On the death of his father, King John, Henry III becomes king of England

Llewellyn ap Iorwerth acquires such authority over other Welsh chieftains that he is informally referred to as the prince of Wales

Magna Carta is reissued slightly modified when Henry III comes of age; in the version which becomes enshrined in English law

The pope, eager to fill the vacant throne of Sicily, offers it to a son of Henry III of England but gets no firm response

Henry III accepts severe curtailment of his powers in the Provisions of Oxford, but then asks the pope to absolve him from his oath

Prince Edward, escaping from captivity, defeats and kills Simon de Montfort at Evesham

In a treaty agreed at Shrewsbury, the English king Henry III acknowledges Llewellyn ap Gruffydd as the prince of Wales

The first mention of a lens occurs in a manuscript by Roger Bacon, to be soon followed by the invention of spectacles

Edward I is in Sicily when he becomes king of England, on the death of his father, Henry III

An uprising by Llewellyn ap Gruffydd, the prince of Wales, ends with his own death and the subjugation of Wales by the king of England, Edward I

Edward I begins a series of powerful castles - Harlech, Caernarfon and Conwy in this year alone - to subdue the Welsh

The Jews in England are driven out of the country, soon to be followed by those in France

The parliament summoned by Edward I in Westminster Hall is later seen as a 'model' for the breadth of its representation

Edward I invades Scotland, massacres the people of Berwick, captures John de Balliol and brings to Westminster the Stone of Scone

William Wallace's victory over the English at Stirling Bridge enables him to rule Scotland on behalf of John de Balliol

The English longbow, in one of its early appearances, proves too much for the Scots at Falkirk

Edward I's victory at Falkirk ends the career of William Wallace, of whom nothing more is heard until his capture and execution in 1305

Southampton boasts the earliest known bowling green, mentioned in a document of this year

Duns Scotus, known as the Subtle Doctor in medieval times, later provides humanists with the name Dunsman or dunce

Edward I, conqueror of Wales, bestows the cherished title 'prince of Wales' on his own heir, the future Edward II

After the murder of his rival, in a church in Dumfries, Robert de Bruce is crowned king of Scots at Scone

On the death of his father, Edward I, Edward II becomes king of England

After years of guerilla warfare, Robert de Bruce defeats the English conclusively at Bannockburn - and becomes at last secure in his kingdom

Edward II is captured and imprisoned by his queen, Isabella, and her lover, Mortimer

Isabella forces Edward II to renounce the English throne in favour of their 15-year-old son, Edward III