Middle Ages: Difference between revisions
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{{Era|Timeline}} | {{Era|Timeline}}{{WP-REAL}} | ||
{{WP-REAL}} | {{Update|''[[Discovery Tour: Viking Age]]''}} | ||
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The '''Middle Ages''', | The '''Middle Ages''', also known as the '''Medieval Period''', was a period in [[Europe]]an history which lasted approximately from the 5th century to the late 15th century, beginning with the {{Wiki|Fall of the Western Roman Empire|fall}} of the [[Roman Empire|Western Roman Empire]] before transitioning into the [[Renaissance]] and the [[Age of Discovery|Age of Sail]]. | ||
The early period saw the large scale migration of the {{Wiki|Germanic peoples}} into northern and mainland Europe, occupying territories owned by the Roman Empire and forming various new kingdoms including [[Francia]]. In | ==History== | ||
===Early Middle Ages=== | |||
[[File:ACV Statue of Saint Helen.png|thumb|250px|Aftermath of the collapse of the Roman Empire]] | |||
The early Medieval period, sometimes referred to as the "'''{{Wiki|Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages}}'''", saw the large scale migration of the {{Wiki|Germanic peoples}} into northern and mainland Europe, occupying territories owned by the Roman Empire and forming various new kingdoms including [[Francia]]. In Northern Europe, the Germanic {{Wiki|Angles}}, {{Wiki|Saxons}}, and {{Wiki|Jutes}} migrated to [[Great Britain]], forming the bulk and foundation of what eventually became the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of England|England]], [[Scotland]], and [[Wales]].<ref name="ACV">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]''</ref> | |||
Amidst the rapid displacement of the native {{wiki|Romano-British}} population, a young [[Britons|Briton]] named [[Arthur Pendragon]] emerged as a leader after he pulled [[Excalibur]] from a stone, which proved that he was the true King of England.<ref name="Glyph">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Glyphs#5|Glyph 5: "Instruments of Power"]]</ref> Furthermore, Arthur was affiliated with an [[Isu]]-worshipping cabal known as the [[Order of the Ancients]], who would aid him in uniting England against the invading [[Anglo-Saxons]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Heresy]]''</ref> At one point, he placed his sword within an [[Isu Barracks|Isu structure]] beneath [[Stonehenge]], with an accompanying note in which expressed his hope that Excalibur would serve its next owner well.<ref name="ACV"/> Unfortunately for Arthur, he would grow disillusioned with the Order, and he was betrayed by his wife [[Guinevere]], best friend [[Lancelot]], and illegitimate son [[Mordred]] at the {{wiki|Battle of Camlann}}.<ref name="ACH">''[[Assassin's Creed: Heresy]]'' – Epilogue</ref> Eventually, Arthur's efforts to preserve England's Roman and Celtic cultures proved all for naught as the Anglo-Saxons quickly took control and founded the [[Heptarchy]], a collection of seven kingdoms that existed throughout all of England and Wales.<ref name="ACV"/> | |||
The period also saw a period of cultural resurgence in the [[Byzantine Empire]] under the reign of [[Justinian I]], from the reconquest of [[Italy]] and other lands west by [[Belisarius]] to the reconstruction of the [[Hagia Sophia]] and the codification of Western law between 527 and 541 CE.<ref name="ACB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]'' – [[Database: Porta Pinciana]]</ref> The "{{wiki|plague of Justinian}}" killed 40% of the population and eventually put an end to Byzantine aspirations of recreating the old Roman Empire after the death of Justinian I in 565. | |||
[[File:ACMir Baghdad Overview.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age]] | |||
In [[Arabia]], a man by the name of [[Muhammad]] created a new religion known as [[Islam]]. Soon, this new faith quickly spread across the [[Middle East]] and [[Africa|North Africa]], even reaching as far as [[Spain]] through the rapid expansion of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] after the death of Muhammad in 632. The Umayyads were stopped from expanding into Europe any further by {{wiki|Charles Martel}} of [[Francia]] in the {{wiki|Battle of Tours}}. Eventually, they were overthrown by the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasids]] led by [[al-Saffah]] in 750, though one surviving prince [[Abd al-Rahman I]] fled to Muslim-controlled Spain to establish the [[Emirate of Córdoba]]. | |||
