damaged Lincoln Cathedral in 1185. Did the earthquake happen before or after the eclipse? Are the two events related?

Most of Europe would have seen the Sun eclipsed by the moon just before midday.

An eclipse of the moon occurred at around midnight. (Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC)

Severe thunderstorms and floods during the summer affected England.

The winter of 1204/05 was so cold that the River Thames froze over and the cold spell lasted until March.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

Return of the comet now named after Edmond Halley who died in 1742 that returns approximately every 75 years.

From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'A London fog occurred while the Bishop of London was officiating in St. Paul's there came on suddenly such a thickness of the clouds and darkness of the sun, accompanied by thunder and lightening and a most foul stench, that the people departed, leaving only the bishop there with one attendant.'

The Tower of London was home to a menagerie of exotic animals given to the monarchs of England as gifts. In this year three leopards were given to Henry III.

The town and castle at Wisbech were hit by a fierce storm.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

Matthew Paris, the medieval historian, reported that an earthquake shook and damaged the church at St. Albans. Earthquakes are unusual in this area.

A huge volcanic eruption, thought to have occurred on the Indonesian island of Lombok, took place in this year. The large amounts of rock and gas thrown up into the atmosphere could have been the reason for global weather changes that caused crop failures and famines across Europe for several years. The volcano suspected to be the location is called Samalas.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report of the siting of a comet which was said to return every three hundred years. Rising from the east with more brightness than had ever been seen by a living person.

The church at the top of Glastonbury Tor was badly damaged by an earthquake.

A large storm hit the south coast of England. Winchelsea old town which lay on low lying land was totally destroyed by the violent storm.

Return of the comet now named after Edmond Halley who died in 1742 that returns approximately every 75 years.

There appears to be a mini ice age during this period (1303 and 1306-7) where the temperatures dropped so far that the Baltic Sea actually froze.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

A comet was seen in the skies of France and was viewed as a bad omen and that war was on the horizon.

A second? comet trailing fire is seen in the skies over Europe.

A large earthquake hit the city of Lisbon on the west coast of Portugal damaging the cathedral and palaces. The area suffers an earthquake on a regular basis, the biggest being in 1755 when thousands died.

Kipchak Mongols besieging a Genoese trading centre on the Crimean coast catapulted their own dead into the city. The cause of death was a mysterious disease. The Genoese escaped by sea taking the 'Black Death' with them. They landed at Messina in Sicily. Black Death or Bubonic plague was spread by the rat flea. The name Black Death came from the colour of the swelling in the groin, armpit or neck. The person suffering went into a coma and dies soon after. In Europe an estimated 25 million people died. The plague reached Britain in 1348 and again in 1360 and the population may have been reduced by a half.

The steady progress of the Plague westwards could not be stopped. The French king left the city for the relative safety of the countryside.But several of the royal family died including the King's niece Queen Jeanne of Navarre who had tended to the sick and had caught the illness herself.

The plague reached the shores of England first at Melcombe Regis in Dorset. By winter of the year, the plague had reached London.

From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'Meaux Abbey suffered so severely that thirty-two monks, and seven conversi died, the majority being taken in the month of August.'

From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'during Lent, six days before Easter Sunday, there occurred an earthquake throughout the whole of England so great that the monks of Melsa were thrown so violently from their stalls that they all lay prostrate on the ground.'

The peak of the plague was reached in the summer of 1349. Estimates of a third of the population dying from the infection have been made but being accurate is very difficult.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano. Plus or minus three years.

Another outbreak of the plague takes its toll. In Avignon many people died including several Cardinals.

A fierce storm or hurricane hit Britain and the spire at Norwich Cathedral fell. The spire damaged the presbytery as came down..

Another outbreak of the plague affects England.

Return of the comet now named after Edmond Halley who died in 1742 that returns approximately every 75 years.

An earthquake occurred somewhere in the Straits of Dover and was felt in southern England and in the Low Countries across the North Sea. The event happened during a meeting to condem the works of John Wycliffe.

A great plague took hold in London, killing upwards on 30,000 people.

An outburst of plague occurred sometime between 1405 and 1407 and the pestilence was so great that, according to the St. Albans chronicler, in London thirty thousand men and women were reported to have died in a short space of time. Henry IV is thought to have left London to wait for the plague to die out.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

Within three months, 40,000 people in Paris were killed by the plague.

Severe cold set in and lasted until February the next year. The Thames froze over forcing ships to unload futher down river than usual.

A severe winter at the end of1436 and start of 1437 causes many deaths and hardship.

Eruption of the large Icelandic volcano.

This was the time before lightning conductors and when lightning struck the tower on St. Paul's Cathedral it started a fire.

A large volcanic eruption occurred in the Pacific region of Vanuatu. This eruption was so powerful that it affected the worlds climate. Another large eruption was recorded happening in 1465, but it's location is not known.

Return of the comet now named after Edmond Halley who died in 1742 that returns approximately every 75 years.

Records indicate a large eruption that affected the climate around the world occurred in this year, but its location is not known. The change in climate was severe causing floods across Europe, lakes to freeze over and crops to fail. As records for the time can be inacurate, this could have been the same eruption that was recorded in 1453, the Kuwae eruption.

William Caxton published the first illustrated book in England. The Myrrour of the World was an encyclopedia and was a translation of an earlier work by Vinvent of Beauvais.

A plague arrived in England and affected London. The king escaped to Calais while the pestilence was at its worse,

Columbus had a book written by a German astronomer that predicted eclipses and he was able to use this information to trick the native Jamaicans. Columbus informed the leaders of the natives that God was not happy because they had stopped supplying the Spaniards with food and to prove this God would turn the moon blood red. This happens when the moon goes behind the Earth. When this event took place the natives were so afraid that they began supplying all the food that the Spaniards needed.

A violent and prolonged storm hit England causing a lot of damage to houses and severe flooding. Many animals were killed in the floods.

This earthquake was felt throughout Scotland and England.

Londoners were affected by a wide-spread illness forcing Henry VIII and his court to move to the countryside where they felt safer.

Magellan observed a solar eclipse while anchored off the east coast of current-day Argentina.

Return of the comet now named after Edmond Halley who died in 1742 that returns approximately every 75 years.

A bright comet was seen and reported by many countries in Europe. As usual, the siting of such an unusual object in the skies was seen as inauspicious and spread fear. This comet has been linked to a similar siting in 1264 but no evidence links the two.

Lightning again struck the spire of St. Paul's Cathedral. The roof and much of the cathedral were damaged by the resulting fire requiring extensive repairs.

A large earthquake struck southern England and northern France. It caused damage on both side of the Channel and caused the bells of the London churches to ring. Waves generated by the quake sank boats on the shores. The epicentre could have been somewhere between England and France.

The large Icelandic volcano Katla erupted.

The tomato is native to South America and is thought to have been brought to England in this year.

Britain was affected by another outbreak of the plague.

The plague's affects had diminished in London

A banana tree was shipped from the Bahamas to by a Mr Johnson who put it in his shop.