3874 entries. Last updated May 21, 2013.

700 to 800 Timeline Outline

  • Eras
  • Themes

The first page of the Beowulf manuscript. (View Larger)
Beowulf
(700 – 1000)

One of the Oldest Hebrew Fragments Written in Europe
(Circa 700)

Traversing the Mediterranean in Twenty Days
(700)

The First State Libraries in Japan
(702)

The Earliest Surviving Letter Known to Have Been Written from One Englishman to Another
(704 – 705)

A map displaying the expansion of the Umayyad empire. (View Larger)
Foundation of the Empire of al-Andalus in Spain
(April 30 – July 19, 711)

A reproduction of the Kalyuan Za Bao, one of the earliest newspapers. (View Larger)
One of the Earliest Newspapers, Written on Silk
(713 – 734)

Folio 27r of the Lindisfarne Gospels. (View Larger)
Creation of the Lindisfarne Gospels
(715 – 720)

(View Larger)
The Earliest Image of a Scribe Using a Writing Table
(Circa 715 – 720)

The library in the Abbey of St. Gall. (View Larger)
One of the Oldest, Largest, and Most Signficant Medieval Libraries
(719)

A portrait of the Venerable Bede, by John Doyle Penrose, c. 1902.
Finger Reckoning and Computus in the Eighth Century
(725)

Folio 30v of the Vespasian Psalter, depicting David with musicians. (View Larger)
The Oldest English Translation of Any Portion of the Bible
(725 – 750)

A painting of St. Benedict drafting the Benedictine Rules, by Herman Nieg, c. 1926. The painting resides in the church of Heiligenkreuz Abbey near Baden bei Wien, Lower Austria. (View Larger)
The Earliest Surviving Copy of St. Benedict's Rules
(Circa 725)

Historia ecclasiastica gentis Anglorum, folio 3v of Beda Petersburgiensis, dated 746. (View Larger)
The Foundation of English History
(Circa 731)

Charles de Steuben's 'Bataille de Poitiers,' created at sometime between 1834 and 1837, now located at Musée du château de Versailles, France.(View Larger)
Charles Martel Stops Muslim Expansion at the Battle of Tours
(732)

Earliest Examples of Block Printed Script, Printed on Silk
(734)

Folio 5r of Codex Benevenatus, Jerome's letter. (View Larger)
From the Libraries of Richard Mead and Anthony Askew
(736 – 760)

Most of the Surviving Greek Literature was Translated into Arabic by 750
(750)

The oldest known historiated initial, found in the St. Petersurg Bede, also known as the Leningrad Bede.
The Earliest Known Example of an Historiated Initial and One of the Earliest…
(Circa 750)

A portrait of St. Mark the Evangelist from folio 30v of the Book of Dimma. (View Larger)
The Book of Dimma
(Circa 750)

Evidence of the Decline of Literacy Among the Laity in the Early Middle Ages
(Circa 750)

Folio 11 of the Codex Aureus, inscribed in Old English. (View Larger)
The Stockholm Codex Aureus, Looted Twice by Vikings
(Circa 750)

Early Chinese Bookbinding Techniques as Practiced in Dunhuang
(Circa 750 – 950)

A map of the Silk Road. (View Larger)
Chinese Prisoners of War Convey Papermaking Techniques to the Arabs
(751)

A statue of Abd ar-Rahman in Almuñécar, Spain. (View Larger)
Abd ar-Rahman Conquers Cordoba
(755)

The ornate cover on the Lindau Gospels, located in the Pierpont Morgan Library. (View Larger)
One of the Great Treasures of Early Carolingian Metalwork
(760)

A modern photograph of a courtyard in the House of Wisdom, also known as the Bait al-Hikma. (View Larger)
Foundation of the House of Wisdom
(762)

One of one million pagodas commissioned by Empress Shotuku, containing Bhuddhist charms, or dhrani scrolls. (View Larger
One Million Copies Printed
(764 – 770)

The Oldest Surviving Book in the German Language
(765 – 775)

Raban Maur (left), flanked by Alcuin (middle), dedicates his work to Archbishop Otgar of Mainz (Right), taken from a Carolingian manuscript (ca. 831/40) currently residing in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Wien. (View Larger)
The Finest Library North of the Alps
(767)

A map illustrating the breadth of the Frankish Empire before and after Charlemagne's rule. (View Larger)
Charlemagne Becomes King of the Franks
(768)

The Earliest Surviving Document of the Christian Book Trade and Stichometry
(Circa 770 – 825)

Production of Manuscripts and Interest in Books Begins in Germany in the Last Third of the Eighth Century
(Circa 770)

The Earliest Datable Application of Carolingian Minuscule
(772 – 781)

A page fromt he 'Canones concillorum,' written in both unical and miniscule.(View Larger)
"The Oldest Western European Codex in Private Hands"
(Circa 775)

The parchment on which the Veronese Riddle is written. (View Larger)
The First Sample of an Early Italian Language
(Circa 775 – 825)

The Only Surviving Visigothic Manuscript Containing Figural Decoration
(Circa 775 – 825)

A portrait of Brahmagupta. (View Larger)
How the Hindu Numbers Came to the Arabs
(Circa 776)

Folio 72v of the Codex Aureus of Lorsch, depicting Christ. (View Larger)
The Codex Aureus of Lorsch and its Dispersal
(778 – 820)

The Carolingian Revival
(779 – 814)

An example of the Carolingian minuscule, taken from the tenth century Freising manuscripts. (View Larger)
The Educator Alcuin and the Emperor Charlemagne
(780 – 796)

A Book of Psalms from the Late 8th Century Found in a Bog in 2006
(Circa 780)

Sources of the Exemplars Copied during the Carolingian Renaissance
(Circa 780)

About 7000 Manuscripts and Fragments Survive from the Late 8th and 9th Centuries
(Circa 780 – 875)

The Earliest Example of the Carolingian Illumination Style
(781 – 783)

A facsimile of the Dagulf Psalter, also known as the Golden Psalter. (View Larger)
The First Treasure Binding Associated with its Original Codex
(783 – 795)

Declined to About 35,000 Volumes
(Circa 790)

An image depicting the crucifixion of Christ, found in the Gellone Sacramentary. (View Larger)
The Gellone Sacramentary: a Masterpiece of Carolingian Manuscript Illumination
(Circa 790)

Partial Inventory of the Court Library of Charlemagne at Aachen
(Circa 790)

Papermaking is Established in Baghdad
(793)

The ruins of Lindisfarne Abbey. (View Larger)
Vikings Sack the Monastery and Library of Lindisfarne in the First Viking…
(January 6, 793)

1302 Manuscript Codices or Fragments Survive of Texts Written before 800
(799)