Aethelred ordered the massacre of all Danes living in England because he was fearful of them plotting against him. The death toll was greatest in the south. In the north the number of Danes and their close relationships to the Saxons made the order more difficult to perform. One of those killed was Gunhilde, the sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, the wife of Palig, also a Dane and living in England a hostage as a condition of peace. It is possible that in revenge for the murder of Gunhilde that the Danes invaded England and took control of the English throne.

The unpopular military tax was abolished by Edward the Confessor. It had been collected for many years to provide funds for defending the country from raiders.

William the Conqueror ordered that all church bells should be sounded at eight o'clock each night as a signal for everyone to put out fires and candles and retire to bed. The term appears to come from the French couvre feu meaning cover the fire.

At the Christmas Council William the Conqueror ordered the creation of survey of property with their values and populations county by county covering most of England. Commissioners were sent all over England, apart from the far north, to make a record of the population, value, state and ownership of the land. The book known as the Domesday Book consisted of two volumes and was completed by 1088.

Cattle as well as corn and fruit crops did badly this year.

On the morning of mass day of St. Lawrence, strong winds did more damage that anyone could remember. (St. Lawrence's day appears to be August 10th, but this may not have been the case in medieval times.)

The death of Edgar caused a split of unity in Scotland. Alexander I became King of the Scots and David I became the King in Lothian and Strathclyde.

The unity in Scotland was restored at the death of Alexander by David I who became King of Scots. During his reign the Scottish borders were extended to the River Tees, including all of Northumberland. (Was he assisted by the Knight Templar?)

Henry I granted a charter for an annual fair to be held at Glastonbury known as the Tor Fair. The reaffirmed the right for the existing fair to be held there.

With the Assize of Northampton King Henry II built upon the criminal justice system that he had set out in 1166 at Clarendon. The country was divided into six areas and these areas were covered by six groups of justices. The justices would follow a circuit around each area.

This law was passed to force all freemen to arm themselves according to their wealth with weapons and equipment in order to protect their homes and country from invaders.

The post of Lord Mayor of London was introduced in this year. The first holder of the title was Henry FitzAilwin.

The Assize of Measures introduced a common set of weights and measures by which goods must be sold. A standard length of cloth was introduced called the ell.

Possibly due to the disastrous fire in London this year bylaws were passed to ensure flammable straw roofs were replaced by tiles.

The harvest for this year was so good that some of it was sold off cheaply. The next three years would be very different.

Hay and corn crops were lost this year.

Rainy weather in the early part of this year and serious flooding destroyed crops and caused a famine.

Simon calls a Parliament where for the first time ordinary people were brought to represent the country.

Riots broke out between the monks of the Cathedral and the citizens of the town of Norwich. The attacks lasted for three days and the buildings of the church were badly damaged. King Henry III may have visited the Cathedral in an attempt to subdue the riots before he moved on to Bury St. Edmunds.

King Edward I ordered the Jews to stop lending money and charging high rates of interest (usury). Instead, Edward suggested that the Jews should become farmers or learn crafts to earn a living. The Church controlled many of the trade guilds so it was impossible for the Jews to join and it was not possible for them to suddenly learn how to farm land. This led to hardship for many and some resorted to coin clipping. This meant shaving small amounts of metal from coins and melting the shavings down to sell for profit.

King Edward I raised the penalty for coin clipping from banishment to execution. Many Jews were arrested in London for coin clipping and almost 300 of them were executed for the crime. The practice entailed cutting slivers of metal off coins and forging new coins from the small pieces.

King Edward III invited weavers from Flanders to come to England and start production of cloth. It was cheaper to produce the cloth in England as much of the raw material was locally produced. Edward promised the weavers his protection.

Thousands die of starvation.

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

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.

Because so many people died from the plague, labour was a scarce resource. To prevent workers demanding their own prices, the costs were fixed for labourer's wages at the pre-plague levels. Labourers had to stay in their own villages, and had to appear before a steward or constable each year to swear to abide by the rules of the statute. Stocks were built in each village to punish and deter any that did not abide by the rules.

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

Another outbreak of the plague affects England.

The Royal Exchange in London was founded by Sir Thomas Gresham. The exchange and dealing in foreign currency had become very important and this put London at the heart of the process.

The theatre called The Theatre at Shoreditch, originally built by James Burbage in 1577, was demolished and the wood transported across the river to Southwark where it was used to build the "Globe" theatre.