Other Considerations

1200 to 1209
The Crusaders sack Constantinople in 1204

1210 to 1219
The teaching of Aristotle's works is forbidden at the University of Paris in 1210 as a threat to Christianity

King John is forced by English barons to sign the Magna Carta in 1215; a month other provisions, a unified system of measures is introduced

1270 to 1279

The Crusades effectively come to an end in 1271, although attempts to retake the Holy Land persist for several centuries (Wait...this is still happening...right?)

Marco Polo, b Venice (Italy) about 1254, begins his great voyage to the Far East in 1271, reaching Japan; he returns in 1295

Thomas Aquinas, Italian theologian, d Fossanuova (Italy), Mar 7, 1274

Roger Bacon is imprisoned for heresy in 1277

1300 to 1309
Eyeglasses become common (The Crusades finally end...maybe we are seeing more clearly after all)