In 793, a group of [[Norse people|Norse]] raiders known as the [[Vikings]] led a military expedition off the northeastern coast of England. Among the participants of this expedition was an [[Viking raider|ancestor]] of [[Juhani Otso Berg]] who fought and killed a Saxon warrior. This became known as the [[Lindisfarne raid]] and marked the beginning of the [[Viking Age|Age of Vikings]] and their [[Viking expansion|expansion]] across Europe, from the rivers of [[Russia]] to the shores of [[Ireland]], over the course of two centuries.<ref name="Lindsifarne">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Numbskull's personal files]]: "Otso Berg's Profile: Lindsifarne"</ref> Some Vikings would lend their services to the [[Byzantine Empire]] as bodyguards, becoming known as the [[Varangian]]s.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: The Golden City]]''</ref> | |||
In Western Europe, [[Charlemagne]] helped consolidate and expand the [[Franks]] to much of modern-day [[France]], [[Belgium]], western [[Germany]], and northern Italy. Being crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope [[Leo III]] on 25 December 800, Charlemagne would create the [[Carolingian Empire]], the director precursor to the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Siege of Paris]]'' – [[Database: Francia]]</ref> | |||
[[File:ACV SoP Tapestry of Charlemagne's crowing.png|thumb|250px|Tapestry depicting Charlemagne]] | |||
Unbeknownst to his subjects, Charlemagne was also a leader of the Order of the Ancients in spite of his strong [[Christianity|Christian]] beliefs. In 803, an Anglo-Saxon scholar named [[Alcuin]] discovered that the Order had infiltrated the church, intent on corrupting its beliefs. One year after his investigation, he wrote a letter to Charlemagne urging him to steer clear from the Order, unaware that he was a member of the organization. A week later, Alcuin died under mysterious circumstances.<ref name="Poor Fellow-Soldier">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Poor Fellow-Soldier]]</ref> | |||
Over fifty years after the Lindisfarne raid, the Vikings would sail down the [[Seine]] to [[Siege of Paris (845)|besiege]] the Carolingian capital of [[Paris]] in one of their most ambitious raids yet. [[Ragnar Lothbrok]], a young Viking leader from [[Sweden]], led a force of 4,000 men to plunder and occupy the city,<ref name="Departure">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Blood Brothers]]'' – [[Departure]]</ref> before departing when the Frankish king [[Charles the Bald]] paid a ransom of 7,000 livres of [[silver]] and [[gold]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Siege of Paris]]'' – [[To Francia]]</ref> Twenty years later, Ragnar landed in [[Northumbria]] and attempted to outdo his [[Sons of Ragnar|sons]] by planning to conquer the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England, using only two ships. However, he was captured by the [[ealdorman]] [[Ælla of Northumbria|Ælla]] and put to death by being thrown into a pit of snakes.<ref>''[[Echoes of History|Echoes of History: Vikings]]'' – Episode 2: Dragon of the Seas</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Lost Drengir of Ragnar Lothbrok]]</ref> | |||
The death of Ragnar Lothbrok led to his sons launching an invasion of England to avenge their father, followed by the arrival of another contingent of Vikings led by [[Bersi]] and [[Guthrum]] in 871. Soon, they formed a grand coalition known as the [[Great Heathen Army]], which would go on to conquer a huge swath of northern England that later became known as the [[Danelaw]].<ref name="Geirmund's Saga">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga]]''</ref> | |||
[[File:AC Twelve Trials Valhalla Q10 Ravensthorpe.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Ravensthorpe]] | |||
