Ars Magica Chronology#

[OriginalMadman v2.54b wip, 2026-10-03]
IMPORTANT! This document version is open for public commentary and correction. You may submit corrections directly in it by just editing - which will be reviewed and taken into account for approval/rejection. Thank you for your help in this community endeavour. Keep any discussion about this document here: https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/ars-magica-chronology-an-in-progress-updated-really-big-fat-timeline-of-the-order/171381

What is this?#

This document contains a vast chronology for the Mythic Europe of the Ars Magica role-playing game, detailing historical events relevant to the setting. It covers a vast span, beginning in prehistory and extending to the 13th century. The timeline highlights the rise of magical traditions, the formation of the Order of Hermes, and significant events impacting the Order and Europe.

It’s compiled, edited and written by fans from various Ars Magica sources - now open license, as well as real-world history and mythology. It includes fictional annotations with commentary and clarifications, sometimes argumentative and challenging, sometimes sharp-witted or judgmental. Discrepancies and conflicting information exist in the source material, but we have tried to maintain consistency and canon as best as possible.

The goal is to provide a rich and interesting resource for both players and storyguides (gamemasters), as well as encourage support for Ars Magica. It can also be used as-is for playing other roleplaying games - or simply read for enjoyment, as it contains no game-related rules or data. Previous knowledge, or possession of Ars Magica is not strictly required, but helpful. An extensive glossary of terms is provided for reference.

Attribution & License#

Writing, Research and Development by OriginalMadman (OM).

With kind assistance, comments and proofreading by many good folks of the Atlas Games Forum and on Google docs. Including but not limited to:
Timothy S. O'Brien, Erik Tyrell, Heaven's Thunder Hammer, Donald H Frew, Itzhak Even, Salutor, maastrictian1, Ptitboul, George Fish, Jon Howell, Max Nevill, Joachim Ståhl, Gary Barber, Sheri F and David Chart.

Special thanks to Kuni Mizomura al-Tŷtalī and Antomonio for the Finis Terrae entries. Credit to Mario Donaire, Óscar Estefanía, and Holocubierta Ediciones for the original spanish book.

Kudos to my dear sodales Yaakov, Alessio, Guiscard and Lorenzo for inspiration, stupid questions, many laughs and keeping this compiler dishonest.

Based on the original version "The Chronology of the Order of Hermes (Version 1.1)", Research and Development by Timothy S. O'Brien.
Available here: https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/hermetic-timeline/1003

Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993–2024, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0")

This work is distributed "ShareAlike" as required under the same license.

Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission.

Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.

Ars Magica Chronology

What is this?

Attribution & License

Introduction

Compiler’s Intention

Glossary of Terms

Historia Magica et Ordo Hermetis

Foreword

The Order of Hermes

The Four Major Crises

The War against the Spider

The Sundering

The Corruption of House Tytalus

The Schism War

Abridged Timeline

Chronology

The Age of Creation and Exile

A New Dawn and The Age of the First Magi (3500–1685 BC)

The Age of Hermetic Predecessors (1685–250 BC)

Rome and the Cult of Mercury (250 BC – AD 476)

The Dark Age of Magic (AD 476–731)

The Hermetic Ascendancy (AD 731–832)

The Age of Ambition and Intrigue (AD 833–910)

The Tide of Mars (AD 898–1018)

The Age of Faith and Fire (AD 1018–1160)

The Age of Dominion and Discovery (AD 1160– )

APPENDIX

Thoth, Hermes and Mercurius

Works Cited - version 1.1

Works Cited - version 2.0x

Versioning Information & Changes

OM Version 2.0x to 2.06 updates & changes

OM version 2.07 updates

OM version 2.08 updates

OM version 2.10+ updates 2023-2024

OM version 2.20 The Finis Terrae update 2024-06-07

OM version 2.21 update 2024-08-06

OM version 2.22 update 2024-09-04

OM version 2.23 update 2024-12-15

OM version 2.24 update 2025-02-20

OM version 2.30 update 2025-02-27

OM version 2.40 update 2025-03-01

OM version 2.41 update 2025-04-06

OM version 2.50 - Massive Update 2025-04-21

OM version 2.52 - Minor fixes Update 2026-03-31

OM version 2.53 - Minor fixes Update 2026-05-17

Items to find suitable slot for

Non-canonical items and deviations

Issues and inconsistencies

Items where pre-ArM5e lore has been kept instead of ArM5e

Legacy items without Open License coverage

Items moved out of the timeline

Optional non-canon events (from compilers campaign)

Potential Todo’s

Introduction#

"The gods sleep on, and all who know the truth hope that they will sleep on until the end of time, for if they stirred from slumber and walked once more upon the earth, they could well destroy all of civilization, and likely the Order along with it. Always remember, despite how the Old Ones might appear, they are not human, but monstrous indeed."

"Today, it is said, the Old Ones sleep upon Mount Olympus, in the forest of Tertius Quid, and some say at Stonehenge. The dwellings of the gods do not exist in time as most things do, but rather return to time periodically as they will. Only if you visit those places at the right moment will you be able to enter the gods’ palaces and gardens, and maybe meet with them, if you are lucky or accursed enough."

– Archmage Infamitus, The True Origins of the Magical Traditions

This is a chronology and history of Magic and the Order of Hermes.

It is written primarily from the point of view of the order and annotated by various magi, principally a specific magus of House Mercere, and events may be colored accordingly.

Some actual historical dates may not coincide with other histories, mainly because authorities and historians tend to disagree. Events were mainly entered in the order found, but events inside the Order are usually listed before mundane events.

Often, a range of mundane and Hermetic dates do not quite agree; this is usually an artifact of approximation and rounding.

Events considered of great import to the Order (at least by the fictional author) are in boldface.

The gloss and the introductions to the centuries contain short comments, exhortations, references to related events, color commentary, and unsolicited opinions. The opinions noted in the gloss and the century introductions are strictly opinions of the fictional and somewhat diffident author(s). Readers are encouraged to disagree with them.

While the (fictional) author is assumed to be extremely well-informed, he is not to be considered omniscient, nor morally correct.

Compiler’s Intention#

I put this chronology version together because I originally just wanted to find a good one for personal use at my own table (a long-running campaign in the Rhine Tribunal, partly chronicled here for those interested: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10td_pRNap4pv72N06DfB-zCaDwbJ9UIayzjkMqxZI0U/edit#heading=h.gjdgxs ).

The initial starting point was the timeline compiled by Tim S. O’Brien around 2001-2002 and shared by Erik Tyrell on the Atlas Games forum in 2006 here: https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/hermetic-timeline/1003
(see this post for additional credits, many people contributed)
Update April 2025 for v2.50: Unfortunately, the majority of these original entries are now gone in the necessary "not-Open License" purge. Still, it is what got me started, and this document wouldn't be where it is without that timeline.

When I got started, this base consisted of about 45 of these pages.
However, it was in need of a lot of updates and fixes. The previous work only covered earlier editions so anything related to the rewritten setting for the current Ars Magica 5th edition (Arm5e) had to be added. After far too many hours of work put in, the document had more than quadrupled in size, and I decided to just share it forward as hopefully it can somehow enrich my fellow sodales' campaigns as well. I intend to keep it updated with community-provided comments and fixes, as well if and when any new Ars Magica releases occur. See Appendix at the end for notes and versioning information.

This chronology document is mainly a compilation and should be considered as a freely put together fan resource for the Ars Magica game, as released under open license. No infringement on the rights of Atlas Games or anybody else is intended. Please continue to support Ars Magica and Atlas Games by buying all the excellent supplements available!

For updates, discussion and comments; here is my thread on the Atlas Games forum:
https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/ars-magica-chronology-an-in-progress-updated-really-big-fat-timeline-of-the-order/171381

Enjoy,
OriginalMadman [OM]

Glossary of Terms#

Historia Magica et Ordo Hermetis#

A History of Magic and the Order of Hermes, by Radulphus Stilum filius Mercator scholae Mercandi Rerum Scriptor ab Harco.

Foreword#

The History of Magic and our great Order of Hermes is sadly incomplete. Accounts of many of the most interesting and crucial events in our history are lacking, related mainly by tradition or recorded only in the off-hand references of elder magi. Some of these events were not properly recorded, as magi are usually otherwise occupied with experimentation and enchantment.

Other accounts, particularly Tribunals, were recorded; but often the original records are lost, damaged or destroyed. Perhaps more detailed records still languish in the libraries of Durenmar, Magvillus, and lost Val-Negra, but recovering them has not proved easy.

The following Chronology is divided into logical ages of history, where each age chapter begins with an overview of the age and its most important aspects from the Hermetic perspective.

The timeline lists the mundane date, the event, and the commentary or margin notations of the author and other "contributors" (in italics). The Tribunal location of the event is noted first, if known and clear.

The Order of Hermes#

Wise words, although written by my decaying hand, remain imperishable through time: imbued with the medicine of immortality by the Nous [the All-Mind, or God]. Be unseen and undiscovered by all those who will come and go, wandering the wastelands of life. Be hidden, until an older heaven births human beings who are worthy of your wisdom.
– The Last Words of Hermes Trismegistus. Having sounded this prayer over the works of his hands, Hermes was received into the sanctuary of eternity.

Let us work together as one and grow hale and strong.

– The Hermetic Oath, Bonisagus the Founder

Nearly all wizards of power in the civilized world are members of the Order of Hermes (or the Enigmatic Order of Hermes; informally, the Order).

The Order of Hermes was founded in 767 A.D. by the witch Trianoma and the wizard Bonisagus. Trianoma had the desire to unite the disparate magi of Europe into a single group that could learn from one another. She did not know how to accomplish this goal until she met Bonisagus who had developed a breakthrough in communicating and manipulating magic - a consistent theory termed "Hermetic Magic" for its roots in both the Greek deity Hermes upon which the ancient Roman Cult of Mercury was based, and the works of the legendary figure Hermes Trismegistus (Hermes the Thrice Great) in the third century BC [see timeline entry C. 299-200 BC].

Hermes was informed by Nous (the All-Mind, or God) to meditate on the nature of the universe being reflected in his own being, to extract the divine powers of nature and unite them with the powers of this soul. The universe is a text to be read, "The Book of Nature"; and through our divine intellect, we are able to unite with it and understand it. The universe is met in the mineral salts of a spagyric [herbal] tincture; the psychic centers or "stars" are experienced through the influence of the planets on one's personal horoscope.

The eclectic nature of classical Hermeticism was founded on the fundamental premise that the desire for knowledge can be satisfied by consulting a variety of sources that find their roots in the "philosophia perennis" (Perennial Philosophiae). It is synthetic in that diverse ideas are not only tolerated, but also unified into a seamless whole. Expanding on this, Bonisagus' revolutionary work on Magic Theory would allow magi to share information using a common frame of reference.

While magicians at this time were scattered, rarely social, and highly distrustful of each other as a rule, two factors strongly favored mutual cooperation. One was Trianoma's political vision of an organization that would unite the Gifted for their mutual benefit. The other - arguably more important - was Bonisagus' second breakthrough, the Parma Magica (loosely translated as "magic shield"); a highly efficient and easily taught personal ritual which could allow these disparate individuals and traditions to meet on common ground with some assurance of safety.

Trianoma became Bonisagus' student, learned his theory and the Parma, then traveled throughout Europe recruiting other wizards. Eleven magi joined her. Bonisagus and the eleven magi established twelve Houses in a fellowship called the Hermetic Order of Hermes. The Order quickly recruited like-minded wizards, teaching the protective Parma Magica to magi who would take the Order's Oath of mutual cooperation. The wizards who refused to take the Oath were not taught the Parma Magica. As it is until this day, with very few exceptions; the magi who quit or refused to join the Order were hunted down and destroyed.

While each of the Order's twelve Houses maintains a distinct baseline or tradition in pursuing and transmitting knowledge and power, the Order is also divided into Tribunals, each defined by a geographic region. Each Tribunal holds a gathering of its magi once every seven years; attendance is not mandatory, though it is essential for certain procedures (e.g. those who have completed their apprenticeships are formally presented for official membership; the Quæsitores judge the types of disputes deemed beyond simple inter- or intra-covenant resolution).

Once every 33 years, each Tribunal sends a representative to the Grand Tribunal at the site of the Order's founding in Schwarzwald (the Black Forest), the original covenant of Durenmar.

Most of the Order speak Latin as a common language, enabling magi from across Europe to share magical books and spells.

For an outsider's perspective, read "Dialect on the Wizards of Hermes" by Father Reginald, a priest who spent time observing the Order as a guest of a covenant.

The Four Major Crises#

Four major crises have shaken the Order since its founding in 767 AD.

1. The war against the Spider, and the subsequent forming and later integration of House Ex Miscellanea.
   
2. The attempt by Tremere the Founder to usurp control of the entire Order, ending in the Sundering.
   
3. The Demonic Corruption of House Tytalus.
   
4. The Schism War, a civil war within the Order which led to the destruction of one House.

The War against the Spider#

Dav’nalleus, or Damhan-Allaidh in Gaelic (meaning 'Spider'), was a powerful hedge magician opposed to the Order’s expansion into the British Isles (starting about 798). He constructed an alliance of powerful Anglo-Saxon rune wizards and monstrous shape-changers, the Gruagachan.
Pralix of House Tytalus led the effort to destroy him from 803. She finally succeeded in 810, with the help of many hedge wizards from different traditions, including the Columbae and the Damhad-duidsan. This alliance went on to become the Ordo Miscellanea afterward, which for a time was a direct rival to the Order of Hermes. This tension was resolved in 817 when the Ordo Miscellanea was absorbed in the Order and became House Ex Miscellanea.
The general consensus is that Damhan-Allaidh was slain in the decisive battle of Pralix's war, but there are some who think he escaped. It is rumored that one day he or his descendants will return to take his vengeance.

The Sundering#

Tremere was the last surviving Founder, and his ultimate goal was world domination. His plan was to finally dominate the Order by declaring himself Overlord of the Order at the Grand Tribunal of 850. However, before his schemes reached full fruition, in 848 a mysterious group of magi opposing Tremere managed to shatter his power structure. While Tremere did negotiate peace terms with his Sundering enemies, with the intervention of the Primus of House Guernicus, his memories of the event were magically excised with his consent as part of the agreement.
The exact details of the Sundering, including the magi responsible, are still not completely known.

The Corruption of House Tytalus#

By the mid-10th century AD, the practice of bargaining with, summoning, and attempting to control demons had become widespread in House Tytalus, including at the highest level. An unknown member of the House informed on the Prima, and House Tytalus was purged after the Special Tribunal of 961.
It is important to note that Tytalus magi have a very different perspective on these events. To House Tytalus, the informer was the real criminal.
A possible enabling factor of the Schism War of the early eleventh century?

The Schism War#

Perhaps the single defining event in the history of the Order of Hermes since its foundation. The Schism War in the early 11th century (C. 1003-1012) was a civil war within the Order. It had substantial ramifications for many of the Order's institutions and organizations, up to and including the adoption of Certamen for the resolution of disputes of a certain magnitude between members of the Order. Eventually, House Diedne was cast out of the Order and Houses Tremere and Flambeau led the effort to destroy it.
The Schism War was terribly divisive and remains a haunting memory to this day. Many details of the Schism War are still mysterious, including the degree to which House Diedne was guilty of the crimes of which it was accused.

Abridged Timeline#

5201 BC: God creates the World.

3545 BC: The Flood.

C. 3200 BC: The Titans and Olympians clash in the Titanomachy.

3001 BC: The Tower of Babel fails.

C. 2800 BC: King Gilgamesh builds the walls of Uruk and pursues immortality.

C. 2700 BC: The great magus Imhotep counsels Pharaoh Zoser in Egypt.

2166 BC: Birth of Abraham the Patriarch.

2091 BC: Abraham enters the covenant with God and departs for Canaan.

2067 BC: Sulfur and fire rain down on Sodom and Gomorrah.

C. 2000 BC: Egyptian Cult of Thoth at its height.

1685 BC: Prometheus steals the secrets of Ignem from Olympus.

1592 BC: Moses, a child of prophecy, is born under persecution.

1550 BC: Moses has a direct revelation of the True Name of God.

C. 1500 BC: Hephaestus trains Gifted individuals on Lemnos.

1446 BC: Moses leads the Hebrews from Egypt and parts the Red Sea.

1445 BC: God descends upon Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments.

1406 BC: Jericho falls through miraculous means.

C. 1230 BC: Setne finds the Book of Thoth.

C. 1020 BC: Saul, first king of Israel, purges the Canaanite necromancers.

1004 BC: The Ark of the Covenant is installed in Jerusalem.

950–940 BC: King Solomon authors the Key of Solomon.

753 BC: Foundation of Rome by Romulus and Remus.

586 BC: Nebuchadnezzar sacks Jerusalem and destroys Solomon’s Temple.

C. 570–495 BC: Pythagoras teaches that numbers are the essence of all things and establishes harmonic ratios - resonant to Hermetic magic’s structure of numerical magnitudes, celestial alignments, and arcane correspondence.

C. 515–450 BC: Parmenides of Elea teaches that change is illusion and that true reality is singular, eternal, and unchanging. His cosmology directly challenges the senses and lays the groundwork for deep metaphysical thought.

C. 500 BC: Greek Cult of Hermes at its height.

495–435 BC: Empedocles teaches that all matter is composed of four primordial elements - fire, air, water, and earth. He asserts that Love (sympathy) and Strife (antipathy) govern the mingling and separation of these elements, anticipating key principles of Hermetic correspondences and magical resonance.

C. 490–430 BC: Life of Zeno of Elea, who formulates a series of paradoxes of motion and plurality, intended to defend the teaching that reality is one and unchanging.

469–399 BC: Socrates pioneers the dialectic technique, urging relentless questioning and the pursuit of truth through introspection. He claims Knowledge is intrinsically Good, and Ignorance Evil, a view later echoed by Hermetic scholars.

C. 428–348 BC: Plato founds the Academy, and establishes the Realm of Forms that explain magical archetypes, Essential Traits, and the metaphysical truth behind magical correspondences.

C. 420 BC: The magician Asclepius, helps end a plague in Athens.

390 BC: Rome is sacked by Celts, aided by Druids. In response, Romans turn eastward for magical power and adopt Hermes (as Mercury), seeding the Cult of Mercury.

C. 384–322 BC: Aristotle, student of many disciplines, auctor of logic, founder of the Lyceum school, argues for the existence of a Fifth Element, finer than the four material elements, which make up the heavenly bodies and influence the mundane world.

C. 299–200 BC: Hermes Trismegistus completes multiple alchemical, astrological, philosophical and magical works - the "Hermetica" - establishing the base of Hermeticism.

287–212 BC: Archimedes of Syracuse, mathematician, engineer, and philosopher, astounds the ancient world with his mastery of geometry, hydraulics, and mechanical invention.

C. 200 BC: Plentarch, the Pontifex of the Pompeii Temple, collects 38 powerful rituals of the Cult of Mercury and carves them into 38 golden tablets.

63 BC: The Romans, under Pompey, with the help of powerful rituals, conquer Judea and enter Jerusalem.

1 Levant: Three magi, each a great astrologer and wise man, travel from the ends of the world to witness the birth of the infant Jesus.

C. 33: Jesus of Nazareth, who has become a wonder-worker, is executed by mundane rulers.

61 Stonehenge: Cult of Mercury and Romans destroy the druid sanctuary of Mona Insula to break the rebellion of Queen Boudicca.

64 Rhine: Establishment of a Mercurian temple at the later site of Durenmar in the Black Forest. The priests of Mercury attempt to usurp the primeval power of the Hercynian Forest that covers most of Germany.

395: Roman Empire divided into East and West.

410: The Visigoths under Alaric I sack Rome after a third siege.

412: Cult of Mercury is officially disbanded.

717: Bonisagus discovers Mercurian rituals in an abandoned well.

720: Bonisagus retreats to his cave in the Alps to develop the Parma Magica.

731: Trianoma and Viea meet Bonisagus in his seclusion in the Alps, working on his magnum opus, the Hermetic Theory of Magic.

747: Trianoma meets Mercere. He is the first magus to accept her invitation to form an Order.

754: Bonisagus leaves his alpine cave and travels to Durenmar in the Black Forest and establishes a permanent base at the site of a ruined Mercurian temple, teaching his theories to the wizards that Trianoma sends him.

767: The First Tribunal. The Twelve Founders gather at Durenmar and form the Order of Hermes. Bonisagus is the first to swear the Oath, followed by the Founders: Trianoma, Birna (Bjornaer), Criamon, Diedne, Flambeau, Jerbiton, Mercere, Merinita, Guernicus, Tremere, Tytalus, Verditius. The Code of Hermes and the rules for Wizard's War are established.

767–773: The magi of the nascent Order scatter outward from the central location of Durenmar. Bonisagus, Merinita, and Birna (Bjornaer) remain in or near the Rhine, while Tytalus and his followers are found mainly in the northwest of Europe, Tremere removes himself to the far eastern reaches of the Frankish Empire - the Transylvanian Alps, Flambeau to the Pyrenees, Diedne to Gaul, Jerbiton and Criamon into the Alps; Mercere, Guernicus and Verditius to Italy and beyond. Through aggressive recruitment, the Order grows quickly.

771: Birna and her followers travel to the island of Rügen and hold a council. Thereafter House Bjornaer holds a gathering there every twelve years.

772: Founders Tremere and Bonisagus develop Certamen. Both are apparently pleased to have developed a non-fatal method of dueling.

773: Second Tribunal of the Order: The Rights of Founder Bonisagus ruled to extend to all members of his House, including the right to claim another magi's apprentice, and the requirement that magi of that House must share their discoveries with the Order, and that magi must share their knowledge with members of Bonisagus, unless they can convince a Tribunal that the magical knowledge must remain secret.

773: While working with Bonisagus in the lab, Founder Mercere loses his Gift.

778 Iberia: Founder Flambeau repeatedly clashes with Founder Guernicus and other Quaesitores over his interference in the wars between mortal Christians and Muslims. He is prevented from campaigning by a Quaesitorial visit, contributing to the final failure of a new thrust into Spain by King Charlemagne.

788: Death of Founder Flambeau and several of his filii at the Battle of the Tower in Iberia.

798: The first confrontation with the Spider, Damhain-Allaidh, in Brittany.

802: Quendalon retakes control of House Merinita and converts it to his vision. Irencillia becomes the new domus magna of the house, and it becomes dominated by faerie magic.

803–810: The Spider War: Pralix fights Damhan-allaidh (the Spider) in Britain and Caledonia.

807: Founder Tytalus, one of the most feared wizards of his time, enters Maddenhofen Woods to challenge the Queen of Faerie "for his heart’s desire".

811: Ordo Miscellanea formed by Pralix out of the remains of her army, and soon rivals the Order.

817: Fourth Grand Tribunal. Ordo Miscellanea is admitted to the Order as House Ex Miscellanea, and the Tribunals of Hibernia, Loch Leglean and Stonehenge are created as part of the merger. Redcaps are also brought into the Order. Primus Quendalon announces House Merinita's new dedication to Faerie. Certamen is accepted as decisive in all disputes.

818: Mercere dies.

825: Death of Jerbiton.

831: Founder Birna speaks her final words to the magi of her House and disappears into the forest in bear-form.

832: Fifth Grand Tribunal. The last that Bonisagus and Trianoma attended. The Rules of Certamen are restricted to forbid the use of certamen to force a magus to violate the Code or give up his established rights. Apprentice Law ruling that a magus must provide his apprentice with three month’s training or risk losing that apprentice to another magus, if the apprentice agrees. Troubling reports of dangerous encounters with "The Order of Odin". Uncertain about the rune wizards’ strength, the Order uncharacteristically decides to seek peace. The Tribunal of Iberia is denied recognition as an independent Tribunal.

837: Death of Founder Verditius. This leaves Founder Tremere as the last living original Founder.

848: Sundering of House Tremere.

863: Prima Pralix of House Ex Miscellanea disappears while returning from a visit to her former domus magna Fudarus.

865: Sixth Grand Tribunal. The Tribunals are formally set as the Rhine, Frankish (Normandy), Lotharingian (Provençal), Britannian, Roman, Alpine (Greater Alps), Theban, Oriental (Eastern, or Levant) Tribunals. The Tribunal rules that no magi may serve mundanes - and that Certamen cannot be used to defy a Tribunal judgment, make a magus break the Code of Hermes or ignore a Code violation.

898: Seventh Grand Tribunal. Quaesitors required to maintain accreditation in order to officiate at Tribunal. The Irish magi declare that they leave the Britannian Tribunal, which splits into the new Tribunals of Stonehenge, Hibernia and Loch Leglean.

931: Eighth Grand Tribunal. It is ratified that no Hermetic covenants may be founded in Africa for 300 years from 925, the year the Sahirs joined the Order.

961: Corruption of House Tytalus Special Tribunal: Prima Tasgillia Ex Tytalus and two other leaders of the House, and several members of Tytalus are tried, convicted, and executed for Diabolism. This marks a turning point in the Order’s relations with Hell and a strict anti-diabolic interpretation of the Code

964: Ninth Grand Tribunal. The Theban Tribunal is divided: the Tremere-controlled north forms the Transylvanian Tribunal, the south remains the Thebes Tribunal.

997: Tenth Grand Tribunal. The Tribunal rules that every sanctum shall be clearly marked.

1003–1012: The Schism War. House Diedne destroyed.

1030: Eleventh Grand Tribunal. Settles most of the remaining matters of the Schism War. The New Slavonic Tribunal is given formal authority over the settlement of new covenants in Slavic lands, despite protests from the Rhine Tribunal.

1063: Twelfth Grand Tribunal. Wishing to rein in the power of the Rhine Tribunal, the Grand Tribunal rejects its claim over the Polish territory left by the fall of the covenant of Grand Silesia. This land (along with all Slavic lands) is granted to the New Slavonic Tribunal. The Tribunal also decrees that "The Servants of Satan, who so often make themselves enemies of our Order of Hermes, may never again be friends of the Order."

1096–1099: The First Crusade.

1096: Thirteenth Grand Tribunal. The boundaries of Iberia redrawn to limit the political power of House Flambeau.

1122: Proclamation of the Concordat of Worms, settling the Investiture Contest between papacy and monarchy.

1129: Fourteenth Grand Tribunal. The re-founded Tribunal of the East is ratified by the Order, and named the Levant Tribunal. Border of Provencal and Normandy Tribunals adjusted to the "modern" boundaries.

1147–1149: The Second Crusade.

1162: Fifteenth Grand Tribunal. The Rhine Tribunal once again loses a boundary
dispute over Poland to the Novgorod Tribunal.

1189–1192: The Third Crusade.

1191: Avarret of Bonisagus is elevated to Primus of House Bonisagus, marking
a return to the conservative philosophy of refining the existing Hermetic theory.

1195: Sixteenth Grand Tribunal. Survivors from the Levant blame counter-Crusading magi for the destruction of several covenants, saying that they had assisted the Muslim forces against them. However, no wrongdoing was found by Quaesitors and no definite evidence is presented.

1202–1204: The Fourth Crusade. The sacking of Constantinople leads to excommunication of the entire crusade.

1215: The Fourth Lateran Council is convened by Pope Innocentius III to establish three main objectives: crusading, church reform and combating heresy.

1217: Start of the Fifth Crusade.

1219: Pope Honorius III forbids secular clergy from absenting themselves from their pastoral duties to study medicine or law.

Chronology#

The Age of Creation and Exile#

"In the beginning, the world was formed by Divine decree, and all things were in harmony. Yet, from the first days, some among the angels rebelled, some among the mortals defied, and some among the spirits refused to bow. Thus, the Realms of Power were sundered, and the great contest of wills began."
– unknown scholar of House Criamon

In the Before, the Eternal God, the One True Being of unchanging perfection, existing in perfect unity as the Holy Trinity, created the Celestial Host, angelic beings of pure spirit who were organized into the Nine Choirs. Among them, Lucifer, the Morning Star, was the most radiant, a Seraph of unmatched beauty, wisdom and might. Lucifer was flawless in all ways, but therein lay his doom. Pride took root in him - he desired not to serve but to rule. When God revealed His plan for humanity, that fleshly creatures, formed from the dust of the earth, would one day rise above even the angels - that through them, God would take on mortal form - Lucifer rebelled.

A third of the host followed him in defiance, and thus began the War in Heaven. The loyal angels, led by Michael the Archangel, clashed against the rebels in a battle that shook the pillars of creation. In the end, Lucifer was cast down, his brilliance twisted into ruin, his name forever cursed. His followers fell with him, stripped of their grace, becoming the first demons. Where they landed, Hell was formed - not by divine decree, but by their own corruption. The Infernal Realm, a prison of their own making, became their dominion, yet one from which they can never truly escape. Thus, before the world was shaped, the great division was set - Heaven above, Hell below, and the mortal realm yet to come, caught between them.

God forged the cosmos and brought forth Adam, establishing the first sacred Covenant with His creation. Yet, Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, the flaming sword of the Cherubim sealing their paradise. Exiled to the harsh, barren lands of Nod, they struggled to survive by tilling unforgiving soil and building humble altars in remembrance of a lost perfection. As their descendants formed the first human lineages - marked by Cain’s cursed wanderings and the birth of Seth - the hidden realms of Magic and Faerie stirred in secret, echoing faint remnants of Eden in secluded, mystical places.

Meanwhile, the celestial order itself began to unravel. The Watchers, a host of 200 rebellious angels led by Shemihazah and Azazel, seduced by mortal beauty, descended upon Mount Hermon, and took human wives, uniting with mortals to birth the Nephilim. These giants, endowed with unnatural strength and forbidden knowledge, unleashed an age of violence and dark arts. The prophet Enoch arose to challenge their dominion, and the archangels descended to bring judgment. The Nephilim were decimated and doomed to become demons upon death, while the Watchers were condemned to chthonic prisons for 70 generations. Corruption still reached its zenith - and culminated in Methuselah’s passing, so God decreed the Flood to purge the earth of its iniquities.

Some Hermetic scholars theorize that this early war of Heavenly retribution and its precursors led up to the eventual Sundering of the Realms: the Divine began to withdraw from direct governance, setting the framework for miracles and faith; the Magic Realm, once in harmony with the Divine, started to emerge as an independent Power; the Faerie Realm flourished amid the burgeoning wealth of human myths and fears; and the Infernal, ever watchful, strengthened by the newly cast down, scheming in the shadows to corrupt early sorcerers and kings.

5201 BC: God creates the World and Adam. The First Covenant between God and His creation is established. The world is perfect, and Eden stands as the pinnacle of Divine order, untainted by sin or death.
The date is a well-known and established fact by Saint Jerome of Constantinople, and we should abide by no other nonsense by Plato and other so-called "scholars" claiming ancient civilizations before this time.
The first man, Adam, is given dominion over all creatures, and his first companion is not Eve, but Lilith, formed from the same earth, created alongside Adam as his equal. She refuses to submit to him, and she speaks the Ineffable Name of God and flees the Garden, passing beyond the borders of Eden and entering the unknown.
Some say she vanished into the Magic Realm, where she took residence in now forgotten places of power, while others claim she fell into the clutches of dark spirits, becoming the mother of demons. The Talmudic and Akkadian traditions tell of her seduction of unwary men, her theft of infants, and her transformation into a winged night-stalker feared in all lands. Others say she became the first Faerie Queen. Whatever her fate, her story is the first warning of what happens to those who defy Divine order.

C. 5100 BC: Adam and Eve are cast from the Garden, the gates sealed by the Cherubim with the flaming sword, severing perfect Divine communion. The exiles settle in the land of Nod, a barren and wild region and labor in hardship tilling the ground, yet the earth yields thorns and thistles. They build a simple altar of stone and offer sacrifices, remembering their lost Paradise. Satan and his angels continue to torment them, appearing as false visions to deceive them.

C. 5100–5000 BC: Adam and Eve’s descendants establish the first human lineages. God curses Cain for killing Abel, marking him and sending him to wander before founding the city of Enoch. Seth is born to replace Abel and his righteous line remain in the mountains and continue worshiping God. The Faerie and Magic Realms stir, forming reflections of Eden in hidden places.
Some claim Cain was cursed not just with wandering, but with an unnatural resilience, creating the first being resistant to death.

C. 4500 BC: Lusting after the comely daughters of men, The Grigori (the Watchers), a host of 200 angels led by Shemihazah and Azâzêl, descend to Mount Hermon and swear a mutual rebellious pact. They take mortal wives and sire the Nephilim, the children of fallen angels and mortals possess unnatural strength and knowledge of magic but are tyrannical and cannibalistic. They teach mankind strange arts, including sorcery, metallurgy, and astrology as well as cosmetics, jewelry, and seductive charms.
Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. These are their chiefs of tens.
Shemihaza taught enchantments, root-cuttings and witchcraft while Azazel taught men to create bracelets and ornaments as well as forge swords, knives, shields, and breastplates - ushering in an age of violence and war.
The watchers essentially "spilled the beans" on divine knowledge, which humankind was not yet ready or authorized to wield.

C. 4300 BC: Enoch rises as a prophet against the Watchers. He receives visions of Heaven and prophecies the coming judgment. Humans rebel against the tyrannical Nephilim fighting against them with limited success. The Nephilim led by Og and Sihon, feast on human flesh and then wage war against one another.

4271 BC: Adam dies at the age of 930 years. In his final centuries, he witnesses the full corruption of Cain’s line and the rise of the Nephilim. His sons and grandsons mourn for him, burying him in the Cave of Treasures. With Adam’s death, the last link to Eden is severed - his children must now navigate a world fully fallen.

4214 BC: The archangels (Michael, Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel) look down and see Earth drowning in savagery. They bring the matter before God: "The earth cries out; the souls of men are perishing!". The Watchers realize their error fathering the Nephelim with human women and plead with Enoch to intercede on their behalf before God. Enoch ascends to Heaven without dying. At God’s throne he receives stern judgements against the Watchers and returns with the bad news.
Travelling the Divine regiones!

C. 4213–4000 The archangels descend to battle the fallen. The Nephilim are routed and hunted - but also turn on each other. God decrees that their spirits will become demons after death. The Watchers are forced to witness the destruction of their children, then they are chained in chthonic prisons for 70 generations until the day of final judgement. The remaining humans are still corrupted by knowledge of war, sorcery, and seductive arts.
It’s been nearly five and a half-thousand years, those are some very long generations of over 75 years each by now…

4058 BC: Creation of the World according to Maimonides.
Obviously not as informed as us, as he incorrectly has the Flood in 2402 BC - so this can probably be ignored. Why he, as a Jew, doesn’t even follow the Jewish calendar escapes me.

C. 4000 BC: Fall of the civilization of the Old Ones, per Archmage Infamitus. Some magi equate this culture with Atlantis. Plato claims Atlantis existed much earlier and sank ~9500 BC, but we know this is impossible since that would be before the creation of the world. Infamitus and Plato may have their dates wrong.

3871 BC: Unhappy with the continuous sin and violence among the mortals, God warns of more coming judgment.

3760 BC: Creation of the World according to the Jewish calendar.
Obviously an incorrect assumption by their incompetent scholars.

3545 BC: Enoch’s son Methuselah, the last man to walk in the ways of the Lord beside his grandson Noah, dies at 969 years of age having lived the longest life. God can now send the Flood and it wipes out all corrupted lineages. Noah survives on his Ark and strikes land on mount Ararat.
Before the flood, Noah had instructed his granddaughter Cessair to find a land uncontaminated by vice. She led the first group that landed in Hibernia [Ireland], and hoped that island would provide a safe haven from the Great Flood, but they were cursed by God for following the warnings to sail west from a stone pagan idol and her people died when the tide rose above Hibernia’s mountains. The only survivor was her husband, the druid Fionntan (Fintan), who survived by changing into a salmon. He could also assume the shapes of a stag, eagle, or boar, and is rumored to still be alive.
Others say he was cursed by God to remain alive to tell the tale.
No man was left alive but Noah, but if he was a fish then that changes things.

A New Dawn and The Age of the First Magi (3500–1685 BC)#

The Flood had passed, washing away the old world in divine judgment. The land, once ruled by giants, corrupted kings, and the whispers of the fallen Watchers, now lay silent beneath an unbroken sky. Yet the past was not so easily erased.

Noah’s descendants scattered, carving new nations from the mud - Sumer, Akkad, Egypt, and Elam - raising stones against the sky in defiance of time and fate. Misr, son of Ham, became Egypt’s first king, and his sons built cities that still bear their names.

But beneath the fields and altars of this new world, the remnants of the old stir. Buried ruins hide pre-Flood wonders - antediluvian mysteries - and the spirits of forgotten ages whisper to those who dare listen. In the distant reaches, are the children of Cain and the last of the ancient bloodlines walking unseen, their knowledge of lost magics undiminished? As the first cities rose along fertile riverbanks, mortal ambition merged with lingering fragments of ancient lore, fueling the earliest glimmers of organized magic.

The Tower of Babel collapses in ruin. Whether it was an affront to the Divine, a flawed magical experiment, or a forgotten bargain broken, the result is the same - language itself fractures, and humanity is scattered. The tongues of men are no longer one, and the unity of early sorcerers is lost to confusion and exile.

Some Bonisagus theorists claim the Tower was not merely an ambitious work of masonry but a vast Hermetic precursor, an attempt to stabilize the boundaries between Realms or even elevate all of humanity into magical enlightenment. House Criamon interprets the event as a Turning Point in the Enigma, a moment when mortal hubris interrupted the natural flow of destiny. Meanwhile, Mercere scholars whisper that the loss of a universal language was not an act of Divine punishment but rather an act of sabotage, ensuring that magic would remain fragmented and controlled by hidden forces possibly the remnants of a lost faerie power or the enigmatic Titans.

In Sumer, priest-kings consulted omens in star-strewn skies, forging the bedrock of astrological practices that would echo down the centuries. Pharaohs in Egypt built monuments that soared toward Heaven and boasted of hidden powers sealed within desert sands - Imhotep’s near-divine mastery of medicine and architecture a legend that still inspires House Bonisagus to this day. Meanwhile, mighty Gilgamesh led Uruk, rumored to possess a spark of divine blood, ever hunting the key to immortality.

Though the spark of Hermetic unity was centuries from fruition, this age ignited the first true flame of mage-craft. Word by word and rite by rite, mankind reclaimed forgotten wisdom. The new nations might have labored under the mortal yoke of agriculture and kingship, but their magi-in-the-making pulled threads of ancient power from every corner of the reborn world - laying the foundation for all Hermetic ages to come.

C. 3500–3000 BC: Noah’s descendants repopulate the earth.
Scholars have been calculating an extraordinary growth pattern here and that women must have borne 6-10 children on average, and under quite favorable conditions for a growth rate of 2-3% annually. We’ve never seen evidence of more than just below 1% over time in known history afterwards, but of course very little reliable research is available. Perhaps Noah’s immediate descendants retained at least some of God’s grace for longer and healthier lives than we have now in the 13th century.

C. 3200 BC: The Titans and the faerie gods of Mount Olympus clash in a ten year cosmic battle; the Titanomachy. The titans lose and are imprisoned in Tartarus, their powers tempered by the magic chains that bind them.
The turning point for the gods faeries, which won them the war, was obtaining three fabulous weapons from the Kyklopes: Hades stole the titans’ weapons using the helmet of invisibility, Poseidon distracted them with his trident, and Zeus struck them down using the thunderbolt.

3001 BC: The Tower of Babel, a colossal ziggurat built to bridge the divide between Earth and the heavens, fails.
"Yahweh had not asked men to build the tower or to pierce the vault; the decision to build it belonged to men alone, and they would die in this endeavor just as they did in any of their earthbound tasks. Yet now that he stood at the base of the tower, his senses rebelled, insisting that nothing should stand so high."
An arcane mega-project by the ancients to reach the celestial spheres?
It is unclear if they managed to breach even the lunar sphere or not.
Legends persist that remnants of Babel’s foundation still lie hidden, their stones infused with vast reservoirs of vis. Some say that a regio still echoes with the voices of those lost tongues, and that those who find the heart of Babel may recover its secrets - or unleash its doom once more.

C. 2800 BC: The mighty King Gilgamesh of Uruk, two-thirds divine and one-third mortal, reigns in Sumer. He battles with gods and monsters, builds the walls of Uruk and pursues immortality.
Hermetic scholars argue over whether Gilgamesh was a practitioner of some ancient magic, perhaps an early form of Theurgy or a lost magical tradition now extinct. Some magi speculate that the hero's journey to seek eternal life was inspired by an encounter with ancient magical beings, possibly remnants of a pre-Hermetic magical tradition. Was his close companion Enkidu, a wild man shaped by the gods, a faerie-being or a magical creature brought forth from the Primordial Realm?
Some Hermetic historians believe that the tale of the herb of immortality, stolen by a serpent, could be linked to the Divine Realm’s restrictions on mortal access to eternal life.
Though most mundane scholars dismiss Gilgamesh as mere legend, a few magi whisper that his spirit or legacy still lingers in the world, waiting to be found in the deep ruins of the East. But if the tales are true, then Gilgamesh’s desperate pursuit of immortality should serve as a lesson to us all. Yet, if he had succeeded, what knowledge might we have lost? What if he still walks the earth, hidden by time and the whims of the gods?

C. 2700 BC: In Egypt, the great magus Imhotep counsels Pharaoh Zoser, also called Tosorthros, as a vizier, high priest, healer, and architect. Imhotep raises the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, a feat of engineering and mystical significance that elevates the power of the pharaoh, discovers powerful healing rituals, and performs many wonders. His father was the god Ptah and his mother a mortal woman.
His mastery of medicine and healing rituals was so profound that later generations deify him as a god of healing, akin to Asclepius of the Greeks. Some magi speculate that his arts were a fusion of what would later become Hermetic Magic, blending Rego, Creo, and Corpus in ways that predate Bonisagus by millennia.
Some texts suggest that Imhotep founded the Cult of Thoth, the god of wisdom and arcane knowledge, who would later be equated with Hermes Trismegistus. If true, then Imhotep may be the progenitor of Hermetic thought, a bridge between the divine revelations of Egypt and the later teachings of Alexandria.
Some Hermetic scholars argue that the pyramids are not just tombs, but vast magical engines - designed not merely for royal burials, but to channel mystical energies, creating a resonance between the heavens and the earth. Some even claim that deep within the hidden chambers of the oldest pyramids, ancient spells of longevity or resurrection still pulse with forgotten power. What secrets did he bury beneath the sands of Saqqara? What lost wisdom still lies waiting in the desert?

C: 2400 BC: Hayk of Armenia defeats tyrant god-king Bel Marduk of Babylon by shooting him with "an arrow of his own bow".
Taking advantage of an Arcane connection?

C. 2300 BC: The Greek prince Partholón and his sons brought art, crafts, and cattle to Hibernia. They cleared four large pastures from the pristine wood and witnessed the birth of four lakes. They also encountered the Fomórach, monstrous Magic giants hailing from unknown, northern islands. Settling in the north, the Fomórach continually raided the Partholónians. Eventually the Partholónians killed the Fomórach in a great battle, but to their own undoing. They left the corpses on the field, and a foul plague emanated from the bodies and killed all the Partholónians.

C. 2250 BC: In the great city of Ur in Sumer; Enheduanna, benevolent high priestess of Inanna (Sumerian goddess of love and war) and daughter of Sargon the Great, brings great prosperity to Sumer over many decades, and have the power to "turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man".
Some mystagogues believe Enheduanna to have been a proto-theurgist or faerie regent, whose rites invoked spirits beyond the celestial dome. Her famous transformation hymn may reflect contact with boundary-crossing entities from the Magic Realm, or even aspects of the Changing Court of Faerie, now long vanished beneath the sands of Sumer.

2166 BC: Abram, later known as Abraham the Patriarch, was born in Ur of the Chaldeans to Terah, who was approximately 130 years old at the time.
Abraham’s line is of particular interest to Hermetic scholars concerned with the origins of Divine Magic. The early patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - are each associated with signs, dreams, and invocations that border on the supernatural, yet remain squarely within the authority of the Dominion. Some magi argue that these signs represent an alternate model of miraculous power - one that seems wholly inaccessible to those with The Gift, and yet potent enough to command fire from Heaven.

2091 BC: At age 75, Abram obeys God’s call and departs from Haran to journey to Canaan. God promises to make him a great nation, bless all peoples through him, and give the land of Canaan to his descendants. This marks the beginning of the covenant between God and Abram - later formalized through ritual and sealed with circumcision - initiating the Divine claim on a territory previously ruled by ancient Magical cults and faerie lords.
A Divine binding pact that reshaped entire auras and severed mortal lands from older Magical and Faerie ties. Some speak of it as a Turning of the Age, the moment when the Divine Realm established preeminence over a territory that had long been under the influence of chthonic powers and elemental cults.
God promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars.

2081 BC: Abram, now dwelling in Canaan for a decade, voices his doubts to God: he remains childless, and his heir is but a servant. In response, God leads him beneath the night sky and promises descendants as countless as the stars. Abram believes, and God credits it to him as righteousness. That night, God formalizes His covenant: Abram sacrifices animals and arranges the carcasses in a ritual path. As the sun sets, a deep darkness falls, and a dreadful vision overtakes him. A smoking firepot and a flaming torch - manifestations of the Divine - pass between the pieces. God declares that Abram's descendants will be strangers in a land not their own, oppressed for four hundred years, but they will emerge with great possessions. The land, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, is promised to his offspring.
The night seals a divine promise in blood and fire, binding Heaven and Earth with words and flame - the covenant has taken shape in ritual and prophecy.

2067 BC: At age 99, Abram becomes Abraham as God renames him. God renews His covenant, promises a son through Sarah, and commands circumcision as the sign of the covenant. Abraham circumcises himself and all the males of his household that very day.

2067 BC: Sulfur and fire rain down on Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying the cities and the entire plain. Fleeing the annihilation, Lot and his family are warned not to look back. Yet his wife, overcome by grief or awe, turns her gaze toward the flaming ruin - and is immediately transformed into a pillar of salt. This act, recorded in sacred texts, is viewed by Hermetic scholars as one of the earliest known Divine anchorings of a mortal soul.
One of the most infamous acts of Divine wrath recounted in sacred tradition. It is said by some magi of the Levant that no vis may be gathered near the site, and that rituals performed in its shadow draw only phantoms and echoes.
Criamon initiates believe the valley was once a Magic regio sacred to ancient elemental spirits, possibly destroyed not only by Divine wrath, but as a violent displacement of local supernatural order. Perhaps she did not die, but was frozen mid-transformation - as in Twilight - her spirit caught between Realms at the moment of ultimate judgment. Some suggest that the "pillar of salt" may be a Twilight-frozen Arcane Connection - an anchor of trauma echoing the final moments of annihilation, and that those who meditate beside it experience visions of burning skies and Divine silence.

