Timeline of Decades

[In progress. I update this page every now and then.]

In short Flavio Biondo's Decades is a history of the Middle Ages from 410 to 1440s. It contains 32 books, which are divided into three decades (i.e. sets of ten books). Below, I try to present a timeline and brief contents of each book. 

NOTE: The events mentioned are the ones Biondo writes about the most, but the absence of events here does not mean Biondo did not write about them. Moreover, the moral tones of events are Biondo's, not mine.

First decade (books I-X)

The first ten books contain the period roughly from 400s to 754. At the beginning of Decades, Biondo also quickly recapitulates the history of Rome from its conception to the Late Antiquity, and assesses the various reasons behind the start of the decline. I wrote about this in another blog post. Consequently, the first decade deals with the supposed 'end' of the Western Roman Empire, the Huns, the Gothic Wars, the rise of the Lombard kingdom into the Italian peninsula and the rise of the Frankish kingdom.

Book I (c. 410-423)

• Theodosius I and the reigns of his sons Arcadius and Honorius
• The sack of Rome in 410 (Biondo wrote it happened in 412)
• The origin of Goths, Alans, Suebs and Vandals.

Book II (c. 423-476)

• Church father Augustin
  
• Attila the Hun and pope Leo I
• Valentinian III
• The 'fall' of the Western Roman Empire (abdication of Romulus Augustulus in 476)

Book III (c. 476-536)

• The reign of Theoderic the Great (Ostrogothic kingdom)
• Cassiodorus as a source
• The foundation of Venice
• Clodvig and the Franks

Book IV (c. 536-538)

• The beginning of the Gothic wars (Leonardo Bruni's translation as a source)
  
• Belisarius and Procopius
• The Siege of Rome in 536
  

Book V (c. 538-541)

• Continuation of the Gothic Wars
• The role of popes in the war
• The sack of Mediolanum by Goths
  
• The conquest of Ravenna

Book VI (c. 541-546)

• The second half of the Gothic Wars
• Totila's campaign
• Sack of Rome in 546

 Book VII (c. 546-575)

• Narses the Eunuch
• The death of Totila
• The conclusion of the Gothic Wars

Book VIII (c. 575-602)

• The arrival of the Lombards to Italy
• Clothar I as the king of the Franks
• The miserable conditions in Italy
  
• Maurice as the Eastern Emperor
• Gregory the Great as pope

Book IX (c. 602-685)

• The beginning of the reign of Phokas
• The correspondence of Gregory
• The Roman-Sassanian wars
  
• The beginning of the eastern decline (200 years after the west)
• The rise of Islam

Book X (c. 685-754)

• The rise of the Carolingians
• Pepin the Short
• The emergence of Frankish-Papal relations (due to Constantinople's neglect of Italy)
  

Second decade (books XI-XX)

The second decade deals with the time period from 754 to 1410. Its time span is therefore the longest one of all the parts of Decades. In this decade, Biondo turns from the history of the decline to the history of re-emergence and growth. Different geographical areas of interest start to form, which Biondo assesses simultaneously. These areas are the Western Europe (i.e. the Frankish empire/Holy Roman Empire), Italy (i.e. the papacy), the Eastern Roman Empire and the Levant (after the beginning of the Crusades). Due to the multiple focuses of interest, the narration of Biondo may sometime feel messy and disoriented, and leads to the neglect of some areas such as the British Isles, Spain and the German speaking regions. But overall his history holds up, focusing on the relationship between the two 'Roman' empires, the schism between the emperors and popes and especially on the Crusades.

 Book XI (c. 754-806)

• The Frankish-Lombardian war
• The Donation of Pepin
• The campaign of Charlemagne
• The decadence and impiety of the Eastern Emperors
• The coronation of Charlemagne
• The creation of Western and Eastern Roman Empire

Book XII (c. 806-961)

• The dispute over Venice
• The Frankish emperors vs. the Greek emperors
• The advance of the Saracens
• The civil war among Ludvig's sons
• The treaty of Verdun
• The reign of emperor Otto I and the shift of the Empire to Middle Europe
  

Book XIII (c. 961-1097)

• The Ottonian dynasty and the hegemony of emperors over papacy
• Ottonian-Nicephorian relations (Otto II and Theofano)
• Reconquest of some eastern territories from the Saracens
• The beginning of electoral emperorship in the West
  
• The rise of the Normans
• Gregory VII as pope
• The investiture conflict
• The prelude of the First Crusade
  

Book XIV (c. 1097-1123)

• The First Crusade and the reconquest of Jerusalem

Book XV (c. 1123-1177)

Book XVI (c. 1177-1215)

• The Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople in 1204
• Division of the Byzantine Empire
  

Book XVII (c. 1215-1240)

Book XVIII (c. 1240-1291)

Book XIX (c. 1291-1332)

Book XX (c. 1332-1410)

Book XXI (c. 1410- February 1424)

Book XXII (February 1424 - January 1426)

Book XXIII (January 1426 - September 1429)

Book XXIV (September 1429 - c. 1431)

Book XXV (c. 1431 - May 1434)

Book XXVI (May 1434 - August 1435)

Book XXVII (August 1435 - December 1437)

Book XXVIII (December 1437 - March 1438)

Book XXIX (March 1438 - April 1439)

Book XXX (April 1439 - November 1439)

Book XXXI (November 1439 - c. autumn 1440)

Book XXXII (c. 1440 - October 1441)