Following the [[Unification of Norway|unification]] of [[Norway]] under King [[Harald Fairhair]], the [[Raven Clan]], a group of Vikings, refused to swear fealty to the new king and departed their homeland.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Seas of Fate]]</ref> Like many before them, they set their sights on colonizing England and established a new home that would come to be named [[Ravensthorpe]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Settling Down]]</ref> The settlement was also part of a larger plan by [[Basim ibn Ishaq]] and [[Hytham]] to re-establish the Hidden Ones in England, who had been completely absent from the island since the Roman Empire's departure in 430 CE.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[To Serve the Light...]]</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[A Brief History of the Hidden Ones]]</ref> | |||
The Raven Clan was soon caught in the [[Assassin-Templar War|ancient conflict]] between the Hidden Ones and their mortal enemies, the Order of the Ancients. The clan's [[shieldmaiden]] [[Eivor Varinsdottir]] became an ally of the Hidden Ones and unwittingly helped King [[Alfred the Great|Alfred]] of [[Wessex]] purge the last vestiges of the Order from England,<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Breaking the Order]]</ref> allowing him to reform it into the Knights Templar, otherwise known as the [[Templars|Templar Order]].<ref name="Poor Fellow-Soldier"/> | |||
Aside from the Lothbrok family, Guthrum, and the Raven Clan, other notable participants in the Viking invasion of England included [[Geirmund Hel-hide]], the son of [[Hjorr Halfsson]] and [[Ljufvina Bjarmarsdottir]],<ref name="Geirmund's Saga" /> and the Stensson brothers, [[Ulf Stensson|Ulf]] and [[Björn Stensson|Björn]].<ref name="Departure"/> Eventually, the Vikings would be confined to the northernmost regions of England when Alfred returned from his exile after the [[Battle of Chippenham|Battle of Cippanhamm]] and mustered an army to defeat Guthrum at the [[Battle of Edington]]. Alfred's actions laid the foundation for what became the Kingdom of England, founded by his grandson [[Æthelstan]] in 927.<ref name="EoV">''[[Echoes of History|Echoes of History: Vikings]]'' – Episode 5: The Dawn of a New Era</ref> | |||
[[File:ACV SoP Siege Of Paris - Concept Art.jpg|thumb|250px|The 885–886 Siege of Paris]] | |||
Aside from England, the Vikings would [[Siege of Paris (885–886)|sack and plunder]] Paris once more, this time under the leadership of young Norwegian aristocrat [[Rollo]],<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Database: Rollo]]</ref> between 885 and 886. With the aid of Eivor Varinsdottir, the Vikings were able to infiltrate the city and form key alliances inside. [[Charles the Fat]] eventually allowed the Norse raiders to sail further up the Seine to raid {{wiki|Kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundy}} to avoid a complete sacking of the city.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Siege of Paris]]'' – [[The Siege of Paris (memory)|The Siege of Paris]]</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Siege of Paris]]'' – [[The Count of Paris]]</ref> In 911, Rollo willingly became a vassal to the West Frankish king {{wiki|Charles the Simple}} and established the {{wiki|Duchy of Normandy}}. | |||
By 975, the Hidden Ones and the Templars were active in [[Scandinavia]], long after the conquests of the Great Heathen Army and Rollo. A succession crisis arose within the [[House of Munsö]] after the Hidden Ones assassinated the Swedish king [[Olof Björnsson]] by poisoning his meal. The Hidden Ones would later back Olof's brother and successor [[Eric the Victorious]], who was largely under the influence of his advisor [[Torgny the Lawspeaker]]. The Templars would help forge an alliance between the disgruntled [[Styrbjörn the Strong]] and [[Harald Bluetooth]], the King of [[Denmark]] and Norway, as part of their efforts to claim the Swedish throne from Eric. However, Eric emerged victorious and crushed his rivals, including Styrbjörn and his sister [[Gyrid of Sweden|Gyrid Olafsdottir]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods]]''</ref> | |||
In 1001, the people of [[Rome]] revolted against Pope [[Sylvester II]], a secret leader of the Templar Order, who was branded a heretic for his support and promotion of science.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[Abstergo Files]]: "File.0.02\Hst_Beginning"</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia">''[[Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia]]''</ref> | |||