2066 BC: Birth of Isaac, the miracle child born to Sarah and Abraham in old age, as promised by God. He represents the anchoring of the covenant into the material world.
And possibly the divine "fixing" of Arcane Connection to a bloodline, an open secret used by House Merinita.
Abraham was 100 years old, his wife Sarah, aged 90.

2054 BC: The Binding of Isaac. God tests Abraham's faith by instructing him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah. At the last moment, God provides a ram as a substitute, reaffirming His covenant with Abraham. ​

C. 2045 BC: Cast out with his mother Hagar at Sarah’s demand, Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham, is sent into the desert. Nearly perishing of thirst, the pair are saved when God opens Hagar’s eyes to a hidden well - a sign of continued Divine favor despite the rejection.
In Hermetic circles, the line of Ishmael is of great esoteric interest. While the Hebraic covenant follows Isaac, some mystics of the East, including the sahir of the Cradle and the Crescent, trace their magical ancestry through Ishmael. His descendants are said to have preserved ancient Chaldean astrological rites and desert-born spirits of wind and star, passed down orally in secret lineages.
Some Merinita theorists argue that Ishmael’s exile mirrors a faerie origin tale - the cast-out scion who gains sovereignty over wild lands and strange spirits. Others believe his destiny was to form a countercurrent of Magical practice, one which diverged from the Divine path yet retained echoes of covenantal potency.

2026 BC: Isaac marries Rebekah, a relative from Mesopotamia. Some suggest this alliance reconnects his bloodline to older spiritual currents of the east. Rebekah is sometimes seen in Merinita interpretations as a liminal figure - a faerie bride accepting the weight of a Divine destiny.

2006 BC: Rebekah birthes Jacob and Esau. The twins are born in tension - Jacob clutching Esau’s heel. From birth, they represent divergent destinies: Esau aligned with the wilderness and temporal might, Jacob with covenantal inheritance and spiritual subtlety.

C. 2000 BC: Egyptian Cult of Thoth at its height, as indicated by the research of Primus Fenicil of Guernicus in the late 9th century.

1978 BC: Famished from the fields, Esau sells his birthright - the double portion inheritance of the firstborn - to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew, demonstrating a disregard for his inheritance.
Kabbalists interpret this moment as a rejection of Divine destiny in favor of temporal desire. Hermeticists also cite it as an early example of Essential Nature distortion, wherein the soul’s higher path is forfeited for ephemeral gain.

1929 BC: Now elderly and blind, Isaac intends to bless Esau - the firstborn. But Rebekah, favoring Jacob, orchestrates a deception: Jacob dons goatskin and brings venison as Esau would, receiving the patriarchal blessing instead. This act of substitution cannot be undone; blessings are understood as Divine Speech-Acts, irrevocable once pronounced. Esau’s wrath is swift; he vows to kill Jacob once their father dies.
From a Hermetic perspective, this blessing is a binding supernatural ritual, not just a benediction. Some Bonisagus theorists posit that the words spoken became an Arcane Connection to the Divine plan, binding Jacob to it forever.

1928 BC: Fleeing the wrath of his brother Esau, Jacob lies down in the wilderness and dreams of a stairway reaching from Earth to Heaven, with angels ascending and descending. He awakens with awe, declaring the place to be the gate of Heaven, reaffirming the covenant promises. Later he arrives in Haran, where he encounters Rachel, daughter of Laban, and falls in love with her. He agrees to serve Laban for seven years as bride-price for her hand.
This moment is widely accepted among Kabbalists and Hermetic mystagogues as a Tiered Regio Revelation. The vision did not merely take place in Jacob's mind but occurred in a locus where the celestial and terrestrial realms overlapped, opening a regio boundary into the Celestial Spheres. The ascending and descending angels may represent choirs or invocations - or possibly paths of initiatory descent and return, mirroring the journey toward transcendence.
The ladder is not built of rungs, but of names and mysteries. It is the tree reversed and reflected in time.

1921 BC: After serving Laban for seven years, Jacob is deceived on the wedding night. Laban instead gives Jacob Leah, Rachel’s elder sister, veiled and concealed. By the time Jacob discovers the deception, the marriage had been consummated, and the union sealed under the customs of the land.
When Jacob confronts Laban, the latter justifies the act by appealing to local custom that: "It is not our custom to give the younger before the firstborn." Laban then offers Rachel as well - but only on the condition that Jacob serve him for another seven years. In an act of love, Jacob agrees.
A symmetrical act of trickery against the trickster…
Some Hermetic Kabbalists argue that Leah and Rachel represent two spiritual paths. Leah, associated with vision and hiddenness, is linked to Binah (Understanding) - the higher, veiled spiritual reality. Rachel, the beloved, represents Malchut (Kingdom) - the tangible, manifest world.

1916 BC: Joseph is born to Jacob and his favored wife Rachel during Jacob's extended stay in Haran. This event adds complexity to the family dynamics, as Joseph's brothers become envious of him.

1914 BC: Now 14 years in Haran, Jacob’s second term of service ends and he begins building his flocks. He stays 6 more years, innovating breeding methods - possibly through proto-Magic or Animal lore.

1908 BC: After serving Laban for twenty years - fourteen for his wives and six for his flocks - Jacob secretly departs Haran to return to Canaan with his household. Before leaving, Rachel steals her father Laban’s teraphim - household idols for fortune and spiritual protection. The idols are hidden beneath Rachel’s saddle. Their spiritual resonance is lost - perhaps fractured and released.
A regio in Haran reportedly flickers into nonexistence not long after.
The teraphim are spirit-vessels, likely tied to Faerie or Magic regio guardianship. Their theft likely disrupted a covenant or pact Laban had with local spirits, explaining both his furious pursuit and the subtle decline of his fortunes thereafter.
Some suggest that Rachel transferred the protective bond from her father’s household to Jacob’s in a ritual of transference that granted subtle magical inheritance to her descendants. Others speculate this theft introduced spiritual instability into Jacob’s line, opening them to later misfortunes and strange destinies.

1906 BC: Jacob prepares to reunite with his estranged brother, Esau. Fearing their meeting, Jacob sends his family and possessions across the Jabbok River, remaining alone on the opposite bank. During the night, a mysterious being - possibly a faerie, angel, or the Divine itself - engages Jacob in a prolonged wrestling match until daybreak. Despite sustaining a hip injury during the struggle, Jacob persists, refusing to release the being until he receives a blessing. In response, the figure bestows upon him the name "Israel," meaning "he struggles with God," in honor of Jacob's perseverance and transformation. His transformation marks him as a liminal figure between the mundane and supernatural. Subsequently, he reconciles with Esau, ending years of estrangement.
Heretic Merinitans have whispered that Jacob’s opponent was not an angel, but a faerie prince of thresholds, a guardian of passage who marked Jacob as "Israel" to bind him into the grand tale of the Chosen.

1898 BC: At the age of 17, Joseph, the favored son of Jacob and Rachel, is sent to check on his brothers who were tending their father's flocks near Shechem. Upon finding them in Dothan, Joseph's brothers, fueled by jealousy over his favored status and his prophetic dreams suggesting he would one day rule over them, conspire against him. Initially plotting to kill him, they ultimately decide to sell him to a caravan of Ishmaelite traders for twenty shekels of silver. These traders take Joseph to Egypt, where he is sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

1886 BC: After interpreting Pharaoh's dreams predicting seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine, Joseph rises to power as Pharaoh’s right-hand man and helps Egypt through the severe famine.
Local folklore holds he was a skilled magician, rumored to possibly be even Imhotep under another name. It might also explain his, or his grandfather Abraham’s longevity if not explained by them being direct descendants of Noah.
Would it be heresy to suggest he had something to do with that famine in order to rise to power? What if Joseph’s dreams, accurate though they were, came from a tainted source - a spirit of desolation masquerading as an angel of truth. Regardless, the engineered scarcity allowed for the centralization of power - and the subjugation of surrounding peoples.

1875 BC: Due to the severe famine, Jacob, at the age of 130, migrate to Egypt with his family, totaling seventy individuals. They settle in the land of Goshen, reuniting with Joseph after many years, leading to generations of intermingling with Egyptian magical traditions and possible exposure to spiritual corruption.
Or enhancement.

1859 BC: Jacob dies in Egypt at the age of 147. Before his death, he blesses his twelve sons and requests to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Canaan.

1806 BC: Death of Joseph. With his death, political protection wanes. Oral traditions suggest that Pharaohs begin to fear the Hebrews' power, leading to increasing control - possibly influenced by court magicians hostile to the Divine. Before his death, he assures his brothers that God will lead them back to the Promised Land and request that his bones be carried out of Egypt when the time comes.
He is later embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

C. 1800 BC: Arriving from Scythia, Nemed and his tribe were the third group arriving to Hibernia - having fled his homeland to escape punishment for killing his parents. Setting out with a great fleet, his tribe saw an incredibly tall, golden tower rising from the western ocean. Built on an island, this fantastic tower was only visible when the tide ebbed. After landing on the shore, the incoming tide surprised Nemed and he lost most of his fleet. It was a year before the tribe saw land again, accidentally finding Hibernia. Landing with soldiers, families, and druids, the Nemedians promptly settled, bringing lore and craft to the untamed wilderness. They cleared several plains and watched several lakes erupt from the ground. Their prosperity was soon noticed and coveted by the Fomórach. Rushing from the northern oceans, the Fomórach captured Nemed’s people and
taxed them with a heavy tribute. By this time, Nemed had died, leaving his sons and grandsons to suffer the weight of Fomórach oppression. Plotting rebellion, the Nemedians sent to Greece for aid. The Greek king responded with a host of soldiers, druids, druidesses, wolves, and venomous animals. Nemed’s sons led an assault on the Fomórach main fortress on Tory Island and successful destroyed it. Using water magic, the Fomórach druids raised a huge wall of water to drown the Nemedians, but also drowned many Fomórach. Both sides incurred heavy losses, but it was the Fomórach who won the day. The Nemedians were devastated. Three surviving grandsons of Nemed split the survivors into three groups and departed. Hibernia was again uninhabited by humans.

The Age of Hermetic Predecessors (1685–250 BC)#

This era marks the twilight of myth and the dawn of structured magical thought, as divine wonders, arcane secrets, and philosophical inquiry intertwine. The ancient world is shaped by prophets, sorcerers, and scholars, whose legacies whisper through the corridors of time and echo in the foundations of Hermetic magic.

The Egyptian priesthood and Persian magi wield vast mystical influence, blending celestial wisdom with sacred rites. The Hebrew prophet Moses, trained in the magic of Pharaoh’s court, performs wonders that challenge Egypt’s own priestly sorcerers, while in the East, the Zoroastrian magi of Persia refine the art of astrology and cosmic divination.

Meanwhile, Greek mystery cults - the Orphics, Pythagoreans, and Eleusinians - seek enlightenment through ritual, purification, and secret knowledge. Their insights shape the philosophical frameworks of Plato and Aristotle, whose theories on the nature of reality, form, and essence will later become essential to Hermetic understanding.

The melting pot of Alexandria becomes the crucible of magical synthesis, where the wisdom of Hermes Trismegistus, Thoth, and the Hellenistic Mysteries converge. Scholars and magi exchange knowledge, laying the groundwork for the Cult of Hermes, a philosophical and magical lineage that will one day inspire the Order of Hermes itself!

Though the Age of Hermetic Predecessors ends with the rise of Rome, its legacy endures - preserved in hidden texts, lost temples, and the secret traditions that survive to shape the future of magic.

1685 BC: Prometheus defies Zeus and steals the secrets of Ignem magics from the gods of Olympus.

1592 BC: Moses. Moses, a child of prophecy, is born under persecution - hidden among reeds. Later initiates into the Ars Theologica consider his early life as preparation for Divine theurgy.
The birth of Moses, prophet and lawgiver of the Hebrew people, is held by some Hermetic scholars to be a moment of profound resonance across both the Divine and Magic Realms.
His name has been whispered in esoteric circles in connection with lost Egyptian theurgic rites, secret Names of Power, and the obscure proto-tradition of Hebraic Magic - possibly an antecedent to the more systematized Kabbalistic methods. Criamon even identify him with the archetype of the Wanderer, a soul eternally exiled from the Garden yet bearing the Law back to mankind.

1559 BC: Kekrops, the first king of Athens. He teaches the Athenians the first elements of civilized life such as marriage, reading and writing, and ceremonial burial. He defies Zeus and forbids sacrifice of any living creature to the gods.
It is said that Athena became the patron goddess of the city in a racing competition with Poseidon.

1550 BC: Theophany at the Burning Bush: Moses encounters the Divine in a form of fire that does not consume, and has a direct revelation of the True Name of God (YHWH).
No mortal man may gaze upon God and live, save that man be unmade and remade. As Moses was.

C. 1500 BC (allegedly): Hephaestus builds a forge on Lemnos and gathers and trains Gifted individuals to assist him. The Gifted wizards remain after the god’s departure, living apart to mitigate the innate hostility and suspicion they felt for each other, but continuing to work at the forge. Though never prosperous, the wizards of the forge endured, training apprentices and continuing their tradition of magical enchantments.
This eventually becomes the Verditius covenant Ingasia. With the introduction of the Order of Hermes and Parma Magica, the wizards could truly work together, and membership blossomed from two to three to six and more. Legally, Ingasia was founded after Verdi; but historically, Ingasia is an ancient forge created by Hephaestus himself. This has given Ingasia’s members the idea that the covenant is older and more venerable than Verdi.

1460–1100 BC: An Age of Heroes in the Mediterranean and Levant region. The great heroes Hercules, Ulysses, Theseus, Achilles, Aeneas, Jason, and Perseus roam the world, performing great deeds and slaying monsters. This is also an age of magic: the witch Medea, the enchanter Daedelus, and the sorceress Circe all belong to this period.

1447 BC: A series of escalating supernatural devastations afflict Egypt.
There has been debate whether these are acts of pure Divine will or if Moses utilized a form of Divine Magic unknown to the Order.
Or something else? Heresy!

1446 BC: Exodus: Moses leads the Hebrews from Egypt after the death of the firstborn and the parting of the Red Sea.
Some have interpreted this as an ultimate confrontation between Divine power and a decadent magical empire built on ancient, possibly Infernal pacts.

1446–1406 BC: 40 Years in the Wilderness: A period of purification and transformation. The Hebrews are reshaped into a holy people, the Law is received, and supernatural sustenance (manna) manifests.
Some Criamon view this as a passage through mythic time, rather than mundane geography.

1445 BC: God descends upon Mount Sinai in fire, and the Ten Commandments are given. A region of overpowering Dominion, this site remains inaccessible to Hermetic magi to this day, warded by Divine potency.
What an experience to witness a moment of perfect Divine manifestation within the world, a Dominion aura of incalculable strength, likely exceeding even the highest ratings of known holy sites throughout Europe. Did it briefly become a terrestrial Celestial Regio in its own right?
Some fringe members of House Verditius speculate that the original tablets were not merely symbolic, but vessels of immense Divine vis - so infused with celestial essence that they would render any who touched them dead or sanctified beyond recall. The true tablets are, of course, long lost… or perhaps merely hidden from unworthy eyes?

C. 1440 BC: The Tabernacle, A portable holy sanctuary is built according to Divine specifications.
Hermetic theurgists speculate it was a mobile regio anchor, designed to house and filter Divine auras.

1406 BC: Denied entry into the Promised Land, Moses dies on Mount Nebo.
His burial site is hidden; some magi believe it became a small Celestial Regio, now lost in the wilderness.

1406 BC: Joshua leads the conquest of Canaan: The Hebrews cross the Jordan and Jericho falls through miraculous means. The conquest marks the expulsion of lingering Magical/Faerie cults that once ruled Canaan, often through Divine annihilation.
While the Order of Hermes generally avoids deep inquiry into the Divine Realm, a few bold magi - particularly from House Criamon and the more theurgically inclined members of House Bonisagus - have speculated that the conquest of Canaan marks a profound boundary event: the assertion of Divine order over lands once saturated in potent and ancient Magic and Faerie influences. The destruction of Jericho and Ai, both sites with pre-Abrahamic cults and prehistoric regiones, may have represented more than mundane conquest - it was the literal banishment of older powers.

C. 1400 BC: The fourth invaders to Hibernia were the Fir Bolg. Legends claim they are the descendents of one of Nemed’s grandsons, who served as slaves in Greece before escaping and returning there. After legendary battles, including confrontations with dead warriors animated by demonic spirits, the Fir Bolg leaders eventually became Magic creatures. The Fir Bolg divided Hibernia into provinces, established kingship and justice, and brought peace.
Fir Bolg means "the men who swell with battle fury," although some monks incorrectly think it means "Men of the Bag" because their masters made them move earth using leather bags.

1320 BC: The theft of Europa. On a spring morning in the lands of Phoenicia, the king’s daughter, Europa, wanders along the shore when a white bull of extraordinary beauty approach. Enchanted by its gentleness, she climbs upon its back - only for the creature to charge into the sea and carry her across to Crete. There, the bull reveals itself as Zeus, and from their union descends the line of Minos.
The theft of Europa signifies a trespass of the Magic (or Faerie) Realm into mortal sovereignty, and the birth of new lineages touched by magic. The echoes of her cries still ripple through the Magic auras of Crete.

C. 1300 BC: The ancient Cymric civilization flourishes around Albion (Britannia), guided by magician-priests; they were a peaceful, nature-worshiping people. In the tradition of their ancestors, the Cymry captured the magical essence of nature in their engravings - which could control many natural phenomena.
In time, the Cymric culture is destroyed by invading Gaels and Brutus, and the Cymric and Gaelic cultures merge into the Celtic people. The heritage of the Cymric priest-magicians lives on in the druids of later years.

C. 1247 BC: Perseus slays Medusa the mortal Gorgon. The other two Gorgons pursue Perseus, but, wearing his helm of darkness, he escapes. He then visits King Atlas who had previously refused him hospitality; and in revenge Perseus turns him to stone by showing him the severed Gorgon head.
Somewhat uncertain date. Another source has this at 1347 BC.

C. 1240 BC: Queen Cassiopeia in the kingdom of Aethiopia claims she and her daughter Andromeda are more beautiful than all of Poseidon’s nereids. The angered god responds by unleashing the dragon Ceto (or Cetus), and directing it to devastate the country’s coasts and ports. The oracle of Ammon announces that no relief would be found until the king exposes his daughter Andromeda to the monster, and so she is fastened naked to a rock on the shore. Perseus slays the monster and, setting her free, claims Andromeda in marriage.
Even after Perseus defeated it, tales of the Leviathan abound and remain to this day. It is said that Ceto still hunts the waters of the Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, flying between the two as whimsy strikes it, harassing local traffic to sailors’ fear and superstition.

C. 1230 BC: Theseus slays the Minotaur in Crete.
A clear example of Faerie narrative collapse in the region - the substitution of heroic agency for propitiatory sacrifice. The Aegean underwent a slow unraveling of older rites after this date, making way for Classical worship and, later, the erasure of Magic auras by the rise of the Dominion.
The ruins of Knossos may lie silent, but some magi have claimed that on certain nights, when the moon is full and the air heavy with jasmine, a new Labyrinth forms in shadow, and the Minotaur waits once more - neither alive nor dead, but half-real and wholly hungry.

C. 1230 BC: Setne, aka Prince Khaemwaset, fourth son of Ramses II finds the Book of Thoth in the tomb of Prince Naneferkaptah. Despite the wishes of Naneferkaptah’s ghost, Khaemwaset takes the book, along with a curse. Setne meets a beautiful woman who seduces him into killing his children and humiliating himself in front of the pharaoh. When he discovers that this episode was a mirage created by Naneferkaptah, Setne returns the book to Naneferkaptah’s tomb. To further appease the dead Prince, Setne also finds the bodies of Naneferkaptah’s wife and son and has them interred, and the tomb resealed.
Setne and his wife Mehusekhe have been praying for a son. They have one and name him Se-Osiris after being instructed to do so in a dream. Se-Osiris matures rapidly and amazes his tutors with his magical abilities.

C. 1220 BC: An ancient Nubian wizard comes to Pharaoh Ramses II’s court to challenge and embarrass the Egyptian wizards. The Pharaoh and his courtiers are at a complete loss. Ramses calls his son, the wise Setne, but he too is puzzled and asks for a delay of ten days, but his son, the Pharaoh’s grandson, 12-year old Se-Osiris opposes the Nubian. He uses scrying to read the sealed scroll of the challenge without breaking it. The evil wizard then summons a forceful snake, but Se-Osiris turns it into a worm. Then he asks a dark fog to suffocate Ramses, but Se-Osiris dispels it with light. Eventually, foaming with rage, the Nubian creates a massive wall of fire and throws it at him, but Se-Osiris turns it back toward the Nubian and it destroys him.

1194–1184 BC: The Trojan War. The city of Troy falls, but its ruins remain tainted by the unfulfilled prophecy of Cassandra, who foresaw the destruction yet could convince no one.
To this day, magi passing through the region in Anatolia report hearing whispers of lost truths. Some claim the remnants of her Sight persist as a regio, accessible only to those who accept doomed fates.

C. 1183 BC: The hero Odysseus encounters Circe, a powerful sorceress who transforms his men into swine.
Her island, Aeaea, is rumored to still exist within a regio, hidden beyond the mundane world. A tradition of House Ex Miscellanea claims descent from her lost tradition, and some hedge wizards invoke her name for shapechanging magic.

1175 BC: Samson, gaining great strength through Nazirite rites and vows, massacres the Philistine army using only the jawbone of a donkey. He’s captured, his hair cut off, and his eyes gouged out after being betrayed by his harlot lover Delilah. When the Philistines take Samson into their temple of Dagon, Samson asks to rest against one of the support pillars. After being granted permission, he prays to God and miraculously recovers his strength, allowing him to bring down the columns, collapsing the temple and killing himself as well as all of the Philistines.

C. 1150 BC: The exiled Brutus of Troy, after having sacked Acquitaine, arrives in Albion. He drives out the giants led by Gog and Magog plaguing the island, conquers the remaining Gaels and Cymri - obviously weakened from infighting, and renames the island "Britain" after himself. He chooses a spot on the River Thames for his capital, and builds the city of New Troy. His lieutenant, the great warrior Corineus became ruler of Cornwall, which got its name after him.
The magician who predicted great things for the unborn Brutus also foretold he would kill both his parents, which he did, driving him into exile.
When he died, twenty-three years after landing in Britain, his sons divided the kingdom between them. Locrinus, the eldest, took England, which was called Loegria after him. Kamber took Wales, and it was named Kambria after him, while Albanactus took Scotland, which at that time was called Albany.
New Troy is in time corrupted to Trinovantum, and the city is later called London.

C. 1050–1000 BC: The Tuatha Dé Danann were the fifth invaders to Hibernia, the last wave of primeval peoples before the arrival of the Gaels. After the war with the Fomórach, an escaped group of Nemed’s descendents started worshiping continental Celtic faeries, who took the group to a mystical homeland in the north. In four fabled cities, the Tuatha Dé educated their followers in culture, art, and magic, and interbred. The group that returned to Hibernia contained the pagan faerie gods, their children, their followers, and their druids.
Tuatha Dé first defeated the Fir Bolg, and later the Fomórach driving them from the island. Placed under a powerful Tuatha Dé curse, the Fomórach could not set foot on Hibernian soil without suffering dire consequences.
The Tuatha Dé brought four great treasures with them, signs of their sovereignty and indicators of their power: The Stone of Lia Fál, that roars beneath the foot of a rightful king; The Spear of Lug which guarantees victory to he who holds it; The Sword of Nuadha that always strikes its target; The Dagda’s Cauldron, that supplies unlimited stew and can feed an entire company of men.
The covenant of Circulus Ruber claims to have found the Dagda’s Cauldron.

C. 1050 BC: The Hebrews request a king. The prophet Samuel anoints Saul and the Kingdom of Israel Established. His early reign is marked by military success but also by increasingly erratic spiritual disobedience.

C. 1020 BC: Saul the Benjaminite, first king of Israel, purges the Israelite priesthood eliminating the Canaanite necromancers and other magical traditions.
After David fled from Saul, he sought assistance from Ahimelech, the priest at Nob. Ahimelech provided David with consecrated bread and the sword of Goliath, unaware of the conflict between Saul and David. When Saul learned of this, he accused Ahimelech and his fellow priests of conspiracy. Despite their protests of innocence, Saul ordered their execution. His officials refused to carry out the command, but Doeg the Edomite complied, killing eighty-five priests and putting the entire town of Nob to the sword, including men, women, children, and animals.
The massacre is seen by scholars as a tainting of the Divine hierarchy in Israel and marks the fall of Saul’s spiritual legitimacy.

1011 BC: Saul fears a military disaster against David and so attempts to discover the will of God by consulting the last necromancer, the witch Zephaniah, in the city of En-Dor. She summons the spirit of Samuel, to whom Saul pleads for help. The ghost of Samuel refuses Saul; he says that God had forsaken Saul, and that he and his dynasty will be extinguished the following day. The next day, as the ghost predicted, the Israelites are defeated, Saul’s three sons are killed in battle, and Saul kills himself after being sorely wounded by Philistine archers.
This act may have opened an Infernal regio at En-Dor, and remains a cautionary tale about the dangers of spiritual desperation.

1010–970 BC: The Reign of King David, the slayer of Goliath and a man "after God's own heart". David unifies Israel, subdues enemies, and establishes Jerusalem as the political and spiritual capital - the city that becomes the nexus of Divine presence. His lineage is seen in both Jewish and Christian traditions as messianic.
He danced before the Ark and brought Divine order to a chaotic land. His harp may yet echo in Faerie shadow. His psalms are considered by some Hermetic theorists to be poetic theurgies - spiritual invocations disguised as song.

1004 BC: The Ark of the Covenant is installed in Jerusalem. David brings the Ark to the city with great ceremony. This event causes a massive increase in Dominion aura, centered on Mount Zion.
Hermetic attempts to trace the Ark’s movements have yielded only Warping and ominous dreams.

C. 970–930 BC: The Reign of David's son, King Solomon the Magus, king of Judea. He constructs the First Temple in Jerusalem - placing within it the Ark of the Covenant, said to contain immense Divine power - as well as a vast palace for himself. He is a great magician, able to summon all manner of spirits to work his will. His mastery over spirits, demons, and angels becomes legendary, giving rise to a magical tradition distinct from later Hermeticism. His Great Seal is still a powerful ward and device for spirits and his Ring is said to be able to command them all.
Some see him as a proto-theurgist or even a Divine Hedge Wizard, granted insight into angels, demons, and celestial correspondences. There are Hermetic theorists that believe elements of Hermetic Rego magic originate from Solomonic command over spirits. He could fly on the wind with a magic carpet and spoke the languages of beasts and birds. His wisdom was widely known; he answered the riddles of the Queen of Sheba and wisely judged the most perplexing cases. He ruled over mortals and spirits, brought the wealth of the world to him in his capital of the Levant, and explored the depths of the sea and the heights of the sky.

966 BC: Construction of the First Temple Begins, a structure to house the presence of God, and perhaps the world's most powerful Divine regio.
Some Hermetic scholars speculate that the Holy of Holies functioned as a ritual anchor to Heaven itself, accessible only by the high priest.

950–940 BC: Legends arise of Solomon controlling spirits, binding djinn, and authoring grimoires such as the Key of Solomon. Hermetic mystagogues still debate whether this reflects true Divine Magic, Faerie glamour, or even a suppressed Infernal pact.
He knew the Names. That is all we must know.

931 BC: After Solomon's death, the unified kingdom splits into Israel (north) and Judah (south). The Dominion weakens over the land as idolatry spreads.
From a Hermetic view, regio boundaries may have fractured, leading to a multiplicity of overlapping Divine and Faerie sites.

C. 900 BC: The Sons of Mil, the Milesians, led by the poet and sorcerer Amhairghin, arrive in Hibernia and defeat the Tuatha Dé, besting their violent resistance and magical trickery. During their conquest the sons meet three faerie goddesses who claim to be Ireland: Banba, Fódla, and Éire. Each promised victory if a son would marry her, and three sons obliged.
This tradition, a provincial ruler marrying a land-goddess, is still practiced.

C. 870 BC: On Mount Carmel, Elijah calls down fire from Heaven to defeat the priests of Baal.
This may be interpreted as a full realm-overrealm confrontation, with the Dominion forcibly banishing entrenched Faerie and Magical cults.

863 BC: Bladud becomes king of the Britons and rules for 20 years. Bladud's father sent his son to be educated in the liberal arts in Athens. After his father's death he returned with four philosophers, and founded a university at Stamford, Lincolnshire (which flourished until Saint Augustine of Canterbury suppressed it on account of heresies which were taught there). Bladud encouraged magic throughout the realm, and built Kaerbadum or Caervaddon (Bath), creating the hot springs there by the use of magic. He dedicated the city to the goddess Athena or Minerva, and in honor of her, lit undying fires, whose flames turned to balls of stone as they grew low, with new ones springing up in their stead. He finally died, it is said, when he fell from the sky while flying, and was dashed to pieces on the temple of Apollo in London.
According to ancient texts, Bladud had gathered a personal library hidden in a secret cave somewhere in his realm.

814 BC: The Phoenician princess Dido founds the city of Carthage.
Carthage worshiped and obeyed its terrible gods in return for protection against the Great Hunger of the southern desert. At the height of the city’s power it controlled a mighty trading empire that stretched from the Gulf of Sidra to the Atlantic Sea, and had colonies in Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. It was destroyed by the Romans, and its fields salted, after a three year siege in 146 BC. What allowed this far-flung city-empire to oppose Rome throughout three conflicts over the course of almost 120 years? There may be fragments and relics of these Punic traditions hidden in the ruins and wilds of the Maghreb, perhaps concealed by those who survived the legions’ conquest.
It is known that the rest of the Mediterranean reviled the empire’s tradition of sacrificing the "first fruits" to their gods in exchange for favor and assistance, which included burning the firstborn children of prominent citizens in enormous bronze altars.

C. 800–500 BC: The time of The Servants of Aita, god of the underworld, in Etruria (western Italy). They summon the ghosts of the recently dead and force secrets from them.
Later they became the Servants of Pluto, priests of Mercury Psychopompos, the Conductors of Souls, when the Cult of Mercury swallowed their tradition during the reign of Augustus (27 BC-14 AD). It is likely this was the ancestral tradition of Guorna the Fetid, and thereby Tytalus and Tremere.

776 BC: The First Olympiad is held to commemorate Zeus and the other gods of Mount Olympus.

753 BC: Foundation of Rome by the twins Romulus and Remus. The twins, raised by a lupa, form a band of outcasts and found Rome by abducting the women of the Sabine tribe. Romulus kills his brother Remus and reigns as Rome's first king. The Lupercalia, a rite invoking wolf-spirits for strength, continues for centuries.
"Lupa" can mean either She-Wolf or prostitute. Hermetic scholars have argued over whether this was a mere legend or a sign of a faerie-blooded lineage.
Some hedge wizards still claim to descend from the line of Remus, exiled and transformed into the first werewolves of Europe.

722 BC: Assyrian Conquest of Israel: The northern kingdom falls. Its ten tribes are exiled, possibly lost in mundane and magical senses.
Some Hermetic explorers claim to have found that the tribes were taken into regiones and may persist there in altered form.

701 BC: The Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem is mysteriously destroyed overnight, allegedly by an angel of the Lord.
Or was it magic? This is one of the rare military-scale manifestations of Divine Power documented outside Sinai.

683 BC: Beginning of Athenian democracy.

658 BC: Byzas of Megara (a city-state near Athens) founds the city of Byzantium.

C. 640–609 BC: Josiah purges pagan cults and restores the worship of the God of Israel. His prophet, Zephaniah, speaks of coming judgment and the Day of the Lord. Hermetic mystics view Josiah’s reign as a final attempt to restore spiritual alignment before the cataclysm of exile.
What was lost with Josiah cannot be reclaimed by kings. Only prophecy remains.

C. 600 BC: Zoroaster (or Zarathushtra) founds the Zoroastrianism faith of the Persian Empire on the principles of monotheism.
In his divine hymns, the Gathas, he reveals to humanity there was one supreme and all-knowing God, Ahura Mazda ("Wise Lord"), locked in eternal conflict with His opposite, Angra Mainyu ("Destructive Spirit"). To destroy Angra Mainyu, God created an immaculate material world based on seven pillars, which are personified by the Amesha Spentas ("Beneficent Immortals"). God knew that Angra Mainyu would attack this world, bringing with it disorder, falsehood, sorrow, cruelty, disease, and suffering, so he also created Man, the masterpiece of His creation, to play the final and decisive role in the great cosmic battle between Light and Dark.
For over a thousand years, Zoroaster’s wisdom flourished as the state religion of three mighty Persian empires, and there was great hostility and antipathy between the Zoroastrians and the Mercurian priests of Rome. Ultimately, the Romans were diminished by the spread of Christianity, but the Zoroastrians were pushed farther east by the spread of Islam, and were nearly decimated when waves of Turks swept across the Islamic world in the early eleventh century. Zoroastrian priests, called Magoi, are renowned for venerating fire as a symbol of God’s purity. Every Zoroastrian temple has a sacred fire; it is essential to their religion. They also pursue truth as their highest ideal, with justice close behind. Zoroaster taught that since the world is essentially immaculate and good, man should live well and enjoy its gifts, although always in moderation since the states of excess and deficiency are part of Angra Mainyu.

C. 600 BC: The Persians were the second world empire represented in several dreams God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. These dreams so troubled the king that it kept him awake all night. He sought their interpretation amongst his magicians, astrologers and sorcerers. There was, however, one catch. These 'wise men' had to first state what the king dreamed before they gave its meaning! The king was so serious about the matter that he declared if his counselors could not tell him his dream they, and their entire households, would receive the death penalty.
Nebuchadnezzar's prophetic dreams came through more than sixty years later.

597 BC: Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem which surrenders. Jeconiah, his court and other prominent citizens and craftsmen are deported to Babylon. The start of the Babylonian captivity and the Jewish diaspora. Jeconiah's uncle, Zedekiah, is installed as vassal king of Judah.

589–586 BC: The second siege of Jerusalem. It ends with the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar sacking Jerusalem and destroying Solomon’s Temple, bringing an end to the Kingdom of Judah. The Ark vanishes, its fate unknown. The Exile begins.
This marks the collapse of a great Divine regio. Some have speculated that the Temple may have been absorbed into a regio at the moment of its ruin, preserved like Arcadia holds Faerie echoes of lost glory.

C. 580 BC: Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, with the help of the Necromanteion (Oracle of the Dead) of Acheron summons his dead wife Melissa to find out where she has buried a treasure, and while she tells him, she also remind him that he'd gotten too frisky and violated her corpse. She demands a sacrifice of clothing, which results in his orders that the women of the city publicly strip and hand over their clothes.

570–540 BC: Visions of the Prophet Ezekiel: His writings describe celestial beings, wheels within wheels, and a chariot-throne of God. Many Criamon and Kabbalistic mystagogues view his visions as encounters with Divine Mystery Cult elements, containing encoded cosmological truths about the structure of the Realms.
He saw the Merkabah, more real than any Form, more essential than any Arcane Connection.

C. 570–495 BC: Lifetime of Pythagoras of Samos, philosopher, mystic, and mathematician. He studied in Egypt and Babylon, and taught at his school at Croton. Pythagoras teaches that numbers are the essence of all things and founds a secretive brotherhood combining mathematics, ethics, and ritual purification. He introduces the idea that the cosmos is governed by harmonic ratios - a concept deeply resonant with Hermetic magic’s structure of numerical magnitudes, celestial alignments, and arcane correspondence.
He claims that the soul is immortal, undergoing cycles of reincarnation, and may be purified through philosophy and music - ideas preserved within House Criamon’s doctrines and echoed in the Cult of Orpheus. His discovery of the Music of the Spheres, the inaudible resonance of celestial harmony, later influences Hermetic astrology and the conception of the Great Chain of Sympathy.
The wisdom of Pythagoras is known throughout the Order, and beyond. His lost works are sought after as potent sources of insight into pre-Hermetic traditions. The Fraternity of Samos preserves what it holds to be his mystical, musical, and mathematical legacy, and, almost uniquely among Mystery Cults, members openly and proudly admit their membership - but never their secrets.

C. 550–330 BC: The Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus The Great and ended by Alexander the Great; at its height, it encompasses Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, as well as Transoxiana and Egypt, and also engages in significant territorial disputes with the Greek city-states. Zoroastrianism established by Cyrus as the official state religion. Fire temples are built across the empire under Antaxerxes II. Zoroastrian calendar is formalized. Zurvan heresy emerges.

539 BC: The End of Babylon. King Belshazzar of Babylon holds a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and commands that the Temple vessels from Jerusalem be brought in so that they can drink from them, provoking the ire of God. As the Babylonians drink, a hand appears and writes on the wall. Belshazzar calls for his magicians and diviners to interpret the writing, but they are unable even to read it. The queen advises Belshazzar to send for Daniel, renowned for his wisdom. Daniel is brought in, and the king offers to make him third in rank in the kingdom if he can interpret the writing. Daniel declines the honor, but agrees to the request. He reminds Belshazzar that his father Nebuchadnezzar's greatness was the gift of God, and that when he became arrogant God threw him down until he learned humility: "the Most High God has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals, and sets over it whomever He will." Belshazzar has drunk from the vessels of God's Temple and praised his idols, but he has not given honor to God, and so God sent this hand and wrote the words "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN" and Daniel interprets them for the king: "MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed ... and found wanting;" and "UPHARSIN", your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
Three days later, Babylon is destroyed by Persians under Cyrus the Great.
What became of the sacred vessels from the temple after Belshazzar’s feast?
Cyrus restored the Jewish community in the Holy Land, and undoubtedly many of the Temple treasures were also taken back there.
The profanation of the vessels could have rendered them unusable in the eyes of the Jewish priests, and they may have been left behind.

538 BC: Following the decree of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, the first wave of exiled Jews is permitted to return to Jerusalem. This expedition is led by Zerubbabel, heir to the Davidic line, and Joshua the High Priest, with the express purpose of rebuilding the Temple and restoring sacrificial worship. Though the journey is long and perilous, over 40,000 souls make the return - accompanied by sacred vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar a generation prior.
The site of the ruined Temple is described in obscure records as being littered with silent echoes, where once Divine presence resided. The laying of new foundations disturbed both the lingering ghosts of the past and subtle spiritual forces - some of which resisted the new order, while others stirred as if remembering their old oaths. Magical traditions speak of this moment as a shifting of regio boundaries: The Dominion reasserting itself, pushing back Infernal corruption and severing latent Magical flows once drawn upon by ancient cults.
The ashes of exile had cooled, but the fire of holiness flickered anew.
Hermetic Kabbalists believe this moment constitutes a restoration of the physical and metaphysical covenant, repairing the Arcane Connection between Heaven and Zion that was ruptured in 586 BC.

C. 535–475 BC: Heraclitus of Ephesus, called the Obscure, teaches that all is in flux, and that fire is the fundamental substance of the cosmos. He posits a Logos, a rational principle underlying all change, which some Hermetic theorists interpret as an early understanding of Divine order or the hidden laws of the Magic Realm. His reverence for fire as both creative and destructive force finds echo in Hermetic spellcraft, especially in the manipulation of Ignem, which Heraclitus metaphorically saw as the soul of transformation.
Though he leaves no school, his cryptic maxims become seeds for both mystical and rational traditions. His writings are quoted in Criamonic texts as koans to be contemplated during meditation, and Flambeau magi invoke him as a spiritual patron of elemental mastery. A few in House Merinita even speculate that Heraclitus was a faerie-changed philosopher whose every word burns with layered meaning.
His assertion that “you cannot step into the same river twice” is embraced by certain magi - particularly in House Flambeau and House Criamon - as a reflection of the transient, ever-shifting nature of the world and the illusion of permanence.

522 BC: Gaumata the Magian seizes the Achaemenid throne by impersonating Smerdis, the rightful heir to Cambyses (son of Cyrus the Great), and reigns for eight months before he’s slain by Darius, who became suspicious that it was not his actual brother. Darius and his assassins run through the castle, slaughtering Magian eunuchs and priests until they finally reach the man who called himself King. They kill him on the spot, chop off the heads of the dead and go out into the streets waving the decapitated heads in front of the people, telling them that their king was an imposter replaced in a Magian plot. They tell the people to grab any weapon they can find, hunt down every Magi, and slaughter them all.
For years to follow, they made The Slaughter of the Magi an annual holiday.

516 BC: The Jews complete the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Though far less grand than Solomon’s, it reestablishes a stable Dominion.
The voice of the Lord was not heard. But the shadow it cast was heavy upon the stones.
Some Hermetic architects have noted the geometric precision in its construction, suggesting use of ancient Divine theorems lost to modern magi.
In Divine terms, this act restores the axis mundi of the Covenant - the link between Heaven and Earth. While no visible miracles accompany its consecration, some esoteric commentators claim the Shekhinah, the indwelling presence of the Divine, once again hovers in silence over the Holy of Holies - though it is said to never speak again as it once did.
Some in House Bonisagus speculate that the Temple's completion marks the fixing of a permanent Divine regio, one layered deep within the mountain of Zion. Attempts to penetrate it magically are said to fail utterly, as if the regio exists in a place beyond Hermetic reach - a sign of Divine supremacy over magical access. Meanwhile, dissenting Merinita grumble that an older power, once buried beneath the site, was finally sealed or exorcised during the rites of completion.

3. 515–450 BC: Parmenides of Elea teaches that change is illusion and that true reality is singular, eternal, and unchanging. His cosmology directly challenges the senses and lays the groundwork for deep metaphysical thought.
   He is said to have glimpsed the still point at the heart of reality, what Criamon calls the Axis of Time, and his disciple Zeno defends this vision with paradoxes that strain both logic and the boundaries of magical motion.
   Parmenides is revered by House Criamon, who see in his monism a precursor to the Path of the Circle and the Enigma. His writings, preserved in poetic verse, speak of a journey to the goddess of truth, interpreted by some magi as an allegory for contact with a Magic Realm being or even an aspect of the Divine.

513 BC: Darius of Persia takes Thrace. The first Persian king to cross into Europe.

C. 509 BC: The monarchy of Rome is overthrown after the king of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, rapes his friend’s wife, Lucretia, who commits suicide. A Republic replaces the monarchy, which conquers the known world in the next five hundred years.
In some ways the Order resembles the Republic of Rome. Both are ruled by the wise men selected by their elders.

C. 500 BC: Greek Cult of Hermes at its height.

C. 499–449 BC: The Persian Wars.

495–435 BC: Life of Empedocles, Greek philosopher and mystic, who teaches that all matter is composed of four primordial elements - fire, air, water, and earth - a model later mirrored in Hermetic Forms. He asserts that Love (sympathy) and Strife (antipathy) govern the mingling and separation of these elements, anticipating key principles of Hermetic correspondences and magical resonance. A poet, healer, and thaumaturge, Empedocles is rumored to also have possessed miraculous powers, and some Criamon magi revere him as a proto-Enigmatist.

C. 490–430 BC: Lifetime of Zeno of Elea, student of Parmenides, who formulates a series of paradoxes of motion and plurality, intended to defend the teaching that reality is one and unchanging. His paradoxes - such as Achilles and the Tortoise, and the Arrow in Flight - are regarded by House Criamon as glimpses into the illusion of time, and are meditated upon by mystae seeking to unravel the Enigma.
Some Hermetic magi consider Zeno's thought a bridge between reason and mysticism, positing that his paradoxes reflect flaws in mortal perception rather than contradictions in the cosmos. Others - especially among House Bonisagus - dismiss him as a sophist. Yet his thought endures in magical theory on the limits of Hermetic motion, the discreteness of magical time, and the structure of Momentary versus Diameter durations.
In Criamon circles, it is whispered that Zeno's final paradox, never written down, concerns a motionless journey taken inward rather than forward - interpreted by some as a riddle pointing toward Final Twilight or transcendence.

490 BC: Battle of Marathon. The Persians took Eretria through treachery, and then moved on Attica with 20,000 men to confront Athens. They clashed at Marathon in a momentous victory for the Greeks; despite facing twice their number, the Greeks suffered just 192 casualties compared to the 6400 lost to the Persians.

480 BC: Battle of Thermopylae and Battle of Salamis. Darius’ son Xerxes I launched another attack on Greece taking Thessaly, Delphi, and Argos with ease. This time it was Sparta who raised the defense, convening the first Panhellenic Congress at Corinth, at which 31 city-states granted the Athenian Themistocles supreme command over its forces, although overall inter-allied command remained in Spartan hands. The Spartan 300’s defeat at Thermopylae delayed the Persian forces long enough to save the Greek fleet at Artemisium from annihilation, although Athens and Acropolis were sacked. The Persian fleet was then defeated in the battle of Salamis.
The most famous last stand, and naval victory, of all time.

469–399 BC: Life of Socrates, philosopher of Athens. He teaches through dialogue and irony, fostering the flowering of Greek philosophical inquiry. He pioneers the dialectic technique, urging relentless questioning and the pursuit of truth through introspection. He claims Knowledge is intrinsically Good, and Ignorance Evil, a view later echoed by Hermetic scholars. His students, including Plato, carry his method into realms both philosophical and mystical.
Renowned for his paradoxical wisdom - "knowing that he knew nothing" - he attributes his insight to a daimonion, a personal guiding spirit, leading some magi to speculate he was touched by a Divine or Magic spirit.

457 BC: Under the reign of Artaxerxes I of Persia, a decree is issued permitting the scribe Ezra - a descendant of Aaron and master of the Law of Moses - to lead a group of Jewish exiles from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Bearing imperial authority and equipped with silver and gold, Ezra's mission is to reestablish Temple worship, restore Divine law, and purify the returned community. This event marks a spiritual renaissance and is viewed by Hermetic historians as the formal end of the Age of Exile and the beginning of the Second Covenant Era - a time when the remnants of Israel, despite lacking kingship or independence, become guardians of sacred texts and rituals of immense symbolic potency.
From this year forward, the Law walked again among the stones of Zion, not as thunder from the mountain, but as ink upon parchment.
In some esoteric traditions, this return is seen as the final sealing of the Covenantal Dominion Aura over Jerusalem - one that thwarts both Magical and Infernal encroachment in subtle but immutable ways. The year 457 BC is also calculated by some Christian mystics as the beginning of the Seventy Weeks Prophecy of Daniel, culminating in messianic expectations centuries later.

445 BC: Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem’s walls.

431–404 BC: Peloponnesian War fought between Sparta and Athens.

