1250 - 1484
Later Middle Ages: Poll tax, plagues & printing . . .
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England subdue remaining Welsh territory [in north] (1258) . . . Scottish Kingdom take Islands from Norway (c. 1263) . . . Simon de Montfort & the barons: first 'Parliament' (1264) . . . "Prince of Wales" (1282) . . . Wales formally part of England (1295) . . . most of Ireland subject to English crown by last third of 13th century . . . population (1300) circa 4 to 5 million . . . increase in raids by Highland (Scottish) onto the lowlands, as climate deteriorated (early 14th century) . . . the Black Death (1348 on / possible climate link) . . . Poll tax revolt [Wat Tyler] (1380-81) . . . "Canterbury Tales [Chaucer] (late 14th C) . . . loss of lands & influence in France as further Scottish / English raids, clan warfare, border incursion etc. (early 15th century) . . . Henry V / Agincourt (1415) temporary reclamation of authority in north & west France . . . Joan of Arc (1429) . . . final decline for England (in France) from 1435 . . . expelled finally (except for Calais) in 1453 . . . the 'Wars of the Roses' (from 1453) . . . Scotland received the Orkneys & Shetlands [from Denmark] (1472) . . . Caxton & printing (1476) . . . Ireland slipped away from English grip, apart from east coastal strip . . . by 1478 only 'within the Pale' . . . much of western Europe has 'recognisable' shape (to us today); e.g. England, Ireland, Scotland, the German lands, France, Portugal & 'Spain' (Castile / Aragon) . . . Papal authority (via the monasteries, bishoprics etc.) absolute, unquestioning & far-reaching . . . by late 15th century, coal & cloth added to the list of major traded commodities . . .
Irregular descent into "Little Ice Age", but with fine, warm, anticyclonic periods through mid to latter 13th & early 14th century * for England, temperature peak may have been during the period either side of AD1280 * northern & western areas deterioration * glacier advance: implies world-wide cooling * marked increase in climate variability latter decades of the 1200's to early-1300's * what constitutes 'severe' events following this increase in variability is open to interpretation, but includes: cold winters, heavy snowstorms, coastal inundations, notable wet / flooding events, droughts & hot summers * decline upland / Highland Scotland climate * notable increase / maximum in North Sea / English Channel flooding events 13th century: evidence of increase in volcanic activity * Spörer (sunspot) minimum from ~1460 (until ~1550). NB: 'Black Death': ~1349/50 (possibly related to climate deterioration.)				Weather Log
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