In 1054, Pope {{wiki|Pope Leo IX|Leo IX}} and {{wiki|Patriarch Michael I}} of the Byzantine Empire excommunicated each other because of disputes over the usage of unleavened bread in the liturgy and fasting days, papal authority over all of Christendom, the procession of the Holy Spirit, and disagreements over the teachings of [[Jesus of Nazareth|Jesus Christ]]. This split within Christianity was known as the {{wiki|East–West Schism}}, and it directly led to the creation of the Eastern Orthodox Church. | |||
In 1060, [[Edward the Confessor]] died without a male heir. Soon, a power struggle for the throne of England ensued between Rollo's descendant [[William the Conqueror]] and the Anglo-Saxon king {{wiki|Harold Godwinson}}. William eventually made an alliance with the Norwegian king [[Harald Hardrada]] to invade England and overthrow Goodwinson. The invasion culminated in 1066 with the decisive {{wiki|Battle of Hastings}}, where William crushed Goodwinson's forces. Because Harald had died in the {{wiki|Battle of Stamford Bridge}}, William became the first Norman king of England.<ref name="EoV"/> This period also marked the end of the Early Middle Ages and the Viking Age, as the rapid spread of Christianity saw the gradual decline of paganism throughout most of Europe. | |||
===High Middle Ages=== | |||
[[File:ACMirage Promotional Screenshot 3.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Alamut Castle]] | |||
The Hidden Ones went public in 1090 as the Assassin Brotherhood when [[Hassan-i Sabbāh]] established a {{wiki|Nizari Ismaili state}} in [[Iran]]. The Brotherhood in the Middle East was based in the desert fortress of [[Alamut]], which had already served as an important stronghold for the Hidden Ones centuries prior.<ref name="Essential Guide">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]''</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]''</ref> | |||
{{-}} | |||
==Appearances== | ==Appearances== | ||
*''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' {{1st}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' | |||
**''[[Battle of Forlì (DLC)|Battle of Forli]]'' | |||
**''[[Bonfire of the Vanities (DLC)|Bonfire of the Vanities]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed II: Discovery]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]'' | |||
**''[[Copernicus Conspiracy]]'' | |||
**''[[The Da Vinci Disappearance]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' {{Fb}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rebellion]]'' | |||
*''[[Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Echoes of History]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' | *''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' | ||
**''[[The Legend of Beowulf]]'' | |||
**''[[The Way of the Berserker]]'' | |||
**''[[River Raids]]'' | |||
**''[[Mastery Challenge]]'' | |||
**''[[Wrath of the Druids]]'' | |||
**''[[The Siege of Paris]]'' | |||
**''[[Dawn of Ragnarök]]'' | |||
**''[[The Forgotten Saga]]'' | |||
**''[[The Last Chapter]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga]]'' | |||
*[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (webcomic)|''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' webcomic]] | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Blood Brothers]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Hidden Codex]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Highlands Children]]'' | |||
*''[[Discovery Tour: Viking Age]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Golden City]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' | |||
**''[[The Forty Thieves]]'' | |||
**''[[Valley of Memory]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Daughter of No One]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR]]'' {{Mdat}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage – A Soar of Eagles]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' {{Mdat}} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Scroll box|content={{Reflist}}}} | ||
{{Timeline}} | {{Timeline}} | ||
<!--[zh:中世纪]--> | |||
[[Category:Timeline]] | [[Category:Timeline]] | ||
[[Category:Europe]] | |||
Latest revision as of 01:05, 25 May 2026
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The Middle Ages, also known as the Medieval Period, was a period in European history which lasted approximately from the 5th century to the late 15th century, beginning with the fall of the Western Roman Empire before transitioning into the Renaissance and the Age of Sail.