428–348 BC: Life of Plato, philosopher and mystic of Athens. A disciple of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, Plato founds the Academy, the first enduring institution of higher learning. His doctrine of the Realm of Forms - a transcendent world of perfect archetypes - is later adopted by Hermetic theorists to explain magical archetypes, Essential Traits, and the metaphysical truth behind magical correspondences.
His idea of the Great Chain of Being, an ordered cosmos linking all levels of reality from divine to base matter, becomes foundational in Hermetic cosmology. Some interpret The Republic as a veiled treatise on ruling magi, where philosopher-kings are allegories for gifted sages guided by Reason (Logos) and the Nous.
Plato’s mystical writings, especially the Timaeus, describe a universe shaped by a Demiurge using eternal Forms - echoing the Hermetic view of creation through abstract Arts and Techniques. His thought bridges Magic, Divine philosophy, and early alchemy, and is studied in both Bonisagus' theory and the Mysteries of the Houses alike.
Plato's work is based on the work of elder philosophers, including Parmenides, Empedocles, Zeno of Elcea, and most importantly Socrates.

C. 420 BC: The magician Asclepius, a great healer, helps end a plague in Athens.

C. 400 BC – 668 AD Africa: Time of the Garamantian Kingdom, sprung in the Fezzan and sprawling through the Libyan desert, it is ruled by sorcerer-kings.
Their nobility hunted nomadic tribes for sport from horse-drawn chariots.
Even in death, slaves served their Garamantian masters. The lords of the Fezzan mastered potent necromantic magics allowing them to control hordes of walking dead, which did not thirst and ignored the biting winds of the desert. These dessicated corpses, blackened by the sun and the Garamantian magics, worked fields, dug the mines, and served until their forms no longer remained functional. They managed to repulse the mighty Roman legions (and the Cult of Mercury) until 15BC, at which time they became a nominal client state.
The final sorcerer-king king was taken away in chains by Arab warriors in 668.

390 BC: Rome is sacked by Celtic tribes, aided by powerful Druids. This humiliating defeat prompts Romans to seek arcane strength from the East, mirroring their adoption of Greek culture and philosophy. They embrace the worship of Hermes - Greek god of magic and messengers - under his Roman guise as Mercury, laying the ideological foundation for the Cult of Mercury.

C. 384–322 BC: Life of Aristotle. Student of many disciplines, auctor of logic, founder of the Lyceum school. He argues for the existence of a Fifth Element, finer than the four material elements, which make up the heavenly bodies and influence the mundane world. He argues against predestination, but allows that the heavens influence via the fifth essence.
The Fifth Element is identified by some magi as Vim.

382–336 BC: Life of Philip II of Macedon. After defeating the Greek city-states of Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, Philip II led the effort to establish a federation of Greek states known as the League of Corinth, with him as the elected hegemon and commander-in-chief of Greece for a planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. However, his assassination by a royal bodyguard, Pausanias of Orestis, led to the immediate succession of his son Alexander, who would go on to invade the Achaemenid Empire in his father's stead.

356–323 BC: Life of Alexander the Great, student of Aristotle, he succeeded his father Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20. In 13 years he conquers the civilized world, from Greece to Egypt to Persia to the frontier of India, before dying of overeating. He was undefeated in battle and is history's greatest and most successful military commander. A new age of civilization briefly flourishes. Some of the fundamental concepts of magic, the ideas of Magoi and Philosophers, met and mingled in this period.
Unfortunately, this also means the slaughter of the Mazdean priests, destruction of priceless literature and fire temples destroyed.

332 BC: Alexander the Great enters Jerusalem, he is greeted by the high priest and shown in prophecy. The fusion of Hellenistic and Semitic mysticism begins here.
Hermetic lore suggests he may have crossed through a regio and been influenced by a vision from the Divine Realm.

300 BC: Pharmakeutria of the Temple of Asklepios at what is today Epidauros is
driven out by the barbarian Goths.

C. 300 BC: Greek philosopher Democritus of Abdera introduces atomic theory, arguing that the world is composed of ultimately indivisible tiny essences, atoms. Although Democritus was opposed to the supernatural, his "atoms" are thought by some magi as the fundamental components of the elements.
Atomism is a weird and fundamentally flawed theory, crude and spiritually hollow, and devoid of reverence for the essential nature of Form and Essence. His dismissal of sympathy, spiritual cause, and celestial influence is outright ludicrous. How could it ever be incorporated into Hermetica Magica? Of much more use, he also introduced the "democratic system", a political method where participants rule by vote, a version of which is used by the Order.

C. 299–200 BC: Sometime during this century, the legendary but elusive Hermes Trismegistus completed multiple alchemical, astrological, philosophical and magical works - the "Hermetica" - establishing the base of Hermeticism. Many are unfortunately lost, and of others only fragments and unreliable translations from Greek and Arabic remain. Surviving works include: The Salmeschoiniaka (the "Wandering of the Influences"), perhaps composed in Alexandria, which deals with the configurations of the stars; The Art of Eudoxus, a treatise on astronomy; the Liber Hermetis ("The Book of Hermes") an important work on astrology laying out the names of the decans (a distinctly Egyptian system that divided the zodiac into 36 parts); The Brontologion, a treatise on the various effects of thunder in different months; The Peri Seismōn ("On Earthquakes"), a treatise on the relation between earthquakes and astrological signs; The Book of Asclepius Called Myriogenesis, a treatise on astrological medicine; The Holy Book of Hermes to Asclepius, a treatise on astrological botany describing the relationships between various plants and the decans; The Fifteen Stars, Stones, Plants and Images: a treatise on astrological mineralogy and botany dealing with the effect of the stars on the pharmaceutical powers of minerals and plants; and Cyranides, a sublime work on the magical powers and healing properties of minerals, plants and animals.
Most of the texts are presented in the form of a dialogue, a favorite form for didactic material in classical antiquity. The most well known treatise in the Corpus Hermeticum is its opening treatise, which is called the Poimandres - who can be considered to be a sort of deity, or attribute of God as nous or "mind". "Who are you?" said I.
"I am Poimandres" he said, "the Nous of Sovereignity. I know what thou desirest, and I am with thee everywhere."
There is speculation that ancient Hermetic works lost to the Order still may remain in Arab lands, as a number of iterative treatises in Arabic has been found in the Levant. Clement of Alexandria was under the impression that the Egyptians had forty-two sacred writings by Hermes, writings that detailed the training of Egyptian priests.
Some claim that no mere mortal could have come up with such a body of work, and that he was the Greek god Hermes or the Egyptian god Thoth. Nevertheless, the legacy that remains speaks for itself and we stand on the shoulders of giants. Founder Bonisagus was right to name the Order after him.

287–212 BC: Archimedes of Syracuse, mathematician, engineer, and philosopher, astounds the ancient world with his mastery of geometry, hydraulics, and mechanical invention. He built burning mirrors that set Roman ships aflame and machines capable of lifting cities - feats interpreted by Verditius magi as evidence of True Automata, lost to time. Bonisagus himself is said to have studied copies of Archimedes’ diagrams when formulating Hermetic theory of Corpus and Terram interactions. His principle of leverage - "Give me a place to stand, and I will move the Earth" - is cited metaphorically as a parable of Arcane Connection.
His death at the hands of a Roman soldier, despite orders to spare him, is mourned by scholars as the loss of one who might have become a Foundational Figure in Hermetic history, had he lived in a later age. Fragments of his lost works, such as the Mechanical Sphere and writings on infinity, are hunted in the libraries of the Theban and Roman Tribunals.
Another giant, but there is disagreement over whether he was a magician.
His grasp of mathematical abstraction is so profound that some Hermetic magi speculate he had access to a form of non-Hermetic magical Insight, perhaps through communion with the Magic Realm or tutelage by an Airy Spirit of Genius.

C. 250–100 BC: Composition of the Septuagint & Rise of Apocalyptic Literature. Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek in Alexandria. Books like Enoch and Daniel emerge, full of visionary journeys, angelic hierarchies, and heavenly courts - fertile ground for theurgists and the later Solomonic traditions.
The heavens open in symbols, and the stars speak. This is not madness - it is codified mystery.

Rome and the Cult of Mercury (250 BC – AD 476)#

As the Roman Empire spreads across the known world, so too does its magic, order, and ambition. The scattered mystery cults and arcane traditions of Greece, Egypt, and Persia are absorbed into a grand synthesis of magical practice, forming the Cult of Mercury - a vast, disciplined order of spellcasters who harness ritual magic to bolster Rome’s dominion.

The Mercurian magi, named for the swift-footed messenger god, master the art of large-scale magical ceremonies, empowering armies, foretelling omens, and maintaining the spiritual harmony of the Empire. Their magic is deeply entwined with civic and military life, granting them immense influence. Some Hermetic scholars claim that the Parma Magica itself has roots in their shielding rites, while others believe their magic was lost to the slow decay of Rome.

However, even as the Cult of Mercury thrives, other forces rise. The Mysteries of Mithras, Isis, and Dionysus challenge its dominance, offering secret initiations and personal enlightenment. The early Christian Church, growing from an underground sect into a force of divine authority, begins to denounce pagan magic as heretical, setting the stage for future conflict between the Dominion and the arcane.

As the Empire collapses under the twin pressures of barbarian invasion and civil war, so does the Cult. The sacking of cities, the corruption of rituals, and the crumbling infrastructure of the Empire shatter its cohesion. The Priests of Mercury were hard pressed to survive, much less record histories. The magic of the Cult of Mercury begins to change in this period, shifting from a communal activity to an individual craft. Each line develops an idiosyncratic understanding of magic, leading to vulgarization.

By the fall of the Western Empire in 476, the Cult of Mercury has all but vanished, leaving behind only fragments - a handful of secretive magi, lost texts, and rituals that will one day be rediscovered by the founders of the Order of Hermes. Though Rome has fallen, its magic is not truly dead - merely waiting for a new age to rise.

C. 200 BC: The Pontifex of the Pompeii Temple, Plentarch of the Cult of Mercury calls together 38 Mercurians to meet with him in Pompeii, each of whom possess a powerful ritual associated with their temple. He collects these rituals and carve them into 38 golden tablets. Plentarch teaches each priest a special ritual he had discovered that would allow them to commune with their gods in concert, which makes it possible for the priests to cast rituals associated with every temple as long as they work together.
Through vast mystical networks, the Priests of Mercury gathered in distant temples connected together by Roman roads, and channeled powerful magical forces to aid the Roman military in remote parts of the Empire. Due to the extensive resources and centralized power required to construct a Roman road and then enchant the milliaria, the magic was quickly lost in the fragmented years following the fall of Rome, as the Cult rapidly splintered into mutually hostile traditions.
The original 38 golden tablets are gone. However, two of these rituals have been adapted for use by Hermetic magi, becoming the spells Vision of the Scrying Pool and Aegis of the Hearth. The rest remain lost, although House Guernicus claims Fenicil rediscovered some of these rituals, which they retain to assist in the dispensation of Hermetic justice. Some Hermetic magi continue to scour Europe for traces of the Order of Mercury, certain that the other rituals would as easily convert to Hermetic practice.

C. 190–120 BC: Hipparchus, master astronomer and mathematician, creates the first star catalogue and discovers the precession of the equinoxes, proving that the heavens themselves shift over time. For Hermetic magi - especially astrologers and members of House Bonisagus and House Criamon - this revelation defines the nature of Astrological Modifiers and the dynamic motion of celestial influences. His work lays the foundation for accurate planetary ephemerides, without which no horoscope, or astrological spell, could be cast with precision.
Some magi claim Hipparchus’ insight came not from mere observation but from a Magic Realm Insight - a momentary glimpse into the harmonics of the celestial spheres. House Merinita whispers that he may have spoken to a Faerie aether-spirit; Jerbiton, that he worked under Divine guidance.
Fragments of his Commentary on Aratus are prized as sources of insight in astrological mysteries, and it is said that a perfect astrolabe of his design still functions at The Cave of Twisting Shadows, domus magna of Criamon, aligning itself not to the stars - but to the deeper truths behind them.

167–160 BC: Maccabean Revolt and Cleansing of the Temple. Jewish rebels resist Hellenistic idolatry and restore the Temple. This sparks a Divine resurgence.
Merinita claims that Antiochus’ abominations stirred ancient faeries of desecration, who were driven out not by force, but by ritual purity and prayer.

146 BC: End of 3rd Punic War; destruction of the trading city Carthage by the Romans. The Carthaginians are massacred and enslaved, although some escaped to the corners of the Empire, others beyond the Ring of Fire, and others by sailing west into the Atlantic, to the island of Antilia. The magi of Carthage left behind fragmentary texts, and some artifacts, now being investigated by the Sansaron covenant established upon the ruins (Roman Tribunal).

141 BC–224 AD: Empire of the Parthians in Persia. Revival of Mazdean faith, rediscovery of many lost traditions and scriptures.

116–27 BC: Lifetime of Marcus Terentius Varro, polymath author of 620 books, and ancient Rome’s greatest scholar; "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero).
Varro decided to focus on identifying nine of these arts: grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, musical theory, medicine, and architecture. Using Varro's list, subsequent scholars defined the seven classical Artes Liberales. His De lingua latina libri XXV (On the Latin Language in 25 Books) defined many of the principles of which we use Latin today.

106–43 BC: Lifetime of Marcus Tullius Cicero, author of the treatise "De Divinatione" (On Divination).
His influence on the Latin language was immense. He wrote more than three-quarters of extant Latin literature that is known to have existed in his lifetime. He introduced into Latin the arguments of the chief schools of Hellenistic philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary with neologisms such as evidentia, humanitas, qualitas, quantitas, and essentia, distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher. It is unfortunate that he got beheaded by order of Mark Antony.

100 BC–100 AD: Little is known about the history of the Cult of Mercury in this era. Certainly the Cult began this period at a zenith, active and powerful, the magic lifeblood of the Roman Empire.

70–19 BC: Lifetime of Publius Vergilius Maro, the grandmaster poet-mage Virgil, in the city of Naples. He learned divination magic, possibly from the tomes of Solomon. He prophesied the coming of a golden age heralded by the birth of a wondrous child and he owned a bronze head and animated a statue that would bite off the hands of unfaithful wives. He fell in love with Pheobilla, who betrayed him and arranged for the whole city to mock him. In vengeance, he deprived the whole city of fire for three days, except for fire gained from between Pheobilla’s legs.
As you for sure already know, the works of Virgil almost from the moment of their publication revolutionized Latin poetry. The Eclogues, Georgics, and above all the Aeneid became the standard texts in school curricula. Who cannot but weep reading about the tragic death of Queen Dido?

63 BC: The Romans, under Pompey, with the help of powerful rituals, conquer Judea and enter Jerusalem. From this point, many Hermetic scholars believe the veil between Realms begins to thin, as diverse spiritual traditions - Roman, Persian, Hebrew, and Egyptian - collide.
Jerusalem becomes a liminal city in every sense.

58–51 BC: The Romans expand into Celtic Gaul, led by the general Julius Caesar. Two powerful traditions of magic clashed along with the foot soldiers of their civilizations. The highly organized Cult had developed elaborate rituals which gave them great advantages over the disparate groups of druids, and not ending until the Roman legions had marched to the Atlantic Ocean.
From their stronghold in Britain, the druids rallied their brethren in Transalpine Gaul (France) in a massive rebellion. Although this too was crushed by Caesar.
The Gallic Wars were a key factor in Caesar's ability to win the Civil War and declare himself dictator, which culminated in the end of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Empire.

55–54 BC: Julius Caesar invades Britain twice. Cassivelaunus was king of Britain, and with the help of the Druids he eventually got the better of the Romans. Caesar sent him a letter, demanding that he submit to Roman rule and pay him tribute. Cassivelaunus indignantly refused, reminding Caesar that the British and the Romans were sprung from a common stock, and should maintain friendly relations. In response, Caesar invaded Britain, but the British repelled him. Seething with anger, Caesar prepared his fleets again, and sailed up the Thames. But sharpened stakes underwater ripped the bottoms out of his ships, so that many of his troops drowned. Many of those who made it to shore were slaughtered by the Britons, so that Caesar once again was forced to retreat. Cassivelaunus held great celebrations for the victory, at which a quarrel arose between him and Androgeus, the duke of London, which grew into a war. Androgeus was hardpressed by Cassivelaunus, and wrote to Caesar, asking for his help. Caesar came, and together they defeated Cassivelaunus, who was forced to pay tribute to Rome.
The Druids continued to harass the Romans from the safety of their enchanted island Mona Insula whenever they could. They probably had a hand in the sinking of the ships.

50 BC: Immediately after Julius Caesar's victory on the continent, the Cult of Mercury begins to prepare a complex ritual to destroy the druid's sanctuary on Mona Insula.
It takes them more than a century, but it finally bears fruit in 61 AD.

38 BC: The Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa establishes the new settlement Colonia Agrippensis, in the lands in the Cologne Lowland vacated by the Eburones.
In 50, the colony is upgraded to a city and in 89 AD it becomes the administrative capital of the new province Germania Inferior. The city finally falls to the Ripuarian Franks in AD 459.

37–4 BC: Reign of Herod the Great, the Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. Herod rebuilds and expands the Temple magnificently. While a political figure, his reign is wrapped in legend and paranoia.
Flambeau claims to have found a grimoire that suggest that Herod attempted to harness Divine power through architectural ley alignments.

27 BC–14 AD: Reign of Caesar Augustus, also known as Octavian, the first Roman Emperor and the greatest leader in history. The reign of Augustus initiated the imperial cult as well as an era associated with imperial peace, the Pax Romana. The Cult of Mercury worked elaborate ritual magics, requiring large groups of priests, to expand and protect the glory of eternal Rome.
Intertwined with the Empire, the Cult of Mercury grew and flourished. You could even say it was the Empire.

16 BC: Roman founding of Augusta Treverorum (Trier) as a regional capital.
This is the oldest city in Germany and predates the Romans.

1 Levant: Three magi, each a great astrologer and wise man, one from Asia, one from Europe, one from Africa, travel from the ends of the world to witness the birth of the infant Jesus and bring him Gifts of frankincense, gold, myrrh. Each mage is a king, Gaspar the Young of Persia, Melchior of Saba, and Balthazar the Old of Sheba. The account relates that the Magi had met King Herod, who sought the child Jesus to kill him, and after finding the child had a vision to evade the King, and returned to the countries by a different route.
Some claim that they abandoned their crowns and went to India to die, others that they went to the city of Sewa, where they died after living 100 years. One author calls them Hormizdah, Yazdegerd and Perozdh, another calls them Hor, Basanater and Karsudan.
The most profound intervention of the Divine Realm into human history.

9 Rhine: Three Roman legions under the leadership of Publius Quinctilius Varus march to northern Germany. Varus was instructed to conquer the Germanic tribes and to demand payment. While many locals opposed the new commander, he also had some allies among the Germanics. However, Arminius the Cheruski was not one of them. Himself trained to war in Roman service, he rallies the tribes around him and lures the Roman legions into an ambush. The numerically far inferior Germanic tribes used their knowledge of the area, built ramparts and used the element of surprise for their advantage. The Romans were led into the deep, dense Teutoburger forest and moorlands and could not keep their usual formations. Thus, they stood no chance and were almost entirely destroyed. Varus took his life to escape captivity.
The Romans made no further concerted efforts to conquer and permanently hold Germania beyond the Rhine and the Agri Decumates.
Perhaps Rome's greatest defeat and one of the most decisive battles in history.
Hermann, like the rest of the Cheruski, was a devotee of Tius (Tīwaz / Tyr), the one-handed battle god of the Germans, and the magic of his priests, together with their mastery of the forest, gave the assembled tribesmen strength, speed, and stamina greater than that of their opponents.

C. 30: In the reign of Emperor Tiberius, Roman law punishing poisoners is extended to those who use magic to harm others, raise storms, blast crops, raise the spirits of the dead, or incite love. The penalty is death.
Note that all of these acts may be considered baneful.

C. 33: The grown Jesus of Nazareth, who has become a wonder-worker, is executed by mundane rulers. His followers spread word of his wonders and found Christianity.
Upon the death of Jesus Christ, the veil of the Temple is torn, and supernatural events ripple through the land. Some magi believe this moment marks a shift in Divine power, altering the way miracles manifest. Some cryptic Quaesitorial records suggest that ancient magics were permanently weakened by this event.

C. 35–100: The Apostles spread Christianity and the New Testament is written.

43: Emperor Claudius restarts the conquest of Britain after the British king,
Guiderius, tries to throw off the Roman yoke. Claudius invades to bring him to heel. Winning the first battle, he then kills Guiderius by treachery.
This may have been following some very bad advice by the druids.

C. 45: A Samaritan named Simonus Magus works many wonders in Rome. He cures diseases, raises the dead, makes himself invisible, animates statues, summons corpses from thin air, changes shape into animals, and flies through the air. Church tradition claims that he is exposed as a tool of the Devil by Saint Peter.
He is said to have offered Peter silver for the secret of Peter’s magic. Refused, Simonus is then said to have asserted his godhood, and announced that he would fly to Heaven to prove it. St. Peter prayed to God and Simonus Magus crashed to the earth and died.

C. 50 Hibernia: Era of Cuchullain, a great hero.
They say he is an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh, who is also his father.

61 Stonehenge: Destruction of the druid sanctuary on the island Mona Insula by Cult of Mercury and Romans, led by Governor Suetonius Paulinus. This was to break the rebellion of Queen Boudicca, the Iceni warrior queen. Most druids are put to the sword, and the remaining scatter.
The Cult prepared this for over a century. Mona Insula, later called Anglesey, was later the site of the Diedne covenant now called Nameless Covenant.

64 Rhine: Establishment of a Mercurian temple at the later site of Durenmar in the Black Forest. The priests of Mercury attempt to usurp the primeval power of the Hercynian Forest that covers most of Germany.

74 Rhine: The Black Forest Road is completed with the aid of Mercurian priests.

C. 85: The high priest of Apollo, Plutarch, predicts a coming cessation of oracles and the decline of the old gods.

C. 87: The Roman Empire completes the Stanegate (a Roman road) in Northumbria and thereby secures its conquest of Britain.

98: Christian missionaries vanish on mission through Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire lies in the far south of Africa, separating the World from whatever lies south of it.

C. 100: Maria the Jewess, an alchemist and prophetess in Alexandria invents several kinds of alchemical apparatus, such as the tribikos, the kerotakis, and the bain-marie (named after her).
The tribikos is a kind of alembic with three arms that is used to obtain substances purified by distillation. In her writings (quoted by Zosimos), Maria recommends that the copper or bronze used to make the tubes should be the thickness of a frying pan and that the joints between the tubes and the still-head should be sealed with flour paste.
The kerotakis is a device used to heat substances and to collect vapors. It is an airtight container with a sheet of copper upon its upper side. When working properly, all its joints form a tight vacuum. The use of such sealed containers in the Hermetic arts led to the term "hermetically sealed". The kerotakis is said to be a replication of the process of the formation of gold that is occurring in the bowels of the earth.
The bain-marie (Maria's bath), is a device which limits the maximum temperature of a container and its contents to the boiling point of a separate liquid: essentially a double boiler. It is extensively used in alchemical processes for which a gentle heat is necessary.

C. 100–170: Lifetime of Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), philosopher and astronomer of Alexandria. He builds upon the legacy of Hipparchus to compose the Almagest, a comprehensive model of the heavens rooted in geocentric harmony. His system of epicycles and deferents, while later challenged, becomes the paradigm of celestial motion throughout Europe. He invented the gnomon and the globe.
For Hermetic magi, Ptolemy’s influence is vast. His Tetrabiblos codifies astrological correspondences, defining the movements of stars and planets as arcane connections to fate, temperament, and magic. The model he constructs becomes the basis for all Hermetic calculation of astrological modifiers - without it, no horoscope, electional casting, or Hermetic ritual would be possible.
Ptolemy published his techniques and around 8,000 coordinates in a work of seven volumes, called "The Geography".
The last known complete version of this work was lost with the Great Library of Alexandria and House Mercere has offered 100 pawns of vis for a complete copy of The Geography. Many magi, suspecting that it contains the exact locations of hundreds of ancient magical sites, would refuse to sell, even at that price.
Within House Bonisagus, Ptolemy is venerated as the mortal who best charted the interplay of the Divine and Magic Realms in the firmament. Astrological mystagogues claim his Tetrabiblos is not merely a book but a coded initiation text, and a rare complete copy inscribed with stellar inks is said to reside in the Libri Aetheris collection at Durenmar.
Some Criamon claim that Ptolemy grasped the secret of the perfect circle, and that his true gift was seeing time as a wheel, not a river. Thus, Ptolemy stands not only as a sage of stars, but a hidden geomancer of the heavens, his writings shaping the very casting parameters of Hermetic magic.

108: The dragon Pan Caudarax departs Flanders for the "Ice Land." It leaves behind a fabled hoard, including the Rosewood Crown, an oracular device. It vows to return on the day of the Crescent Sun to defend its hoard against the Warlock of De Panne.
The dragon’s name may be a scribal error.

129–216: Lifetime of Galen of Pergamon, the legendary physician and magician.
The grandmaster of anatomy, medicine and Corpus. As vivisections on humans were strictly prohibited at the time, Galen would encourage his students to go look at dead gladiators or bodies that washed up in order to get better acquainted with the human body.

154–222: Lifetime of Bar Daysan, a Syrian magician possibly ancestral to Founder Criamon.
Bar Daysan's heretical cosmology and commentary on it only survives in later sources (at least outside the House of Criamon), but can be outlined as follows:
The world began with the four pure and uncreated elements of light, wind, fire, water, respectively located in East, West, South, North (and are each able to move throughout their own, individual regions). Above the plane on which these four pure elements rest is the Lord, and below is the darkness. At one time and by chance, the four pure elements exceeded their boundaries and began to mix. Taking up the opportune chance, darkness also mixed with them. Distressed, the elements appeal to God to separate the darkness from them, but God is only partially successful in this procedure. The Lord uses the mix to create the world, but the remaining darkness in the mix acts as the cause of evil in the world since then and until today. The world is allotted a period of 6,000 years to exist. Purifications through conception and birth take place, but at the end of the allotted period for the Earth, a definitive purification will take place that will expunge darkness from the world.

165–180: After the Roman army violates a temple in the city of Seleucia on the Tigris (Mesopotamia), the Antonine Plague they bring back literally decimates the Roman Empire.
A powerful curse indeed. Between 5-10 million died of the Roman Empire’s c. 75 million population. Thereafter, population declined.

C. 175 Stonehenge: Lucius, king of the Britons has heard of the Christian faith and asks the Pope Eleutherius for missionaries to be sent. The pope happily agrees and sends Faganus and Duvianus, who convert the whole country within a few years, establishing archbishops at London, York and Caerleon-on-Usk.
To the definite ire of the remaining druids. Another long-term plot by the Cult?

C. 204–270: Plotinus, founder of Neoplatonism, teaches that all existence flows from The One, an ineffable source beyond Being itself. From this emanates the Nous (Divine Mind) and the World Soul, which in turn shapes the material world. His vision of reality becomes foundational to mystical theology and magical metaphysics. Plotinus’ idea of emanation explains the relationship between the Magic Realm, Forms, and the physical world. His notion that the soul can ascend toward unity with The One through contemplation and purification resonates deeply with later seekers of Twilight transcendence and Mystery Initiations.
Some Criamon magi believe Plotinus glimpsed the Enigma, while Jerbiton magi admire his effort to bridge philosophy, aesthetics, and metaphysical yearning. His disciple Porphyry recorded his teachings, which may remain potent sources of insight for magical theorists seeking to integrate Divine and Magical understanding.

C. 220 Hibernia: Reign of Cormac mac Airt. Protected since birth by five magic wards, Cormac could not be hurt by wounds, drowning, fire, druid magic, or wolves. He became the high-king at the age of 30, and during his reign Ireland’s rivers were full of fish, the fields full of bees making honey, and the forests ripe with fruit.

249–262: Another great plague, even worse than the last, severely reduces the Roman Empire, and the structural integrity of the imperial machine begins to burst apart.
The plague was rumored to be a curse from Aethiopia. At its height, 5,000 people a day were dying in Rome. The population of Alexandria dropped from 500,000 to less than 200,000.

C. 250: Alexandrine philosopher Plotinus founds Neoplatonism, argues that magic is the basis of all action and change, states certain basic rules of sympathy and essential nature, and further develops the concept of the Chain of Being. His followers, particularly Porphyry and Iamblichus, develop these rules into powerful rituals and divide magic into Theurgy, higher magic based on invocation of divine power, and Goetia, baser magic using compelled spirits.

C. 260 Hibernia: Era of Finn Mac Cool and his Fenian band, who patrolled their lord's lands against robbers and invaders. They eventually become overbearing and are suppressed.

270 Rome: The son of a priestess of Deus Sol Invictus (the unconquered sun), becomes the new Emperor Aurelian. He wants to unify the Empire and to that end he again proclaims Deus Sol Invictus as the official deity of the Roman State. He declares that Sol was the sum of the attributes of all other gods, and thus is to be worshiped alone. The emperor institutes new rites, designed to unite all the disparate practices of the different priesthoods into one common prayer ceremony, builds them one of the most splendid temples in Rome,
and establishes a dedicated college to ensure its continuation.
This must have been hard to swallow for the Cult of Mercury.

C. 270–304: Cyprian of Antioch received a liberal education in his youth, and particularly applied himself to astrology; after which he traveled for improvement through Greece, Egypt, India, etc. He was renowned as a powerful thaumaturgist, whose magical wonders brought him a great reputation. In the same city lived a beautiful young lady named Justina, who had converted from paganism to worship Christ. A rich young man named Aglaias wooed her, but she rebuffed him. After a forceful abduction failed, he went to Cyprian for help. Cyprian consented for a price, and employed all his magical arts against the girl, who in chastity and purity spent her time in prayer and fasting, but his demons fled from her in terror and his spells failed. Cyprian again employed sorcery, sending "the chief of demons" to Justina, who likewise was conquered by a certain "Sign of Christ". Brought to despair, Cyprian made the Sign himself and in this way was freed from the toils of Satan. Thus he realized his sin. He went to the bishop, repented, burned his books on pagan magic, and was made a priest of God. Justina became a deaconess, and they had many adventures before suffering for their faith as holy martyrs in 304.
During the persecutions of Diocletian, Cyprian and Justina were seized upon as Christians, the former was torn with pincers, and the latter chastised; and, after suffering other torments, both were beheaded.
St. Cyprian and St. Justina are the patron saints of magicians who repent, and who turn their knowledge to the support of the Divine. The Holy Society has a small but pious following who use prayer and miracles to fight the enemies of God.

C. 270 Normandy: Three Christian missionaries are beheaded on the road to the Temple of Mercury, in the city of Lutetia, now called Paris. The decapitated Bishop Denis picked up his head and walked several miles while preaching a sermon on repentance.
The site where he stopped preaching and actually died was marked by a small shrine that is now the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the burial place for the kings of France.

C. 280: Saint George of Cappadocia slays a dragon with his lance Ascalon in Silene, to destroy the local custom of feeding it maidens. The king was so grateful that he offered him treasures as a reward for saving his daughter's life, but George refused it and instead he gave these to the poor. The people of the city were so amazed at what they had witnessed that they became Christians and were all baptized.

284: Administration of Roman Empire temporarily split between East and West.

287: The provost Dacian first tortures, then beheads Saint George. As the provost returns homeward, fire falls from heaven, consuming him and all his servants.
Near a town called Ramys, is a chapel now desolate and in ruins where the body of Saint George, but not the head, lies. His tomb is a hole, allowing a man to put his hand inside it. When a mad person is brought there, and if he puts his head into the hole, he shall immediately be made perfectly whole, and again have his understanding.

C. 300: The Greek-Egyptian Gnostic Mystic Zosimos of Panopolis, and his sister Eusebeia, both magicians, write a twenty-eight volume encyclopedia of magic and alchemy - the "Cheirokmeta" (Greek: "Things made by hand"). He defined alchemy as the study of "the composition of waters, movement, growth, embodying and disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits within bodies." Unfortunately this oldest known work of alchemy, said to contain secrets of true transmutation, is now largely lost.
The great work may yet be recovered from some dusty old vault?
Zosimos wrote that there are two sciences and two wisdoms, that of the Egyptians and that of the Hebrews, which latter is confirmed by divine justice. The science and wisdom of the most excellent dominate the one and the other. Both originate in olden times. Their origin is without a king, autonomous and immaterial; it is not concerned with material and corruptible bodies, it operates, without submitting to strange influences, supported by prayer and divine grace.
The symbol of alchemy is drawn from the creation by its adepts, who cleanse and save the divine soul bound in the elements, and who free the divine spirit from its mixture with the flesh.
As the sun is, so to speak, a flower of the fire and simultaneously the heavenly sun, the right eye of the world, so copper when it blooms - that is when it takes the color of gold, through purification - becomes a terrestrial sun, which is king of the Earth, as the sun is king of heaven.

303: Emperor Diocletian begins suppressing Christians and reviving the old religion. This continues until the conversion of Constantine in 312.

305 Rome: Milan becomes capital of Western Roman Empire.

306 Iberia: Synod of Elvira forbids communion be given to sorcerers who have killed others via magic, which it claims can only be performed through use of evil spirits.
This century sees wide condemnation of magic by the Church, most of it aimed at those who use magic for immoral purposes.

309: Another great plague reduces the Roman Empire over the next five years.

313: Christianity recognized as the official religion of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine.
This was an easy transition, since preparations for monotheism had already been laid in place by the sun worshippers, and over time the cult began to more closely resemble Christianity, while Christianity changed in many ways to comfort its newly converted Romans. Churches were built facing east, the Lord’s day became Sunday, God was often referred to as Sol Iustitiae (the Sun of Justice), and the celebration of the birth of Christ was changed from Epiphany (January 6) to the Natalis Invicti, the day honoring the sun god’s birth (December 25).

314: Synod of Ancyra orders five years of penance for those who use magic for divination or healing.
The objection to healing is surprising.

C. 325 Levant: The bones of the Three Magi are recovered from the Levant, and brought to Milan as holy relics of the Church.

330 Thebes: Capital of the Roman Empire moved to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine.

356: Emperor Constantine II closes all non-Christian temples.

356 Normandy: Barbarian Alamanni invades Gaul.

357: Emperor Constantine II forbids magic of all kinds, under penalty of beheading.

360: The Huns invade Europe.

360: Picts cross Hadrian’s Wall and invade Britannia.

C. 370 Normandy: King Gradlon of Brittany builds the city of Ys in the Bay of Douarnenez for his daughter, Dahut. Ys is built below sea level, behind a great dike, with sea locks to allow ships access to the port. Ys becomes a powerful capital in a short time. Princess Dahut, a dissolute woman, takes a new lover each night and strangles him each morning. One day, a Red Knight comes to Ys, and Dahut falls in love with him. At his instigation, she steals the king's key to the sea locks. The sea locks were opened, and the city submerged, and only King Gradlon escaped.
Dahut may have been a druidess or sorceress. She seems to have owned a magical black mask her lovers were required to wear. It strangled them when she was done with their services. The Red Knight sounds like a devil, or possibly a faerie. The bells of Ys are still said to ring on stormy nights.

391: Much of the Library of Alexandria burned by order of Emperor Theodosius, who wishes non-Christian works destroyed. Many of the great Alexandrine philosophers are persecuted, some killed.
Also see 642.

395: Final split of Roman Empire between East and West. Emperor Arcadius rules in the East from Constantinople, while Emperor Honorius rules the West from Rome.

C. 400–500 Transylvania: Sometime in this period, a Balkan pagan named Muj undergoes a series of adventures and becomes a sorcerer. His line is eventually adopted by Founder Tremere.

C. 400: St. Augustine of Hippo introduces many higher philosophies to the Church, including the idea that the Church exists on a privileged level, removed from the cares of the world. Augustine also argues that the old gods are utterly false, and that all spirits are evil demons, and that magic is based wholly on demonic aid. His opinions on magic influence the Church still.
Augustine’s principle of elevation is also current among some magi of the Order, who argue that the Order is above petty mundane concerns. This theory was influenced by the immunity of the Church in Rome to sacking by the invading barbarians. Rome is later viciously and repeatedly sacked, and the churches not spared.

400–410: Visigoths invade Italy and sack Rome. Afterward they remove to Gaul, and eventually come to rule Hispania. They bring with them their magicians, members of the tribe and advisors to their kings. These magicians are said to be goetic summoners and enchanters similar to the Odin-followers of Ultima Thule. Their tradition dwindles in the coming centuries.
It is not certain if the magicians of the Visigoths survived the conquest by the Moors. They may have contributed to the magical line of Flambeau, through Delendar.

C. 400: Some Seekers claim that the Cult of Mercury fights a great battle against a dangerous and destructive old god, losing the best magi of the Cult, leading to its dissolution.
A Sardinian mage of House Merinita claims that the Cult of Mercury could see the coming future and many fled into Faerie to await a new age.
Terith of Jerbiton claims that the Cult of Mercury was corrupted by demons and the Cult had become diabolists, forgetting their old ways and ultimately disbanding.

410: The Visigoths under Alaric I sack Rome after a third siege. Slaves open the Salarian Gate and Goths loot the city for three days. Comparatively few Roman men are killed and women raped. Only two churches are burned, and people who took refuge in churches are usually spared. Many Romans who survive the Sack flee to Africa, or to the Eastern Empire. It is the first time since 390 BC that Rome has fallen to an enemy.
The city which had taken the whole world was itself taken.

412: Cult of Mercury is officially disbanded, over one hundred years after it became ineffective. The remaining Roman magi move out of the dangerous cities and gradually disperse into the countryside.
The Cult’s reliance on rituals requiring many priests to perform may have been their undoing as it requires large amounts of vis, as well as coherence and organization, things the Empire can no longer provide.

C. 415 Rhine: Siegfried, a knight from the city of Xanten on the lower Rhine, hears of the great beauty of Kriemhild - the most beautiful woman in the world, sister of the Burgundian king, Gunther, and decides to woo her.
Siegfried firstly won a great treasure from the Nibelungs (two princes and brothers named Schilbung and Nibelung), by slaying them. After taking the Tarnkappe (a cloak of darkness) from Alberich, the dwarven treasurer of the Nibelungs, he rose to become ruler of Nibelungland.
Siegfried killed the dragon Fafnir in Westerwald and bathed in its blood, after which his body became invulnerable. (He had only one vulnerable spot, between his shoulder blades, where a large leaf had rested on his skin as he was soaked in the dragon’s blood.)
King Gunther allows Siegfried to marry Kriemhild, on the condition that he helps him to gain the hand of Brünhild, the legendarily strong queen of Iceland. Siegfried does this by cheating and deceiving Brünhild, and also stealing her ring and girdle - gifting them to Kriemhild.
Brünhild’s humiliation lingers and many years later it all ends in tragedy with the death of all the leading participants. The treasure of the Nibelungs remains lost, the hoard stolen and supposedly sunk in the Rhine by the traitor Hagen.

429: Vandals invade Africa.

C. 430–450 Hibernia: Saint Patrick christens Ireland. He performs many miracles, banishes all snakes from the island, bests and exiles the druids after winning a magic contest, and uses a three-leaf clover to explain the Holy Trinity.
St. Patrick achieved overwhelming success and forever cemented the Christian faith in people’s hearts. His mortal remains are interred in Down Cathedral.

430–453 Rhine: The great knight Siegfried arrives in Worms, weds Kriemhild, and is later slain.

445: Attila murders his brother and becomes undisputed leader of the Huns.

450–458 Normandy: Reign of the sorcerer-king Merovech of the Franks, founder of the Merovingian dynasty. The early Merovingian kings were sorcerers whose magical powers were vested in their long hair, which they never cut. Merovech remains shrouded in mystery, but among his many feats, he helped to repel Attila the Hun at the Battle of Chalons. Ending Attila's westward conquests.
Tracing his heritage to Duke Francio who fought alongside King Priam at Troy - Merovech was supposedly the offspring of the wife of King Clodio - descended from the Jewish House of David - and was already pregnant when she went swimming in the ocean and was seduced and impregnated a second time by the Quinotaur, the five-horned bull-beast of Neptune. Thus Merovech had two fathers, and his royal bloodline was mixed with magic.
All of the Merovingians bear a curious birthmark in the form of a red cross. Philip II, like many of the former kings of the Franks, has the Royal Touch, which cures the King’s Evil (scrofula). Many believe this is a Purifying Touch inherited from Merovech despite the fact that Philip’s blood links to Merovech are tenuous. Another popular theory is that the Royal Touch was a gift from Saint Rémi to Clovis and his descendents. It is a gift from God bestowed on all Frankish kings by the anointing with the holy oil.

450: St. Geneviève prays for the Huns to avoid Paris, and they ignore the city.

451 Rhine: Attila conquers the Burgundians at Worms and weds the widowed
Kriemhild.

451: The Battle of Châlons: An alliance of Romans, Franks, and Visigoths led by the legendary Merovech defeat the Huns and Ostrogoths in Gaul, ending Attila’s westward conquests.

452: Huns invade Italy. Pope Leo I miraculously saves the city of Rome from the army of the Huns.

452: Venice founded.

453 The Burgundians war on the Huns and are destroyed; Attila the Hun is
killed.

455: The Vandals sack Rome.

459: Cologne falls to the Ripuarian Franks, ending its time as a Roman city.

C. 465–525?: Career of Merlin, greatest magician of Britannia. Son of a faerie and a mortal woman, born able to speak, he first appears as a boy to King Vortigern of the Saxons, issues prophecies, and resolves a problem vexing the king. Later Merlin makes great wonders, transports the Stonehenge to England, and arranges the getting of Arthur by Uther Pendragon upon Igraine of Cornwall. He could change shape and made prophecies still studied today. Toward the end of his life he advises Arthur in the early part of his reign.
The final fate of Merlin is disputed. Some say he was betrayed and imprisoned by his apprentice, Nimue, Others claim he retired to the lands of Faerie or into a regio. Some in the Church claim he was the son of the Devil.
Talk about intervening in mundane affairs!

470–485 Successful campaigns of the Visigoth King Euric across western Europe.

476: Fall of the Roman Empire in the West. The Gothic conquest of Italy is finalized by the deposition of Emperor Romulus Augustus by the Goth King Odovacar. The Imperial robes and regalia are transferred to Constantinople.
The beginning of the Dark Age.

The Dark Age of Magic (AD 476–731)#

With the fall of Rome, the once-great magical traditions of the Cult of Mercury collapse, leaving Europe in chaos and darkness. The structured rites and grand rituals of old are forgotten, their secrets buried beneath the ruins of the Empire. In their place, magic becomes scattered, localized, and feared, as hedge wizards, cunning folk, and lone practitioners struggle to survive in a world increasingly hostile to the arcane.

The rising power of the Christian Church brands many forms of magic as heresy or diabolism, forcing magi into secrecy. Druids, Norse seidhr-workers, and Romano-Celtic sorcerers cling to their traditions in isolated pockets, but their numbers dwindle. Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire preserves fragments of Hermetic wisdom, though its scholars focus more on Divine and alchemical studies than practical spellcraft.

The once-mighty magical centers of Alexandria, Athens, and Ravenna fade, their libraries lost to war, fire, and ignorance. The few remaining magi rely on whispered lore, stolen texts, and personal experimentation, but without a unified magical theory, they struggle to advance. Rivalries and suspicion deepen as the effects of The Gift drive practitioners apart, ensuring that magic remains fragmented.

Yet in the shadows, seeds of rebirth take root. Mystical lineages pass down ancient knowledge, safeguarding spells and techniques for a time when magic might rise again. In the east, the Arabs and Persians refine astrology and alchemy, keeping old wisdom alive. In the deep forests, mountain caves, and forgotten ruins of Europe, strange magics still stir waiting for a new age of enlightenment.

The 6th century see a brief flowering of magic and heroic effort on the fringe of Europe. The Enchantment of Britain and the Court of King Arthur brings a temporary thaw in the Winter of magic.

In the early 8th century, a scholar named Bonisagus discovers Mercurian rituals in an abandoned well and begins work on a new magical theory, one that will unite the scattered magi of Mythic Europe and bring an end to the Dark Age of Magic.

481–511 Normandy: Reign of Clovis, a descendant of Merovech. He fought and defeated the Roman Governor Syagrius in battle in 486 and, having made a peace treaty with the Ostrogoths, came to rule a great empire, freed from Roman rule. Clovis extended his kingdom by war, treachery, and marriage. His wife, Clotilde of Burgundy, was a Christian and changed the course of Clovis’s life. His first son died and the second fell gravely ill as a baby, but Clovis saw his wife’s prayers to her God cure the boy. He was further swayed when, at the tomb of Saint Martin of Tours, he was witness to a miracle when the bishop of Arras, Vedast, gave a blind man back his sight. In 496, when facing the Alemanni in battle, Clovis vowed that he would convert from his worship of Mercury and Jupiter if the victory was his. He defeated them soundly and was baptized by Saint Rémi, archbishop of Reims.
The Merovingian sorcerer-kings, with the blood of David and of the old gods, were blessed with kingly grace. Provided that they did not cut their hair, they were invincible in battle; they could heal by laying on of hands; they could make crops grow by walking across fields; they had divinatory powers and could interpret the calls of beasts. It is told that Clovis revealed the Holy Grail, which had been brought to Gaul by Mary Magdalene in the 1st century, to the Frankish kingdom.
Following the death of Clovis, the Frankish lands were divided among his four sons according to the "Salic law" Clovis had established. This inaugurated a tradition that would lead to disunity and frequent civil wars lasting until the end of the Merovingian dynasty.

496 Normandy: Clovis is baptized and becomes the first Christian Frankish king. His people follow suit.
Although paganism takes centuries to fade among the Franks. The Merovingian kings still kept their magical hair long, but now claiming their powers were descended from Christ.

507 Normandy: Clovis has by now defeated the Romans, the Burgundians, and the Visigoths, united the Franks, and established a capital in Paris.

C. 510–575 Stonehenge: Magical reign of King Arthur of the Britons under the Enchantment of Britain. This period sees a flowering of magical achievement, the crowning glory of Merlin, the wide influence of the magical Ladies of the Lakes, and many magical quests.
The Reign of Arthur is a shining example of how mortals and magi can coexist.

C. 520–575 Ultima Thule: Era of Beowulf, who - enchanted with thirty men’s strength, in King Hrothgar’s hall of Heorot - slays Grendel by ripping off its arm. Then he fights the ogre's mother who dwells at the bottom of a lake. He first uses Hrunting, his magical sword but Grendel's mother is immune to its power, so Beowulf kills her with a sword from her armory. Rewarded with gifts from the Danish King, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats.
Fifty years into his reign, a peasant carrying a golden object from a cave accidentally awakens a dragon, which begins to destroy everything in its path. Accompanied by his young relative, Wiglaf, the only one of his warriors brave enough to stand by his side, Beowulf decides to take up his sword and shield for the last time and defeat the Dragon. Unfortunately, the aged king is injured and dies due to wounds received in the fight. After his death, he is ritually burned on a great pyre while his people wail and mourn him. Afterward, a barrow, visible from the sea, is built in his memory.
The question still remains: what is its location? There are only a few possible locations in Scandinavia for this barrow.
Beowulf is said to have gottens his arms and armor from the master blacksmith Wayland, apprentice to Mimir.

535–540 Rome: Byzantine conquest of Italy from the Ostrogoths. Byzantine emperor Justinian I’s ambition to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory goes well (for the first part). General Belisarius sacks Naples, recaptures Rome in 536, defends a long siege and then captures the Ostrogothic capital Ravenna in 540 thereby reclaiming the Empire.

541–549: The terrible Plague of Justinian kills half the world and leaves desolation in its wake.
Another powerful curse from the outside, or as part of the fighting? According to Procopius it came to Constantinople by ship from Egypt and started killing 10,000 people in the city daily.
However, this point may have been a cover-up as in his secret Anecdota - uncovered much later - he describes acts of potential diabolism by Emperor Justinian, his wife Theodora, the general Belisarius, and his wife Antonina:
"And some of those who have been with Justinian at the palace late at night, men who were pure of spirit, have thought they saw a strange demoniac form taking his place. One man said that the Emperor suddenly rose from his throne and walked about, and indeed he was never wont to remain sitting for long, and immediately Justinian's head vanished, while the rest of his body seemed to ebb and flow; whereat the beholder stood aghast and fearful, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him. But presently he perceived the vanished head filling out and joining the body again as strangely as it had left it."
The Empress Theodora - as well as Antonina - of the secret Anecdotes are garish portraits of vulgarity and insatiable lust juxtaposed with cold-blooded self-interest, shrewishness, and envious and fearful mean-spiritedness.

541–554 Rome: While general Belisarius is recalled to the East in the face of renewed hostilities by the Persians, the situation in Italy takes a turn for the worse. The city of Rome changes hands three more times; first taken and depopulated by the Ostrogoths in December 546, then reconquered by the Byzantines in 547, and then again by the Goths in January 550. Finally the resistance of the Ostrogoths is broken in 554 and a Frankish invasion is defeated.
Justinian managed to recover Italy at an exorbitant cost, estimated at 300,000 pounds of gold. Procopius estimated that 15,000,000 Goths died. How many of those actually died in fighting, as opposed to by plague or pogrom is not told.

C. 555 Stonehenge: Arthur’s kingdom is blighted, a terrible curse eventually lifted by the successful quest for the Holy Grail.

C. 560 Stonehenge: The Kingdom of Lyonesse, formerly a land or island of Britain off Cornwall, sinks into the sea after the death of its last heir, Tristram, after his treacherous murder at the hands of King Mark. Some claim the Scilly Isles are the mountaintops of this drowned land.
This whole quarter of the world seems to be sinking into the sea, if one includes Atlantis, Cimbrinsula, and the many Western Isles said to lie under the waves!

568: Lombard conquest of Italy.

C. 570 Levant: Birth of Mohammed.

590: Pope Gregorius I establishes an imperial rule in Rome, repairs public works, and feeds the masses with doles of grain. His authority is strengthened after a plague ends after he has had a vision of the Destroying Angel sheathing its sword.

594: St. Gregory of Tours writes the Historia Francorum (History of the Franks).

610: Laylat al-Qadr. An Arab merchant, Mohammed, receives his first revelation and begins to preach a new religion, Islam, in the city of Mecca.

615 Thebes: Earliest written record of magicians at the Mount Minthe site of what will become the covenant of Hedyosmos.
In antiquity, the site was a temple of Hades, the god of the Underworld. Indeed, it was one of the few cultic centers of this god, since the Eleans were the only men who were known to worship Hades.

617 Thebes: The wizard Prokopios has a dream vision of Socrates, possibly while at the site of what will later become the covenant of Hedyosmos. He begins his plan to form the Theban League, an assembly of magicians.

622 Levant: Hijra. The prophet Mohammed is driven out of Mecca for promoting an alien god. He settles in Medina.
Start of the Muslim calendar.

624 Thebes: First meeting of the Theban League on Delos brings twenty-two magi together. Prokopios’ typikon is debated, but few are convinced.

629: Mohammed and his followers, the Muslims, begin a religious war that will eventually conquer the whole of the Near East and North Africa, and will reach deeply into Iberia.
Before Islam most middle-eastern wizards either lived in isolated places as hermits, or occupied positions as advisors to tribal rulers. With the rise of Islam, many of these wizards converted. Most continue to serve their chiefs or the new Muslim governors of their home territories, but many join the Muslim armies as warrior mages. The precise size and quality of the magical contingents of Muslim armies vary, depending on the whims of the wizards who joined them, but it became normal for the caliph to be served by a small force of mages.

630 Levant: Mohammed takes Mecca.

631 Thebes: Second meeting of the Theban League on Delos. Fifty five magi gather, and most agree to join the league and sign typikon.

632 Levant: Mohammed makes the hajj (greater pilgrimage) to Mecca, where his behavior defines the correct procedure for this ritual - that every Muslim must perform once during their life. Shortly after his return he falls ill and dies in June at the house of A’isha, his favorite wife. Abu Bakr is chosen to lead the Umma and takes the title of caliph (successor to the prophet).

634 Levant: Abu Bakr dies. ‘Umar becomes caliph.

636 Levant: Muslim conquest of Syria.

637–651 Levant: The Islamic Conquest of Persia,leading to the end of both Sasanid rule
and Zoroastrian dominance. Much slaughter of Mazdean priests and forced conversions.

638 Levant: Muslim conquest of Jerusalem.

638 Thebes: Third meeting of the Theban League, some of whose members demand protection from the Witches of Thessaly.

C. 640 Thebes: The pre-Hermetic wizards of the Theban League resurrect the sanctuary of Epidauros.
It has had a continuous presence of magi ever since.

641–642 Levant: The Muslims complete their conquest of Egypt. In Alexandria they destroy its famous Library, burning 300,000 volumes to heat baths. This is the end of the Alexandrine center of learning.

644 Levant: Death of ‘Umar. Uthman becomes caliph.

645 Thebes: Fourth meeting at Delos of the Theban League reports that the logothete was killed by the Witches of Thessaly.

650 Levant: Six good years into his reign, Caliph Uthman loses the Prophet’s seal ring.
This marks the turning point into six bad years of rebellion until he is finally assassinated in 656.

652 Thebes: Fifth meeting Theban League. A group of Dacian necromancers raid deep into the Greek mainland, killing many magicians. Arguments over appropriate response lead to fighting between delegates, many killed. League in disarray.

654 Stonehenge: The last major heathen Anglo-Saxon ruler in England, Penda of Mercia, is killed by Oswiu of Northumbria.

656 Levant: Death of Uthman. ‘Ali becomes caliph.
659 Thebes: Prokopios slain by a trusted friend and archon at the sixth League gathering on Delos.

661 Levant: Death of ‘Ali. Mu’awiya becomes first caliph of Umayyad dynasty.

C. 668–709: Life of the great arabian alchemist Khalid ibn Yazid, second son of Umayyad caliph Yazid I. Among his great works are the Kitāb al-Usṭuqus (The Book of the Element), "al-Qawl al-mufīd fī al-ṣanʿa al-ilāhiyya" (The Instructive Word on the Divine Art), and the translated "Liber secretorum alchemiae" (The Book of the Secrets of Alchemy) and "Liber trium verborum" (The Book of the Three Words).

668 Africa: The last sorcerer-king of the Garamantian Kingdom is taken away in chains by Arab warriors.
The last remnants of their culture dies out with the coming of Islam, as the Divine auras of worshiping slaves unravels their rituals and the sharp blades of pressing armies cause most of their corpse-warriors to disintegrate on the wind. Without the unliving legions to stop them, the slaves rose up against the Garamantian nobles, led by the soldier-slave caste. In acts of desperation and spite, the surviving lords commanded their few remaining corpse-miners to collapse the tunnels of their foggaras and deny their rebelling slaves the life-giving water that had been pulled from the earth for a thousand years. The remaining slaves and citizenry melted into the local nomadic tribes or emigrated, unable to sustain their kingdom. Without water, without leaders, without slaves or magics, the Garamantians faded away, their cities blanketed by dust and their monuments consumed by the desert.

671 Thebes: The combustible called Greek Fire is used to defend Constantinople from Muslim conquest.

690: Bonisagus is born in Florence.

698 Iberia: Birth of Reculed Annaeus Seneca, to be Founder Flambeau, in Lusitania. This per Flambeau tradition. No documentary evidence.

705: Trianoma is born in Thessaly.

707: Muslims take North Africa.

711 Iberia: Moors invade Hispania. In time they bring the remaining learning of Rome to the cities of Hispania.

712 Iberia: Reculed Annaeus Seneca apprenticed to magus Delendar. Delendar, a powerful mage skilled in destructive magic, intensely trains the boy.

C. 714 Iberia: An archbishop and six bishops flee the Moorish invasion by sailing west into the Atlantic Ocean. They land on the island of Antilia, and each founds a golden city, the seven cities of Cibola.

714: Guernicus is born.

C. 715: Flambeau is born to a family of petty nobles in Gascony (southwestern France)
His family estate was caught in the path of the invading Moorish army of Emir abd Al Raman, which crossed the Pyrenees and advanced through France in 732.

717: The Moors cross the Pyrenees into France.

717: Bonisagus discovers Mercurian rituals in an abandoned well.

717–718 Thebes: Constantinople is besieged by Arabs. During the siege the Emperor Theodosius is deposed and replaced by Leo III. Leo breaks the siege, destroys the Arab fleet, and ends further Muslim expansion into eastern Europe.

718: The English Benedictiner monk St. Boniface begins his missionary work throughout Germany.

719 Provencal: The Moors attack the Visigothic kingdom of Septimania and take the capital Narbonne before proceeding north to Toulouse.
The Franks send no assistance.

720: Bonisagus retreats to his cave in the Alps to develop the Parma Magica.

C. 720: Umayyad summoners and jinn at war.
The downfall of the wazirs came from their callous dealings with the beings they
summoned. This may have prevented them from lending their support to the invading armies, and could be a factor that slowed and eventually halted their expansion.

721 Provencal: Due Odo, ruler of Gascony and Toulouse managed to defeat the Moor’s advance even without help from the Franks.
This bought time for Charles Martel and the Franks to prepare, setting the scene for the great victory at Tours 732 and ending the Moors’ advance into Europe.

721: Guernicus is adopted and apprenticed as a Mercurian earth wizard.

725 Rhine: St. Boniface miraculously fells the Donar Oak, a great pagan relic, in
Thuringia. The potency of pagan magics and relics begins to wane throughout the land, as does belief in the Old Ways. The power of the great Hercynian Forest is broken and divided among the numerous lesser and separate forests it has become.
Or was it possibly by Charlemagne?

729: Jerbiton the Founder was born in a secluded Alpine valley in 729, and was named Flavius. He was a cheerful, pleasant child who particularly enjoyed horse riding. Nearby objects changed color to match his mood.
Jerbiton was the son of the ruler of his valley, so he was raised as a minor nobleman.

729 Thebes: League of Iconophiles founded by Bernice. It is a loose alliance of magicians coming together to sabotage the iconoclastic imperial armies and rescue icons from the persecution of Emperor Leo III.

730 Iberia: Delendar and Reculed battle Moors and Moorish sorcerers in a battle in the Pyrenees foothills. Delendar is killed in a massive magical attack after being separated from Reculed. Reculed destroys the survivors in a rage, and crosses the mountains into the south of France. Here Reculed takes the name Flambeau.

The Hermetic Ascendancy (AD 731–832)#

This century is the seed of the Order and the rebirth of magic. The majority of this century belonged to the pre-Founders: Guorna the Fetid, the Pater of two founders Tytalus and Tremere, as well as Pralix; Delendar the fire-magician, pater of Flambeau; the unknown forebears of Bjornaer and Diedne, the two barbarian magi who yet were inheritors of organized magical traditions. The final third of this century belongs to their heirs, the disparate schools brought together by the genius of Bonisagus, who likely only developed his Parma Magica to live in peace.

The Order might never have happened if not for the pivotal moment when two witches of Thessaly, the ambitious and politically astute Trianoma and the reclusive Viea, seek out the enigmatic scholar Bonisagus, who lives in seclusion deep in the Alps, working on his revolutionary magical theory. More than just a scholar, Bonisagus has also developed a new defense against hostile magic - the Parma Magica - a shield that not only protects against spells but also suppresses the instinctive distrust caused by the Gift, allowing Gifted individuals to cooperate without fear or paranoia. Viea soon departs, but Trianoma, recognizing the Parma Magica’s significance, becomes Bonisagus’ first apprentice. She learns the Parma, and with this powerful tool in hand, begins recruiting other magi, laying the groundwork for what will become the Order of Hermes.

For over three decades (732–767), Bonisagus’ alpine cave - and later, Durenmar, the Order’s first covenant - becomes the meeting place for Europe's greatest magical minds. Here, magi share their wisdom, contributing their own traditions to Bonisagus’ growing Hermetic Theory. Many disputes and rivalries are reconciled, as Trianoma persuades wizards of all traditions to embrace a common magical framework, mediated by the developing Code of Hermes.

By 767, the Order of Hermes is officially founded, with Twelve Houses, a set of laws, and Grand Tribunals held every 33 years. Bonisagus continues refining Hermetic Theory, though he is increasingly withdrawn from politics, focusing instead on pure magical research.

The founding magi brought their own strengths:

• Bonisagus obviously the Hermetic Theory and his greatest gift - the Parma Magica, making the Order possible.
  
• Trianoma, a divinatory and oracular witch of Thessaly, trained in prophecy and foresight, was the political architect of the Order.
  
• Guernicus codified the Peripheral Code, ensuring the Order governs itself through law, not war.
  
• Mercere established the Redcap network, ensuring reliable communication and coordination between covenants. And he created Hermetic travel magic, refining spells and enchanted items to aid long-distance movement.
  
• Tremere advocated for centralized control and internal discipline, which helped prevent early schisms in the Order. Though he did not create the Code, he worked tirelessly to shape the Order’s political and martial structure, ensuring it would function as a disciplined society rather than a chaotic cabal of wizards.
  
• Flambeau created Hermetic Battle Magic, developed Creo Ignem to its peak of destructive power, making fire a feared weapon and ensuring that the Order had a martial tradition capable of defending its members.
  
• Tytalus also saw the need for conflict and pushed for a militant stance, but unlike Flambeau he emphasized psychological and social manipulation, shaping House Tytalus into rivals, provocateurs, and master manipulators. During the founding of the Order, he disrupted debates, questioned every authority, and pushed others to prove themselves through struggle. His rivalry with his disciple-sibling Tremere was legendary - where Tremere sought command, Tytalus mocked the very idea of rulership, believing that leaders should be challenged constantly.
  
• Birna (Bjornaer) truly resisted integration, but agreed after Trianoma’s persuasion, she represented the wild, untamed magic of nature, proving that the Order could accommodate diverse non-Roman traditions.
  
• Merinita advocated for the protection of magical places, ensuring the Order preserved not just vis sources, but entire magical landscapes. She developed the first structured Hermetic techniques for understanding and manipulating regiones, which becomes crucial for covenants built in magical and faerie sites.
  
• Verditius provided the greatest system of enchanted item creation, shaping the Art of Magic Item Crafting into a precise science.
  
• Criamon introduced esoteric philosophy into the Order, ensuring that Hermetic magic could be more than just power, it could be enlightenment.

The Grand Tribunal of 832 marks the end of the Founders’ era. Bonisagus and Trianoma attend for the last time, their vision realized. The Order they built is no longer a fragile alliance of scholars but a powerful magical society. Yet, already, the seeds of ambition, intrigue, and conflict are taking root. The age of pioneers is over. The age of Hermetic politics and power struggles begins.

731: Trianoma and Viea meet Bonisagus, who at the time lived in seclusion in the Alps, working on his magnum opus, now known as the Hermetic Theory of Magic. He has also developed a new method of defending against magical attack, the Parma Magica. Viea soon departs. Trianoma becomes Bonisagus’ apprentice, learns the Parma Magica and begins approaching magi to come to his cave in the Alps to share magical secrets.
The history of House Bonisagus records that Trianoma found Bonisagus
by following the advice of the dragon Ladon of the Garden of the Hesperides. Others say she used magical coordinates from surviving fractions of Ptolemy’s lost great work "The Geography" to find him.

732–767: Many magi councils Bonisagus in his Alpine cave, and later at Durenmar. Many issues are reconciled, and there is further development of Hermetic theory and the Code of Hermes. Bonisagus bases his Hermetic Theory on the ancient wisdom of the classic philosophers, moderated by the practical advice of experienced magi. Many of the Roman magi continue their old Mercurial magic traditions, which gradually dwindle as the Order grows and Hermetic theory takes deeper root.
It seems likely that Hermetic theory continued to be developed for the remainder of Bonisagus’ life. Only Bonisagus is thought to have attended the whole of this period; the other Founders are believed to have come and gone.

732: Bonisagus accepts Notatus as his second apprentice.
There are some references that Notatus may have had an earlier parens, but all records of that seem to have been lost.

732 (October 10) Provence: Flambeau fights in the Battle of Tours with the Frankish hero, mayor of the palace and power behind the throne, Charles Martel to repulse a Moorish army led by Abd er Rahman near Poitiers. This halts the expansion of the Moors into western Europe. Flambeau is shot with an arrow, his wound festers and he languishes with fever but he is saved by Laberius, a descendant of the Roman cult of Mithras, who recognized Flambeau’s magical potential and made him his apprentice.
Before that battle the invaders cut a swath of destruction along their northward march. Moorish outriders attacked and burned the young Flambeau’s family estate, slaying his kinsmen.

C. 733–?: Flambeau and his master Laberius support their mundane lord and enjoy great success raiding and skirmishing against the moors in the early battles of the Reconquista. Eventually, the moors assemble a group of five or six sahirs (jinii-summoning wizards) and lure them into an ambush. The young man who would become Flambeau managed to escape with his life, but his master, his mundane lord, and most of their knights and men-at-arms were massacred by the sahirs’ jinn. He swore to avenge his master, but could find no friendly magi to complete his apprenticeship. After five years in seclusion in a cave in the Pyrenees, he had perfected a single, powerful attack similar to Pilum of Fire. It was then that he adopted the nom de guerre Flambeau and returned to Iberia to avenge his master’s death.
Flambeau managed to hunt down three of the sahirs who had slain Laberius,
but the others eluded him. After fighting a number of Infernal jinn, Flambeau became convinced that all sahirs were demon-summoners, and he attacked them whenever he found them. He had slain as many as a dozen Moorish sorcerers and become one of the most feared wizards in Europe by the time Trianoma approached him with an offer to join the Order. At some point in this period, Flambeau takes his first apprentice, Apromor.
Flambeau was apparently impressed by the Parma Magica blocking his attack on Trianoma!

736 Thebes: League of Iconophiles hold a meeting on Mount Athos. It is not a success, and from this point on they return to communicating by messenger.

737 Normandy: Charles Martel’s son, Pépin the Short (father of Charlemagne), becomes the first Carolingian king by completing the seizure of the throne from weak Merovingian heir Childeric III, whose hair was shaved off to strip him of his magical powers before he was forced into a monastery.
Legends persist, however, of other Merovingian heirs who carry the royal blood and escaped Pépin’s usurpation of the throne.
Pépin made the Carolingians the ruling dynasty of the Franks and the foremost power of Europe. Known as a great conqueror, he was undefeated during his lifetime.
It is likely he had magical help to the throne, possibly from Flambeau, but there are no established records of this.

C. 740: The League of Iconophiles founder Bernice travels to the Alps to explore Rhaeto-Roman culture and takes Jerbiton to Thessalonica where his apprenticeship begins.
Bernice named her apprentice Flavius Ierbitonis, "the fair haired one of the town of yesterday."

746: Guernicus’s master is murdered. He begins his quest for justice, which establishes his reputation.

746 Levant: Hundreds of Jinn lay siege to Damascus, demanding that the city turn over two wazirs who they knew hid within.
After many such retributive acts, the population of summoners in the Mythic Middle East was dramatically reduced, and the term wazir ceased to be associated with wizards. Their ruthless tradition of summoning mostly died out everywhere but on the fringes of the empire.

747: Trianoma meets Mercere. He is the first magus to accept her invitation to form an Order.

C. 747–767: The mysterious maga Merinita comes out of the wilderness, and convinces the sorceress Birna (Bjornaer) to abandon her tradition and join the new Order. Birna is condemned by her former fellows, including the sorceress Gyongy.
The tradition that Bjornaer left still holds her House a grudge.

C. 750 Iberia: The high point of Muslim learning in Iberia.

C. 750 Iberia: Founder Flambeau invents the predecessor to the spell "Pilum of Fire" in order to hunt down the Sahirs who murdered his master. He is visited by Trianoma, who convinces him to participate in the meetings at Durenmar.

753 Thebes: Imperial armies systematically sack iconophilic monasteries. The icons and relics it seized were burned or thrown into the sea. The League of Iconophiles could not ensure any site within the Empire would remain unmolested, so a coterie of young Iconophiles was dispatched to Jerbiton’s valley - eventually founding in 758 what is today the covenant of Valnastium in the Alps.

753: Guernicus entombs the wizard responsible for his master’s murder.

754 Rome: Frankish conquest of Italy.

754: Bonisagus leaves his alpine cave and travels to Durenmar in the Black Forest and establishes a permanent base at the site of a ruined Mercurian temple, teaching his theories to the wizards that Trianoma sends him.

754 St. Boniface is martyred by suddenly appearing Frisian bandits, while persuading his armed comrades to lay down their arms; he is buried in Fulda.
Is this weird happening not too strange a coincidence?

756 Iberia. After the Umayyad prince ʿAbd al-Raḥmān fled Baghdad, and with the help of members of his family based in the North of Africa, he gains enough support to take control of Córdoba. After several strategic maneuvers, both political and warlike, Abderraman declares independence from the ʿAbbāsid Empire.

757: Trianoma meets Guorna the Fetid who led a cult of necromancers around Naples. With great trepidation, she invited the hideous necromancer to Durenmar to study under Bonisagus, in order that her powerful magic could be integrated into Hermetic Theory. Unknown to Trianoma, Guorna’s three pupils - Tytalus, Tremere, and an as-yet untrained girl called Pralix - had recently fled across the Adriatic Sea to Dacia after discovering her horrific plot to transfer her
soul from her pus-filled, leprosy-riddled body into one of theirs.
Perhaps the greatest necromancer who ever lived, and heir to the secrets of death and the dead! Some necromancers search for the skull of Guorna the
Fetid, hoping to learn the techniques of the archnecromantrix. Others fear she would find a way to claim the body of her pupil.

C. 758–762: While Guorna studied with Bonisagus, Tytalus took charge; he was the eldest of the three, and had studied under the witch for nearly three decades. He ordered Tremere to find wizards to aid them, while he himself sought out magical assistance to oppose Guorna’s own magic. Her power derived from the gods of the dead (despite the secularization of their religion), so Tytalus sought out those spirits imprisoned in the Underworld by those gods, spirits filled with resentment, rebellion, hatred, and vast power - the titans. He forged numerous pacts with these fearful spirits, and, bolstered by the necromantic wizards recruited by Tremere, the two destroyed the remnants of Guorna’s tradition in Naples, and then waited for the witch herself to return from the Black Forest. The trap set by the two brothers was too well-planned for Guorna to survive, despite even her new Hermetic teaching. After the defeat of Guorna, Tytalus and Tremere (and Pralix) marched on Durenmar, intent on eliminating the wizards they considered her allies and co-conspirators. However, the diplomacy of Trianoma forestalled their wrath, and the brothers were convinced of their innocence; indeed, they were persuaded to accept tutelage under Bonisagus instead. Tytalus found the adoption of Hermetic magic very difficult because of his extensive training and substantial power in his native tradition, although he was able to learn the Parma Magica. Pralix became the joint apprentice of Tytalus and Bonisagus, and she received a full understanding of both sorcery and Hermetic magic from her two masters.
Tytalus claimed to have inflicted the killing blow against his mater, ripping her heart from her pus-filled chest. Guorna, however, had her revenge: with her dying breath she cursed her matricidal pupil with her own affliction of leprosy.

759 Thebes: Trianoma seeks out Bernice in Thessalonica, but is at first unable to convince the Iconophiles to join her new league: they believe it is too geographically diffuse to be effective. A lengthy period of negotiations ensue
She is particularly fascinated by the young Jerbiton for reasons never made clear.

760 Thebes: After lengthy discussions with Trianoma, Bernice of Thessalonica agrees to aid in Bonisagus’ plans, realizing that the Parma Magica may be the only way to overcome the problem of The Gift preventing magicians gathering together. She instructs her protégé, by then usually called Jerbiton, to deliver some of her books to Bonisagus and answer his questions.
Jerbiton assisted Bonisagus in refining the Arts of Imaginem and Mentem, and helped perfect the system of vocal and gestured guides to spellcasting. He also convinced Bonisagus to name his fields of study the "Arts," and the capacity to use magic "The Gift."
Bernice of Thessalonica eventually accepts membership in the Order.

762: Trianoma meets Guernicus.

763 Thebes: Bernice of Thessalonica dies before the first Tribunal can be held. Jerbiton takes her place.
The Iconophiles however, were still too busy countering imperial and Infernal forces to pay attention to the musings of a dozen hedge wizards in the Black Forest. Jerbiton, and the other magi who were members of his household, participated in the Order only as a secondary concern. The Order was an interesting idea, and the Parma Magica was useful, but the future of civilization was being fought for in Constantinople, and none of Jerbiton’s new "sodales" seemed interested.

767 February 21, III Pisces: After years of negotiations, threats, and recriminations, Trianoma finally managed to get twelve of the most powerful wizards to agree on a set of nine precepts, which she called the Oath of Hermes. The Twelve Founders gather at Durenmar and form the Order of Hermes during the meeting of the First Tribunal. Bonisagus is the first to swear the Oath, followed by the Founders: Trianoma, Birna (Bjornaer), Criamon, Diedne, Flambeau, Jerbiton, Mercere, Merinita, Guernicus, Tremere, Tytalus, Verditius.
The mundane and Hermetic date disagree in the histories, for unknown reasons. Tytalus became a proponent of a democratic structure for the Order, and much of the early Code of Hermes was framed as a result of public debates between Guernicus and Tytalus.
Many assumed that Tremere, the youngest and possibly weakest Founder, would join House Tytalus. However, he found allies among the other Founders and he brought another powerful necromantic remnant group from Dacia to the Tribunal. Tytalus was unwilling to battle Tremere and his followers.
The 3rd day of Pisces (February 21, Julian Calendar) falls under the dominion of Jupiter, the great benefic, yet also carries the currents of intuition, dreams, and secret wisdom, favoring those who seek truth beyond the material world.
"As the Fishes swim between worlds, the veil is thin, and those who walk between the seen and unseen may claim their birthright."
What this day signifies:

• A Day of Mysticism & Secrets – The veil between worlds thins, and those who seek prophecy, divination, or hidden knowledge may find answers beyond reason.
  
• Fortune in Matters of the Soul – Acts of charity, compassion, and spiritual devotion bear fruit, as Jupiter’s influence magnifies the rewards of kindness.
  
• Sages, mystics, and those who walk between worlds are favored on this day. As are poets, musicians, and visionaries whose art flows like water; seafarers and wanderers, for fortune favors the drifting soul; healers, alchemists, and those who work with hidden forces.
  
• The Tides of Fate Move in Silence – It is an opportune time for whispered alliances, secret negotiations, and long-laid plans to take shape.
  
• But beware of Deception – As the waters of Pisces blur the edges of reality, those who deceive, or are deceived, will feel the weight of unseen consequences.

767 First Tribunal: Although magi counseling Founder Bonisagus had been present for decades, this is considered the first meeting of the Order. Naturally, there are more than the Twelve Founders attending the Tribunal, including some or all of the magi who had been adopted by the Founders. Among the first decisions in the Tribunal are the rules for Wizard’s War: The War must be declared on to the defending mage on the full moon prior to its beginning. The War begins on the night of a full moon and continues until the following full moon. Those who continue after this time are rogue and shall be Renounced.
Trianoma may have performed the practical duties of the Praeco. Several magi depart after the Founding and establish other covenants, based on the Durenmar model.
According to the original rules for Wizard’s War; those who continue in the conflict after the month shall be considered rogue, and "shall have a Wizard’s March declared against them". Better late than never?

767–773: The magi of the nascent Order scatters outward from the central location of Durenmar. While Bonisagus, Merinita, Birna (Bjornaer) remains in or near the Rhine, Tytalus and his followers are found mainly in the northwest of Europe, Tremere removes himself to the far eastern reaches of the Frankish Empire - the Transylvanian Alps, Flambeau to the Pyrenees, Diedne to Gaul, Jerbiton and Criamon into the Alps; Mercere, Guernicus and Verditius to Italy and beyond.
Through aggressive recruitment, the Order grows quickly. Some of the Founders were intent on eliminating all magicians (competition) except for members of the Order. Facing such hostility, many druids joined House Diedne simply to avoid lethal hostilities.

After 767: Founder Flambeau collects a school of apprentices in preparation for his long delayed campaign against the Moors, including Delendos and probably Abydaros. Founder Flambeau and his apprentices scour Europe for hedge magicians to battle. He also attracts some new followers, including maga Kypris of an Egyptian tradition, whose Lineage seeks the Phoenix, as she did.
By this time Founder Flambeau’s first apprentice, Apromor, had matured into a full magus. He may have been a magus at the time of the Founding. Some accounts claim that Founder Flambeau took his first apprentices after the Foundation of the Order, others that he had already trained Apromor.
Traditionally, Apromor is an Archmage by the time the rules for Wizard’s War are developed. The order of events is variously reported.

C. 767–770: Founder Flambeau, hunting hedge wizards, destroys a band of three such hiding in the catacombs under Rome. These wizards drew power from an artifact called Vardian’s Skull. Flambeau shatters the skull and slays the wizards. Later, these catacombs become the site of Vardian's Tomb covenant.

768–771 Normandy: After the death of King Pepin the Short, the Frankish realm was divided according to the Salic law between his two sons: Charlemagne and Carloman I. Carloman I suddenly and conveniently dies in 771 from a "severe nosebleed".
At the time of his death, he and his brother Charlemagne were close to outright war, which Charlemagne's biographer Einhard attributes to the miscounsel of Carloman's advisors.

768–814: Reign of Charlemagne (Latin: Carolus Magnus, German: Karl der Grosse). This great mortal king wisely ruled Normandy, Provence, northern Italy, the Rhine, the Alps, and northern Hispania from his palace at Aachen. He expanded the realm of civilization, improved education, dealt justly with mortals and magi, and was considered a friend of the Order. His court did not fear magi or magic, and did not disdain the use of enchanted devices. His twelve great paladins sought adventure across Europe and Africa. He was in time crowned Emperor of Rome, but all his works and wonders passed in two generations after his death. Charlemagne’s court also clashed with many hedge magicians of the era, including the wizard Atlante.

770 Rome: Harco, domus magna of House Mercere, is founded by Mercere in Piedmont, northern Italy - the center of Europe.
He envisioned this covenant as a great crossroads, a trading center where magical and non-magical commerce and information could flourish under the influence of the new Order.

C. 770–774: Founder Flambeau visits Durenmar with his train of apprentices. Inspired by the value of a stable base, he founds Val-Negra covenant in the mountains of the Pyrenees - officially in 774. Here he intensely trains his apprentices, pushing many into Gauntlets after only a few years.
One of Founder Flambeau’s apprentices may have been Ignis Festi, who fought in the war against Damhan-Allaidh, but it is not certain.

771 Rome: Charlemagne becomes king of the Lombards. He confirms Papal lands acquired in earlier decades, but asserts his sovereignty even in Papal lands.

771: Birna and her followers travel to the island of Rügen and hold a council. Thereafter House Bjornaer holds a gathering there every twelve years.

772: Founders Tremere and Bonisagus develop Certamen. Both are apparently pleased to have developed a non-fatal method of dueling. The reactions of the other founders are unrecorded, but it was propagated with the help of Trianoma and Jerbiton.
This marks the start of Founder Tremere’s machinations to control the Order?

772 Iberia: According to legend, two of Criamon's disciples settle in the cave that would end up being the covenant of Barzaj, firstly named as Indal Eccius.

773 Second Tribunal of the Order of Hermes: The Rights of Founder Bonisagus ruled to extend to all members of his House, including the right to claim another mage’s apprentice, and the requirement that magi of that House must share their discoveries with the Order, and that magi must share their knowledge with members of Bonisagus, unless they can convince a Tribunal that the magical knowledge must remain secret.
Procedures for lesser Tribunals set: a Tribunal shall consist of at least twelve magi from at least four covenants.
Hereafter the term Tribunal comes to be applied to territories ruled by lesser Tribunals and the Tribunal of the Founders and Primi is called the Grand Tribunal. This early use of the term Covenant indicates its antiquity. The term is also used at the early point to refer to the home of Founder Bonisagus, Durenmar. There must have been at least three others already, only five years after the Founding. These early covenants were mostly of a single House.
Founding of the covenants of Crintera, domus magna of House Bjornaer, and Fenistal the temple of Diana, domus magna of House Merinita.
Tremere, the only Founder that is known to have been prosecuted for a violation of his Hermetic Oath, is declared innocent.
To the chagrin of french magi, it was also clarified that Brittany belongs to the Britannian Tribunal.
The provisions in the Code of Hermes referring to the Tribunal apply equally to any other Tribunal that has power over the magus and that is presided over by a Quaesitor. A Tribunal must include twelve or more magi from no less than four covenants. As the Order grew, a single Tribunal was soon no longer enough to effectively govern all magi.

773 (winter): While working with Bonisagus in the lab, Founder Mercere loses his Gift. Some say this was an accident, brought about by a flaw in the Parma Magica or his weak Gift, while others say Mercere gave it up voluntarily in pursuit of greater magical mysteries. He devotes himself to delivering messages in the Order. Unfortunately, Founder Mercere has trained only two apprentices and his magical secrets of transformation eventually fade from the traditions of his house. Founder Bonisagus spent many seasons attempting to recover Founder Mercere’s Gift, but no progress was recorded.

C. 774: Founder Tytalus binds his spirit familiar in the form of a huge black dog, who he claimed was son of Hekate and brother to Kerberos. He names his dog "Tremere".
Out of humor or spite, or both? He devoted considerable effort to thwarting the plans of his "little brother". In his writings, Tytalus often refers to Tremere and his followers as "wolves," due to their self-adopted symbol, but always in a negative way, emphasizing their savage nature, unpleasant disposition, habit for feasting on the corpses of the slain, and inability to be domesticated.

774 Charlemagne defeats Desiderius and becomes king of Lombardy. He confirms the "donation" of these lands to Pope Hadrianus I, and becomes protector of the Church.

774 Rome: Pavia conquered by Charlemagne.

775 Rome: Verdi covenant founded by Founder Verditius in Sardinia.

775 Thebes: House Tremere invades the area that today comprises the Thebes Tribunal, slaying many wizards who had not joined the Order of Hermes and taking vis and magical items as spoils. The Byzantine magi in the northern part of the region form the Theban League to resist the Tremere, and join the Order of Hermes under Jerbiton’s leadership.
Trained in the Parma Magica, these magi were able to reclaim territory from House Tremere.

776 Thebes: The Founders Tytalus and Jerbiton work together against the Tremere influenced rise of Bulgaria.

776 Rome: Harco covenant founded by Founder Mercere in the foothills of the southern Alps. This likely marked a reduction in Founder Bonisagus’ attempts to recover Mercere’s Gift.

778 Iberia: Battle of Rencesvals. King Charlemagne has conquered most of northern Hispania in a long campaign, except for Saragossa. He is approached by the Moorish king of Saragossa, Marsile, and convinced of Marsile’s good intention to surrender his kingdom and become Christian agrees to return with Marsile to France for the Moor king’s baptism. The Moors plot with a French traitor, Ganelon, to fall on Charlemagne’s rearguard, destroy it, and kill the commander, Roland, one of the French paladins. The rearguard is destroyed after a bloody battle in which Roland refuses to sound his horn to recall the main army until it is too late. Charlemagne returns on hearing Roland’s horn and slaughters the Moors. Afterward he founds the kingdom of Aquitaine.

778 Iberia: Founder Flambeau repeatedly clashes with Founder Guernicus and other Quaesitores over his interference in the wars between mortal Christians and Muslims. He is prevented from campaigning by a Quaesitorial visit, contributing to the final failure of a new thrust into Spain by King Charlemagne.

778 Hibernia: As the first from the Order, two Tytalus and two Merinita magi visit the island, looking for the Tuatha Dé’s four legendary treasures. Assisted by a local ward-maker, the four discover the cauldron of the Dagda buried in one of the mounds at the Brú na Bóinne. Their grave robbing is noticed by the high-king, who sends his druid and a retaliatory warband to confront the thieves. The magi find a defensible barrow and the ward-maker protects it with spells. They repel the first attack, but the druid screams that the king’s men will attack again in the morning. The leading Tytalus answers: "We will defend this mound for a year if need be!" The five defend against the morning’s attack, and three days and two more failed attempts later the king’s men retreat.
Adhering to the original boast, the magi stayed on the mound for a year.
Deciding to remain in Ireland, the five relocate to Munster’s western shore, again saying that they will defend their location for a year to prove their worth.
Named after the protecting wards drawn by the local assistant, the covenant of Circulus Ruber is ratified two years later, at the Tribunal of 780.

C. 780 Normandy: Carolinus, vulgar name Charles de Foix, the mage-smith of Charlemagne, trains apprentices who are adopted by Founder Jerbiton. Carolinus worked many fine magical works, possibly including the sword of Roland, Durendal, and the magic mirror of Galienne.
The mage-smiths continue to flourish in House Jerbiton still today?
Other sources attribute the mighty sword Durendal to the legendary smith Wayland.

780: First regional Tribunal meetings. Unfortunately, records are sparse.

780 Iberia: The Iberian magus Ranemiro ex Guernicus and Tancoystl ex Diedne convince the Iberian magi to initiate a truce with the peninsular magical traditions, with the notable exception of the Sahirs, until 792. The covenants of Lucis, Duresca, Brigantia and Salionca are founded.

C. 780 Iberia. Grimoald Niger, well known among Flambeau's followers, disappears. His exploits battling peninsular sorcerers are recorded in Comentarii de bello Iberico.

780 Rhine Tribunal (1st): Covenant Arae Flaviae founded in Swabia. Covenant Rethra founded in Pomerania.

782: King Charlemagne orders the organization of schools in his kingdom, and generally promotes literacy and education.
Sadly, the quality of mortal education has been very inconsistent over the years.

782 Iberia: The truce terms between the Order, Galician Tempestiarii and Asturian Vates are defined.

784 Iberia: The Asturian Vates join the Order, under the protection of House Diedne.

788 Iberia: Death of Founder Flambeau and several of his filii at the Battle of the Tower in Iberia; magus Delendos is the sole survivor. He reports that Founder Flambeau struck down many spirits fighting for the Moorish sorcerers and finally struck down the whole of the enemy with a final mighty spell powered by a massive amount of vis, the first fons et origo.
Magus Abydaros filius Flambeau was not at this battle. He went on to study the less destructive aspects of Ignem. Abydaros vanished into far Ethiopia some time after his pater’s passing.
Of course, we have only one witness to this battle, and he is unlikely to be all-informed…

789: The Founder Jerbiton meets with Charlemagne, after having adopted a
number of apprentices of the emperor’s mage-smith, Carolinus. Charlemagne issues a decree outlawing sorcery and divination, punishable by slavery; and paganism and diabolism, punishable by death. "Benevolent magic" such as that practiced by Jerbiton, is permitted.
Sorcery in this case probably means maleficia, harmful magic.

790 Iceland: Irish priests (called "papar" by the Norse) reach Iceland and use it as a retreat in the summer.

C. 790 Stonehenge: Vikings begin raiding Britain, often aided by powerful rune wizards.

791 Normandy: Branugurix, domus magna of House Diedne, founded in a regio close to Mount Dol in Brittany.
Its name was actually Bren Gwrac’h but the order adopted a Gallic version of the name for ease of use in Latin. Disappeared in the Schism War 1012.

792 Iberia: After numerous unsuccessful attempts to make the Tempestiarii join the Order, Tancoystl ex Diedne refuses the Tempestirarii’s ultimatum. Taking advantage of the situation, Dehewint ex Flambeau resumes the campaign against this tradition.

792 Rhine: The last recorded sighting of the Founder Merinita - she departs to places unknown to seek the spirit of the wilderness. The new Primus Quendalon
founds Irencillia covenant.
She is said to still appear to magi occasionally, which is nonsense of course.

793 Hibernia: Founder Diedne arrives, hoping to recruit Ireland’s druids, but her arrogant "Join or Die" is rejected by the chief druid Sechnassach, who treats the obnoxious foreigner’s threat as little more than a child’s tantrum and gave her no further thought as she departs.

793 Loch Leglean: Vikings sack Lindisfarne, the sacred heart of the Northumbrian kingdom, and among the bloodshed, strange omens arise - a black sun, spirits rising from battlefields, and accounts of warriors touched by death who cannot be slain. Skaldic traditions claim that Hel, the Norse goddess of the underworld, momentarily opened her gates. The event causes significant consternation throughout Christian lands. Hermetic scholars suspect a powerful Infernal regio was at work, feeding off the carnage and desecrating the very place where the Christian religion began in the nation.
In this year fierce, foreboding omens came over the land of the Northumbrians, and the wretched people shook; there were excessive whirlwinds, lightning, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the sky. These signs were followed by great famine, and a little after those, that same year on 6th ides of January, the ravaging of wretched heathen men destroyed God's church at Lindisfarne.
The relentless campaigns of Charlemagne against the pagan North had led to the destruction of their sacred sites and holy places. The great king had felled Jôrmunr, the revered tree of the Norse. What greater vengeance than to strike at the very foundations of the Christian God? After all, it was from Lindisfarne that the missionaries who sought to convert Norway had first set forth.

793 Rome: Auctus covenant founded in Sardinia.

794 Iberia: Tancoystl ex Diedne attempts to stop the attacks on the Tempestiarii, but is accused of collaborationism and forced to reveal the location of the shrines of this tradition. The few Tempestiarii who survive the ensuing attack join House Diedne to survive, but most of their Mysteries are lost.

C. 797: Founder Tytalus bests the hedge wizard Evander of Ravenna in a game, and sponsors Evander to House Verditius, where he teaches the construction of astrological instruments.

797–817 Hibernia: Diedne returns with twenty-seven members of her House. Divided into three squads of nine, they stalk through Ireland in search of druids. Each is made the same offer, to join or die. Most chose to die. Diedne’s ruthless pogrom lasts over 17 years.
The Ulster-born Cuin-dallán, Latinized as "Quendalon," returns from the Rhine to save what he can of the older magic traditions. Aided by other members of House Merinita, he accepts some into his House and hides others in Connacht. Meanwhile, the Diedne magi forms covenants and sets down firm roots.
The age of the Irish druids was over.

798: Pralix, now a powerful maga in her own right, introduces her master to the young maiden Hariste, whom she had intended to take as her apprentice. Hariste was enchantingly beautiful, and overcome with unfamiliar emotion Tytalus immediately became besotted and stole her away to his home, where he founds the covenant Fudarus to provide a defensible place to train her. The furious Pralix was left to take his place as acting leader of the House, though she never claimed the title of Prima.
His leprosy made her forever unattainable, and he refused to sully her perfection. In frustration, she became determined to punish her master for his reticence, thus giving rise to a tradition of rivalry between master and pupil that persists to this day in House Tytalus.

798 Normandy: The first confrontation with the Spider Damhain-Allaidh in Brittany. A magus of House Tytalus aggravated Damhan-Allaidh by kidnapping one of his trusted aldormen. The sorcerer didn’t even waste time negotiating; he simply caused the stones of Carnac to crush his impudent foe and his three companions. Damhan-Allaidh made it clear to the sole survivor that the Order of Hermes would not have a foothold in Britain.
If he’d known more about the Order of Hermes, Damhan-Allaidh would never have uttered such words within earshot of Fudarus, and Pralix won the right, as eldest filia of the Founder, to accept the challenge he had unwittingly set.

C. 799 Levant: Charlemagne, a man of wisdom and culture, had more allies in the Order of Hermes than the Quaesitores would like to admit. One result of the embassies he exchanged with Harun was that he managed to secure the caliph’s permission for the Order to found two covenants in the Levant.
Harun’s reign was an age of wonders, when interaction between the mundane and magical Realms was at its height. It’s even said that in some areas jinn and humans interacted freely, sharing communities and trading with one another. Harun himself took an interest in Hermetic magic, and it is rumored that he was taught its use by members of the Order.

799 Third Tribunal of the Order of Hermes: Rules for Certamen set; it is to be respected as a method of resolving dispute; the guidelines for choosing Technique and Form are set; winning magi may not challenge again over the same issue until they have been challenged in turn; vis may be used in formal certamen. Any magus refusing to engage in certamen, or refusing to abide by the results thereof is betraying the spirit of the Code and is to be punished.
The Spider Damhan-Allaidh is declared an enemy of the Order following the slaughter of four magi at Carnac.
A "Tribunal of the East" is to be established in the Levant, albeit only two covenants will be allowed by the caliph and the Order has not made further progress in this direction.
Ranemiro ex Guernicus is expelled from the Order for having broken the Iberian truce. He is granted one year to put his affairs in order. The rest of the Iberian magi must pay a large sum of Vis within seven years.
*Notatus presents his major breakthrough "Aegis of the Hearth" to much acclaim.
Technically the First Grand Tribunal. The Grand Tribunals following this one are to occur on a cycle of thirty three years, barring emergency Tribunals.
Those who refuse to accept certamen challenges, therefore, or refuse to abide by the decision of a certamen may suffer more violent coercion by the offended magus and will be punished by their Tribunal.

799 Rhine: Quendalon, First Primus of Merinita, enters faerie woodlands in Bohemia, leaving Myanar in charge of the House.
Whether he entered Maddenhofen Wood is not noted, although it seems likely; the forest is near Irencillia.

800 Iberia: Égica ex Flambeau arrives to Lucis to execute Ranemiro ex Guernicus, but finds only Ranemiro's apprentice, Tello, and an intense Divine Aura. Tello swears that his parens has ascended to the Heavens along with the covenant.