History[edit | edit source]
Early Middle Ages[edit | edit source]

The early Medieval period, sometimes referred to as the "Dark Ages", saw the large scale migration of the Germanic peoples into northern and mainland Europe, occupying territories owned by the Roman Empire and forming various new kingdoms including Francia. In Northern Europe, the Germanic Angles, Saxons, and Jutes migrated to Great Britain, forming the bulk and foundation of what eventually became the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Wales.[1]
Amidst the rapid displacement of the native Romano-British population, a young Briton named Arthur Pendragon emerged as a leader after he pulled Excalibur from a stone, which proved that he was the true King of England.[2] Furthermore, Arthur was affiliated with an Isu-worshipping cabal known as the Order of the Ancients, who would aid him in uniting England against the invading Anglo-Saxons.[3] At one point, he placed his sword within an Isu structure beneath Stonehenge, with an accompanying note in which expressed his hope that Excalibur would serve its next owner well.[1] Unfortunately for Arthur, he would grow disillusioned with the Order, and he was betrayed by his wife Guinevere, best friend Lancelot, and illegitimate son Mordred at the Battle of Camlann.[4] Eventually, Arthur's efforts to preserve England's Roman and Celtic cultures proved all for naught as the Anglo-Saxons quickly took control and founded the Heptarchy, a collection of seven kingdoms that existed throughout all of England and Wales.[1]
The period also saw a period of cultural resurgence in the Byzantine Empire under the reign of Justinian I, from the reconquest of Italy and other lands west by Belisarius to the reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia and the codification of Western law between 527 and 541 CE.[5] The "plague of Justinian" killed 40% of the population and eventually put an end to Byzantine aspirations of recreating the old Roman Empire after the death of Justinian I in 565.

In Arabia, a man by the name of Muhammad created a new religion known as Islam. Soon, this new faith quickly spread across the Middle East and North Africa, even reaching as far as Spain through the rapid expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate after the death of Muhammad in 632. The Umayyads were stopped from expanding into Europe any further by Charles Martel of Francia in the Battle of Tours. Eventually, they were overthrown by the Abbasids led by al-Saffah in 750, though one surviving prince Abd al-Rahman I fled to Muslim-controlled Spain to establish the Emirate of Córdoba.
In 793, a group of Norse raiders known as the Vikings led a military expedition off the northeastern coast of England. Among the participants of this expedition was an ancestor of Juhani Otso Berg who fought and killed a Saxon warrior. This became known as the Lindisfarne raid and marked the beginning of the Age of Vikings and their expansion across Europe, from the rivers of Russia to the shores of Ireland, over the course of two centuries.[6] Some Vikings would lend their services to the Byzantine Empire as bodyguards, becoming known as the Varangians.[7][8]
In Western Europe, Charlemagne helped consolidate and expand the Franks to much of modern-day France, Belgium, western Germany, and northern Italy. Being crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800, Charlemagne would create the Carolingian Empire, the director precursor to the Holy Roman Empire.[9]

Unbeknownst to his subjects, Charlemagne was also a leader of the Order of the Ancients in spite of his strong Christian beliefs. In 803, an Anglo-Saxon scholar named Alcuin discovered that the Order had infiltrated the church, intent on corrupting its beliefs. One year after his investigation, he wrote a letter to Charlemagne urging him to steer clear from the Order, unaware that he was a member of the organization. A week later, Alcuin died under mysterious circumstances.[10]
Over fifty years after the Lindisfarne raid, the Vikings would sail down the Seine to besiege the Carolingian capital of Paris in one of their most ambitious raids yet. Ragnar Lothbrok, a young Viking leader from Sweden, led a force of 4,000 men to plunder and occupy the city,[11] before departing when the Frankish king Charles the Bald paid a ransom of 7,000 livres of silver and gold.[12] Twenty years later, Ragnar landed in Northumbria and attempted to outdo his sons by planning to conquer the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England, using only two ships. However, he was captured by the ealdorman Ælla and put to death by being thrown into a pit of snakes.[13][14]
The death of Ragnar Lothbrok led to his sons launching an invasion of England to avenge their father, followed by the arrival of another contingent of Vikings led by Bersi and Guthrum in 871. Soon, they formed a grand coalition known as the Great Heathen Army, which would go on to conquer a huge swath of northern England that later became known as the Danelaw.[15]

Following the unification of Norway under King Harald Fairhair, the Raven Clan, a group of Vikings, refused to swear fealty to the new king and departed their homeland.[16] Like many before them, they set their sights on colonizing England and established a new home that would come to be named Ravensthorpe.[17] The settlement was also part of a larger plan by Basim ibn Ishaq and Hytham to re-establish the Hidden Ones in England, who had been completely absent from the island since the Roman Empire's departure in 430 CE.[18][19]