800 Rome: King Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of Rome by Pope Leo III, a re-establishment of the Holy Roman Empire. This closes a period of open friendship between the king and the Order, as the pope is jealous of wise men outside the Church. However, Emperor Charlemagne does issue laws forbidding vigilante attacks against suspected witches.
Flavia filia Jerbiton reported in attendance at the coronation. Charlemagne was both surprised and displeased at this papal act, but he was clearly fitted for the role.

801 Iberia: The Iberian magi agree to pay a local tax to cover the costs of the fine imposed by the 799 Tribunal.

801: Verditius first apprentice, Gelon, becomes Primus of the House, though he lived at Val-Negra for decades.
Gelon is renowned for his many enchanted swords and his followers established the Confraternity of Roland.

801 Rhine: Quendalon of Merinita exits faerie woods with ruby eyes, and preaches a new, faerie way of magic, which he claims would revolutionize magical theory. Primus Myanar refuses to acknowledge him and claims that Quendalon is actually a changeling, and mobilizes his faction to resist. An internal House struggle ensues, resulting in the death of Myanar and the loss of Fenistal.
The debate over whether this actually was Quendalon continues to this day.

802 Levant: With the caliph's permission, Urbs Rubra covenant is founded at Petra in southern Palestine.

802 Rhine: Quendalon retakes control of House Merinita and converts it to his vision. Irencillia becomes the new domus magna of the house, and it becomes dominated by faerie magic. The new elder Elder Gild (Holundergilde) splits off from the Hawthorn Gild to pursue the fae-focused agenda. While they still believe in the sanctity of the wilderness, they concentrate solely on the preservation of the fae and promoting friendly contact between magi and faeries.
Myanars followers are declared orbi of Merinita and are eventually adopted by House Bjornaer, where the line dwindles and vanishes.

802 Rome: Verditius’s filius Milo discovers one of the treasures of Hephaestus,
the mechanized torture chair used by Zeus to interrogate his wife Hera. Returning it to Verdi, Milo and Verditius’s first filius, Gelon, quarrel over who should possess the chair. Verditius decides that ownership would be awarded to the filius who could invent the most wondrous magical item, giving them a year to complete the task.

803–807 Rhine: Covenant Irencillia comes under frequent attacks.
Some say that Myanar, transformed into a snake, led these attacks, and that faeries participated in the defense of the covenant.
Some speculate that Myanar was distantly related to Tytalus the Founder, and had asked for his help against Quendalon - the reason for his presence there in 807 when he disappeared.

803 Rome: The first Verdi Competition. Verditius summons all the Verditius magi in the Order to judge the event. Gelon wins the contest, and benevolently gives Hephaestus torture chair to Verdi rather than accepting the item himself. This is such a well received event that Verditius decides to hold it again, eighteen years later, allowing all of his line to participate.
This tradition has lasted throughout the centuries; even the Schism War did not
interrupt the Contest of 1018.

803: Flavia filia Jerbiton, vanishes from the Order.

803 The Spider War: Pralix filia Tytalus arrives at Wearmouth in the Kingdom of Northumbria with seven magi and a half-hundred of grogs. At the time, the Kingdom of Northumbria covered most of southern Scotland and northern England, and was believed to be the seat of Damhan-Allaidh’s power.

804 The Spider War: Pralix’s Hermetic army first clashes with Damhan-Allaidh’s forces in the Massacre of Bowland Forest. It’s an utter disaster for the Order, resulting in the death of all five of the junior magi, leaving just Pralix and Ignes Nefastus of House Flambeau still alive. The two magi retreat south and are offered succor by the native swynwyr, experts in warding magics, in their impregnable stronghold in North Wales that had resisted Damhan-Allaidh for many decades.
Using the swynwyr’s island fortress as a base, Pralix spent three years gathering together wizards from the British Isles who, like the swynwyr, had suffered the tyranny of Damhan-Allaidh and his allies.

806 The Spider War: Pralix meets with Diedne on the shores of Loch Cuan in Ulster, Hibernia, where she is in order to gain recruits to the cause against Damhan-Allaidh. Hearing of her presence Diedne made haste from Ailech to meet with her. Diedne believed that Pralix had come to assist in her pogrom against the druids; Pralix thought she could convince Diedne to allow her to enlist the druids without forcing them to join the Order. Diedne refuses to allow her to enlist Irish magicians; she is insistent that any druids must join the Order of Hermes or else die. Diedne is further incensed when Pralix laughs at her and calls her stupid and petty. Neither side could see reason, and the two magae famously quarreled, their argument escalating into an illegal Wizard’s War. Both survive the encounter (although the local monastery does not). Despite this encounter at Loch Cuan, Pralix still returns to Britain with a cadre of Irish druids prepared to oppose their Scottish counterparts. Neither maga brought charges against the other, and it was never revealed who struck first.
Or who fled the fight…
Neither brought charges against the other at Tribunal, but it is notable that after the war with Damhan-Allaidh Diedne was one of the most vocal detractors of Pralix and insisted that she be Marched for her crimes.

806 Levant: With the caliph's permission, the Urania covenant is founded in the Caucasus.

807 The Spider War: Pralix decides her army is ready, and tracks down Damhan-Allaidh using shape-shifting scouts and flying witches. They meet in battle on the Roman Wall, at the abandoned fort Hunnum. Rather than being alone, Damhan-Allaidh is accompanied by several magicians, a force of Northumbrian soldiers, and two giants. Seemingly warned of Pralix’s approach. The Battle of Hunnum ends in another defeat for Pralix, but this time her retreat is orderly and casualties manageable. She withdraws to a camp to the north called Loch Leglean, and regroups.
Damhadh-Duidas venture that their opponent had seers at his command who can see the future; Ignes Nefastus considers a spy amongst them to be the more likely option, and his aspersion on the loyalty of Damhadh-Duidas is not missed.
Pralix proposes her council to teach the Gifted members of their army the Parma Magica; as the only way to gain an advantage over the enemy. Ignes Nefastus vehemently disagrees, and accuses her of wanting to betray the Order’s secrets. The row nearly comes to blows, although Giaro of Mercere manage to avert actual violence. Ignes Nefastus storms out from the Loch Leglean camp, vowing to have nothing more to do with Pralix, and walks straight into Damhan-Allaidh himself. The sorcerer had been spying on Loch Leglean, and an immense magical battle ensues. The hills tremble with the power of their magic. Ignes Nefastus
flings flames at his opponent, only to have them turn back upon himself. None
of his spells seem to get any purchase upon The Spider, but likewise the Flambeau magus’s Parma Magica protects him from the worst of his opponent’s
spells. This duel later becomes known as the Battle of the Wounded Glen because of the damage inflicted on the local environment. It ends with the death of Ignes Nefastus, his mutilated body thrown over the walls of Loch Leglean.
Spectators noticed that Damhan-Allaidh fled the battlefield sorely wounded.
With Ignes Nefastus gone, Damhadh-Duidas became Pralix’s chief adviser. They
proceeded with the plan to share the Parma Magica and drilled the hedge magicians in its use. Each winter Pralix retreated to Wales to plan and in the summer she campaigned in the kingdom of Northumbria using Loch Leglean as her base.

807: Founder Tytalus, one of the most feared wizards of his time, leaves Fudarus dressed only in a leper’s robe and veil, his familiar nowhere to be seen. He visits every member of his House one by one, offering advice to each. Then he enters Maddenhofen Woods to challenge the Queen of Faerie "for his heart’s desire", and is not seen thereafter. His favored filia Hariste moves to Fudarus and becomes the first Prima of his House.
Allegedly, his last port of call was to Hariste, and he tarried with her for over a month. Pralix never fully accepted Hariste. To her, Tytalus was a harsh but beloved father figure, which cast Hariste in the role of a gold-digging strumpet, and one nearly half her own age.

808 The Spider War: A group of Pralix’s magicians sailing into the estuary of the River Humber encounter a blockade across the river at the small port of Goole. It’s manned by the rune-wizard Centwine, who single-handedly manage to hold them up for three days, harrying them with his magic before he’s joined by his allies and the boat is boarded and the occupants killed.
The ship was somehow stuck onto the blockade, unable to retreat or break through. The sea swelled violently and landing boats were swept away. The ship’s inhabitants were struck with a raging thirst, and the river water retreated from their lowered buckets. All of their food turned to maggots and beetles. Even the locals of Goole joined in by hurling flaming rags and sticky tar at the beleaguered ship.
Later in September, an elementalist of Damhan-Allaidh raise the Grey Man of the Merrick, the genius loci of the mountain range known as The Awful Hand (because of its five spurs) in Galloway. He lies in ambush for Pralix and her warband, but the ambush is spotted and battle joined. The tide turns in Pralix’s favor when the mountain spirit realizes it’s being used as a weapon in a petty human battle, and it abandons the field of war.

C. 808–810 Normandy: The new Prima Hariste of Tytalus collates the Founder’s wisdom, by personally visiting all House members sans Pralix who refuses to see her, into the "Analects of Tytalus".
Later on her deathbed, her last instruction is that the book should be copied and given to every member of the House. To this day, every apprentice copies his
master’s work for himself at some point during his apprenticeship.

809 Levant: Caliph Harun dies and civil war breaks out between his sons. The
attention of the Muslim world turns inward, and contact with the Hermetic covenants is brought to an abrupt end. The covenants find themselves forgotten by their former Muslim comrades, a state further reinforced by the fragmentation of the Muslim world.
The Tribunal continued to be a quiet backwater of the Order until the period of The Crusades.

809 The Spider War: Pralix fights the war on two fronts, with herself in command in the south and Damhadh-Duidas commanding in the north.
In May, Giaro of Mercere is running messages between the two forces when he comes across an expeditionary force of druids and giants quite by chance in Redesdale. They are clearly trying to outflank Pralix’s forces by taking a shortcut. Realizing that he has no time to warn Pralix, Giaro goes amongst the wild border clans of Redesdale, famous for their banditry and lawlessness. He convinces them through subterfuge and bravado to stage an ambush against the interlopers and successfully drives them back, killing two giants in the process. Redesdale men still find favor in the turbs of magi who know their history.
On All Hallow’s Eve, Pralix’s forces are delayed in Loch Leglean by bad weather. Snow is blocking all passes through the Southern Uplands. As the moon sets, an unearthly howl is heard and a truly dreadful host falls upon Loch Leglean with the sluagh, a vast horde of angry ghosts raised by dark magics from the kingdom of Sluag (the Pictish god of death). They swarm over the camp, killing indiscriminately. Less than a dozen magicians are killed that night, but it’s still the greatest single loss suffered by Pralix’s army since she taught them the Parma Magica.
Many more are left insane, gibbering at the horrors they witnessed and unable to sleep for the rest of their lives.

810 Iberia: Somnus and Atropos ex Tremere found the covenant of Secunda with the remnants of their House in the Peninsula. This covenant acts as a base of operations for the Tremere in Iberia.
Tello, Ranemiro's former apprentice, establishes the covenant of Alma Mater.

810 Normandy: Confluensis covenant founded at the lair of the dragon Gargouille in the swamps that lie between Rouen and the mouth of the Seine. Under the instruction of Founder Guernicus to ensure that Hermetic Law is respected at the edges of the Order.
Throughout its history, the covenant has served the policies of the Primus of House Guernicus. During the many crises of the Order, its current location has served as a mustering point and logistical base for the House.

810: Founder Jerbiton mentions his belief that Flavia, his filia, has likely died. She had not. See 819.

810 The Spider War: Pralix and Damhadh-Duidas together face The Spider at Blencathra in Cumbria. Using her pre-Hermetic training, Pralix summons Lethe, a mighty spirit of forgetfulness. Lethe plucks the memory of the magical Pictish language from Damhan-Allaidh’s gruagachan, leaving them powerless and unable to cast the simplest spell. In the largest battle fought so far, Pralix’s soldiers fall on the Picts, while her magicians provide magical support. It’s the most decisive victory yet by Pralix. To Pralix’s great anger, Damhan-Allaidh escapes her clutches once again. In fury and frustration she blames Damhadh-Duidas for this failure, accusing him of colluding with the enemy. The maga and the sorcerer fight, first with words, then with spells. Damhadh-Duidas is driven away by Pralix’s assault and is not seen again.
Pralix’s mighty working of magic nearly obliterated the entire magical tradition of
the gruagachan. The few Pictish magicians not present at the Battle of Blencathra were able to hold on to the fading threads of their magic, but they never truly recovered.
The final clash between Pralix and Damhan-Allaidh occurs just a month after Blencathra, on the shores of the lake outside the camp. Damhan-Allaidh comes with everything he has left, and he is faced by nearly all of Pralix’s remaining magicians. As the sun drops, Pictish priests begin to summon the sluagh, while multi-armed giants hurl rocks and a ram-headed serpent dragon plows through the ranks of warriors. In response, Pralix’s wizards summon a massive ball of fire as bright as the sun, driving the ghosts back into the night. Her elementalists summon whirlwinds of fire and earth elementals who drag the giants under the ground. Beastmasters lead phalanxes of bears, wolves and stags against the dragon. Pralix herself is in the midst of battle, sword in one hand and spear in the other, as she fights her way through to Damhan-Allaidh’s redoubt. She had prepared for the moment that she would face him. The mage-smiths amongst her people had made her an unbreakable magic chain, forged from obscure ingredients and strange magics collected over several years. Upon facing Damhan-Allaidh at last, she shackles herself to her opponent with the chain, ensuring that the conflict can only end with one of their deaths. Her Hermetic Magic prevails against Damhan-Allaidh’s spellcraft and the wizard is finally slain.
After the Battle of the False Sun (as it became known), Damhan-Allaidh’s body
was laid out for cremation but it disappeared overnight and the guards set over
the pyre were killed in a gruesome manner. No amount of divination revealed
what had happened to it. Convinced that Damhan-Allaidh’s magical allies were to
blame, Pralix had her magicians scouring every inch of Britain for everyone who
had supported Damhan-Allaidh. Each one was brought to her and their secrets
ripped from their minds before they were put to death.
During this action it is believed that every single member of the Saxon tradition of rune magic was exterminated, and the Scottish druids were diminished so badly that they guttered and faded a generation later.

811: Ordo Miscellanea formed by Pralix filia Tytalus at Cad Gadu, and also sets up a new covenant taking the name. The new Ordo includes an array of British hedge magicians. Pralix may have intended her organization to become the "beloved rival" of the Order. "Cad Gadu" means "abandoned army" in Welsh, referring to Damhan-Allaidh's defeat.
When Pralix declined to return to home in triumph, Mercere visited her in person at Cad Gadu, but was refused entrance. Pralix renounced both her House and the Order, and was now the leader of a new Order, the Ordo Miscellanea. It offered protection to all magicians who had been rejected or persecuted by the Order of Hermes because their powers were too paltry, or did not bear the legacy of mighty Rome. The outraged Order of Hermes called for the immediate
extirpation of both Pralix and her upstart order, but Hariste (Tytalus’s successor) and Trianoma both argued for a settlement.
While the Order of Hermes was paralyzed with indecision, the Ordo Miscellanea
recruited aggressively throughout northern and western Europe.

811–816: Sporadic fighting as Damhan-Allaidh's followers are hunted down; Clan Mac Gruagach joins Ordo Miscellanea. The Northern Guard, Praeses Septentrionalis, formed out of several new covenants to maintain a vigilant watch for Damhan-Allaidh's return.

812: Bonisagus is forced to March his own filius, Jovius, a man accepted as apprentice in his twenties and sped through the complete Hermetic course in four years. Regrettably, Jovius lacked the maturity to be a magus even though he possessed the requisite lore, and within a few months of his gauntlet he was convicted of seriously breaching his Oath of Hermes.
The experience changed Bonisagus, he left Durenmar and never took another apprentice.

814: Death of Emperor Charlemagne, marking a decline in mortal scholarship. His empire divides into chaos in three mortal generations.

815 Thebes: Tremere covenant of Dostolon founded on the south bank of the Danube.

816 Iberia: Many of the magi of Duresca, mostly descendants of Vates and Tempestarii, but also some of the Diedne, declare their support for the Ordo Miscellanea.

817: After debate among the Founders and Primi, Trianoma travels to meet Pralix at Cad Gadu; Trianoma agrees to admit Ordo Miscellanea to the Order as House Ex Miscellanea.
This move doubled the size of the Order at that time! Apparently the Clan Mac Gruagach breaks with Pralix, as they are also noted as joining House Ex Miscellanea much later in 987.
Under Pralix, the House was ruled by a Council of Four, representing different facets of the House’s interests. It was initially a martial House populated by battle-hardened wizards, and ruthlessly pursued the "join or die" imperative of the Order, making enemies of both Tremere and Flambeau, who felt that their own House identities were being threatened, by numbers if not power.

817 Fourth Grand Tribunal: The admission of House Ex Miscellanea confirmed. Maga Pralix is now Founder Pralix. The Tribunals of Hibernia, Loch Leglean and Stonehenge are created as part of the merger.
On Pralix advice, seven covenants are to be established in the former territory of Damhan-Allaidh. These are the Praesides Septentrionales, the "Bastions of the North," and their mission is to watch for the return of Damhan-Allaidh.
Diedne boasts that "there is not a single druid left in Ireland", almost certainly an exaggeration.
Mercere and Trianoma persuade the other magi of the Order to bring Redcaps into the Order.
Primus Quendalon of Merinita causes great ill-will between Houses Merinita and Tytalus by laughing loudly during their account of their Founder’s disappearance.
Quendalon announces his House’s new dedication to Faerie.
Many question Quendalon’s reports on the events that split his House and the expulsion of Myanar’s followers, but no one is able to contest his description of events.
Certamen is accepted as decisive in all disputes.
The second meeting of the Grand Tribunal. From this date to the Schism War there are Thirteen Houses of Hermes.
While there were several false alarms, particularly in the early days, there were
no further confirmed signs of The Spider, and one by one these special covenants abandoned their watch, faltered and died out. The very last in 1025.
This Grand Tribunal marks the last public appearance of Founder Guernicus, and it was against his strident objection that certamen was instituted as "decisive in all disputes". Guernicus retreated to his Magvillus fortress, claiming the ruin of the Order was at hand. It is rumored he later foreswore his Arts, shunned all contact with other magi (except his favored filius Fenicil) and undertook a pilgrimage to Rome.
The certamen ruling gave Tremere advantages in pivotal matters, as he had focused on becoming a master duelist. He certainly manufactured disputes, and then settled them with certamen. This hamstrung the Quaesitores, who became mere spectators to its consequence.
Quendalon later explained that he was not mocking Tytalus’s ambitious attempt to defeat "the Queen," but found it amusing that his followers would perceive his end as tragic. He gave them the impression that he knew more than he was saying, but would not speak of it further. Since then, House Merinita and House Tytalus have often been at odds, their poor relationship aggravated by the possibility that Quendalon might have known what happened to their Founder,
or even been somehow responsible for their loss.

817 Loch Leglean: Holy Oak, a covenant of Diedne, founded.

817 Stonehenge: The now Nameless Covenant, of Diedne, founded on Anglesey. The vile rites practiced here are best left buried. The name of the Nameless Covenant was struck from all records after the Schism War.

C. 817: Magus Anegin, a Welsh bard-mage, lawgiver, and seer, who had fought with Pralix against Damhan-Allaidh, joins House Bonisagus instead of House Ex Miscellanea. His Line continues to be famous for its political and mediation abilities.

818: Mercere dies.

818 Stonehenge: Blackthorn covenant founded in south Cambria (Wales), sponsored by House Tremere.
Obvious play at building a base for domination of the new Tribunal.

819: Flavia filia Jerbiton reappears after a sixteen year absence. She refuses to say where she has been and begins to search for a covenant site.
Flavia’s absence has been the subject of speculation since.

820: Founder Flambeau disappears. One morning in the spring of that year he left Val-Negra alone. Where he went after that is unknown. His first apprentice Apromor concludes the sahirs had ambushed and killed him, and assumes leadership of the House, becoming the first Primus.
Flambeau’s Arts were never strong outside of his area of specialty. Due to a
weak Longevity Ritual, the Founder grew old and frail. Some magi, including his filia Elaine, believe he retired from magic and joined a monastery as he was a pious Christian throughout his life.
Flambeau’s famed talisman Fireheart, a flawless fire opal the size of a walnut, was never recovered and could still remain somewhere in or near the Pyrenees.
Apromor had reportedly grown apart from his master, and he encouraged non-Hermetic wizards to join the Order, accepting pagans and worked with Priamitus, Mercere’s first apprentice, to recreate the Cult of Mercury.

820 Stonehenge: Flavia filia Jerbiton founds Rosalba in the Yorkshire Dales.

821 Rome: The Second Verdi Competition.

821–823 Stonehenge: Concordia covenant founded to meld the magical traditions of House Ex Miscellanea. It fails and disbands in two years.

822 Normandy: Bibracte covenant founded, located on Mount Beauvray in Burgundy. Vassal of Fudarus.
Consisting of a small number of Diedne magi and a magus of House
Tytalus. The covenant resurrected a cult worshiping the Gaulish hero Vercingetorix; however, the magi gradually became obsessed with anti-Roman ideals, firstly outlawing Latin in favor of Brythonic, and ultimately refusing all dealings with magi from "Roman" Houses. This earned them many enemies, and, seizing on the weakness of Fudarus in the aftermath of the betrayal of House Tytalus, four Flambeau and Tremere magi from Montverte simultaneously declared Wizard War on the magi of Bibracte, accusing them of devil-worship. These actions resulted in the sacking and destruction of the covenant in 969.

822 Iberia: Priamitus filius Mercere and Somnus ex Tremere convoke all the peninsular magi in Secunda, in a sort of unofficial regional Tribunal.
Aedes Saturni is founded in Barcelona, and is chosen to guard the treasuries of the Hermetic Tribunal (collected by the local tax defined in 801). Diedne from Duresca found Mons Vindius, in coordination with the Norman Diedne of Bibracte and the Germanic Diedne of Sirmium.

822 Rhine Tribunal: The Laws of Hospitality and the Peregrinatores are established in the Rhine Tribunal’s Peripheral Code. Based on the traditional German guest-laws, a magus may request hospitality from any covenant established legally in the Rhine Tribunal. The covenant must formally publish the conditions of hospitality, which, if agreed to by the magus, guarantee him at least three, but no more than seven years at the covenant. The conditions of hospitality must be the same for all guests currently in residence, but may be otherwise changed by the covenant at any time that they have no guests. The guest is entitled only to that which is granted in the conditions of hospitality, and must agree to its strictures, which must include - but is not restricted to - a fee of three pawns of vis per year paid to the host.
A later ruling allowed that the fee of vis paid by the guest could be exchanged for equivalent service, and a season’s work was deemed to be adequate recompense.
The laws of hospitality have certainly given the Rhine Tribunal a unique feature of traveling magi - typically around a sixth of its magi are peregrinatores.

825: Death of Jerbiton.

826–854 Provencal: The hedge wizard Pendule, discovered by Founder Flambeau, refuses to join the Order. He is powerful enough to evade the fiery Founder and his followers who seek to destroy him.
Eventually, Pendule tire of these games and adopts four Hermetic magi as his followers. No one knows exactly why he did this; perhaps he simply wanted to share his secrets with others before he died, or perhaps he desired to learn Hermetic magic theory from them. Two of these followers were from House
Merinita, and having Initiated Faerie Magic from Quendalon they were able
to master the illusion Mysteries Pendule taught - the others could not comprehend them. Afterwards, these Merinitae continued to teach the secrets to their followers as part of a House lineage.
Rumors surround Pendule, whose sensual Imagonem magic is said to be diabolic or descended from Eastern traditions, but the effect of his teachings on his students are unknown.
Many comedic tales depicting Pendule as a trickster defeating the mighty and blustery Flambeau with wit and illusions have become part of Hermetic lore. Pendule’s followers are loathed by most magi of House Flambeau, and may also find themselves embroiled in Wizard’s Wars with them as a matter of principle.

826 Hibernia: The covenant of Lámbaird founded by Petrifer and Raghallach of House Flambeau. The latter being a controversial druid convert, first hunted by Founder Diedne and later suffering her declarations of Wizard War.
It has been the home of a school of magical combat - The School of Raghallach -
since its inception, and has always been a covenant of House Flambeau.

829: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

830 Hibernia: The Diedne covenant of Vigil is raided by Viking runesmiths based in Dublin.
The magi of Vigil recovered and for a while helped defend other covenants from these magical invaders. That was until the Diedne of Ireland, Vigil included, withdrew from Tribunal affairs in 851.

830 Rome: Guernicus' fortress Magvillus is taken over and founded as a covenant shortly after his (rumored) death. It’s location is in a remote mountainous region in Southern Italy (part of the Kingdom of Sicily), well isolated from the mundane world. It is, or later becomes, domus magna of House Guernicus.
This highly secretive covenant has nothing to do with local Hermetic politics, except through normal legal channels. Unless invited, only Quaesitors and Redcaps are allowed in.

C. 831: Saracen conquest of Sicily.

831 Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera: Birna speaks her final words to the magi of her House and disappears into the forest in bear-form.

C. 832 Iberia: One of Priamitus' sons, Don Sayban, organizes the Redcaps of the peninsula, conducting the first census of the peninsular covenants from Aedes Saturni.

832 Fifth Grand Tribunal: The Rules of Certamen are restricted to forbid the use of certamen to force a magus to violate the Code or give up his established rights, including the rights of praecones (leading a Tribunal), Primi (ruling a house), and Quaesitores (protecting the Order).
Apprentice Law ruling that a magus must provide his apprentice with three month’s training or risk losing that apprentice to another magus, if the apprentice agrees.
House Diedne representatives from Hibernia (Ireland) report troubling encounters against northern rune wizards who ravaged the whole Emerald Isle, and that Parma Magica only offers limited protection against them. Those who had heard of their pagan faith dubbed them members of "The Order of Odin". Uncertain about the rune wizards’ strength, the Order uncharacteristically decides to seek peace.
The Tribunal of Iberia is denied recognition as an independent Tribunal on the basis of the small number of peninsular magi present.
This is the last Grand Tribunal Bonisagus and Trianoma attended. They shared a quiet meal together and after supper Trianoma retired to her private suite and died in her sleep.
Fenicil becomes Primus of House Guernicus.
This is the second Tribunal to enter the thirty three year cycle. From henceforth, Grand Tribunals will meet every 33 years, regional Tribunals every 7 years from 836 AD. The seven year cycle is taken from Prokopios’ idea and the Theban practice.
It is rumored that Trianoma did not die peacefully, and that her spirits now haunt the Black Forest at Durenmar. The Tower of Trianoma at Durenmar is obviously crooked and has a ruined top. But it is said the two top floors were destroyed in some magical accident, and just never reconstructed.

The Age of Ambition and Intrigue (AD 833–910)#

With the last of the Founders departing from power, a new era begins - one of maneuvering, politicking, and hidden struggles. The unity of the Order remains intact, but the early vision of brotherhood among magi fades as covenants grow wealthy, secretive, and self-serving.

House Tremere rises in influence. No longer tempered by the Founders’ presence, Tremere’s successors begin consolidating power, using certamen, alliances, and legal rulings to control weaker magi.

The Great Houses compete for dominance. Tytalus magi weave intrigues, Jerbiton influence mundanes, and Flambeau and Bjornaer struggle over frontier covenants.

The first deep suspicions of House Diedne emerge. Their refusal to reveal their inner rites leads to whispers of dark pacts and hidden agendas.
By the late 9th century, Hermetic law is more defined than ever, but so are its loopholes, manipulations, and factional politics. The Grand Tribunal of 910 marks a turning point - major Tribunals have solidified, and many magi now view politics as a tool just as valuable as magic itself.

The Order is no longer just a society of scholars - it is a world of its own, filled with alliances, grudges, and the early signs of what will one day lead to war.

834 Loch Leglean: Well of the Head, a covenant of Diedne, founded.

836: Regional Tribunal Meetings.
Not much of note seems to remain. Bonisagus is last seen alive at the regional Thebes Tribunal gathering, recruiting magi for some kind of expedition.

836 Iberia: Baldiccione ex Guernicus founds the covenant of Campus Stellae. Barzaj is officialized.

836 Rhine: Notatus becomes Primus of House Bonisagus and is selected Praeco of the Rhine Tribunal.
A shining champion of the superiority of Hermetic magic!

Before 837: Final Twilight or Death of Founder Criamon.
The manner of his passing is not known outside his House.

837: Death of Founder Verditius.
This leaves Founder Tremere as the last living Founder, excluding the later added Pralix.

837 Hibernia: A delegation of primarily Irish magi from many different Houses, led by Máel-tuili of Merinita, seeks out the rune wizards (in the Order called "The Order of Odin") and attempts to parley with them. At first, the Viking leaders are abusive and demand to know their secrets, but after hours of negotiation the rune wizards eventually agree that they will leave in peace if the magi pay them a tribute of 3,000 pounds of silver and forty pawns of vis. This price is arranged, but soon after they have it in hand the Vikings renege on the deal and attack. The leaders of both parties fall in the subsequent battle, and many other magi and wizards are killed. The news of this betrayal stir equal parts of outrage and horror in the local magi and throughout the Order, but no immediate action is taken.
The Vikings were worse in other areas and the Order’s attention shifted from Ireland. Many Hibernian magi hoped that the Ostmen threat would unite the Order in Ireland, especially patching over the quarreling between Houses Ex Miscellanea and Diedne, but they were disappointed.

838 Rome: Rellantali covenant founded on Sardinia.

839 Rome: The Third Verdi Competition, the first after the death of Founder Verditius.

839 Stonehenge: Cad Gadu chronicles note the visit of a group of wandering magi. The wandering magi are noted in the records of Stonehenge from time to time hereafter.
This may be the wandering covenant of Semitae, foundation date unknown.

840 Normandy: Pagus covenant founded at a ruined Roman outpost near the town of Cherbourg, offering a commanding strategic vista over the English channel. Vassal of Confluensis.
Destroyed in the Schism War 1008.

840 Thebes: Covenant of Miphoria founded on the coastal outskirts of Smyrna, as the first all-Mercere covenant of the Tribunal.
Tremere magi seize Epidauros.

841 Rome: Calabria covenant founded.

843: The epic poem Travels of Fedoso completed by Verderis, third Primus of Criamon. Fedoso is a young man who travels through a strange landscape facing mystical obstacles, figurative enemies, and perplexing situations. He finds allies and companions, but ends his journey alone at the peak of a mountain.
This classic work has been used by generations of masters to teach their apprentices Latin, may be a ciphered prediction of the course of the Order, and is the center of obscure debate. But of course you already know that…
Those versed in the text claim that it predicted the Corruption of House Tytalus and the Schism War. A few magi refuse to allow their students to read this book, as they believe it causes the calamities it predicts.
There are rumors about a lost final page of the book, which allegedly describes what Fedoso sees from the mountain.

843: The Treaty of Verdun ends four years of civil war among the grandsons of Charlemagne, and his empire is divided among his three heirs.

843: Regional Tribunal Meetings.
Some believe the Sundering was planned at the Theban Tribunal.

843 Iberia: Tertia is constituted as another Tremere base of operations.
Qatr al-Nada, Ranemiro's filia, establishes the covenant of Dar Maliha, with the purpose of reaching peace with the sahirs.

844 Britannian Tribunal: The Chief Bard of Ireland, Cormacan the Learned, brought an embassy from High-King Congalach Cnogba to the Order. Some of the king’s subjects, hedge wizards all, had complained to him about harassment by the Order. Fedelmid Ua Heirméais of House Mercere was appointed to act on behalf of the Order. The result of these negotiations was the Treaty of Cnoc Maol Réidh. The hedge wizards of Connacht were incorporated into a federation that became known as Coill Trí, meaning the "three hazels".
From Diedne’s pogroms it was already known that "Join or Die" didn’t work in Ireland; both draoithe and asarlaíthe would rather die. Since these hedge wizards had sought the protection of the high-king, another solution had to be found. It took until the first meeting of the Hibernian Tribunal in 898 to make it binding.

845 Iberia: The Asturian King Ramiro I orders the execution of all sorcerers in his kingdom, probably being manipulated by Atropos ex Tremere. The edict affects mainly hedge wizards and magi Ex Miscellanea. Tancoystl Ex Miscellanea tries to stop the edict, even organizing a plan to assassinate Ramiro I, but is ambushed and executed.

845 Normandy: The Viking warlord Reginherus aided by rune wizards leads a substantial raiding party of 120 ships carrying thousands of warriors to lay siege to Paris. Charles the Bald, who is determined not to let the royal Abbey of Saint-Denis be destroyed, assembles an army. However, the Vikings are victorious, and they hang their prisoners of war on an island on the Seine in honor of Odin. They then plunder and occupy the city, withdrawing only after Charles pays an enormous ransom of 7,000 French livres in gold and silver.
Reginherus is also known as Ragnar Lodbrok. This was a dangerous precedent set by Charles the Bald of paying a Viking leader off for peace, as it only encouraged more raids. Vikings also sack the cities of Hamburg and Melun later that year.

846: Saracen raiders plunder the outskirts of Rome, sacking the basilicas of Old St Peter's and St Paul's-Outside-the-Walls, but are prevented from entering the city itself by the Aurelian Walls.

847: A major council is held in south Francia in response to the Saracen raid, attended by many bishops and by Emperor Lothar I and King Ludovico II of Italy. A capitulary is issued and, with contingents from Francia, Burgundy and Provence and his own Italian forces, Ludovico launches a successful campaign against the Saracens occupying Benevento.
The Saracen survivors were made prisoners, enslaved and sent to work in chain gangs building the Leonine Wall to encompass the Vatican Hill. Rome is never again threatened by an Arab army.

848: The Sundering of Tremere. Founder Tremere, last living Founder, has almost succeeded in dominating the Order (and declaring himself Overlord) through political intrigue and application of certamen over the previous decade, but is stopped in this year by a band of magi who strike his chief lieutenants by afflicting their minds. This strike was performed all at once by magi who penetrated the Founder’s covenant of Dorostolon in the Theban Tribunal and broke key elements of the lieutenants’ minds.
While Tremere did negotiate peace terms with his Sundering enemies with the intervention of the Primus of House Guernicus, his memories of the event were removed with his consent as part of the agreement, and therefore the identities of the Sunderers remain unknown.
This is a pivotal event in Hermetic history; the first serious inter-House conflict, the first known resolution outside the Code, and the first major negotiated settlement. Members of House Jerbiton claim or are suspected of taking part in the Sundering, as is Albanus, the second Primus of House Tremere.

C. 848 Iberia: Secunda is dissolved; Somnus loses his mind during the Sundering and the rest of the Tremere leave the covenant. Tertia is not dissolved, but Atropos is also annulled.

848 Thebes: Tremere covenant of Dostolon destroyed in the Sundering, allegedly ripped apart by a Typhoon. Tremere forced to relinquish Epidauros.

After 848 Stonehenge: Blackthorn covenant, allied with House Tremere, suffers a drop in political power following the Sundering. Rosalba covenant seeks to further this weakening. This decline leads to the harsh policies of Blackthorn in the coming centuries.

849 Loch Leglean: Covenant of Peanhafel, inhabited by Pictish magi of House Ex Miscellanea destroyed by Diedne magi in support of a mortal king. No known reprisal-woe that Diedne was not chastised before it descended further.

850-948 Hercynius, the penultimate apprentice of Bonisagus, establishes a lineage of Bonisagus magi, and attracts others to his teachings.

850-932: Life of Isaac Ben Solomon Israeli, a Tunisian physician in the employ of al-Mahdi, the founder of the Fatimid dynasty. Influenced by the works of Plato, Isaac was a monist, believing that all of creation was simply emanations from a single unknowable truth. These beliefs contributed to his study of the fledgling Kabbalah, and he became an accomplished kabbalist.
It’s unfortunate we never got to see this man join the Order, and we have yet to incorporate the secrets of Kabbalah.

850: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

851 Britannian Tribunal: After the predations of the Viking rune wizards of the Order of Odin, as well as great tensions between native wizards and Hermetic magi (skirmishes and disputes over resources were a constant problem), the Order agrees to acknowledge the Coill Trí, a confederation of hedge wizards in Connacht who had earned the title of druid, and to conclude a peace agreement with them - the Treaty of Cnoc Maol Réidh. The Diedne Primus Obregon declares that the magi of his House would "no longer protect our undeserving sodales from the enemy," but instead would "respect the Code from within the safety of our secret mounds and hidden dales".
Many of the magi in the northern Tribunals felt that it was the interference of Máel-tuili of Merinita that had endangered them all and brought ruin upon their lands. Instead of joining in war against the rune wizards, most of these magi went into hiding, especially the magi of House Diedne.
Nearly all interaction between covenants and magi in the region broke down for about 20 years, and remained sporadic for much of the following century, but forever after the Irish Diedne remained apart from their sodales and never participated in the local Tribunals again.

851 Normandy: Baiocassium covenant founded in the forest near Bayeux. A vassal of Branugurix.
The magi of Baiocassium, predominantly of House Diedne, were the descendants of Gallic druids and had good relationships with the local faeries. Destroyed in the Schism war 1011.

851 Rome: The Tribunal is subjected to a violent earthquake.
It is not known if this was a natural earthquake.

852 Hibernia: With House Diedne having abandoned Ireland to its fate, a band of Merinita magi sacks Vigil covenant and takes the boar tusk cathac to the far north of Ireland. The Merinita raise a fortress, the new covenant of Vigil, and a great unseen tower, from the top of which all Ireland can be seen. They use its magic to find and intercept the rune wizards and their Viking warriors.
Vigil struck quickly when the Schism War broke out, launching a devastating attack on their age-old enemies. They took Diedne heads as trophies, raided their laboratories, ransacked their libraries, and slaughtered their familiars.

852 Stonehenge: Castrum Antiquum founded in the ruins of a Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall.

855 Normandy: Sinapis covenant founded, located in Anjou near the center of France.
Abandoned in 1063, as its members left for Provence and Iberia.

856 Thebes: An earthquake at Corinth kills tens of thousands.
Natural or not?

857: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

857 Iberia: The covenant of Inverneira is founded.

857 Rhine Tribunal: The spirits of three of the Tribunal’s founding magi, believed lost to Twilight, suddenly made themselves known and demanded the right to vote on an important and contentious issue. The gathering of magi was shocked, but the Praeco ruled that the spirits may cast their votes, out of the great respect held for these elder magi. The three extra votes were enough to tip the balance and the motion was wisely defeated, saving the Tribunal from strife. Before departing, each of the three designated one of their filii to cast their vote by proxy at future Tribunal gatherings.

857 Theban Tribunal: Founding of covenant of Erebos, following a diplomatic initiative by Pralix. It’s dedicated to the preservation of traditions of magic that are native to the Theban Tribunal.

857 Rome: The Fourth Verdi Competition.

858 Provencal: Founded around a mithraeum at the site of an old Roman
camp at the mouth of the Adour in Gascony, the Flambeau covenant of Lapurdum (822–858) is abandoned under repeated pressure from Viking raids and internal dissension.

C. 858 Rhine: Sometime in the late 850’s two Bjornaer magi - Wolfgang and Adler were led to a place of supernatural power by a Great Beast, a lion. In the wild and sparsely inhabited forested hills of Sauerland, near Dortmund and Cologne they establish the covenant of Collem Leonis.
The covenant’s chief diplomats, Pamprepius of Flambeau and Tacitus of Tremere, reached a mutually beneficial agreement with the local lord, whereby the forested hills were designated as hunting grounds and thereby restricting interaction with the mundane.
Always a secretive covenant and there are many rumors surrounding it, often including magical beasts and portals to mysterious regiones. It has been a winter covenant for decades and not involved in Tribunal affairs.

C. 860 Loch Leglean: Activities of giants in Scotland monitored; found to be no danger to the Order.

C. 861–862: Death of Tremere, last of the Founders, as all the Founders now dead, inactive or missing. Rebuffed by the Sundering, he’s seen as a somewhat sinister figure in the modern Order. He is the only Founder that is known to have been prosecuted for a violation of his Hermetic Oath. The second meeting of the First Tribunal in 773 found him innocent.
Finally he is gone!

862 Transylvania: Tremere conference (presumably at Coeris). This once in a decade meeting brings together the House for coordination of plans and operations. Probably the first ten-year meeting, the year after their Founder’s death. Primus Albanus, his successor, effectively uses anger directed at Tremere’s legacy to solidify the House under his leadership.
Oh, if only one could have been there, for the pure entertainment of watching the endless, headless debates and power-grabbing machinations.

863: Prima Pralix of House Ex Miscellanea disappears while returning from a visit to her former domus magna Fudarus.
Many suspect members of Houses Flambeau and/or Tremere of foul play. Without her firm guidance, House Ex Miscellanea gradually lost its former coherence as each tradition of magi pursued their own agenda without any thought towards the House as a whole.

863 Iberia: Alma Mater is dissolved after Tello's execution (along with the Martyrs of Córdoba).

864: Bulgaria converted to Christianity as Boris I of Bulgaria is baptized by ambassadors of Byzantine Church.

864: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

864 Rhine Tribunal: Following the precedent from previous Tribunal meeting, a handful of elder magi arrive at the Tribunal bearing the voting sigils of their ancient parentes, in or at the verge of Final Twilight, claiming that they were merely "ill-disposed to attend." A small number of other elder magi formally designate a follower to bear their sigil by proxy in the event of their being "unable to attend future meetings."
The covenant of Collem Leonis is ratified as the eighth covenant of the newly named Rhine Tribunal without facing significant political resistance.
The Iberian Quaesitors Baldiccione and Qatr al-Nada ex Guernicus come from Iberia to denounce the use of an improvised Peripheral Code, especially among the northern covenants, against the decision of the Great Tribunal of 832. They ask the Rhine for support to regularize the situation by the constitution of an official Iberian Tribunal, and the establishment of another truce with the sahirs. Their proposals are accepted, and the Rhine magi agree to take the request for an Iberian Tribunal to the Grand Tribunal, but abrogate the unofficial Code and confiscate the vis guarded by Aedes Saturni until the situation is regulated.

865 Stonehenge: A great army of Vikings, aided by rune wizards of Order of Odin, lands in East Anglia and proceeds through kingdom after kingdom, subduing or killing everyone who opposes them.

865 Sixth Grand Tribunal: The boundaries of the Tribunals are formally set according to the break-up of the Frankish Empire, they are also named as the Rhine, Frankish (Normandy), Lotharingian (Provençal), Britannian, Roman, Alpine (Greater Alps), Theban, Oriental (Eastern, or Levant) Tribunals.
This is the first big topic, carefully vetted and prepared by the Primi beforehand. Most Britannian magi are unhappy for being thrown together into one regional Tribunal, but are not taken overly seriously on large scale organizational issues.
Offended by the confiscation of the Iberian Treasure, very few peninsular magi went to the Great Tribunal, and their request to constitute the Tribunal of Iberia is denied for lack of quorum.
Primus Fenicil of Guernicus presents on the topic of preventing misuse of certamen. Certamen cannot be used to defy a Tribunal judgment, make a magus break the Code of Hermes or ignore a Code violation. This is mainly motivated by Tremere’s take-over attempt.
Hibernian magi raise the problem that House Diedne does not recognize the Treaty of Cnoc Maol Réidh with the local hedge wizards, but are told their treaty is illegal as they are not part of the Order. Furthermore, Ireland is included with England and Scotland in the Britannian Tribunal, and Hibernian magi are sternly told they have to follow the Britannian Peripheral Code. Already displeased, the Irish contingent argue how important the Treaty of Cnoc Maol Réidh really is: When given the choice between joining or dying, most Irish wizards will gladly fight and die, a course of action that will destroy the native magical traditions. The treaty allows the traditions to continue, perhaps to be explored and incorporated into Hermetic magic. Invading magi threatens that accord. The Grand Tribunal still refuses to recognize the treaty.
Magus Hercilion reprimanded, but not punished, for serving as a court wizard. The Grand Tribunal found that such a position endangers the Order as other mundane rulers will soon want their own court wizards, and they may become angry at those who refuse such roles. It is also a disgrace and beneath the dignity of a true Hermetic magus to serve a mundane. Henceforth, no magus shall ever serve a mundane as a servant or hireling.
This ruling was to have serious repercussions on those who live with a mundane lord. Magi are bound by this ruling not to work as "court wizards," yet they have a natural desire to support the titular owner of their home, magically or mundanely. If they live in a covenant that is situated in a manor or castle, they will wish to use magic to improve living conditions and further their own interests against potential mundane threats. To what extent does this run the risk of breaching the Code?
Iola of Guernicus determines the distinction in 1046 that the vital aspect is that even if one lives within the actual home of a mundane noble, no vassal relationship exists. Court wizards are generally defined as "employees," but employee here is not a function of economic support, but rather a relationship of subordination enforced by vows (usually of vassalage).
Status of the dead magi in the Rhine: Discussion of three Rhine Tribunal magi supposed to be in Final Twilight before their spirits appeared 857 at Tribunal, demanding and receiving the right to vote. Notatus tries to ride a wave of consent and goodwill from previous votes, and argues to legalize the recent Rhine practice of voting with the sigils of Hermetic ancestors most probably in final Twilight. He might have been overconfident about this, though - and barely escapes with a "no decision" by the Tribunal.
Conquests of territory by the Order of Odin, endangering covenants:
The Order of Odin has betrayed and killed negotiators of the Order of Hermes in Ireland, entrapped and killed Hoplites of the Order in Gascony, and is now sending a great heathen army into England to subdue it. An urgent response of the Order is requested by the English covenants, in particular Blackthorn. Notatus asks for the opinions of the covenants concerned by this. And Flavia of Jerbiton, representing her covenant Rosalba near York, explicitly requests to be left alone in handling the Vikings. When it then turns out that Blackthorn is an all-Tremere covenant at the border to Wales, nearly two-hundred miles away from the army’s landing site, the motion is defeated.
Pagans, Muslims and the Order: Hariste moves, that, since the heathens now already threaten the new Britannian, West Franks, Rhine, Roman, Theban and Eastern Tribunals, only Christians be henceforth allowed into the Order. She also moves that every apprentice, before taking the Oath, shall from now on recite the Nicene creed. The debate gets heated, but at the end the proposal gets downvoted.
To the glee of the Tytali. Notatus - seeing Blackthorn’s shameful defeat and guessing that it will have consequences - has sent in the clowns. Hariste’s motion alludes to the Flambeaus’ recruiting practices and tries to bait them.

866 Stonehenge: Rector Maris covenant founded on the Isle of Man. It is destroyed within six months, apparently by the Order of Odin. This is the first known attempt to establish a covenant on Man.
It is tempting to assign this destruction to magi of Diedne, as one of their main covenants was on the nearby island of Anglesey.

C. 867: The first meeting of the Archmagi of the Order, one hundred years after the Founding. They discuss many subjects, supposedly charting out the future of the Order. The only known result is an agreement to create a tomb for their deceased members. The covenant of Magvillus (Rome) is charged with protecting the tomb of the Archmagi.
The reported charting of the Order’s future is unlikely to include such disasters as the Corruption, the Schism War, or the vampirization of Tremere. The influence of the council of Archmagi is probably much exaggerated.

867 Thebes: Peasant revolt in Anatolia leads to many cities being sacked, and widespread Paulician heresy among the rebels.

870–930 Iceland: The era of the landnam (land-taking). Main colonization sees 10-20 thousand Norsemen claim the available agricultural land.
The Irish priests decide not to return to the island.

870 Iberia: The sahirs agree to the conditions of the truce arranged by Baldiccione ex Guernicus. The Iberian covenants prosper under the new conditions of peace.

870 Rome: Potestas covenant founded in northern Italy.

871 Iberia: Diedne from Duresca found the covenants of Nebula and Ipagrum. Tremébriga is founded as an example of collaboration between the Tremere and the Order. Ziyad ex Jerbiton establishes Fafhs al-Luyy, and Hermogenes formalizes Ajabeba.

871 Normandy Tribunal: "The inaugural meeting of the Tribunal of the West Franks". Present are the covenants of Confluensis, Pagus, Baiocassium, Bibracte, and Sinapis.
The covenants of Fudarus and Branugurix both attend the Britannian Tribunal meeting instead.

871 Rhine Tribunal: The sigils of many former magi have returned to (or stayed in) usage, descending the Tribunal conference into chaos and controversy. Some of these sigils are permitted, others not, depending largely on favor and patronage.

871 Stonehenge: Alfred the Great becomes king of Wessex and sets out to drive the Danes back.
By 886 he had regained control of London and the fealty of all the English in the south and west of the country, saving English culture from disappearing beneath the Viking tide. Something he could never have accomplished without Hermetic assistance.

872 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

873 Stonehenge: Wizard’s War between Blackthorn maga Diana of Tremere and Rosalba magus William of Jerbiton. Diana is the victor after the death of William. A period of skirmishing follows despite the efforts of Flavia of Rosalba.

875: Fenicil, the first Primus of House Guernicus declares the conclusions of his long study of ancient magical history; that the Order is a manifestation of a magical tradition that goes back to the beginning of history.
Why Fenicil declares the Order a manifestation, rather than an inheritor, is unclear. Fenicil assembled an extensive collection of pre-Hermetic magic, including what are believed to be Egyptian rituals. This collection includes powerful, secret rituals now known as Fenicil's Rituals, and is located at what has come to be called Fenicil's Library, at Magvillus, domus magna of Guernicus.
According to legend, Fenicil discovered a strange letter that resembled the Malleus Epistula while he was searching for ancient knowledge he could use to unite his House. It is said that he decided the letter was diabolical, and instead of incorporating it into the secret rituals, he burned it. Later, he described it to some of his followers as a dangerous idea that might be used against magi. He is remembered as saying that "when fools have a hammer, everything seems a nail to them; this evil letter is a witch-hammer, and so it will find witches everywhere." In reference to this story, some Quaesitors refer to overzealous inquisitors as "witch-hammers", and thus it is the closest thing to a name this tradition possesses.
Some Quaesitors fear that Fenicil did not in fact burn the letter.

875 Normandy: Rotomagus covenant founded near Rouen by the first generation of apprentices from Sinapis.
It was destroyed less than a quarter of a century later in 892 when the Vikings sacked Rouen. The sole surviving member left House Flambeau in shame, and joined House Ex Miscellanea.

875 Rome: The Fifth Verdi Competition.

875 Stonehenge: Covenant of Sursum founded on the north coast of Cornwall.

C. 875 Rome: Roman magi record in this period that magic has seemed to dwindle.
This dwindling sets off a century of infighting among the covenants and magi of the Tribunal.

C. 875: Juden of Verditius slays many clergy on the island of Sardinia, thinking to limit the influence of the Dominion and revive vis sources. His victims are held up as martyrs and he is Marched. Executed by a Flambeau Hoplite, his death by fire is credited to God by the mortal witnesses.
Juden is barely the worst of the lot. Many other magi lash out against mundanes and each other in this period.

877: The Order hosts the First Secular Feast (every 120 years).

878 Iberia: Gamila ex Jerbiton establishes the covenant of Qasr Dar al-Muchaddad with the aim of introducing high Islamic culture to the Order.

878 Rhine Tribunal: "As the First Tribunal has famously witnessed, the spirits of the Founders and our most venerable and wisest magi are still with us. The study of magic may truly grant us a kind of immortality, although to what higher place we transcend we cannot know. It is therefore acknowledged that the voting sigil of each magus remains valid in perpetuity, until such time as evidence of his death is presented. Nevertheless, we cannot permit the First Tribunal to become dominated by the voices of those who are no longer active in its leadership. To this end, a magus whom no other has witnessed for a period of two Tribunals or more shall be deemed to be retired. The sigil of a retired magus may only be held by proxy by a magister or Archmagus; a magister may hold only one such sigil, an Archmagus at most two. We entrust the duty of the witnessing of magi and the reporting of the deaths of magi to our loyal servants, the Redcaps."
The Tribunal was forced to make a firm and final ruling on the issue. It could not go against its own precedent and outlaw these proxy sigils, yet at the same time there was a clear need (and much urging from the Quaesitores) to reign in their number and the associated abuses. Strictly regulating their number according
to the rank of the wielder, seems to have solved the issue.
In support of this ruling, the Rhine Tribunal has developed an informal tradition of never fully recognizing the passing of magi into Twilight. There are various euphemisms for Final Twilight and retired magi (most of whom are lost to it) are spoken of in the present tense, especially when their votes are cast.

881: Charles "the Fat" reunites Charlemagne’s empire, becoming emperor. By now his realm is beset by attacks from Norsemen.

882 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

884 Rome Tribunal: Gravis of House Flambeau is charged with slaying Talus of House Merinita. Gravis claims forfeit immunity as Talus had cast a spell on him. Renowned for his practical jokes, Talus had cast a spell that made Gravis’s voice
sound like a little girl’s, to the great mirth of all others present. Gravis responded with a Ball of Abyssal Flame, which slew Talus. As Talus’s spell was clearly not a threat to Gravis’s life or magic the Tribunal finds him guilty, but due to the clear provocation refrained from calling a Wizard’s March. Gravis is punished by the death of his familiar.

885 Normandy: Paris is again besieged by Viking raiders.

885 Normandy Tribunal (3rd): Maga Adela of Jerbiton, a frequent attendant at court, is accused of acting as "court wizard" to King Louis III between 879 and 881. She maintains that the accusation is brought by a magus with whom she had a long-standing feud, and there is no evidence to suggest any risk to the Order resulting from her friendship with the king, who died in 882. The maga is acquitted.

885 Rhine Tribunal: "We cannot prosper and overcome our enemies if our covenants war amongst themselves. So that we may enjoy peace forthwith, the First Tribunal will no longer recognize any covenant that has not gained the approval of its peers. Any prospective covenant is therefore required to obtain a sponsor from each and every existing covenant, who shall publicly proclaim their petition worthy. Should even one such sponsor not be forthcoming, the Tribunal will refuse recognition."
The magi of Arae Flaviae covenant in Swabia objected to the nearby Schwarzburg covenant, and their resulting warfare caused the Tribunal to abolish both covenants and rule that any covenant could veto the establishment of a new covenant. It is established that prospective covenants are required to obtain the explicit permission of all the Tribunal’s other covenants, in order to obtain recognition. If a covenant is not successful in getting approval from the Tribunal, they may try again in seven years time. Until they receive approval, they have no legal recourse against the depredations of other covenants against their resources - they do not exist, in the eyes of the Tribunal. The magi of an unapproved covenant thus have no communal rights, although they retain their rights as individuals.
Needless to say, a prospective covenant may find itself bound into all sorts of obligations, duties, and pacts in return for support, but some covenants make low demands in return for future favors.

887: Charles "the Fat" is deposed and the Frankish empire is split into half a dozen kingdoms, most of which are ruled by Norse kings.

887: Belin, "the ideal Redcap" and last apprentice of Mercere the Founder dies. Known for her reliability and devotion to duty, her legend grows with each passing century.
She founded a bloodline and Societas of respected messengers. These redcaps usually refer to themselves as Followers of Belin.

888 Normandy: Odo, Count of Paris, is chosen as king of the Franks on account of his brave and skillful resistance of the Norse invaders.

888 Rome: Auctus covenant destroyed by magi of Verdi.

889 Loch Leglean: Several covenants of Praeses Septentrionalis destroyed by followers of Damhan-Allaidh, starting with Heart's Delight; Flambeau and Tytalus magi sent to fight Damhan-Allaidh. Little else is known about the Praeses Septentrionalis covenants.

889 Provencal: Two rogue Tytalan magi, who specialize in war magic and leading a band of raiding Andalusian Moors, founds the covenant of Fraxinetum (889–975) in the bleak basalt Massifs de Maures near the south coast.
They cause the most bitter and defining struggle in the east of the Tribunal by leading attacks across the Arelat region, and they provoke a series of disputes regarding the Peripheral Code and interference with mundanes.

890 Loch Leglean: Damhan-Allaidh defeated at Caithness, but he escapes. Rumor persistently places the Shetland Islands as Damhan-Allaidh’s base.

890 Stonehenge: Flavia filia Jerbiton, founder of Rosalba, passes into Final Twilight, one day after finishing her final tractatus. Her covenant of Rosalba enters a new period of war with Blackthorn.
Flavia carefully prepared for her Final Twilight, leading to speculation that she had discovered a great secret about "the last veil".

890 Thebes Tribunal: Morwena of Ex Miscellanea brings charges against Darius of Guernicus, for abuse of Quaesitorial privilege. Morwena claims Darius had used his position as Quaesitor to conduct a vendetta against her for over thirty years. Morwena cites twenty-one separate investigations that Darius had conducted into her activities since she arrived in the Tribunal. Only four had come before Tribunal and only one had resulted in a conviction, and this was for a low crime. Seven investigations that initially focused on her eventually led to other magi. Darius claims he had good cause for his suspicions, as Morwena’s magical heritage is renowned for its dark practices. The Tribunal acquits Darius. But he’s called to Magvillus less than a year later and then moved to the Rhine Tribunal.

891: Iamitu’krielle of Criamon apparently passes into Final Twilight. Nevertheless she appears to magi thereafter to make strange prophecies.
How convenient for them…

891 Rome Tribunal: Dominicus of House Jerbiton is charged with the slaying of Gravis of House Flambeau. Dominicus claims forfeit immunity applies. Gravis had thrown a Ball of Abyssal Flame at him after a council discussion had become "heated". Witnesses testify that Gravis had made the first attack, with only verbal provocation. Although his Parma was penetrated, Dominicus was barely injured and replied with Clenching Hand of the Crushed Heart, instantly slaying Gravis. A member of Dominicus’s covenant claims that Dominicus, an amicus of Talus, had taken a powerful potion that morning. This potion made his flesh impervious to fire; he then orchestrated the confrontation. Dominicus does not dispute this, but maintains that Gravis had attempted to kill him, forfeiting his immunity. The Presiding Quaesitor pronounce that Dominicus’s intention did not excuse Gravis’s action and he is acquitted.
However, Dominicus was later convicted of breaching his covenant charter and was exiled from the Tribunal.

892 Normandy: Covenant of Rotomagus is destroyed as Vikings sack Rouen.
The sole surviving member left House Flambeau in shame, and joined House Ex Miscellanea.

892 Rhine Tribunal: The First Tribunal sponsors a proposal for a new covenant, Rudiaria, affiliated to House Flambeau, which is duly founded. The Tribunal asserts Rudiaria’s ownership of all magical sites along the river Rhine between the towns of Mainz and Cologne.

892 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

893 Rome: The Sixth Verdi Competition.

893–897 Stonehenge: Covenant Occulta founded by new magi, but withers in three years after failing to secure resources.

896 Stonehenge: London covenant founded.

897: Pope Formosus remains is exhumed and put on trial in the judgement known as Cadaver Synod. The corpse disinterred, clad in papal vestments, and seated on a throne to face all the charges from John VIII. His brief reign as pope had been troubled, and the verdict is that the deceased had been unworthy of the pontificate. All his measures and acts are annulled and the orders conferred by him are declared invalid. The papal vestments torn from his body, the three fingers from his right hand that he had used in consecrations are cut off and the corpse unceremoniously thrown into the Tiber (later retrieved by a monk).
What happened to divine auras caused by this pope's blessings?

898 Seventh Grand Tribunal: Quaesitors required to maintain accreditation in order to officiate at Tribunal, specifically the magus must be known to at least one other magus of the Tribunal, and must present a document of good standing signed by Primus Guernicus and dated not more than seven years past.
Following the Tytalus example of Tribunal secession, the Irish magi declare that they leave the Britannian Tribunal, which splits into the new Tribunals of Stonehenge, Hibernia and Loch Leglean.
The Iberian Tribunal is officially constituted with Baldiccione ex Guernicus as its first Praeco.

The Tide of Mars (AD 898–1018)#

By the end of the 9th century, the last of the Founders had died or vanished into Twilight. The great names who once held sway were gone, leaving the Order in the hands of newly rising Primi and the recently recognized Archmagi who inherited much of the Founders’ social prestige. Outwardly, this seemed a time of relative calm: Hermetic law continued to be refined, new covenants appeared, and the unity of the Order of Hermes had endured. Yet beneath that surface, old resentments and new intrigues were growing into something far more dangerous.

Rumors of Damhan-Allaidh’s return rippled through Loch Leglean, spurring fears that the infamous "Spider" had not truly perished in 810. Meanwhile, Wizard’s Wars - once individualized affairs - began escalating into broader covenant conflicts. Tensions spiked when disturbing documents known as the Duresca Scrolls were discovered, raising doubts about the intentions of House Guernicus and shaking trust in the Quaesitores at precisely the moment the Order needed them most.

Amid the backdrop of rivalries and simmering tensions across the Order, House Tytalus plunged into its most perilous gambit. Always devoted to testing boundaries - and certain they could toy with diabolic forces as adroitly as they outwitted rival magi - a powerful faction drifted into outright diabolism, a practice they concealed for years using the same cunning that once saw Tytalus survive the Sundering. Their hubris caught up with them during the Special Tribunal of 961, when Quaesitors led a purge that nearly eradicated the entire House. Although Tytalus weathered this maelstrom, the scandal not only crippled the House for decades but also sent shockwaves through the entire Order and rekindled old suspicions fed by earlier crises, such as the Spider War and the first tremors of the Schism.

In the wake of this debacle, many within the Order regarded Tytalus’s "games" less as bold innovation and more as ruinous overreach - reminders that even the craftiest manipulator can be undone by the foes they presume to master.

Mistrust of House Diedne intensifies. Their once-tolerated secrecy and druidic rites invite suspicion of hidden sins, and paranoid whispers multiply among the Latin Houses, in particular Tremere, Flambeau, and Jerbiton. Tensions mount, propelled by rumors of twisted sacrifices and Infernal bargains. Many covenants quietly close ranks, forging martial pacts or stockpiling vis, bracing for the war they sense is coming.

Even so, this era saw rapid growth of the Order. New covenants sprang up across Mythic Europe, House Ex Miscellanea integrated more hedge traditions, and promising young magi filled the gaps left by aging elders. But these gains came with growing pains. Heightened rivalries, Wizard’s Wars fought over unclaimed vis, and whispered accusations against Diedne rattled the fragile peace. Increasingly, disputes that might once have been settled by politics or Certamen now escalated into open conflict.

By the turn of the millennium, the Order’s outward prosperity masked a landscape of looming dread. Skirmishes erupt in border covenants, and the Quaesitors struggle to keep the peace. Some Houses clamor for an official condemnation of Diedne; others call for calm and proof. Yet, cooler heads are quickly drowned out as fear becomes the coin of Hermetic politics. Wizards’ War - once carefully declared in single grudges - now flares between rival covenants and entire factions.
The stage was set for the greatest crisis in Hermetic history: a fiery maelstrom of suspicion and violence - soon known as the Schism War - that would erupt in 1003 and forever reshape the Order of Hermes.

The accusations levied against House Diedne serve as the spark, but the true blaze of the Schism War is fueled by older feuds and unresolved betrayals. Over nine harrowing years, the Order tears at itself from within. The devastation culminates in the destruction of House Diedne. By 1018, the Order stands bloodied and hollow: once again united on parchment, but haunted by the echoes of an age when sodalis turned upon sodalis.

898 Hibernia Tribunal (1st): The Treaty of Cnoc Maol Réidh with the Coill Trí hedge wizards in Connacht is finally made binding. The Tribunal encourages wizards who are in conflict with other magi over resources to relocate to Connacht, and the Order pledges support to facilitate the move.
Not all relocations were entirely voluntary. The end result was to concentrate the Irish hedge traditions into one province, leaving the rest of Ireland to the Hermetic magi, relatively free from competition with locals.
The Coill Trí is by no means a rival to the Order of Hermes. It is merely a legal entity with which the Order could make a single treaty, rather than hundreds of separate treaties with each individual tradition or draoi in Connacht.
Today, the Coill Trí boasts a membership at least equal to that of the Hibernian Order of Hermes, but possibly much larger. There are some who try to make the Coill Trí more than it is, to use it as a force to mobilize the native magicians of Ireland for some deeper purpose. These attempts usually fail because of The Gift, which forms a wedge of suspicion and distrust that drives any temporary alliance apart. The Order is more than happy with this arrangement.
The Mercere Houses Leth Moga and Leth Cuinn are formed, as byproducts of Hibernia’s new independent Tribunal status.
Since its beginning Leth Moga has been interested in preserving the Tribunal’s history. While the northern redcaps practice martial feats, the southern redcaps are the eye-witnesses of the Tribunal, keeping detailed journals of their accounts. Like Leth Cuinn, Leth Moga is not a covenant. It does not keep a cathach nor need a wealth requirement. It exists because it serves the Tribunal, and its existence is safeguarded by numerous Hibernia Peripheral Code rulings.

899 Iberia: The Mercer House of Occelum Durii is established. Salionca establishes the chapter house of Izaro.
The mysterious covenant of Caium is founded.

899 Normandy Tribunal (5th): The Tribunal votes to support the decision of the 7th meeting of the Grand Tribunal, subsumes some of the former territories of the Provençal Tribunal and extends eastward to share a border with the Rhine Tribunal.

899 Stonehenge: Alfred the Great dies. His son Edward takes on the task of conquering the Danes and bringing the land back under English control, helped by his sister Aethelflaed.

899 Stonehenge: Blackthorn covenant declares Wizard’s War on Rosalba covenant. Rosalba is destroyed and all the magi killed. One Blackthorn magus is killed by magical defenses. The magically protected site is abandoned and eventually lost.

899 Rhine: Emperor Arnulf dies suddenly. Two hedge wizards are accused of inflicting stroke upon him and executed.

900 Loch Leglean: Diedne spells eradicate the Pictish language, possibly to support the conquest of Kenneth MacAlpine, a mortal king.
Further evidence of Diedne corruption.

902 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

906 Iberia: Mare Iacum founded.

906 Provencal: The original Mercer House and Mercurian covenant controlling the old Roman pass from the Piedmont into Gaul, Portus Cottiae (821-906), is abandoned after repeated attacks by Berber mercenaries in the late ninth century.

907 Iberia: Ruiz Sanchez ex Flambeau leads a group of magi dissatisfied with the current Tribunal's policy against Baldiccione and Qatr al-Nada. They ambush Qatr al-Nada during a diplomatic meeting with the Sahirs and kill everyone, breaking the truce between the Sahirs and the Order.
The covenants of Inverneira and Ipagrum are destroyed during the Sahirs’ retaliation, and most surviving covenants suffer major damage.

907 Normandy: Florum covenant founded in Flanders.
This covenant originally occupied the site now inhabited by the magi of Spider’s Palace.

907 Rome: Calabria covenant disbands in Rome, citing unbearable Roman politics. The magi apparently scatter, or possibly move to the Theban Tribunal.
Calabria supposedly fled to Novgorod, but that Tribunal did not yet exist.

C. 908 Iberia. Briatrix ex Diedne, of Duresca, calls for an emergency Tribunal to distribute aid to the covenants affected by the attacks of the sahirs. It is discovered that the Tribunal’s treasury is empty, as praeco Baldiccione spent it all on buying peace with the sahirs. Enraged by the deception and the death of her apprentice during the attacks, Briatrix kills Baldiccione in Wizard’s War.

911 Provencal: The Diedne covenant of Yf (821-911), off the coast of Arelat, falls to the depredations of Fraxinetum.
One of its members joined the efforts of Coenobium Rhodanien in revenge but her line seems to fade away just before the Schism War.

911 Rome: The Seventh Verdi Competition.

912 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

913 Iberian Tribunal: Gamila ex Jerbiton is elected Praeco. Her influence popularizes Umayyad culture among the magi of the Tribunal.
The dissolution of Campus Stellae is announced. Bayt al-Hikma is established.

913 Normandy: Ligurio covenant founded, as a vassal of Fudarus on the Aquitaine-Brittany border in the Vendeé.
It was destroyed by giants hurling huge boulders in 1011, presumed to have been sent by the Diedne covenant of Kerguntuil.

913 Thebes: Local Tribunal meeting approves new Bjornaer covenant of Estropi.

914 Thebes: Estropi covenant founded on Mount Erciyes, the highest mountain in Anatolia by a sept of Bjornaer magi, all with heartbeasts of predatory birds.

915 Iberia: The marriage of Conciatta ex Bonisagus and Currito ex Jerbiton declare the small Covenant of La Torre No Vista with the objective of advancing the Bonisagi's research.
The fields of Iberia fail, causing widespread famine.

915 Stonehenge: Covenant Lux Draconis founded in the Pennines.

917 Iberia: Duresca covenant founded in Iberia.

919 Iberia: The Iberian sahirs are officially expelled from the Levantine Suhhar after many years of little contact.
There is a second famine in Iberia.

920 Iberia: Tamis filius Baldiccione founds the covenant of Pico Sacro, near the ancient Campus Stellae.
Salama is founded by Bjornaer expelled from Mare Iacum.
The covenant of 'Olam wa-'ed is founded near the Jewish settlement of Lucena.

920 Normandy: Kerguntuil covenant founded, vassal of Branugurix. A coastal covenant situated on the Rose Coast. The members of Kerguntuil were particularly interested in the many Breton tales regarding giants, and many of their covenfolk were larger than average humans.
Destroyed in the Schism War 1007. It is rumored that a Quaesitor suggested to the Templars that they built their chapel at Lanleff to cleanse the region from the diabolic taint of the Diedne

922 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

923 Iberia: The maga Conciatta of Bonisagus publishes her first notable work, "The Application of Vim to the Supernatural Humors". This major breakthrough shows how Magic Theory can adapt and differentiate the four identifiable auras and earns her the rank of Cannophori. However, her experiments leave her Gift damaged.
This was revolutionary in two ways. Firstly, it reduced auras into four categories that matched directly with the accepted Realms. Secondly, it demonstrated the use of Vim to directly affect those supernatural Realms. The House was at first skeptical, but as each of her peers studied from her work and validated her results, word of her achievement spread. Before long, the text was distributed to the Tribunals and Conciatta’s place in Hermetic history was sealed.
However, her parens Baltasar was Marched shortly after this, by his own admission he had become Infernally corrupted and he threw himself at the mercy of the Quaesitores in the hope for leniency but receiving none. The scandal hit Conciatta hard and her rivals had new ammunition, and she was quietly ostracized from Bonisagus society until she withdrew from the order in 937 and retreated into her research for many decades until her passing into Final Twilight in 1007 (see entry that year).
Note: Other sources list the publication year as 930.

924 Iceland: Massive eruptions and earthquakes rock the land, and the skies darken while seeresses and soothsayers predict imminent destruction.

924 Stonehenge: King Edward dies, but he has brought all of England south of the Humber under his direct control, handing it over to Athelstan. The Vikings keep their established kingdom centered on York, and do not recognize British authority at all.

925 Balthasar ex Bonisagus, Conciatta's pater, is executed for diabolism.

925 Iberia: The Sahirs of Iberia formally join the Order of Hermes.
In the Umayyad Emirate of the Iberian Peninsula, the sahirs who had caused the death of Flambeau’s pater had been persecuted by the Founder under his belief that they were diabolists. His followers had continued the witch-hunt in revenge for Flambeau’s death (which may not necessarily have been the fault of the sahirs). The Iberian sahirs saw this as an opportunity to protect themselves from their aggressors. Upon hearing of the inclusion in the Order of their hated enemy, House Flambeau was incensed. They promised a campaign of Wizard’s Wars until the last of these infidels had been exterminated. Nevertheless, the Iberian sahirs were few in number, and were able to hide deep in the Umayyad Emirate (and its successor, the Almohad Caliphate of Cordoba) until the fury of House Flambeau had abated somewhat.
One of the conditions of their joining was that no covenants would be founded in Mythic Africa for three centuries. The reason for this stipulation is not entirely understood. The new Hermetic sahirs may have been hiding from the jinn they had betrayed in joining the Order, or else it may have been imposed by the Hermetic negotiators to prevent the Order of Hermes from inheriting the settuten as enemies. The agreement expires in 1225, and at least some magi are eager to explore the new lands and the wonders therein.
Most of the sahirs join House Ex Miscellanea over the next 5 years.

927 Iberia: The sahir fortresses of al-Abraj, Zaloquia and Jibal al-Rahma are reorganized as covenants.

927 Stonehenge: Athelstan conquers the kingdom of York.

927 Thebes: A famine rolls across the Byzantine Empire.

929 Iberia: Abd-Rahman III declares himself Caliph.

929 Rome: The Eighth Verdi Competition.

930 Iberia: Ruiz Sanchez ex Flambeau destroys the newly constituted sahir covenant of al-Abraj.

930 Provencal: The covenant of Barbegal (895–930), a watermill complex dominated by a trio of mage-smiths, this Verditius covenant just north of Arles was abandoned due to Saracen raiding of the undefended site. The surviving magi helped establish the Rhone based covenant of Coenobium Rhodanien.

930 Rhine: Covenant Sirmium (822–930), located in the March of Meissen, is destroyed during the Magyar invasion of Germany.
Only Wiederich of House Flambeau survived. Wiederich immediately joined Heinrich der Vogler's (Henry the Fowler’s) army, determined to avenge himself upon the horseman invaders. It is known that the Magyars brought wizards with them, but whether Wiederich was responsible for killing them is not clear; nevertheless, they were not present when Heinrich defeated the Magyars at Riade. Wiederich was also part of Otto I’s army, and present at the Battle of the Lech in 955, after which the Magyar leaders were executed and the assimilation of the Magyars into western Christendom began.

930 Loch Leglean: Loch Leglean echoes with rumor of Damhan-Allaidh’s return. They prove baseless.

931 Stonehenge: King Athelstan completes his fathers’ and grandfathers’ work by accepting the tribute of the Welsh kings, and finally pacifying Cornwall. Covenant Sursum got too closely involved with the Cornish nobility and was connected to their revolt. Athelstan’s response involved the destruction of the covenant, and when the Quaesitors investigated the ruins they found evidence that the Tytalus at the covenant had been involved in diabolism.
This evidence was some of the earliest against House Tytalus.

931 Eight Grand Tribunal: It is ratified that no Hermetic covenants may be established in Africa for three centuries, counted from the year 925 when Sahirs of the Umayyad Emirate were accepted to the Order.
Magus Hernis of House Tytalus cast out and executed by magus Fax Ignis of Flambeau, for abusing the right of Wizard’s War in declaring three such in the space of fourteen months. His reasons were considered insufficient by the Tribunal at Durenmar, but he refused to consider the advice of his sodales. Such abuse of the traditions of the Order shall not again be tolerated.
Primus Quendalon of Merinita has not been seen much, and does not attend himself but sends a delegate.
Hernis would have evaded this fate had he cooperated, but stubbornly refused to admit error or cooperate.

931 Stonehenge: Covenant Sursum falls to a mortal king, Athelstan, for interfering in a mundane revolt.

932 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

934 Iberia: The covenant of Serra da Lousa is established.
Harra is founded as a peace project between sahirs and Flambeau.

934 Rhine Tribunal: The covenant of Oakdell is founded by magi of House Diedne in the Westerwald, just to the east of the Rhine, with the sponsorship of magi of the First Tribunal.
It is clarified that Oakdell is forbidden from infringing on the territory of Rudiaria covenant.

936 Normandy: Baiocassium Minor founded, a vassal of Baiocassium located within the town of Bayeux.
Destroyed in the Schism War 1005.

C. 937 Iberia: Briatrix ex Diedne discovers the documents that would eventually become known as the Duresca Scrolls while cataloging the spoils captured during her Wizard’s War with Baldiccione 29 years ago. The scrolls seem to be evidence of a secret plot by Founder Guernicus to dominate the Order and the World, whether they are authentic, or forgeries, is ambiguous. She secretly meets with some of the most influential magi at Tribunal, including Baldaccione's filius, Tamis. The latter confirms that the scrolls are written in his pater's handwriting, and, while Briatrix and the Redcap Arnau distribute copies throughout the Order, Tamis goes to the Inner Council of Magvillus seeking explanations.
The Guernicus is soon censured by the Inner Council, and he and Briatrix meet early deaths at the Battle of Frias.
Eight Quaesitors, two of Guernicus, others of Flambeau, Tytalus, and Jerbiton, are dispatched to investigate the Duresca Scrolls. Three die en route, causes unrecorded. The covenant is paralyzed during the investigation.
Shocking I must say! The details of this plot are either lost, unrecorded, or carefully kept under wraps.

937 Iberia: Conciatta presents her last works and retires from the Order.

937 Stonehenge: King Athelstan is attacked by the Irish and Scots, in a grand alliance intended to break his power. He annihilates them at the battle of Brunanburh.

938 Stonehenge: Rector Novus founded on Isle of Man. Destroyed within the year, presumably by the Order of Odin. The second failure to colonize Man. Alternately, this could be an early strike by Diedne.

939 Stonehenge: King Athelstan dies, but his brother Edmund is unable to hold the kingdom together, and it quickly collapses under the pressure of Viking raids.
He should not have alienated Hermetic allies. The various parts of the country
Slips away from the descendants of Alfred, until Cnut conquers them in 1016.

940 Iberia: The panel of Quaesitors assigned to Duresca declare the Duresca Scrolls to be a fraud. This panel stays at Duresca and join the covenant, eventually fully rewriting its charter.
Wait a minute..?

941 Iberian Tribunal: Gamila ex Jerbiton loses his position as Praeco, as his support for the Quaesitorial actions in Duresca is considered an act of tyranny. Abbas ibn Mundir Trianomae is elected Praeco, and his newly founded covenant of Al-Zahra grows rapidly.
Tribunal records are shifted to Duresca.

941 Greater Alps: Probable year in which magus Nerius, patron saint of Christian magi, passes his Gauntlet to enter House Criamon.
He goes on to be a most controversial and storied figure. Magus Nerius supposedly finished his apprenticeship in only five years.

941 Normandy: Montverte covenant founded.

942 Thebes: Expedition by Michael of Amastris to found a covenant in Kiev.

942 Stonehenge: Contact lost with London covenant, which had moved in the city repeatedly. Presumed to be dispersed or destroyed.

942 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

943 Normandy: Ergotism kills tens of thousands and leaves many more mad from visions.
This may have been a faerie joke gone too far or the effort of some vicious magus.

946 Stonehenge: Covenant Nova Roma founded in Kent. The strongly Latin magi quickly acquire a poor reputation among Bjornaer, Diedne, and Ex Miscellanea magi.
How they make enemies so quickly is not noted, although it was most probably from generally poor manners.

947 Rome: The Ninth Verdi Competition.

948 Iberian Tribunal: The diffusion or allusion to the Duresca Manuscripts is declared a Minor Crime. Bayt al-Hikma declares its opposition to this measure and its commitment to a more open Order, allowing free access to its library.

C. 950: Casius invents the game Bellum (Latin for "War") as a method to practice Arcane Abilities and magical Arts for apprentices. During the game, the apprentice creates an illusion of a Roman soldier, which he then controls to fight an opponent’s illusionary soldier. To win, an apprentice must defeat his
opponent’s illusionary Roman. A second way to win is to force the opponent to lose concentration, which cancels the spell. Any number can play, the only requirements being that an apprentice’s Arts are opened, and he can cast the spell Ager Belli ("field of battle").
This game soon became wildly popular in several Tribunals, and magi continued to play it past apprenticeship. It even ended in a minor riot at the Grand Tribunal of 1162.

950 Iceland: Iceland’s magicians create a hreppur to protect their interests.

951 Rome: Sansaron covenant founded in the ruins of Carthage.

952 Stonehenge: Nova Roma magi report contact with magi of London covenant, in a clash over a vis site. No further contact with London covenant reported. London covenant had always been mysterious. Its fate remains a secret, but they left no one behind to care.

952 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

954 Loch Leglean: Caitlin Suil Uaine, half-sith maga aged 61, wins a faerie hill from the Prince of the Gray Jerkin in a shinty match. She founds the covenant of Crun Clach on the spot. Praeco Caitlin continues to head Crun Clach to this day.
Really??

955–973: The Slavs and Danes are converted to Christianity. New bishoprics are founded in the Eastern Marches and in Denmark. A number of pagan Slavs retreat to Rügen.

955 Thebes: Great Lavra founded on Mount Athos

956 Iberia: Al-Qurtubi ex Jerbiton completes his theory of alignment with the stars, which he compiles in the Ghayat al-Hakim, better known as Picatrix. He soon leaves the Order to devote himself to divine contemplation. The followers of his ideas are known as 'astral sorcerers'.

956 Loch Leglean: Well of the Head sponsors Druids’ Dale, another covenant of Diedne.

956 Levant: Jahm of Alexandria, an Ex Miscellanea magus, rediscovers the basic principles of alchemical science and is the first to adapt them to Hermetic usage (i.e. Hermetic Alchemy) in a series of magical breakthroughs that also results in the discovery of Philosophic Alchemy.
It received little attention in the Order until, in 1144, Roger of Chester published De Compositione Alchemiae, the first Latin work to introduce the ideas of Arabic alchemy to the wider European community.

957: Regional Tribunals.

961 Iberia: Al-Hakam II is declared Caliph; during his reign, Cordoba becomes the cultural capital of the Mediterranean.

961 Corruption of House Tytalus Special Tribunal: Prima Tasgillia Ex Tytalus and two other leaders of the House, and several members of Tytalus are tried, convicted, and executed for Diabolism. This marks a turning point in the Order’s relations with Hell and a strict anti-diabolic interpretation of the Code. House Tytalus is severely reduced in numbers. The diabolists also drag down many members of other Houses, having corrupted them. Within House Tytalus, it is known as the Betrayal as it was exposed by Tasgillia’s filia Kalliste when she brought evidence to the Quaesitors that her mater had been using Guorna’s lore to summon demons to attend to her sybaritic desires, opening the way for her to succeed Tasgillia as the fifth Prima and creating considerable ill will towards her in the House to this day.
This event, more than any other, triggers a decline of the Order and an increase in intra-Order conflict, leading to the Schism War. The execution of Tasgillia by Archmage Erythravis of Guernicus followed almost thirty years of investigation by Quaesitors. Many other magi were exposed as diabolists: the other House that suffered greatly in this purge was House Bonisagus, some members led into diabolism through spells designed by fallen Tytalus magi.
The Tytalan way would have been to settle the matter behind closed doors; instead the proud House was publicly shamed before the Order, and to this day has not recovered its former reputation.
Kalliste’s memory is ritually cursed every midwinter at Fudarus.

Golias, a famous redcap of House Mercere and semi-permanent resident of Fudarus, was also convicted of diabolism and all known copies of his works were burned. His reputation for enjoying wine and women survived, even if he did not, and many years later a small group of artistic magi, Redcaps and their followers revived his name. They call him "Bishop Golias," and consider him a sort of patron saint of their group, the Goliards, or more formally the Ordo Vagarum ("The Wanderers").
Their heyday is passing, for while they produced many great works in the late 1100s and early 1200s, including the famous Carmina Burana, the Church now preaches against them at services and strips suspected Goliards of church rank. They still continue to preach the Goliardic gospel of enlightened debauchery in Germany and northern France. This really should be intolerable behavior for Redcaps.

962: The imperial coronation of Otto I (The Great) in Rome serves to legitimize his vast acquisitions. The German kings, henceforth are surnamed Emperor, and become inextricably entangled in the politics of Italy.
Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his father's death in 936. He continued his father's work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom and greatly expanded the king's powers at the expense of the aristocracy. After defeating the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, thus ending the Hungarian invasions of Western Europe, he earned a reputation as the savior of Christendom.

962 Rhine Tribunal: The Tribunal has heard charges of diabolism brought against Eginolf of House Flambeau of Rudiaria covenant, which remain unproven. Reports of malefic activity in the vicinity of Rudiaria are, however, noted with disapproval, and that covenant is therefore ordered to investigate and report within seven years. The magi of Rudiaria are also urged to redouble their efforts to avoid disturbing the mundanes of the region.

962 Thebes: Michael of Amastris, founder of a covenant in Kiev, retreats to Constantinople, fleeing local hedge wizards called "Volkhvy". Four other magi of the covenant have been slain by the various dangers of Russia.

962 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

963: Regional Tribunals are a year early due to the Grand Tribunal.

963 Iberia: The magi of Bayt al-Hikma belonging to the Kharijite movement are executed by order of the Caliph, for their dissemination of heretical ideas. Praeco Abbas ibn Mundir convinces the Tribunal not to intervene.

963 Thebes: Redcap Methodius rejuvenates covenant of Miphoria

964 Ninth Grand Tribunal. The "unwieldy" Theban Tribunal is split in two - the Tremere dominated north becomes the Transylvanian Tribunal, the southern part the Thebes Tribunal.
Primus Quendalon of Merinita has not been seen much, and does not attend himself but sends a delegate.
No other important rulings noted. It may have been poorly attended in the wake of the Corruption.

965 Rome: The Tenth Verdi Competition.

969 Iberia: The Umayyad Caliphate and the Order reach an agreement, allowing magi with the Gentle Gift to teach and be taught in the Great Mosque of Cordoba.

969 Levant: The Fatimid Caliphate under general Jawhar captures Egypt, supported by Berber wizards who practice a form of magic never encountered before by other Muslim wizards. The mages who oppose the invasion are utterly destroyed.
No magi of the Order ever had contact with them, so the magic they wielded remains a mystery, although the evidence would seem to suggest that it was of great power.

969 Rhine Tribunal: House Mercere reports that covenant Rudiaria (892-969), affiliated to House Flambeau and located in the Rhine Gorge, is destroyed - burnt down in an apparent catastrophic magical accident, with all of its magi slain or missing. The exact cause is not revealed. It is noted that this event coincided with a crippling famine in the region, which has contributed to mundane unrest. Declarations of regret are heard for the believed loss of these magi.
This covenant suffered from malefic attention, and demonic involvement was suspected in the magical accident that destroyed the covenant.

970 Provencal: The Birds of Camargue (901-970), a Bjornaer covenant in the swamp at the mouth of the Rhone merge with the greater grouping of Coenobium Rhodanien in response to the threat of Fraxinetum.

970 Thebes: John Tzimices allows Paulician heretics to settle in the city of Philippolis to help defend it.

971 Thebes: Kievan Rus invades Bulgaria and threatens Constantinople.

972 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

975 Provencal: The covenant of Fraxinetum (889-975), founded by a band
of Andalusian raiders and two aggressive Tytalus magi that provoked a series of disputes regarding the Peripheral Code and interference with mundanes, is finally destroyed soon after the defeat of the Saracens (in 973) in a Wizard’s War declared by the newly formed covenant of Coenobium Rhodanien.
This alliance of Arelat covenants banded together to resist the incursions and remain a potent force in the region to this day.

976 Iberian Tribunal: The Tribunal approves a Mercere expedition to Africa, breaking the spirit, but not the letter, of the agreement with the Sahirs.

976 Rhine Tribunal: House Mercere reports that nothing is salvageable from the former covenant of Rudiaria, and that the site has been sanctified by a local archbishop from Mainz. Oakdell covenant’s claim of ownership of all sites formerly belonging to Rudiaria is refused.

977 Loch Leglean: Giants destroy covenant of Uamh na Croig. Investigation shows that the magi of Uamh na Croig had hunted giants for sport, and no retribution is made. The magi of Loch Leglean are warned to leave the giants alone.
Surely these magi paid no attention to the history of the war against Damhan-Allaidh. Learn from their example, magus!

978 Iberia: Estancia-es-Karida covenant founded.

980 Iberia. Al-Manṣūr becomes absolute dictator of the Umayyad empire, gets rid of the Syrian aŷnād and make the Berbers his personal troops.

980 Hibernia: Teamhrach was threatened by Olaf Cuaran, king of Dublin and Northumberland. Unwilling to see Teamhrach fall into the hands of northmen, the covenant of Vigil magically ensured a treaty between Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill and the kings of Leinster and Ulster. In further clear breach of the Code, the magi of Vigil also took to the field of battle when Máel Sechnaill’s forces met Olaf’s and helped rout the Scandinavians, which left the way clear for Máel Sechnaill to take Dublin.
The Order of Hermes was always loath to involve itself in the mundane conflict between the Viking kingdoms and the native Irish kings unless the northmen brought rune wizards.

980 Thebes: Grammaton covenant founded by Grammaton of Bonisagus and his filii. They were devoted to the completion of original research connected to binding magics.

981 Normandy: Caput Capra covenant founded, a vassal of Branugurix, and the furthest east of Normandy’s Diedne covenants, on the banks of the Loire not far from Fleury.
Caput Capra was the youngest of Branugurix’s vassals, and was founded to protect the ancient druidic site at Fleury from the lawlessness of the late 10th century. Caput Capra was the first casualty of the Schism War 1005 in the Tribunal.

982 Iberia: Izaro is abandoned

982 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

983 Iberia: Aedes Iris is founded near Tafilalt, as a Mercer House. Its commercial importance allows the Order easy access to the gold and vis of Bilad al-Sudan.

983 Hibernia Tribunal: The clear interference in mundane affairs by the covenant of Vigil at the Battle of Teamhrach in 980 was not punished as it was deemed vital for the sanctity of the Tribunal.

983 Normandy Tribunal (17th): In light of the preeminence of the Duke of Normandy in the territories claimed by the Tribunal, and the decline of the Franks as a people, the Tribunal supports the proposal of Adrianus of Montverte, and the Tribunal of the West Franks is renamed the Normandy Tribunal.

983 Rome: The Eleventh Verdi Competition.

984 Stonehenge: Ungulus covenant founded in the Lake District by members of House Flambeau.

986 Iberia: Occelum Durii is sacked by the troops of Almanzor.

C. 987 Loch Leglean: Clan Mac Gruagach joins House Ex Miscellanea. Covenant leader Callum Mac Lachlan begins sending his clansmen among the magi of the Order.
Evidently, Clan Mac Gruagach had not joined the Order along with the rest of the Ordo.

987 Provencal: Calebais covenant founded.
The original founders of Calebais were punished by Tribunal for having aided rebels against the king, and it was in honor of their outrageous act that the covenant had adopted the symbol of a broken crown.

990 Iberia: Porta Pandere is founded near Santarém (Portugal) as a complement to the work of Aedes Iris.

990 Rhine: Followers of Hercynius leave Durenmar to found Waldherz.
First a chapter house, later a (disputed) covenant.

C. 990–1002: Long held tensions between the Latinate and non-Latinate Houses (Diedne, Ex Miscellanea, and Bjornaer) keep mounting.
Some covenants, especially in The British Isles and in Normandy, seriously start preparing for the worst. Vis is stockpiled rather than used. Magic discoveries and secrets are held onto and not shared - not even by Bonisagii.

992 Thebes: Rodnya Covenant founded in Kiev, sponsored by the Theban Tribunal.
This is the first colonization attempt since Michael of Amastris failed.

992: Legend claims that in this year a Northman, Leif the Lucky, son of Eric the Red, journeyed to the lands west of Greenland.
These lands must be an unknown regio, perhaps a Faerie kingdom?

992 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

993 Rhine: Grand Silesia Covenant founded in Poland, sponsored by magi from Crintera and Rethra of the Rhine Tribunal. The easternmost expansion of the Order to date.

994 Transylvania: Pripet Maior Covenant founded on the south-western edge of the Pripet marshes, sponsored by the Transylvanian Tribunal.

996: Most Regional Tribunals are a year early due to the Grand Tribunal.

996 Iberian Tribunal: Praeco Abbas ibn Mundir is declared guilty of Interference with the mundanes, having conspired with the Caliph during the execution of the Khariji magi. However, he is able to flee.
Ibn Sahl ex Tremere is elected Praeco. He immediately begins legal action against Mons Vindius, the main Diedne covenant of the Tribunal.

996 Rhine Tribunal: Waldherz, deep in the Black Forest, was originally founded as a chapter house of Durenmar in 990 by a handful of Bonisagus magi who constituted the lineage of Hercynius. He was the penultimate apprentice of Bonisagus, and his followers claimed to continue what they believed to be Bonisagus’ final work, which was to overcome the limits on Hermetic magic using primal magic from the forest’s heart. They were joined in this endeavor by
magi of House Diedne, and Waldherz declared its independence from Durenmar, although the issue of their sponsorship to form a separate covenant was mired in controversy. Durenmar argued that they could veto them by providing no sponsor; Waldherz claimed that one of their magi sufficed as a sponsor, since they had not yet seceded. The Tribunal ruled in favor of Durenmar, clarifying that a sponsor cannot be one of the founders of a new covenant.
Oakdell covenant brings charges of espionage and of meddling in their affairs against magi of Durenmar covenant. The claims are unproven.

997 Iberian Tribunal: Magus Pistulus of Flambeau punished with the loss of his familiar after slaying magus Forcus of Tytalus. Pistulus believed Forcus to be threatening his laboratory and apprentice, but presented no good evidence of this intent.
This is one of the few Tribunals to occur in the same year as a Grand Tribunal.

997 Tenth Grand Tribunal: After the episode with Pistulus of Flambeau, the Tribunal rules that every sanctum shall be marked with a circle within a square, with straight lines connecting the square’s opposite corners, with a symbol of the owner accompanying the marker.
The assembled Merinitae finally decide they have to choose one of their number to take Quendalon’s place, but they do not all agree that he’s dead. By surprising consensus the leaders of the various groups name a timid young maga named Rhiannon as Prima; she was four generations descended from Quendalon, and they believed she would best represent the House’s interests.
At this point, no one could really say what had become of Quendalon, and he hadn’t been seen for many decades. If still alive, he would have been ancient.
The Diedne covenant of Oakdell in the Rhine again brings charges of espionage and of meddling in their affairs against magi of Durenmar covenant. These spurious claims are unproven.