The Raven Clan was soon caught in the ancient conflict between the Hidden Ones and their mortal enemies, the Order of the Ancients. The clan's shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir became an ally of the Hidden Ones and unwittingly helped King Alfred of Wessex purge the last vestiges of the Order from England,[20] allowing him to reform it into the Knights Templar, otherwise known as the Templar Order.[10]
Aside from the Lothbrok family, Guthrum, and the Raven Clan, other notable participants in the Viking invasion of England included Geirmund Hel-hide, the son of Hjorr Halfsson and Ljufvina Bjarmarsdottir,[15] and the Stensson brothers, Ulf and Björn.[11] Eventually, the Vikings would be confined to the northernmost regions of England when Alfred returned from his exile after the Battle of Cippanhamm and mustered an army to defeat Guthrum at the Battle of Edington. Alfred's actions laid the foundation for what became the Kingdom of England, founded by his grandson Æthelstan in 927.[21]

Aside from England, the Vikings would sack and plunder Paris once more, this time under the leadership of young Norwegian aristocrat Rollo,[22] between 885 and 886. With the aid of Eivor Varinsdottir, the Vikings were able to infiltrate the city and form key alliances inside. Charles the Fat eventually allowed the Norse raiders to sail further up the Seine to raid Burgundy to avoid a complete sacking of the city.[23][24] In 911, Rollo willingly became a vassal to the West Frankish king Charles the Simple and established the Duchy of Normandy.
By 975, the Hidden Ones and the Templars were active in Scandinavia, long after the conquests of the Great Heathen Army and Rollo. A succession crisis arose within the House of Munsö after the Hidden Ones assassinated the Swedish king Olof Björnsson by poisoning his meal. The Hidden Ones would later back Olof's brother and successor Eric the Victorious, who was largely under the influence of his advisor Torgny the Lawspeaker. The Templars would help forge an alliance between the disgruntled Styrbjörn the Strong and Harald Bluetooth, the King of Denmark and Norway, as part of their efforts to claim the Swedish throne from Eric. However, Eric emerged victorious and crushed his rivals, including Styrbjörn and his sister Gyrid Olafsdottir.[25]
In 1001, the people of Rome revolted against Pope Sylvester II, a secret leader of the Templar Order, who was branded a heretic for his support and promotion of science.[26][27]
In 1054, Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I of the Byzantine Empire excommunicated each other because of disputes over the usage of unleavened bread in the liturgy and fasting days, papal authority over all of Christendom, the procession of the Holy Spirit, and disagreements over the teachings of Jesus Christ. This split within Christianity was known as the East–West Schism, and it directly led to the creation of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
In 1060, Edward the Confessor died without a male heir. Soon, a power struggle for the throne of England ensued between Rollo's descendant William the Conqueror and the Anglo-Saxon king Harold Godwinson. William eventually made an alliance with the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada to invade England and overthrow Goodwinson. The invasion culminated in 1066 with the decisive Battle of Hastings, where William crushed Goodwinson's forces. Because Harald had died in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, William became the first Norman king of England.[21] This period also marked the end of the Early Middle Ages and the Viking Age, as the rapid spread of Christianity saw the gradual decline of paganism throughout most of Europe.
High Middle Ages[edit | edit source]

The Hidden Ones went public in 1090 as the Assassin Brotherhood when Hassan-i Sabbāh established a Nizari Ismaili state in Iran. The Brotherhood in the Middle East was based in the desert fortress of Alamut, which had already served as an important stronghold for the Hidden Ones centuries prior.[28][29]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
- Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
- Assassin's Creed II
- Assassin's Creed II: Discovery
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (flashback only)
- Assassin's Creed: Unity
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
- Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece (mentioned only)
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla webcomic
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Blood Brothers
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Hidden Codex
- Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Highlands Children
- Discovery Tour: Viking Age
- Assassin's Creed: The Golden City
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Daughter of No One
- Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage – A Soar of Eagles
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows (mentioned in Database entry only)
References[edit | edit source]