998 Normandy: Aedes Salii covenant, vassal of Sinapis, established on Jersey. This covenant - named after the Salii, the priests of Mars - was founded to coordinate the Schism War in Normandy and Stonehenge.
After the war, the Tremere members returned to their home Tribunals, leaving it in the hands of House Flambeau. It was disbanded in 1063 when House Flambeau withdrew from the Normandy Tribunal; two of its members joined Lapis Crudus.

998 Stonehenge: Lumen covenant founded.

999–1003: Papacy of Gerbert of Aurillac; he reigns as Sylvester II. He is rumored to be a powerful magician, and to have had the advice of an animated bronze head, possibly the one that advised Vergil.
Was he a hedge mage or diabolist?

999: At the Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera, concerns are raised that the Order of Hermes is in danger of fragmenting due to internal conflict. The non-Latinate Houses of Diedne, Ex Miscellanea, and Bjornaer seemed to be in particular danger, as the traditionally Roman Houses banded together and openly attacked magi from "primitive" traditions in flagrant disregard of the Oath of Hermes. House Bjornaer became paranoid and insular, and many retreated to Crintera over the coming years.

C. 1000: Some chroniclers report a great and widespread fear that the world is about to end. The churches are packed with the repentant and many give up their worldly goods to the Church.
They were proved wrong, but what may have caused this?

C. 1000 Iberia: Hafsa ibn Abbas Trianomae joins Dar Maliha and initiates a major improvement of the covenant, both in its infrastructure and political contacts.

1000 Iberia: The Qadis of Cordoba condemn the covenant of al-Zahra and its members flee.

1001 Rome: Literatus covenant founded with a grant from Pope Sylvester II. The relationship between this pope and the Order is comparatively friendly.

1001 Rome: The Twelfth Verdi Competition.

1002 Rhine: On the eve of the Schism War, Hérisson, Bjornaer of Clan Arelie, is slain by Gypaetus of Bjornaer who declared Wizard’s War against him for betraying cultic secrets to magi hostile to the Order. Hérisson’s passion was for a process he called "Hermetic Viresculture", the cultivation of vis. At odds with his Primus and many of his House he believed that Magic was infinite and as an advocate of peace, he had offered copies of his research to House Bonisagus and explained his theories to convocations of House Diedne.
The legend of Hérisson’s lost garden is widespread in the Order; supposedly this is where the magus conducted his research into the production of vis. This was never taken seriously though. Some claim that he was a descendant of Myanar of House Merinita who fled when Quendalon became Primus.

1002 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.
This meeting immediately precedes the chaos of the Schism War. Coincidence?

1003–1012 The Schism War: The early stages of the war are simply chaos, with no known trigger. It was growing mainly out of mistrust from the Latin Houses of the Order towards the non-Christian Houses, and particularly there remained centuries-old mistrust against the Druidic House of Diedne, who were also rumored to be practicing human sacrifice. Many magi hoped the regional Tribunals of 1004 would help restore order, but individual Wizard’s Wars and impromptu Marches forced cancellations of most of the Regional Tribunal meetings. Magi battles magi, assassinations are performed, covenants turn on themselves, forests burned, plains wasted, and cities leveled in the war between Houses and Covenants.
The war reached a point of no return with the declaration of Wizard’s War by Primus Cercistum of House Tremere on the entire House Diedne in 1010 - accusing them of human sacrifice and diabolism. House Flambeau enthusiastically allies with Tremere against Diedne. House Guernicus ratifies the declaration and the Order decides - with a narrow majority vote - to renounce House Diedne entirely at the emergency Grand Tribunal of 1010 at Magvillus.
The records are confused in this period. Most chroniclers agree that the Schism War began as general chaos, culminating in the war between Tremere and Diedne, and that most of the events took place from 1003 to 1012.
Diedne had been mistrusted for years for its secretive ways and adherence to alien magic. If they had only opened their closed doors, in the tradition of the Order, they might have avoided their fate.
Half the magi of House Tremere died during the War, but the conflict went a long way towards restoring the pride that they had lost due to the Sundering and the intrigue it exposed.
Before the Schism War was fully resolved, Prima Kalliste of Tytalus, who was widely mistrusted in her own House and perceived to be following the lead of House Guernicus meekly, was murdered by a filius of her successor, Klynoites the sixth Prima.
Primus Aldico of Mercere works hard in this period to restore peace, but he seems to have been more successful after the Tempest (1212).
House Guernicus, headed by Primus Antonius, attempted a peaceful solution but ended up assaulting House Diedne among terrible internal conflict. However, the conflict was generally for the House's benefit in that it restored the perception of importance of the Quaesitores.
House Ex Miscellanea was headed by Primus Basilicus, who was to participate in the fateful Grand Tribunal carrying a considerable number of proxy sigils that might have turned the tide of decision. Unfortunately, he never arrived, at least not in able time.
House Flambeau, headed by Primus Entisimon, generally approved of the War and enabled it by having many among its ranks decree Wizard Wars against members of House Diedne. Eventually, Primus Entisimon rallied the whole House against House Diedne with his famous speech at Val-Negra.
House Jerbiton largely kept apart, choosing instead to help in the period of reconstruction. Many of its members individually joined the fray though.
House Bonisagus was terribly divided by the conflict, widening the rift between the Trianoma and Bonisagus factions, and leading to the abdication of Primus Thamus Collis after the renunciation of House Diedne.
House Mercere was already well-established in its role of running communications within the Order of Hermes, and was instrumental in the calling of the Grand Tribunal.
House Bjornaer, being non-Roman itself, decided early on to retreat into Crintera for well over a decade and ended up largely avoiding the whole conflict.
House Verditius remained unattached and uninvolved with any accusations or hostilities during the whole period.
House Merinita kept some degree of sympathy for House Diedne during the whole period, even after the Renunciation, which was opposed by Prima Rhiannon.

1003 Stonehenge: Lumen covenant destroyed by a Diedne attack after only five years of existence.

1004 Iberia: Maslama al-Majriti founds a school of mathematics and astrology in Cordoba.

1004 Rhine Tribunal: Restas of Jerbiton has used magic to aid him in negotiating prices for books, thereby acquiring a substantial library at little cost. He was found guilty of interfering with mortals, as book dealers would be wary of those seeking books and might bring suspicion on others who sought to buy them. He is punished by the loss of his library.
A disputed ruling exile all of its members of the Rowan Gild. Flambeau and Tremere magi of the Ash Gild, in collaboration with some of the Oak Gild, declare Wizard War against the Diedne magi of Waldherz and Oakdell.
About fifty years previously, all of the Diedne magi in the Tribunal had split from
the Hawthorn Gild to form the Rowan Gild. They were later joined by the Bonisagus magi of Waldherz and some Bjornaer magi from Grand Silesia. This new faction was already perceived to be excessively secretive and soon attracted
many enemies in the Tribunal.
This was the first outbreak of the Schism War in the Rhine Tribunal, and anarchy and violence soon spread throughout the land.
Severus Maximus of House Flambeau declares Wizard War against Caithlinn of House Diedne (of Oakdell covenant). Magus Cirion of Tremere declares Wizard War against Pietro of House Diedne (of Oakdell covenant).

1004 Thebes: The 20th Theban Tribunal recognized the covenant of Diadelphia on the island of Kalymnos, founded by two brothers. Cosmas and Baztas, of House Verditius.
Other Verditius magi joined the covenant, but left due to the bitter rivalry between the brothers.

C. 1004: Quaesitor Patrick of Dunderry, of Rodnya covenant, refuses orders to attack a covenant in the Carpathians. He leads first Rodnya, then the other Slavic covenants, on a peaceful path during the Schism War.
Q. Patrick is not known to have suffered any direct punishment for his rebellion.

1005 Normandy: Caput Capra covenant on the banks of Loire becomes the first casualty of the Schism War in the Tribunal.
Apprentices of Confluensis are still brought to the scant ruins of the covenant to receive their lessons in history.
Baiocassium Minor covenant is also destroyed.

1006: Himinis the Mad of House Verditius begins to make cursed items. His devices contain useful powers, but also include dangerous effects that he considers humorous.
Himinis produced and sold many magical devices over the next several decades, enhancing his avaricious nature and making him one of the most greedy Verditius magi to have ever lived. He became paranoid that other magi were trying to steal his items, so he started creating trick devices, items that discharged dangerous spells at the wielder when triggered. Not satisfied with this chicanery, Himinis invented a Mystery that allowed him to instill powerful curses into his items.
These items continue to surface centuries after his death in 1047.

1006 (Autumn): The three Slavic covenants reconcile and unite against outsiders. These three covenants had previously been at odds over issues of land and Tribunal authority.

1006: A new star is sighted in the heavens. It lasts for several years before eventually vanishing.
An omen of things to come?

C. 1006: The Quaesitors begin to investigate all the Houses for diabolism, ostensibly to follow up on the many accusations flying about, and to check after the Corruption of Tytalus. The Houses resist, none more vehemently than House Diedne. Diedne accuses House Tremere of using the Quaesitors to lay bare their magic secrets.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Tremere used it as a convenient pretext.

1007: The Order hosts the Second Secular (every 120 years).
This year was officially canceled due to the strife within. As rumor has it, the Latin Houses still had it.

1007 Iberia: Conciatta of Bonisagus enters Final Twilight. A brilliant researcher, but shunned by her House.
Rumors are that she had found ways to overcome the deleterious effects that the Divine has on magic, but few believe that.
See 923, 930.

1007 Normandy: Kerguntuil covenant on the Rose Coast is destroyed.

1008 Normandy: Pagus covenant, vassal of Confluensis, is destroyed.

1008 Provencal: The founding magi of covenant Donjon Leyre (955–1008), at the fork of the Leyre river in the Landes, all perish fighting in the Schism War. An early vassal of Montverte, the covenant was originally established as a forward base for raiding into the Basque-held Pyrenees.

1008 Rhine: The Diedne dominated covenant Oakdell (931–1008) in the Westerwald (Thuringian Forest), near the Rhine Gorge, is destroyed in the Schism War.
On numerous occasions in the 10th century they accused Durenmar of scrying, but these charges were never proven.

1008: New Slavonic Tribunal: Slavic covenants break ties with their sponsors and declare themselves the New Slavonic Tribunal.
Technically, the New Slavonic covenants did not form a full Tribunal, having only three member covenants. In 1053 it changes its name to the Novgorod Tribunal.

1008 Stonehenge: Nova Roma destroyed by Diedne magi.

1008 Loch Leglean: The Schism War comes to Caledonia. Many magi Ex Miscellanea, particularly the gruagachan, join with Flambeau and Tremere magi against House Diedne. Holy Oak, Well of the Head, and Druids’ Dale, all Diedne covenants, destroyed. Diedne had made itself the enemy of Ex Miscellanea for years.
This support of the efforts of Flambeau and Tremere is little remarked on in those houses.

1009 Iberia: The Umayyad Caliphate fragments into several taifas.

1009 Nuinsil of Criamon begins his travels through Muslim lands and investigates the nature of Sufi teachings, the first of many such Criamon journeys in the Orient. Many of his House have done the same and brought back wisdom and strange philosophies.
It seems likely that their travels were spurred by a desire to escape the chaos of the War.
The nature of the Sufi teachings seem to appeal to the enigmatic Criamon magi, and the Criamon seem to have (a bit too) much to offer the Muslims. While most of the Order knows little of Sufi power, some of the skills exhibited by its followers seem to duplicate Hermetic magic (were these perhaps taught by Criamon magi in exchange for foreign insights?). Tales told by the Sufis, and by others about the Sufi, imply that they may possess powers kept secret from the wider Order. Most of the Order, however, view them as crackpot hedge wizards, given to speaking in riddles. Maybe the truth of the Sufi's enigma lies in their riddles, and only Criamon magi can truly decipher the extent of Sufi power?

1009 New Slavonic Tribunal: Rodnya covenant abandoned and destroyed by extra-Tribunal covenants from Thebes and Transylvania. The magi flee to the city of Novgorod.
These magi later found Three Lakes covenant.

1009 New Slavonic Tribunal: Covenant Grand Silesia (993–1009) is destroyed in the Schism War. Founded between the Oder and Warta rivers in Poland by magi from Rethra and Crintera, this covenant split from the Rhine Tribunal in 1008 to form the New Slavonic Tribunal. Refugees flee to Pripet Maior.
Rhine magi, feeling betrayed, destroyed the covenant under the guise of the Schism War. Grand Silesia is resettled in 1013.

1009 Provencal: The spirit masters of covenant Campus Elysii (843–1009), dwelling in the Alyscamps, are driven out by the expansion of the Coenobium.
Although the group retreated to the Verdun Gorge, attempting to refound their home under the new name of Portus Termini, the settlement failed before the next Tribunal and was never officially registered as a Provençal covenant.

C. 1010: Descendants of the sorceress Gyongy, of the original tradition that sired Bjornaer, join House Bjornaer for protection from the Schism War.
The Line of Gyongy still runs strong in House Bjornaer, and all of that Line have the same heart-beast, a magpie.

1010: Primus Cercistum of House Tremere declares Wizard’s War on the entire House Diedne. House Flambeau enthusiastically allies with Tremere. Many magi from various houses, especially Jerbiton, follow soon after. House Guernicus calls for an Emergency Tribunal, where a majority vote is cast to renounce House Diedne and all her members for refusal of Quaesitorial investigation.
Primus Entisimon of Flambeau rallies his followers with an enflaming speech that remains stirring in the reading.

1010 Iberia: Assault on Mons Vindius, the main Diedne covenant of Iberia, by a coalition of Tremere, Flambeau and Jerbiton. The Flambeau of Brigantia position themselves in favor of the Diedne.
Pico Sacro is destroyed by an elder dragon.

1010: The inner council of Magvillus, led by Primus Antonius, summons thirty Guernicus magi to the domus magna to perform the "Curse of Thoth" greater ritual against House Diedne. The end of the ritual (a sacrifice?) was done half a Diameter after sunrise; thus at least some Diedne were caught without Parma. Thirty-nine pawns of vis were consumed by the ritual.
All but the most senior Vim specialists of House Diedne should have been affected - if the ritual had any effectiveness at all. There are evil rumors that the Diedne representative under Quaesitorial protection was actually sacrificed in the ritual. If this is really true, the hypocrisy is absolutely staggering!

1010 Rhine: Covenant Waldherz (990–1010) located in the Black Forest and dedicated to the teaching of Hercynius (the penultimate apprentice of Bonisagus), is lost.
This covenant was never officially sanctioned by the Rhine Tribunal due to the veto of Durenmar.
Hercynius followers claimed to continue what they believed to be Bonisagus’ final work, which was to overcome the limits on Hermetic magic using primal magic from the forest’s heart.

1011: Most Tribunal meetings this year are canceled due to the war.

1011 Normandy: Baiocassium covenant, vassal of Branugurix, and predominantly House Diedne is destroyed.
Ligurio covenant, vassal of Fudarus, destroyed by giants hurling huge boulders.
Presumed to have been sent by the Diedne covenant of Kerguntuil.

1011 Provencal: The covenant of Askelarre, founded by a coven of Hermetic sorginak (Basque witches) in 945 is destroyed in the Schism war.

1011 Stonehenge: The now Nameless Covenant, in Anglesey, is destroyed in one of the last major conflicts of the Schism War.
Quaesitors investigating the covenant’s remains find something or some things in the ruins that lead them to obliterate the site entirely and destroy most of its records.

1012 Iberia: The southern covenants of the Tribunal declare their independence, calling themselves the 'Tribunal of Al-Andalus' and declaring their neutrality in the Schism War. Hafsa ex Bonisagus, of the covenant of Dar Maliha, is elected Praeco.
Porta Pandere and Aedes Iris decide to support the Andalusians, breaking ties with Aedes Saturni. The magi of Laminium, alien to the Order until then, join the newly formed Tribunal. Azm Alfil is constituted.

1012 New Slavonic Tribunal: Three Lakes covenant founded by Quaesitor Patrick of Dunderry and other former magi of Rodnya, in Novgorod.

1012 Provencal: The former residence of Flambeau the Founder and original domus magna of his House, Val-Negra (774–1012), is believed to have been destroyed in the last days of the Schism War.
There is considerable mystery as to the reason for the original covenant’s abandonment, and even its exact location is now forgotten.
The original domus magna was a covenant on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees mountains. It seems reasonable to assume that during the Schism War, Primus Entisimon found that Val-Negra's remote location - originally chosen for its strategic value against the sahirs of Moorish Iberia - made it unsuitable as a headquarters in the Schism War against Diedne, so he moved his command to the covenant of Castra Solis. His successor officially moved the House's headquarters to the new site; there are also rumors that neoRoman elements within the House had a hand in the decision to move the domus magna.

C. 1012: Iarna of Flambeau, a mighty maga, swears an oath to hunt down every last Diedne.
She soon disappears in the midst of the Schism War. An Ex Miscellanea prophecy (now tradition) claims that if Diedne reappears, so will Iarna.

1012 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.
The records are unclear, but it seems likely that this meeting preceded the declaration of Wizard’s War by House Tremere on House Diedne.

1012 Normandy: Battle of the Tempest: A contingent of powerful Flambeau, Tremere, Tytalus, and Quaesitor magi engage the remnants of House Diedne in a cataclysmic final battle at Mount Dol. The Diedne unleash storms, summoned horrors, and the raw fury of ancient rites - but despite their fury, they are broken. Nearly all magi on both sides perish in a month-long struggle marked by blood, fire, and thunder.
The entrances to the regio holding the covenant Branugurix, domus magna of House Diedne, are somehow closed by the Primus of the house during the climactic battle, and several Flambeau and Tremere magi are lost, trapped inside. The fate of the Diedne leadership remains shrouded: some say Primus Llewellyn and his inner circle vanished into Faerie, others that they fled across the seas to distant lands. Whispers persist that elements of House Ex Miscellanea gave them shelter - though many magi Ex Miscellanea fought fiercely against them, particularly in Loch Leglean, where kin-slaying and loyalty ran on parallel tracks.
It is said that when the druids knew the end had come, they chose to make their deaths a curse - echoing the Cymric myths in which their ancestors summoned the sea to swallow their sacred isle, rather than see it fall to enemies.
The exact location and the former method of entering the regio is rumored to be detailed in the records of House Guernicus. It is said that House Guernicus takes a great interest in those who spend a lot of time in the area around Mount Dol.
The Tempest stands as the closing act of the Schism War - its final convulsion and bloody coda.

After 1012: The Schism War ends with the destruction of House Diedne. Houses Tremere and Flambeau have both suffered losses of half their number; House Mercere has lost at least twelve Redcaps. Fighting declines, and ends by the end of three years. The emblem of House Diedne is struck from all texts and records of the Order.
The heavy losses may incidentally be why certamen became the predominant means for settling disputes as those who had refused to change were mostly gone, and the Druidic and Mercurian traditions are no longer a force within the Order. However, some claim that Tremere or Tytalus gained access to ancient Diedne secrets - depending whom of them you ask. If true, the evils of Diedne may yet continue.

C. 1013–1063 Normandy: Houses Tytalus and Flambeau bicker about the rich pickings of vis sources and magical sites left in the wake of the Schism War, especially in the traditional Tytalus territory of Brittany. It became as much about ideology as resources. House Tytalus accused House Flambeau of demanding to be rewarded for carrying out their self-appointed duties in slaying members of House Diedne. Scorn was poured on the Flambeaus’ self-righteous protestations of justice and honor; there was nothing honorable, the Tytali claimed, about grabbing resources from other Houses and claiming they were spoils of war. At Tribunal, Primus Klynoites referred to the Flambeau as narrow-minded fools who suborned their magic to the dictates of the Quaesitores rather than reveling in the power of their Gifts. The inter-House conflict threatened to return the Order to the pre-Schism lawlessness. Certamens over resources and territory escalated into cycles of vengeance driven Wizard’s Wars until even the original disputes were forgotten, at least by the Tytali.

1013 Iberia (North). Tremébriga is destroyed in a Diedne assault. The Praeco Ibn Sahl is killed in the attack.
A Civil war (the Fitna) breaks out in the Umayyad Caliphate. It lasts 18 years.

1013 New Slavonic Tribunal: Grand Silesia covenant resettled.
In Poland the mid eleventh century saw the terrible civil war and pagan uprising.
Grand Silesia tried to stay out of sight during the conflict but there were too many people with grudges against them. Malicious tongues in the Rhine Tribunal may have wagged, for when Casimir the Restorer came back to power in 1039, the covenant was targeted and destroyed by crusading anti-pagan knights.

1013 Thebes: The covenant of Aegaea founded by Orithyia of Merinita, supposedly in the palace of Poseidon at the bottom of the Aegean Sea. The covenant dedicates itself to the preservation and study of legends native to the Tribunal, both contemporary and ancient.
Redcaps attest to the existence (and splendor) of the site and its patron. Since its founding, Aegaea has remained a poorly understood and somewhat withdrawn presence in the Tribunal, mistrusted by many. Apart from Redcaps, very few magi have ever seen the site, although most of those who have speak warmly of their reception.

1014: A Bulgarian army is blinded by a Constantinopolitan general. House Tremere recruits some of the blind people, offering them their sight for their lifelong obedience.

1014 Hibernia: The Tribunal’s magi had thought Hibernia was free of Diedne, but they were proved wrong. Brian Bóramha’s druid, a dwarf named Muírcheartach mac Lía, tells the Flambeau magi at Lámbaird that Bóramha have druids with him who call themselves "sons of Diedne". At the Battle of Clontarf on Good Friday, the Lámbaird Flambeau stalk the battlefield looking for the Diedne. The combat between the Flambeau and the Diedne is brief, flamboyant, and lethal, and spells the true end of House Diedne in Hibernia.
The Irish defeated the Ostmen, who never threatened the Irish again, but Bóramha himself died in the battle.
No one is certain what happened to the corpses of the three Diedne magi who fell at Clontarf. Cliffheart covenant claims to have one as their cathach, even though they were not involved in the battle. Others say that Qui Sonant Pro Quieto buried the Diedne with their enemies, placing each in a grave with a Hermetic magus who would have been their rival. As far as is known, none were given Christian burials.

1014 Iberia: Jaferiya covenant founded.
The Covenant of Jaferiya is said to have been founded on the site of one of the villas that Flambeau's vulgar family lost to invading Muslims. From all accounts, it seems that the Seneca family was prosperous and happy throughout the Roman rule of Iberia.

1014 Iberia: Jerbiton covenant of Barcelona founded. After the ruins of a Roman temple of Mercury were found within the city, two followers of Jerbiton quickly ensured title to the land. In the next four years the covenant repeatedly encounters the Jewish magicians called Kabbalists, who object to some of the magi's actions sparking retributions against the Jewish community, as local Christians were more than willing to blame any seemingly "diabolical" activity on the Jews.
See 1018 regarding the Kabbalists. Though conflict initially flared, cooler heads prevail and the Kabbalists and Jerbiton magi live peacefully until representatives of House Flambeau become involved, culminating at the Tribunal of 1072.
Though the Covenant of Barcelona had a small membership (only eight magi at its most crowded) it began to build great influence within the Iberian Tribunal. The city of Barcelona had great resources of knowledge and had access to the trade routes of the Mediterranean. Trading these resources for favors and cultivating close ties with Iberian Quaesitors, Barcelona earned political power that far outstripped its membership.

1014 Rome: The independent covenant of Vardian's Tomb founded.

1014 Stonehenge: Blackthorn sponsors Tagelyn covenant in nearby caves, supposedly to begin repairing the social damage of the Schism War.
Here begins one of the great betrayals by Blackthorn.

1014–1018 Transylvania: The Byzantines invade Bulgaria. After defeating the Bulgarian army, the Byzantine leader blinds his 14,000 captives, save one whom he blinds only in a single eye so that he can lead his fellows back to the capital. King Samuel of the Bulgars dies of shock at the sight of the fumbling mass of men. Tremere magi offers sight back to many of these men, in exchange for
lifelong service to the House.
The kingdom is completely subdued within four years.
The "coincidence" of timing was exquisitely unfortunate for the Tremere.
House Tremere accuse House Jerbiton and Theban covenants of magically supporting the attack, but cannot prove it.

1015 Hibernia: Covenant of Cliffheart is founded by three Merinita magi after their covenant, Cosán Ceolaire ("Warbler’s Way") was destroyed in the Schism War. Most Merinita magi didn’t participate in the Schism War, but these three fought because of House Diedne’s alliance with the Munster Tuatha Dé. After the final confrontation at the Battle of Clontarf, the magi moved to Cape Clear Island, lying just off Ireland’s southwest shore.
Cliffheart has never discovered why the Tuatha Dé allied with House Diedne. After two hundred years of queries and interviews it remains a mystery.
The covenant’s cathac is a Diedne magus turned into a stone obelisk that has a hand-sized hole running through it. The local monastic village calls it the Marriage Stone, and superstition has it that if a man extends his arm through the hole and grasps a woman’s hand the pair will be together forever. The monks try to prevent couples from doing this, citing the practice as pagan and evil.

1016 Iberia (North): The Flambeau of Brigantia are captured and forced to lead the final assault against Mons Vindius. Soon, the Diedne covenant falls.

1016 Provencal: Bellaquin covenant founded.

1016–1020 Stonehenge: Cnut, younger brother of the king of Denmark conquers the whole of England.
There was simply not enough magi left to stand against any assistance the Danes may have had from the Order of Odin, but they seem to have been kept out afterwards - or was their power waning? Perhaps magi weren’t even involved on either side?

1017 Iberia (North). The Diedne covenant of Nebula is destroyed.

1018 Iberia: Treaty of Barcelona made between Order of Hermes and Order of Geonim, the Kabbalist magi of the Jews. The destruction of the recent Schism War fresh in mind, the magi of Barcelona make peace with the Kabbalists. They escort representatives of the Kabbalah to Tribunal and successfully negotiate a pact of non-interference between the Order and the Jews. This pact marks the first time that the Order of Hermes chose to live in peace with non-Hermetic wizards. Earlier, any such wizards would have been assimilated or destroyed.
This is the first and only known peace between magical Orders.
The magic of the Kabbalists remains alien, but fortunately they seem unthreatening.

1018 Iberian Tribunal (North). The end of the Schism War is declared. Brutus ex Flambeau is elected Praeco after the death of Ibn Sahl ex Tremere. The formation of the Iberian Chamber, an organization policing Tribunal-wide affairs, is approved.
Veterans of the Schism War establish Durato.

1018 Normandy Tribunal (22nd): The Schism War has ended and the Quaesitors present the Tribunal with a list of magical resources seized from magi and covenants destroyed during the conflict. Fudarus, as the only surviving Breton covenant, attends the Normandy Tribunal meeting, adding Brittany to the Tribunal’s territories. Pertheus of House Tytalus successfully proposes that the aggressors have the right of conquest over these vis sources and books, but that in seven years’ time, a tournament should be held to redistribute them.

1018 Rhine Tribunal: The two remaining magi of the lineage of Hercynius renounce their membership in House Bonisagus and are accepted into House Ex Miscellanea.
Due to their failed diplomacy and reduced numbers, House Bonisagus has never quite enjoyed the same level of influence in the Rhine Tribunal as it had before the Schism War.

1018 Thebes: 22nd Theban Tribunal. Aegaea recognized, discussion how Redcaps to visit.
House Tremere insists that Theban magi assisted the Byzantine emperor in the invasion of Bulgaria in 1014. The claim could not be proven.
It is true that certain magi, especially Gentle Gifted Jerbitons, had close connections with the emperor and other powerful families of the Byzantine Empire.

The Age of Faith and Fire (AD 1018–1160)#

As the dust of the Schism War finally settles and the Order’s wounds begin to scar over, Mythic Europe enters a turbulent era defined by both spiritual fervor and expanding horizons. The mundane world is aflame with renewed religious zeal - monastic movements spread across the continent, and new pilgrimages or "holy" conflicts (such as the First Crusade) bring fresh opportunities and dire risks to magi who must decide how (or whether) to engage.

Within the Order, the trauma of the Diedne purges still casts a lingering shadow. Many covenants feel torn between renewed hope in a future free of internal strife and the ever-present paranoia that another hidden corruption might bring war once again. House Tremere’s power is met with wariness; House Guernicus struggles to repair its reputation for impartial justice. Even Tytalus, ostensibly restored after its diabolism scandals, finds acceptance slow in coming.

Yet these decades are also a time of unprecedented growth. New covenants sprout on old battlefields or near the booming trade routes of the Mediterranean. Scholars refine Hermetic theory, building on the achievements of Bonisagus, while Mystery Cults quietly expand their initiation rites. The Dominion likewise grows mightier as churches, shrines, and holy orders flourish, forcing magi to navigate the ascending power of bishops and kings. Many soon discover that the holy zeal of crusaders can be as lethal to a magus’s secretive research as any Hermetic feud.

By the mid-12th century, the Order stands at a crossroads: great promise for deeper cooperation and magical discoveries set against rising worldly entanglements and still-simmering suspicions. Whether these trials galvanize a stronger, more unified Order - or push it into fresh crises - remains uncertain. What is clear is that, in the Age of Faith and Fire, few magi can ignore the conflagration of beliefs, politics, and ambition blazing through Europe’s cathedrals and courts.

1019 Iberia (Al-Andalus): Construction begins on the so-called "Great Hall of Saragossa", intended as a common place for the meetings of the Andalusian court. By 1026, the building houses the Tribunals, has a large public library, and holds the records of the new Tribunal.

1019 Rome: The Thirteenth Verdi Competition.

1019: House Bjornaer, now led by Primus Salmo, reemerges from Crintera after 15 years.
Under his guidance, House Bjornaer kept a low profile, and its members gradually became more similar to the standard Hermetic magus in a deliberate attempt to prevent itself from becoming a target in the event of a future war.
Some claim their new Harmonist agenda is based on Hérisson’s philosophy.

1020 Normandy: Orchard of Sour Apples covenant, vassal of Confluensis, forms after the Schism War.
It was later in 1051 the site of the relocation of Confluensis, and its members joined its liege covenant.

1021: Epidemics of St. Vitus’ Dance sweep Europe.

1021 Normandy: Lixivia covenant, vassal of Florum, is established in the duchy of Champagne just as the Champagne trade fairs are established - for the express purpose of acting as an intermediary between the Order and mundane merchants.
The covenant consisted of Redcaps and Gentle Gifted magi, and altruistically offered to source any material desired by any covenant. However, magi were suspicious of their motives, and they soon became the popular prey of raiding. Driven into poverty, the covenant disbanded in 1124.

1022 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1023 Thebes: Covenant Gigas established by House Tremere, initially as a place for recovery by those magi and favored companions who had been wounded in
the Schism War.
From the very beginning the Tribunal was suspicious of its agenda, particularly when in 1069 it established a policy of admitting only members of House Tremere.

1024 Thebes: The all-Mercere covenant of Miphoria in Smyrna changes name to Alexandria after moving across town to an abandoned fortress.
Miphoria had relied on fantastical and overt magical means of transport, including riding a species of giant magical sea turtles. The Tribunal had decided that its members were drawing undue mundane attention to the Order, and asked them to keep a lower profile.

1025 Iberia (Al-Andalus): The former magi of al-Zahra create the covenant that would eventually become known as Issah.

1025 Normandy Tribunal (23rd): Pertheus of Tytalus proposes a series of rulings to end disputes over magical resources in the Tribunal, later called the Perthean Compact.
The Tribunal rules that a vis source that is within a day’s return march of an established covenant of the Normandy Tribunal is considered to belong to that covenant automatically; such a source is called a seisin. A seisin recognized by the Tribunal grants its owners exclusive right of harvest.
It is ruled that a vis source which is too distant to be declared a seisin can be made a legacy of the discoverer by a vote of the Tribunal. A legacy lease issued by the Tribunal offers a covenant exclusive rights to harvest from the source, but the terms of the lease last only seven years.
Upon finding a vis source, the discoverer must report its location to a Quaesitor, who grants an interim lease on the vis until it can be officially declared at the next Tribunal meeting.

1025 Rhine Tribunal: Arising from the aftermath of the Schism War, the Lindengilde is formed mostly by former magi of Fengheld. The purpose of this gild is to increase cooperation and trust between magi and covenants to the benefit of all, to resolve both internal and external conflicts peacefully, and to end the apathy and divisions in the Tribunal.
This is an altruistic and well-regarded gild, although weak; thus it is the typical go-between faction.

1025 Thebes: 23rd Theban Tribunal. Alexandria is recognized as Miphoria renamed.

1025 Stonehenge: A Criamon sponsored covenant, Stellasper, is founded in the Scilly Isles. They remain aloof from the Tribunal.
The last Praesis Septentrionalis, the seven covenants established by Pralix in the former territory of Damhan-Allaidh to watch out for his return, fails and the watch is abandoned.

1028 Normandy: Oleron covenant established in Aquitaine by Kherion of Merinita after defeating the previously undefeated knight Lanval, consort to the Faerie Queen of Oleron.
He also marries Lanval’s daughter, who had become the Faerie Queen of the Court of the Apple Mile.

1028 Provence: William of Aquitaine falls mortally ill, and a sorceress is convicted of inflicting the illness upon him.

1029 Hibernia: Since its inception the Mercere House of Leth Cuinn had been interested in martial pursuits. Things took a dramatic turn when Dáire Farranta returned after a seven year absence and challenged the leader of the covenant - who was his parens - to Wizard War. Dáire won this war without a spell being cast (since both opponents were unGifted) using remarkable feats of athleticism and swordplay that were straight out of legend - the clesrada. The remaining Redcaps were exiled, and he repopulated the covenant with his own kin.
Among the incomers was Úathach, the faerie woman who had trained him in the clesrada. Dáire Farranta turned the Mercere House into an outpost of the Cult of Heroes, and it is still run by his descendents. Leth Cuinn trains Redcaps in Heroic
Virtues, and teach them the clesrada. In return for various considerations, Leth Cuinn also initiates other grogs and companions of magi into the clesrada.

1030 Eleventh Grand Tribunal: "The Reconciliation." This Grand Tribunal settles most of the remaining matters of the Schism War. The Tribunal ratifies the existence of the New Slavonic Tribunal and gives it formal authority over the settlement of new covenants in Slavic lands,
despite protests from the Rhine Tribunal.

C. 1030 Stonehenge: Covenant Castrum Antiquum mysteriously destroyed over the winter of 1030–1031. The Redcap traveled to the site, as she had done only a year before, and found nothing but the ruins of a Roman fort. There was no trace of the covenant, not even ruins of the additional structures they had built, as if it had never existed. Rumors run rampant and a Diedne resurgence is feared, but no further events develop.
This remains an enduring mystery of the Order. Among the lost magi at Castrum Antiquum was Agricola, a maga who could raise gold and gems from the plants of the soil.

1031 Iberia: The Umayyad Caliphate completely splits into taifas.

1032 Iberia (Al-Andalus): Occelum Durii is re-established. Mons Niger is officially constituted.

1032 Normandy Tribunal: The Tribunal institutes the need for holders of a legacy lease to acquire renewal of that lease from the Tribunal every seven years at the Tribunal meeting; if the Tribunal votes against the renewal of the lease, the Tribunal takes possession of the legacy and it becomes a tropaeum instead.
Traditionally, any newly discovered vis source is a legacy of the covenant that found it, and it is very common for a new legacy lease to be granted without serious competition. The only exception is if the vis source is close enough to another covenant to be considered a seisin; the rulings regarding seisins take precedence over legacies.
It is also ruled that the known vis sources that are not seisins of a covenant or currently held under a legacy lease are tropaea (singular tropaeum, meaning "trophy") and owned in common by the Tribunal as a whole. Tropaea are to be
distributed among the members of the Tribunal on seven-year leases by being won in the Tourney.

1032 Normandy: Geoffroy Martel, Count of Anjou, founds the Abbey of the Trinity after he saw three flaming spears fall from the sky and pierce the ground near a spring. He donates to the abbey the arm of St. George and a tear of Christ, shed at the tomb of Lazarus.
It becomes one of the most powerful religious foundations in France.

1032 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1033: Panic spreads throughout Europe that the end of the universe may be near, on the 1,000th anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ.
The Book of Revelation (Chapter 20) predicts the end of the earth after a 1,000 year period after the second return of Jesus Christ, but disappointingly little seems to have happened besides some unusually harsh spring weather.

1033 Levant: A major earthquake devastates multiple cities across Palestine region, killing many heathens.

1034 Rhine: Bellephon of Prague is devoured alive by maggots while he is being questioned by Quaesitors.
The Disciples of the Worm have been accused repeatedly of Infernalism or practicing demonology. Somehow the cult members who were investigated have always managed to prove their innocence, or have died during the investigation.

1037 Rome: The Fourteenth Verdi Competition.

1039 Rhine Tribunal: Fengheld covenant founded by veteran members of Houses Flambeau and Tremere returning from the Schism War in Stonehenge and Normandy.
The Tribunal had no problems agreeing on the founding of a covenant for these "war heroes," but it was originally intended as a place that older magi could spend their glory days in isolation from mundanes. It is currently the largest covenant in the Rhine.

1039 New Slavonic Tribunal: Grand Silesia destroyed by crusading anti-pagan knights, refugees flee to Pripet Maior.
The Rhine Tribunal begins agitating to gain Poland shortly after. Vile tongues claim they had something to do with the destruction of the last covenant in Poland.

1039 Normandy Tribunal: It is ruled that a vis source owned by the Tribunal that relies heavily on the abilities or skill of the harvester becomes a luctatio ("contest") rather than a tropaeum. The list of all luctationes owned by the Tribunal is a matter of public record and a copy is kept at Confluensis, although the method of obtaining the vis need not be detailed. Any magus can attempt to harvest this vis if he is prepared for the effort or danger that it poses, although succeeding in a luctatio does not confer any rights over that vis source in subsequent years.
The patron saint of Christian magi, St Nerius is martyred at Fudarus, Domus Magnus of House Tytalus, by a collection of Tremere, Tytalus, and Flambeau wizards who eventually had succeeded in declaring a Wizard’s March against him. His Divine protection having withstood every attack, St Nerius proclaims God’s Will stronger than the petty cravings of his fellow magi, then steps from his circle of Celestial Immunity and dies.
The records of Tribunal meetings at Fudarus never mention this event. However his life ended, St Nerius was accepted by God to be venerated as a saint.
The most common tale is that St Nerius was a Criamon magus born in the Provencal Tribunal. A seeker of the Enigma, St Nerius discovered it in a secret well hidden in an Alpine ravine. Instead of succumbing to the mesmerizing vision in the well, St Nerius resisted by asking the angel Michael for assistance. Bathed in the powerful Light of the Lord, St Nerius’s prayer was answered, and he emerged from the mountains a newly made saint and miracle-worker.
The various stories of his travels are miraculous and many magi find them hard to completely believe. It is told that through the Divine gifts he received from God, St Nerius was able to surpass many of the limits of Hermetic magic. He could cure the sick without vis, travel instantaneously from location to location, and change the essential nature of things. He never lost a Certamen match, nor could his Divine protection be pierced by spells. Some tales say that St Nerius is one of the protectors of Arcadia, and other legends tell of his incredible adventures in Purgatory.

1039 Normandy: A new wave of ergotism strikes the Tribunal. Mortals go mad in droves.

1039 Thebes: 25th Theban Tribunal recognizes the Flambeau covenant of Kyddopetre, founded south of the Tarsus Mountains in the Cilician Gates with the stated purpose of discovering and exploring eastern Anatolia.

1040 Thebes: Magus Helios of Flambeau accused of interfering with mortals by purchasing books from them. It was found that he used no magic in these purchases, and was acquitted.

3. 1040 Loch Leglean: The Steward of Mormaer and claimant to the Caledonian throne, MacBeth, defeats and kills his rival, Duncan, the enthroned king, with the aid of Pictish wizards and renegade magi Ex Miscellanea.
   Only one of many cases of magical meddling in Loch Leglean.

1042 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.
We need more information about these…

1046 Iberian Tribunal: Tertia is abandoned.

1046 Normandy Tribunal: The claim is made by enemies of the covenant of Montverte that they are acting as court wizards by residing within the home of a mundane lord. They argue in their defense that they hold no oath of vassalage, and that they leave him to get on with running mundane matters. While their interference in the latter is clearly proven, the precedent is set based on Iola of Guernicus’ distinction - under pressure from Verditius magi who argue that if an economic relationship was deemed inadmissible, all sales of magical items would become suspect (which a few decades later it became though) - that Court wizards are generally defined as "employees," but employee here is not a function of economic support, but rather a relationship of subordination enforced by vows (usually of vassalage). It is agreed that magi have a right to defend themselves and their covenant, and its physical location is irrelevant. The Tribunal rules that, in accordance with the "not bringing ruin upon my sodales" clause, providing no danger to the Order is brought about by their actions, the situation of a covenant within a castle or manor is legal. Magical support may be offered to the companion lord as a consors - that is, as an acknowledged asset of the covenant.
However, in 1088 a ruling was made against Florum, who by their actions were
said to be upsetting the local economy.

1046 Thebes: The 26th Theban Tribunal gathering attacked by stringles witches from Polyaigos.

1047: Himinis the Mad dies.
May his many cursed items go unfound!

1048 Normandy: Vexatores covenant, vassal of Fudarus, is founded - specifically to provoke Sinapis during the conflict between Houses Flambeau and Tytalus - exactly 21 miles north of the Flambeau covenant (the minimum legal distance), at the site of one of the vis sources claimed from House Diedne.
Vexatores was not intended to be a long-term prospect, and it was abandoned when the conflict between the Houses ended in 1064.

1048 Loch Leglean: Rumors of Damhan-Allaidh’s return plague Loch Leglean.
Again...

1048 Rhine: The maga Aschlaranda, formerly of Waldherz, suddenly reappeared at Durenmar with her apprentice Schadrit.
She was accepted back into House Bonisagus, but her actions and opinions were contrary to the prevailing spirit of reconciliation, and she refused to tell of the fate of Waldherz or to renounce the Rowan Gild. After a major dispute,
she was (with reluctance) eventually declared orbus (see 1052). They
were pursued into the forest by a leading magus of the Ash Gild, Ganelon, who declared Wizard War on them both. He was never heard from again.

1048 Rome: Fortunata of House Jerbiton, covenant Cupressa Nigra is acquitted of charges of diabolism.

1050 Rome: Covenant of Rellantalli gains land as fief from Pisa.

1051 Normandy: Dragon’s Rest covenant, vassal of Confluensis, is founded when Confluensis relocates to the Cotentin peninsula and the Orchard of Sour Apples.

1052 Rhine: The covenant of Dankmar established by Aschlaranda, a maga exiled from Durenmar and House Bonisagus, and her apprentice Schadrit.
Her intent was to oppose that great covenant at every turn, and she named it Dankmar in parody of the birthplace of the Order. Now the ancient Schadrit of Ex Miscellanea squats in the center of this Winter covenant with brooding malice, while descendants act according to his will.

1052 New Slavonic Tribunal: Casimir had driven the Czechs out of Poland, and slavic magi could come back to Poland. Leczcya covenant is founded by some of the survivors of Grand Silesia, reinforced by the ruling of the Grand Tribunal of 1030 that the Slavonic Tribunal was granted formal authority over settlements in all Slavic lands - to the ire of the Rhine Tribunal.
It is from this time that the strong links between House Bjornaer and Pripet Maior date. The magi of Grand Silesia had twice been forced to flee there, and now many of them chose to stay.

1052 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1053 Rhine Tribunal: The most contested and controversial part of the Rhine’s Peripheral Code is established; that the lifeblood of the Tribunal lies within its forests, as they are the wellsprings of magic and magi have a duty to preserve and protect them. "We must become Guardians of the Forests, for none will halt this decline if we do not."
Under pressure from House Guernicus, the following clause was later added:
"We must take care to only act in such a fashion so as not to incur the wrath of the mundanes, else the Oath of Hermes will be broken, and due punishment meted forthwith."
This Peripheral Code addendum is problematic as it has no inherent method of enforcement, and may be interpreted in many different ways. Dankmar was not punished for aiding the destruction of a new monastery in the Black Forest, yet Crintera was refused permission to use this ruling to halt the Danish invasion of Rügen. Decisions regarding the "Guardians of the Forests" ruling seem to depend entirely upon political maneuvering and the opinions of the presiding Quaesitor.
Dankmar is occupied by Aschlaranda and her apprentice Schadrit, but is not recognized by the Tribunal due to Durenmar’s influence.

1053 Thebes: 27th Theban Tribunal again raided by stringles witches from the island of Polyaigos.
When it was discovered that a renegade Flambeau magus was hiding in their midst, aiding their depravities, the People’s Assembly of the Tribunal called for action.

1053 New Slavonic Tribunal: The growth of Three Lakes, and its ever increasing involvement in Novgorod city, was drawing the political center of the Tribunal northward. The Tribunal changes its name to Novgorod Tribunal.

1054 Novgorod: Iaroslav the Wise’s death brings on a new civil war. An emergency Novgorod conclave agrees not to oppose Vseslav, a prince and Volkhv, who was one of the participants. The Volkhvy hedge wizards were considered hostile to the Order, but a policy of non-aggression is adhered to.
This was potentially deadly. Vseslav’s actions raised the general consciousness, both Church and State, of the practice of illicit magic within Russia. Should the Tribunal step in to counter Vseslav? Should they regard him as a rogue hedge wizard and kill him? The fact was that he was a prince of the House of Rurik, and to act against him would be a violation of the Hermetic Code and would draw attention to their presence. But plainly Vseslav was making the war worse than it would otherwise be. Plainly he was a direct threat to the Tribunal, but equally plainly to act against him would be contrary to Hermetic principles and a provocative, dangerous action. In the end, the Tribunal meeting in emergency conclave, elected to do nothing.
Temporary stability descended on Russia when three of Iaroslav’s sons formed a triumvirate. One of their first actions was to lure Vseslav to a peace conference, seize him treacherously, and hurl him into prison. This action backfired badly, for within a year the Cumans had begun pressing hard on Pereyaslavl and the common people were muttering about broken oaths and God’s vengeance on traitors.

1054: A new star appears, beginning about the twelfth night of the month of Cancer, and lasting for twenty-two months.
Another omen, but for what?

1054: The Eastern patriarch of the Church publishes accusations against the
West, citing four theological errors that include using unleavened bread in the
Eucharist and fasting on Saturdays, the enforcement of celibacy on the priesthood, and their practice of adding "and the Son" ("filioque") to the Nicene Creed, suggesting that the Holy Spirit proceeds from Christ in addition to the Father. The Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos closes the Western churches in Constantinople and orders the Latin monasteries to conform to the Eastern practices. The pope protests that the Roman Church has allowed the Greeks their strange ways only by sufferance, and sends three legates to argue the matter, who are insolently received. They excommunicate the emperor, and in turn the patriarch excommunicates the legates.
After this final volley, the theological dust settles and the separation of the two Churches seems complete.

1055 Levant: Seljuks take control of Baghdad and the caliph.

1055 Rome: The Fifteenth Verdi Competition.

1055 Rome: Fortunata of Jerbiton, covenant Cupressa Nigra is acquitted of charges of spying using spirit magic.

3. 1057 Loch Leglean: The mortal Caledonian King, MacBeth, is overthrown by Malcom Canmore, Duncan’s heir, with the aid of two unidentified magi.

1058 Stonehenge: Gruffyd ap Llewelyn, a mortal prince of Wales, lays siege to Blackthorn as part of a campaign against England.

1060 Stonehenge: Gruffydd ap Llewelyn sacks Cad Gadu, burning it to the ground.

1060 Thebes: 28th Theban Tribunal hears of the destruction of the stringles witches, and recognizes the covenant founded on Polyaigos by those who destroyed the threat, led by Hoplite Quaesitor Laskaris. Resolving that the Tribunal must respond more forcefully and swiftly against such enemies in the future, Laskaris pledges his covenant to this purpose.

1061-1068 Rome: Quaesitor Iernilus tours the Roman Tribunal to investigate covenant interaction with mortals.
He discovers that sale of enchanted items to mortals is epidemic in the Tribunal!

1061 Rome: A Wizard’s War is fought in the streets of Venice between a Tytalus and a Verditius magus.

1061-1123 Rome: Fortunata of Jerbiton, senior maga at Cupressa Nigra, abandons her covenant and moves to a remote island, but opens her house in Venice to the Redcaps.
She acquired a reputation as a powerful eccentric over the next several decades as she continued translating ancient texts, writing Hermetic texts on spirit lore, and circulating a few texts on Principles Lore starting the Mystery Cult Lore.

1061 Stonehenge: Siege of Blackthorn relieved by the powerful noble Harold Godwinson.
Harold later was crowned as the last Anglo-Saxon king of England in 1066, but reigned less than a year.

1062 Stonehenge: Blackthorn drives the magi of Tagelyn out of their caves, moving their own covenant to the safer location.

1062 Stonehenge: Blackthorn seizes the caves of Tagelyn covenant as their own, a more defensible site than their old fortress.
The surviving magi of Tagelyn later found the covenant of Ashenrise in the Hibernian Tribunal.
Among the classic texts lost in the struggle is a copy of the rare Physiologus, a classic bestiary. It is generally assumed that Blackthorn had always intended this betrayal.

1062 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1063 Twelfth Grand Tribunal: The Rhine Tribunal seeks to extend over Polish lands at Grand Tribunal, claiming that the territory is unclaimed after the fall of Grand Silesia; the New Slavonic Tribunal pushes through a measure granting final authority over settlements of all covenants in Slavic lands.
The Primus of Jerbiton proposes that demons be declared Enemies of the Order in perpetuity; the Tribunal determined that this resolution might start a war between the Order and the Infernal and instead passed an amended resolution that demons cannot be Friends of the Order.
A truce is negotiated between House Flambeau and House Tytalus, as their squabbling over House Diedne’s particularly plentiful covenants in Brittany had gotten out of hand and spilled outside the Normandy Tribunal. Special Tribunals are held to divide the disputed territory.
The Flambeau Primus Entisimon, who had been encouraging the conflict, is forced to resign in disgrace.
The formation of the covenant of Lapis Crudus is sponsored in an attempt to heal the rift which had formed between the houses, to include two members of each house, plus a follower of Jerbiton and a Bonisagus of Trianoma’s line.
In a somewhat uncharacteristic show of solidarity, the Flambeau ended the conflict by refusing to fight the Tytali any more. For the Tytali involved, the conflict had become less about issues and more about the struggle itself. By cleverly removing themselves as opponents, the Flambeau effected a truce.
Wishing to rein in the power of the Rhine Tribunal, the Grand Tribunal rejects its claim over the Polish territory. This may be the Tribunal at which the "Larta mage" precedent was established. Durenmar has proposed adjusting the boundaries of the Rhine and Novgorod Tribunals at several Grand Tribunals since.
The key passage decrees that "The Servants of Satan, who so often make themselves enemies of our Order of Hermes, may never again be friends of the Order."

1064 Normandy: Lapis Crudus covenant is established in the forest of
Fontainebleau in Ile de France. Considered to be part of the line of Sinapis.
Lapis Crudus was founded on the spoils of the Schism War, and was an important player in the politics and culture of the Normandy Tribunal for the century that followed.

1065 Stonehenge: Cad Gadu refounds and rebuilds on its old site, but in the higher levels of its regio.
However, the Tribunal is weak, with only four active covenants, two of which - Cad Gadu and Lux Draconis - are barely clinging to survival.

C. 1065 Iberia: Influx of Moorish sorcerers into northern Iberia, fleeing Almoravid persecution. The Almoravids destroy some southern covenants. After this period more non-Flambeau magi oppose the Moors in Iberia.
The prior Moorish invaders had been reasonably tolerant of sorcery. The hard line of the Almoravids must have been quite a shock to the "Roman" covenants.

1066: A great comet is sighted in the heavens.
This is taken as a sign of victory by Duke William of Normandy, who conquers the kingdom of England under it.

1066–1068 Stonehenge: Harold’s Vengeance covenant founded in the Anglian fens to oppose the Norman invasion. It repeatedly and blatantly violates the Code and is Marched within two years, all its magi suffering death.

1067 Iberia (Al-Andalus): Yulyan ex Bonisagus, of Fafhs al-Luyy, is revealed as an informer of the northern magi. He earns the enmity of his Andalusian sodales, and commits suicide soon after.

1067 Provencal: Maga Consuelia founds Mistridge covenant, in the Pyrenees.

1067 Rhine Tribunal: Dankmar finally achieves recognition as a Rhine covenant. Covenant Roznov settled by three magi of House Ex Miscellanea. Due to its location in the Carpathian Mountains it could have easily claimed membership of either the Novgorod Tribunal or the Transylvanian Tribunal instead of the Rhine. However, seeing an opportunity, Durenmar and Crintera between them offered more resources than the other Tribunals. Roznov was inducted into the Rhine Tribunal in 1074.

1067 Rome: Cupressa Nigra covenant is abandoned when the remaining junior
magi join other covenants.

1067 Thebes: 29th Theban Tribunal ostracizes Cosmas, follower of Verditius, of the covenant Diadelphia. Surprisingly, Cosmas’ rival brother follows him to the Roman Tribunal and Diadelphia is officially disbanded.

1068 Iberian Tribunal of Al-Andalus: The regulations of the Great Tribunal on the sale of magical objects to mundanes are clarified as 'one magical object per year, per mundane prince', as a concession to the Verditius of the Tribunal.

1068 Special Roman Tribunal: Treaty of the Roman Tribunal negotiated by Quaesitor Iernilus finalized and ratified after great debate. It limits conditions of sale of enchanted items to mortals, limits such items to limited uses, limits mercenary services, forbids revealing magi to mortals, and mandates a review at every Tribunal. Since this time, all of the official covenants of the Tribunal are required to maintain lodgings in Venice, where this Treaty was finalized.
The treaty was not binding outside of the Roman Tribunal but became a seminal precedent on sale of enchanted items in Peripheral Code. Unfortunately it is riddled with flaws. Most notably, the treaty governs only cash sales, ignoring barter and gift.
House Verditius decreased the number of items a member could sell to mundanes to one magical item per year, and the selling maga must use her network of intermediaries during the exchange. This was later revised to one magical item per mundane race (Jew, Muslim, Genoese, Milanese etc). This limit only applies to mundane buyers; any number of magic items can be sold to members of the Order of Hermes.

1069 Novgorod: The Volkhv Vseslav is released from prison by rioting Kievans
and takes control of the city. Again, the Tribunal elects to do nothing. Vseslav’s reign in Kiev is brief, as his brother Iziaslav returns and drives him out.
Patrick of Dunderry was an old man by now, but still passionate in his advocacy of non-aggression and he managed to keep the Tribunal distant from the continuing conflicts. Vselav retired to Polotsk, dabbling in unpleasant magics and scribing his dangerous knowledge in six massive tomes of black serpent skin.

1069 Thebes: Bjornaer covenant Estropi destroyed by the invasion of the Seljuk Turks.

C. 1070–1073 Loch Leglean: Horsingas covenant founded in Loch Leglean Tribunal by magi fleeing the Norman Conquest.
Sources conflict on the founding date. This is not surprising, given the covenant’s generally poor condition.

1071 Thebes: Battle of Manzikert, between a Byzantine Christian army of 60,000 commanded by Emperor Romanos IV and an Arab (Seljuk Turk) army of 100,000. The Byzantine forces are routed and the battle ends Byzantine power in Asia Minor. Central Anatolia is lost, forever changing the Byzantine Empire. In the aftermath, some local hedge magi join the Order for protection, including the original pater of Prima Ex Miscellanea Immanola.

1071: Tremere magi begin to join multi-House covenants again.

1072 Special Iberian Tribunal: The Iberian Tribunal debates the presence of Barcelona covenant in the city of Barcelona. After many hours an agreement was reached for the magi of Barcelona covenant to have Hermetic jurisdiction over the city and serve the interests of the Order in it, and for external magi to obey conventions of subtlety while visiting.
Barcelona covenant had been situated for 58 years by the time this issue came up. The issue was probably spurred by inter-covenant rivalry.
In response to accusations of mundane interference, the magi of Barcelona called for a reading of the Code, from the presiding Quaesitor. At the quotation of, "Nor will I interfere with the affairs of mundunes and thereby bring ruin upon my sodalis", the magi pointed out that the abjuration was to not bring ruin upon their sodalis. Indeed, Flambeau himself had used this interpretation to justify actions that were damaging to the Order, more damaging than mere attendance at parties and discussion of poetry with counts. The magi of the Tribunal eventually agreed with the Barcelonan position and granted the Covenant jurisdiction over the city, and over all magi that would enter it. In return the covenant promised to keep peace between magi and mundanes, and to serve the Order's interests in the city. The covenant has continued without formal opposition ever since.

1072 Normandy: Nauche-Fleur covenant, vassal of Montverte, founded.
This covenant operated a school near to Niort in Aquitaine, where instruction in both martial and academic subjects funded the opulent lifestyle of the magi. The covenant’s role in mundane politics was ever a source of controversy in the Tribunal; consequently none of the apprentices it trained remained to continue its work. The covenant died in 1166 when the last of its founders entered Final Twilight.

1072 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.
We really need to find some inside information..

1073 Levant: Covenant Al-Arama founded on a mountain crag in the Taurus Mountains of Lesser Armenia. Primarily concerned with trade with a number of covenants in the Roman Tribunal.

1073 Rome: The Sixteenth Verdi Competition.

1074 Rhine Tribunal: Roznov covenant inducted in the Tribunal.
To the ire of Novgorod and Transylvania, or was this just another machination by House Tremere?

1074 Thebes: 30th Theban Tribunal recognizes new covenant of Xylinites in Constantinople.
The monastery was originally founded as a lavra (a community of monks living in cells) in 823. In the late 10th century Empress Zoe’s first husband Emperor Romanus III Argyrus was particularly lavish in endowing the monastery. He made two particularly important donations - in 1030 he founded an orphanage and school supported by the state treasury and run by the monks, and in 1031 he donated a tiny but beautifully crafted icon of a little-known saint, St. Loukia. In 1071 Tikh of Jerbiton, a scholar paid to teach at the orphanage school, noticed the icon and that it had unusual attributes. He realized that St. Loukia was Loukia of Berytus (Beirut), a Montanist heretic who claimed to physically enter paradise by the power of the Holy Spirit, and who was executed in the fourth century for blasphemy. After seeking the abbot’s permission, Tikh removed the icon from the church and placed it in the school room of the orphanage. He was amazed when a Magic aura slowly developed around the heretical magical icon, and swiftly moved it to the orphanage schoolmaster’s house where he lived. Needing space for his laboratory, he uncovered and partially drained a huge vaulted water cistern under the orphanage and east grounds, founding one of the most enduring Constantinople covenants.
The demand from the palace for eunuchs had long exceeded supply, and with
the relaxation of the laws against castration many families saw having a eunuch son as a potential route to wealth and influence. The school attached to the orphanage had long accepted paying scholars from the city, and now a large number of youngsters elected or were volunteered by families to be educated there in the art of music, and subsequently castrated if their voices were suitable for the eunuchs of the choirs, the castrati. In addition, politically inconvenient children were often sent to the monastery, and castrated to render them ineligible for the throne or prevent inheritance disputes. The monastery thus became an important source of eunuchs destined for the imperial palace. Former students at the palace promoted the orphanage’s interests, while the Jerbiton magi enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, ample opportunities for study, and indirect influence over the imperial court.
However, the only remaining member from the sacking of Constantinople in 1204, Artoud of Criamon, established a Clutch (a Criamon covenant) dedicated to mystical research here instead.

1075 Iberia (Al-Andalus): The couple Rebeca Ex Miscellanea and Al-Layt ex Criamon found Jujasjun as their home.

1075 Iberia (North): Langobriga is established by a couple of magi expelled from Duresca.

1075 Rhine: A Cologne woman is accused of sorcery for "bewitching" men with her art, and hurled from the town wall.
Almost certainly Plebian hysteria.

C. 1075: A Muslim sect of Arabian wizards found the Brethren of Purity, a mysterious group of religious magi.

1076 Thebes: The magi of Kyddopetre disbanded. With the loss of Cilicia to the Seljuk Turks, their site no longer fell within the Byzantine Empire. While not a legal problem, the magi felt too isolated from their fellow Greeks to remain and
joined other covenants.

1079: The great church reformer, Pope Gregorius VII, decrees that all cathedrals must make schooling compulsory for priests.

1081 Iberia: The Andalusian Praeco, Al-Asmarun, is sent as a negotiator with the northern Tribunals to formalize the separation between the two Tribunals. The northern covenants, instead, impose an ultimatum: Al-Andalus must reunify with Iberia within seven years, or the irregularities of the Andalusians will be denounced to the Great Tribunal.

1081 Normandy Tribunal: Perpuaca’s books are declared the first tomes of the Library of the Normandy Tribunal. It is ruled that the books owned in common by the Tribunal are only available as prizes at the Tourney. Winning a book in the tournament grants exclusive access to that tome for a total of seven years; at which point it is returned to the Tribunal’s store. The book store is maintained at Confluensis, and a list of the books and their authors is a matter of public record. These books cannot be consulted by any member of the Tribunal unless they have been won at the Tourney.
Florum Covenant is ordered by the Tribunal to dismantle its linen factory, which is equipped with blatantly magical devices for the production of cloth. It is ruled that the excessive amount of fine quality cloth produced is being used to unduly influence the mundane population of Ghent.

1081 Rhine Tribunal: Dankmar covenant is accused of being in league with the faeries of the Black Forest.

1082 Thebes: Venice establishes a naval base on Rodos.

1082 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1083 Stonehenge: Voluntas covenant founded by Norman magi in Yorkshire.

1085 Iberia: Conquest of Toledo by Christian forces led by the great mortal hero called El Cid. Toledo was an important center of classical and magical learning in Moorish Iberia and home to several libraries and numerous works of classical antiquity, until then unknown in Europe. Many important texts from fallen Rome are recovered from the libraries of Toledo. The fame of Toledo as a center of magical learning extends even to mortals. Many famous non-Hermetic magicians learned their craft here.

1085 Rhine: A major raid against Durenmar by forces of the King of the Black
Mountain, a powerful faerie lord of the Black Forest, results in the death or capture of a number of Bonisagus magi and many covenfolk.
None of those captured are ever returned and their fate is unknown.

1086 Iberia: The Almohads begin the conquest of the taifas.

1087 Normandy: William the Conqueror dies at the age of 60 - at the priory of St Gervais in Rouen - from injuries he sustained by falling from his horse.
William’s body stank and rapidly decayed, it was defiled by servants, and abandoned by the sycophantic nobles who had gathered to his deathbed. This was a vile augury of Normandy’s fate as the duchy fell into anarchy and revolt. Eventually, William was taken from the priory to Caen, and as his body arrived a fire broke out that threatened the town. Against a backdrop of acrid black smoke and fire, beneath the bleak solidity of Caen Castle, William’s funeral was conducted at the Men’s Abbey. His bloated corpse burst free of the coffin during the ceremony, and the stench was so foul that the presiding bishops scrambled to complete the rite.

1088 Normandy Tribunal: Florum covenant appeals against the former ruling, citing that they were now so poor that their access to laboratory supplies was virtually non-existent. They claim that their magical power is therefore being limited by the previous ruling of the Tribunal. The appeal is dismissed as spurious by Quaesitor Celestin, who remarks that "the mundane resources
of a covenant cannot be considered to contribute towards the magical power of its members."
This ill-considered comment was enshrined in the Peripheral Code of the Normandy Tribunal, although the legal loophole that it created would not be exploited for several decades.

1088 Rhine Tribunal: Magi Xantippes and Julia, both Jerbiton, and maga Selena Tibicena, House Bonisagus, announce their intention to establish a covenant in the city of Trier dedicated to recovering the lost secrets of the Romans. No sponsors of the proposed covenant are forthcoming from the covenants of Irencillia, Crintera, or Dankmar, and therefore the First Tribunal does not recognize this proposed covenant.

1089 Iberia: The Tribunal of Al-Andalus accepts the Iberian ultimatum and the process of integration begins.

1089 Normandy: Another case of ergotism. This time only a small area is sent mad.
Who was sending these curses? A faerie lord, or one of our magi?

1090 Iberia: Yusuf ibn Tasufin unifies the taifas in the Almoravid Caliphate.

1090: In the town of Votting, three women are accused of blasting crops. They pass a trial by ordeal, but the townspeople are unconvinced. They are whipped to make them confess, but maintain their innocence. They are finally burned alive.
Mortal justice in action.

1091 Iberia: The Sahirs of Jibal al-Rahma abandon the Order.

1091 Rome: The Seventeenth Verdi Competition.

1091 Stonehenge: On Friday 17th October, London is hit by a great Tornado that strikes the heart of the city, causing a great deal of damage. The London bridge built by William the Conqueror is destroyed and the church of St Mary-le-Bow completely levelled, to the extent that four huge 26 foot rafters were driven so far into the earth that only four feet remained visible above ground. Other nearby churches are demolished by the tornado, as are over 600 buildings. For all the damage, there are just two known fatalities in a population of 18,000.
The tornado was likely the work of a Saxon magus from House Ex Miscellanea, striking back against Norman rule. In the years after 1066, Saxon resistance had been crushed, their traditions suppressed, and Norman churches and castles rose over sacred sites. This magus, likely trained in the old storm-calling traditions and perhaps working with Tempestaria weather witches, saw London as the heart of Norman power and the Church as a force erasing Saxon identity. Using a mix of Hermetic and hedge magic, he summoned a storm fueled by faerie might - having made a pact with the Wild Hunt. The tornado struck London hard, tore through the city and destroyed St. Mary-le-Bow, a clear symbol of Norman authority. The very institution that had legitimized the conquest, crowned William’s father, and sought to erase Saxon identity.
Whether the magus was taken by the Wild Hunt, quietly found and burned as a heretic, or simply disappeared into the mists of history, his name was lost. But the devastation he caused sent a clear message: A warning as much as an attack, a reminder that no matter how strong the Normans believed themselves to be, the land itself had not accepted them.
Nonsense! The culprit was a Flambeau apprentice, who had been tasked with destroying the London bridge for his gauntlet, set by an old nostalgic pater who had destroyed it as part of his own gauntlet in 1014, while in the retinue of Olaf II of Norway. In 1091 the bridge had been warded strongly against Ignem so another method was needed.

1092 Thebes: The Grammaton covenant is disbanded as it becomes apparent that their research is not going to achieve its goal, despite several interesting innovations and discoveries. The remaining magi joins other covenants.

1092 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.
Still nothing?

1093 Rhine Tribunal: Magus Borov of Jerbiton, who had trained his apprentice in the court of a mortal lord, is charged to bring his apprentice fully into the Order or risk Renunciation.
The magus became embroiled in the court’s politics, and aided the Margrave in his mundane wars and the wrath of the Margrave’s enemies was thereby brought upon the Order. Furthermore, the apprentice chose to side with the mundane factions, rather than serve the interests of the Order. The case upheld the precedent of the Grand Tribunal of 865 that no magus may become a servant to any mundane.
A special Tribunal, as it is out of cycle.

1095 Iberia: Magi of Normandy establish Andelos. Victrix is founded on the initiative of House Tremere.

1095 Normandy Tribunal (33rd): Covenant of Nauche-Fleur is accused of entering into a feudal obligation with their local baron. The covenant protests that the oath was taken by an unGifted companion who acted the role of Lord of the Manor on behalf of the magi. The Tribunal rules that the magi are innocent.

1095 Provencal: Gaston of Valloire, a nobleman of the Dauphiné founds the Order of the Hospitallers of St. Anthony, named after the fourth century Egyptian hermit. The Order is confirmed by Pope Urbanus II in the same year, at thanksgiving, for the son's miraculous cure from Saint Anthony's fire thanks to the relics of Saint Anthony the Great.

1095 Rhine Tribunal: Magi Xantippes and Julia, both Jerbiton, and maga Selena Tibicena, House Bonisagus, together with Arliandus of Tremere, again announce their intention to establish a covenant in the city of Trier. The First Tribunal approves the founding of Treverorum covenant.

1095 Rome: In this year, a census indicates that independent magi outnumber members of official covenants in the Roman Tribunal.
This is completely unacceptable!

1095 (November): At the Council of Clermont, Pope Urbanus II denounces corruption among the clergy and the breakdown of peace in the Frankish lands. He calls for the restoration of the "Truce of God" and urges that noble violence be turned outward, against the infidel foes of Christendom in the East. Framing the campaign as both penitential pilgrimage and holy war, he declares that Christ commands it. The response is overwhelming. Many noble and common folk alike swear oaths to take up arms - setting in motion the crusades.
The Order records surging Dominion auras in France and the Rhine, and a worrisome zeal among young magi who view the call to purify the world as extending also to magical affairs.

1096: The Peasants' Crusade (Peregrinatio Pauperum). Peter the Hermit, a charismatic preacher of dubious orthodoxy out of Cologne, rallies a vast multitude of poor pilgrims, paupers, and displaced knights under the banner of the Cross. Inspired by fiery preaching and visions of reclaiming the Holy Land, thousands of common folk set off for Jerusalem in a great tide of hope and desperation. Lacking papal sanction and any formal martial structure, the self-declared crusaders travel eastward through the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine lands toward Constantinople. Their passage is marked by rioting, destruction, and pogroms against Jewish communities, particularly in the Rhineland. Quaesitors later record testimony of Divine miracles intermingled with signs of Infernal temptation along their path.
The Order largely watches in alarm and silence. Covenants along the route, particularly in the Rhine and Greater Alps Tribunals, note disturbances in the local Auras and an upsurge in mundane suspicion of magical practitioners. Several young magi are chastised for involvement - either through attempts to protect local Jewish enclaves or for secret efforts to influence or hinder the mob.
Peter is joined by Walter Sans Avoir, a Frankish lord, and his small group of knights at Constantinople. Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, eager to usher such volatile pilgrims beyond his walls, grant them passage across the Bosporus. Though Peter pleads for caution, urging delay and discipline, the ill-led multitude can not be stayed. Impatient and intoxicated with zeal, they plunge into northwestern Anatolia in October, and swiftly meet their doom at the battle of Civetot, near Nicaea, against the Seljuk Turks - the host was surrounded and slaughtered.
Peter returned to Constantinople, whether to gather reinforcements or to preserve his own skin is uncertain. Walter remained with the vanguard and was struck down by seven arrows as the Seljuk emir Kilij Arslan swept down upon them like a scythe through unripened wheat.
A few survivors are absorbed into later waves of the First Crusade.
It is certainly whispered that some Tytali encouraged the chaos for their own obscure ends.
There are massacres of Jews in Worms, Speyer, Cologne, Trier (where many choose suicide by drowning instead of forced baptism), Mainz (where many commit ritual suicide with knives in the episcopal palace), and Bohemia. Heinrich IV attempts to punish those responsible but is not supported by the Church.
The turmoil left scars in both mundane and magical Europe: strained Christian-Jewish relations, a rise in Dominion auras where martyrdom occurred, and a new precedent for mass pilgrimage as a tool of holy war.
The Peasants' Crusade is remembered as a cautionary tale among both mundanes and magi - of fervor without discipline, and of how swiftly the Dominion can sweep across the land in the wake of suffering and zeal.

1096 Thirteenth Grand Tribunal: House Jerbiton complains of Flambeau support of mundanes in Iberia; the boundaries of Iberia are redrawn to limit the political power of House Flambeau there.
While giving up land area, this move effectively limited House Flambeau's power within the Iberian Tribunal and curtailed House Flambeau's interference in mundane affairs.
Though House Flambeau could not alter the decision of the Grand Tribunal, they did not fully respect it. Many members of Flambeau left Provencal to join covenants in Iberia. Without the prestige and power of lost Val-Negra, however, they did not wield the political power they had in the past. Many Flambeau magi settled for venting their anger on a personal level. In particular, Muslim sorcerers who had joined the Order after fleeing the Almoravids were subjected to frequent attacks by members of House Flambeau. The violence of House Flambeau galvanized their opponents, in much the same way the initial intolerance of the Almoravids drew the Christian states out of their lone slumber.

1096: The First Crusade begins proper, as the better organized and funded "Princes' Crusade" armies leave for the East a few months after Peter the Hermit's ill-fated Peasant's Crusade. This is the first time the Church resorts to direct, aggressive warfare, although by proxy. The crusade aims to gain the Levant from the Muslims, for religious reasons.
With banners raised and crosses sewn upon their cloaks, the great lords of Europe lead their armies eastward: Raymond of Toulouse, Bohemond of Taranto, Godfrey of Bouillon, and others destined to become legends - or calamities.
Some within the Order suspect that Divine intervention played an active role; others whisper that Infernal pacts may have guided the course of certain warlords. Nevertheless, the First Crusade saw an explosion of Hermetic activity in the Levant. Many Hermetic magi took part in the crusade. Members of Houses Flambeau, Tremere and Tytalus in particular joined the crusading armies. Some were genuine crusaders, fired by zeal for their faith. Others recognized the opportunity to plunder the resources of the East, while some Flambeau magi also sought revenge for what they saw as the murder of their founder by Muslim wizards. Some Muslim magi attempted to oppose the Hermetic onslaught. Latin chroniclers noticed in particular the activities of the sorcerers of Jerusalem, who used their magics to curse Latin war machines and build up the city’s defenses. However, these Muslim wizards were few and far between, and not being centralized in a single organization, they were unable to stand for long against their Hermetic opponents.
Later the crusading Hermetic magi were joined by others with purposes of their own. Members of House Verditius were keen to partake of the spoils, while magi of House Criamon wished to consult with the mystics of the area. Many Jerbiton magi also traveled to the Levant, keen to take advantage of both its riches and the culture. Against the protestations of the older covenants, the new arrivals set up new covenants and marked out territories.

1097: The First Crusade gains momentum as the crusader princes unite under the uneasy guidance of Emperor Alexius I Comnenus in Constantinopel. In the spring of 1097, they cross the Bosphorus and besiege the city of Nicaea, long held by the Seljuk Turks. After weeks of blockade and combat, the city surrenders - not to the crusaders, but to Byzantine agents in a secret accord. Tensions rise between East and West.
Soon after, the crusaders begin their perilous march into the heart of Anatolia, crossing burning plains under relentless sun. At Dorylaeum, they are ambushed by the forces of Kilij Arslan, but through desperate courage and timely reinforcement, the Latins prevail. The battle becomes legend among pilgrims and troubadours, and some speak of ghostly riders aiding the crusaders - whether angelic or otherwise is debated. The road ahead remains uncertain, but the armies press on toward Antioch, driven by faith, glory, or madness.
They lay siege to Antioch in October. After stripping the surrounding area of food, the crusaders are forced to look farther afield for supplies, opening themselves to ambush. On 31 December, a force of 20,000 crusaders encountered a relief army led by Duqaq, ruler of Damascus, heading to Antioch and defeat them.

1098: As the siege of Antioch continues, supplies dwindle and one in seven of the crusaders are dying from starvation. People begin deserting.
Still, a second relief force under the command of Duqaq's brother Ridwan, emir of Aleppo, is defeated in February - and the crusaders manage to take Antioch in June, although the citadel remains in the hands of the Turkish defenders. But the crusaders are immediately besieged in turn by a massive Muslim relief army under Kerbogha, atabeg of Mosul. In a time of direst need, the leaders of the crusade are approached by a southern French servant named Peter Bartholomew, who has received several visions of St. Andrew, revealing to him the location of the Holy Lance that pierced the side of Christ. Following his instructions, the crusaders find the Lance under the cathedral Church of St. Peter - sparking fervent revival among the starving host. Against all expectation, carrying the Holy Lance in a sortie from the city - they successfully shatter the siege, driven by zeal and perhaps something more.
The crusaders continued to carry the Lance into battle until 1101, when it was lost in Asia Minor. No one knows what became of it after then.

1098 Transylvania: The entire wing of Coeris that contains the legendary Schism War veteran Hermanus of Tremere’s laboratory disappears in what is assumed to be a magical accident and Hermanus’ Final Twilight. Hermanus was the magus most responsible for the defenses of Coeris. Of great concern to the House Tremere, the Unbarred Gateway Vexillation is formed by the Tremere to search for Hermanus and his laboratory. After five years this vexillation concludes that neither could be located by any method known to the Tremere and dissolves.
There are rumors he discovered evidence of a group of Diedne sympathizers within House Tremere, and they are somehow responsible. Others claim he enchanted his laboratory with the ability to move and left Coeris behind forever to explore the world without having to leave the safety of his heavily warded laboratory.

1099 (July): The First Crusade concludes with some considerable success as Jerusalem falls to the crusaders. The blood of thousands flows through its streets in Divine justice, and a Christian kingdom is declared in the Holy Land - placing Godfrey of Bouillon as Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. The conquest sends reverberations through all four Realms. Pilgrimage becomes fashion, and the Church’s temporal power swells.
The First Crusade establishes a Latin presence in the East that shall endure for generations, and also opens new roads - both mundane and mystical - between Europe and the lands of the sunrise. Eastern knowledge, exotic vis sources, and forgotten magics begin to trickle westward, though often tainted by strife or warped by conflicting paradigms. Relics - true and false - proliferate, and many are imbued with strange magical or miraculous properties. Some Hermetic magi seek to study them; others recoil from the potent Divine aura that now cloaks the Levant.
Back in Europe, the Church is emboldened. The call of crusade is proven potent, and murmurs arise of future expeditions. In the Levant, the magical landscape is forever altered: ancient regiones collapse or are swallowed by the rising tide of sanctity; Infernal forces, once rooted in ancient corruption, retreat or transform.

1099 Loch Leglean: German and Spanish Flambeau magi hunt non-Hermetic magi in Scotland; they are stalked and defeated one by one by a Damhadh-Duidas, a mighty gruagach, who strips them of their Gift. Threats to retaliate are met with a unified Tribunal resolve to defend Loch Leglean hedge wizards against foreign magi.
This served only to enflame tensions between Flambeau and Ex Miscellanea. No action was taken against Damhadh-Duidas for these acts, a violation of his Oath. Of course, there is no record of Damhadh-Duidas having taken the Oath, or if he’s kin or even the actual Damhadh-Duidas from the Spider War.

1099 Normandy: Infelicitas covenant, vassal of Fudarus, is founded after Rancrax of Tytalus lost a wager with his rival, and was forced to leave Fudarus as per the terms of the bet.
The covenant foundered in 1158 when Rancrax was slain in Wizard’s War by a member of Moles Magna, and the remaining two magi were not interested in continuing at the site.

1100 Normandy: Nidi covenant founded in Aquitaine, vassal of Oleron.

1100 Stonehenge: Lux Draconis enters Final Winter when its last member dies. Blackthorn laid claim to the property of the defunct covenant. None of the other covenants had enough strength to challenge them, although Voluntas tried, and the infusion of money, books, and vis put Blackthorn firmly on the road to recovery.
This property conflict is the foundation of the enmity between Blackthorn and Voluntas.

1101 Levant: Covenant Venti Rosa founded, a Mercere caravan traveling through the Tribunal from covenant to covenant.

1101 Thebes: Court of Fools founded, an itinerant Ex Miscellanea covenant full of mystics and soothsayers, touring throughout mainland Greece.

1102 Iberia: Barda is founded.

1102 Normandy Tribunal (34th): In response to a complaint from three Flambeau magi of Provençal, the Tribunal rules that lacking a clear geographical
boundary between Provençal and Normandy, the border shall be determined on linguistic grounds. Territory disputed by the two Tribunals shall henceforth be decided by the language of the closest settlement; if it is a langue d’oeil then it is Normandy, else it is Provençal.
Despite protests from Provençal at the Grand Tribunal in 1129, this decision is upheld.

1102 Normandy: Tyrmander of Flambeau, impressed by the recent crusade, urges his sodales to march against the Saracens, both to crush them, who he sees as the enemies of the Order, and to take from the Church the mantle of protector of civilization, before the Church declares a crusade against the Order. Tyrmander’s logic is serpentine.

1102 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.
Around this period, some followers of Tremere are now known to have experimented with vampirism, and possibly other forms of unliving existence.

1103 Iberia: Last of the Andalusian Tribunals. The Great Hall is soon abandoned and the illegal Andalusian Tribunal is dissolved.
A party of Flambeau magi murder every Sahir in the former covenant of Jibal al-Rahma.

1103 Provence: Magus Pierre de Galve of Jerbiton is accused of endangering his sodales by copying books out of his covenant’s library, and trading these copies to mortals. It was feared that texts of the Order may reveal the Order and cause bad feelings against magi. Magus Pierre was found to have only copied comparatively mundane books, not concerned with the Arts or magic theory, and was acquitted.

1104 Iceland: Mount Hekla erupts, spewing molten rock, smoke, ash, and poisonous vapors. Tales of this wonder filter back to Europe.
What foul Terram magics are available to the heathens there?

1104–1107 Stonehenge: Blackthorn sponsors the covenant of Blackrose on the north York moors, near Voluntas. It suffers multiple disasters, including crop failures and vanishing staff, and fails after only three years, the magi recalled to Blackthorn.
Voluntas is widely considered responsible, but Blackthorn presents no evidence.

1108 Tribunal of Iberia: Fawd ex Criamon is elected Praeco.

1108 Thebes: 35th Theban Tribunal. Petronas becomes Logothete, and is to serve for almost a century.

1109 Normandy Tribunal (35th): Quaesitor Muirgheal had encountered a group of hedge wizards who were fighting a plague of restless dead, and inducts many of them into the Order as the Ex Miscellanea tradition of the Donatores Requietis Aeternae - despite the misgivings of many magi in the Tribunal.
A rise in sinister encounters with the restless dead was observed in many parts of France during the 11th century, with frequent hauntings and visitations, and hordes of the walking dead blighting some areas. These occurrences were blamed on a cult of the dead, which was believed to be especially active in Picardy. Early in the 12th century, a group of hedge wizards, clergy, and others combined forces to combat this threat. They prevailed in a great battle, banishing the restless dead, although many of the group lost their lives and the town was ruined. Thus were the Donatores formed, and several of the hedge wizards in the group decided to remain at the ruins of Nesle, in case the undead should return.
The Tribunal rules that if a man can get from the covenant’s council chamber to a vis source and back again, on his own two feet and unaided by magic, between sunrise and sunset on a day which is within a month of an equinox, then the vis source is a seisin of that covenant. This ruling superseded previous entries in the Peripheral Code (see 1025) which were unclear as to the definition of "a day’s return march".
Nearly every covenant in the Tribunal has a specialist called a cursor, or "runner," usually a highly athletic grog, whose sole purpose is to prove to the Quaesitors in a trial run that their vis source is within this range. Cursors are prized members of any covenant, and some trade them like cattle.

1109 Rhine Tribunal: Treverorum covenant brings charges against Valdus of House Tytalus for theft of vis, claiming that he has twice harvested from a site belonging to them. Valdus accepts that he harvested this vis, but argues that the site, lying outside the city walls of Trier, does not belong to Treverorum. He also claims that magi of Treverorum had neglected to harvest this vis for themselves. It is ruled that the site, being within a day’s march from the covenant, belongs to Treverorum. However, it is noted that Treverorum has suffered no harm or loss of vis as a result of Valdus’ actions. Valdus is therefore fined one pawn of vis and ordered to seek the permission of Treverorum before harvesting from the site again.

1109 Rome: The Eighteenth Verdi Competition.

1111: Heinrich V comes to Rome seeking the imperial crown, but the negotiations with Pope Paschal II over investiture collapses into open coercion after resistance from the German bishops and turmoil in the city. Paschal is taken prisoner and, after harsh captivity, yields concessions on royal investiture; Heinrich is crowned emperor, though the concession is soon condemned and the conflict remains unresolved.
Many said that even the stones of Saint Peter’s trembled beneath the struggle over who held the right to place ring and staff into a bishop’s hand.

1111 Stonehenge: Blackthorn sponsors Magnantum covenant in Salisbury.
This is the second known attempt by Blackthorn to establish a filius covenant.

1112 Levant: Aedes Veritatis covenant is established by a young maga from Damascus, Maryam al-Dimashqiyya, as a stronghold for magi of the Order who chooses to take up arms against their Hermetic brethren and fight for the Muslims of the area. The name translated into Arabic (Bayt al-Haqq) carries a
wider meaning of "the House of What is Right".

1112 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1115 Thebes: 36th Theban Tribunal: Thermakopolis founded, a House Jerbiton covenant dedicated to the defense of the city of Constantinople.
The pride and shame of House Jerbiton, pledged to the protection of Constantinople, a task in which it ultimately failed.

1116 Normandy Tribunal (36th): Lapis Crudus covenant complain that the magus Koilios had staged a raid on their supply convoy, stealing a significant amount of food and luxuries (but oddly, left vis and glassware alone), thereby causing them significant hardship. However, when challenged, Lapis Crudus are unable to explain what part of the Code has been violated by Koilios. Furthermore, Koilios being a skilled politician from House Tytalus, cites the ruling of 1088, indicating that what had been taken from Lapis Crudus did not infringe the rights accorded them by the Code of Hermes.
Koilios had picked his target well; Lapis Crudus was not well liked, and Koilios was able to defeat Lapis Crudus and win exoneration for his theft.
The Tribunal confirms the earlier ruling of 1081 that the mundane resources
of a covenant do not necessarily contribute to the magical power of its members. Specifically, food, consumables, building supplies, arms and armor, and luxury goods are not part of a magus’s magical power.
Magus Praecepsus of Flambeau is accused of using a sword enchanted with Perdo spells to cut down the enemies of the king during the raid on Paris by the count of Meulan in 1111. The Tribunal rules that, since there was no evidence to mundane eyes that magic was involved, there is no charge to answer.

1117: Heinrich V again exploits disorder in Rome, and Mauritius Burdinus, already aligned with the imperial cause, crowns him during the emperor’s return to the city.

1117 Normandy: Spider’s Palace covenant founded, vassal of Florum, in the former site of Florum.

1117 Rome: The independent covenant of Feritel founded in Genoa.

1118: After Paschal II dies in January, the imperial party elevates Mauritius Burdinus as antipope Gregorius VIII, directly challenging the lawful papal succession and deepening the schism around Heinrich’s rule.
Rome was made to suffer yet another shepherd crowned in splendor but thin in rightful authority. Pride climbed all the way into the heart of Christendom.

1118 Iberia: Magi of Flambeau join an attack by Aragon forces against the Moorish city of Saragossa. A few Moorish magi of the Order defend the city to preserve the city library. In the battle, the Moorish magi are killed, though no formal Wizard's War had been declared.
In the aftermath, many magi of the Order expressed their outrage at the actions of Flambeau. A special Tribunal was called to deliver the Order's justice upon the magi.

1118 Normandy: An unfortunate incident reveals the location of the covenant Lapis Crudus and the nature of its inhabitants to several prominent noble families, who all seek to use the magi for their own ends. Lapis Crudus is forced to retaliate with a combination of subtle threats and blackmail, but neither are sustainable in the long term. Seeking a way to free the covenant from this political mire, Aries of House Flambeau tricks a powerful faerie called Candidus into providing protection and concealment for the covenant, keeping it safe from harm. Candidus fulfills the pact by moving the covenant into a faerie regio; but,
resenting the manner in which he had been dealt with, he also seals the borders of the regio, trapping everyone within. The covenant is considered lost.
Fortunately, some of the covenant’s sources of vis were located within the regio, but the magi needed to consume the output of these seisins to provide themselves with food and tools. That is, until one of their number devised a way to transfer non-living goods into the regio, and the magi got their first taste of meat and wine for nearly seven decades. The trapped magi were forced to rely on their fortunately large vis stocks for their study, and between them exhausted the library’s capacity to teach them. There were some attempts to free the trapped magi, but Lapis Crudus’s vassals, seeing a chance for independence, were not sufficiently motivated to achieve this goal, and the covenant was quickly forgotten - until 1215…

1118 Thebes: Bogomil leader Basil burnt for heresy in Hippodrome.

1119 Iberia: The Special Tribunal rules that the magi of Flambeau involved in the attack on Saragossa, in which their Muslim sodales fell, must pay the loot gained to the covenants of the victims. Afterward the Quaesitors decree that magi may not aid mortal powers "overtly or with any sort of magic that can be detected by mortals," leading to a covert state of the war.
Though the Code of Hermes specifically prohibits the killing of another member of the Order, the evidence against the Flambeau magi is scant. No hard evidence is produced that indicates Flambeau magi are directly responsible for the death of Muslim Hermetic magi at Saragossa. Advocates of the deceased magi argue that the Code also forbids interference in mundane affairs, such that it brings ruin upon others of the Order. The Flambeau responds by saying the deceased magi were the ones interfering in mundane affairs, bringing ruin upon themselves.
In the end, the Tribunal refuses to order the execution of the attacking Flambeau, but orders them to return all loot they had gained to covenants of the fallen magi. After the Tribunal the Iberian Quaesitors issue a blanket decree ordering that no magi of the Order would provide aid to a mundane power "overtly or with any sort of magic that can be detected mortals." This ruling limits the activities of magi supporting Christian armies, as well as limiting those opposing the Christians. And yet, the ruling does not altogether stop impassioned magi.
This seems like a softer ruling on the issue than ones in the past.
In the wake of the Quaesitors's ruling, the polarity of the opposing sides increase. The southern Iberian Covenant of Estáncia-es-Karida was the first to define itself as a "Roman" covenant. Its members believed that Muslims who ruled the southern portion of the peninsula were the true inheritors of Rome's glory. They said the shaky Germanic alliance that called itself the Holy Roman Empire could not compare to the achievements of Mohammed's followers. In spirit and culture, the Muslims were considered to be leading the way toward a
rebirth of the Roman empire. Covenants that supported the Muslims called themselves "Roman" Covenants.

C. 1120: Adelard of Bath translates Euclid’s Elements from Arabic into Latin.
This work is getting popular at universities beginning around 1200, and is getting installed as the mundane "ultimate textbook" in Europe.

1120 Iberia: Praesidium Abditius is founded, although its statutes are not approved until 1123.

1120: The order of the Knights of the Temple is founded in the Levant to escort pilgrims. The Templars come to be a powerful crusading army and to hold vast lands throughout Europe.
It is now also one of the great forces backing the authority of the Church.

1120: Bernard of Clairvaux writes De Laude Novae Militiae, arguing that the Church is justified in using military force to achieve its ends, including conversion of pagans, opposition of the minions of Satan, and defense of the Church and Christendom. Bernard asserts that such defenders should be military orders of monks who have renounced the world and taken vows of poverty, humility, chastity, and obedience as well as knightly vows.

1122: At the city of Worms, Heinrich V reaches an agreement (the Concordat of Worms) with Pope Callixtus II, which technically brings the Investiture Contest to an end. The emperor concedes that the Church has the right to elect persons to ecclesiastical office, and he promises to support canonical election to bishoprics and abbacies. In return, the pope concedes that the emperor has the right to be present at elections and to perform a lay investiture of German prelates before their consecration to spiritual office. This ensures imperial control of the dues and duties owed to him by bishops and abbots, who are also powerful feudal magnates. In practice, while a victory for the Church, the emperor still retains great influence over the appointment of prelates.
Yet though seals and oaths ended the quarrel in law, its memory lingered among princes, bishops, and magi who knew how near the Empire had come to schism, humiliation, and ruin.
It seemed the Church won the battle, but in truth the emperor still holds considerable power over the Church. The plots of the Devil (for the reformists’ fears were just) were merely altered a little. Many within the clergy were His minions and many more would be. The Devil learned patience in such matters long ago.

1122 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.
A Wizard's March is declared against the vampiric Tremere, but the events around the March are unclear. The Quaesitors had been investigating these magic-vampire hybrids for some years.
It's rumored that Murat of Terezin, single-handedly dispatched over 200 vampires.

1123 Tribunal of Iberia: Aedes Iris is destroyed by unknown forces. The Iberian Tribunal formalizes the prohibition of founding new covenants in Africa until 1225. The Tribunal is marked by the infamous criticism of the 'Perfect Magi' of 'Alif to the Criamon of Barzaj.

1123 Normandy: Requies Aeterna covenant, vassal of Florum, is founded at the ruins of Nesle in Picardy by Ex Miscellanea magi from the tradition known as the Donatores Requietis Aeternae, "Givers of Eternal Rest," who are dedicated to assisting the dead in leaving the world of the living.
Several of the hedge wizards (now Ex Miscellanea) in the group had decided to remain at the ruins of Nesle, in case the undead should return.
Since its founding, Requies Aeterna has been closely monitored by the Tribunal’s Quaesitors, who remain suspicious of their mundane dealings, especially their contacts with the Church - as a number of the Donatores were trained clergymen.

1123 Normandy Tribunal (37th): Pandion of Flambeau is accused of depriving Antonin of Dragon’s Rest of his magical power by stealing twelve valuable horses from the Redcap, one of which was a magical creature. Pandion is convicted, and ordered to return the magical horse, along with a fine of 10 pawns of vis, but is permitted to retain the other eleven horses as spoils from a lawful raid. The Tribunal notes that while livestock does not in general contribute to a magus’s magical power, enchanted creatures - even those that are not familiars - certainly do. After a request for clarification, Quaesitor Lothaire extends this ruling to exclude covenfolk from a magus’s magical power.

1123 Rhine Tribunal: Magi Schwall of Bjornaer and Fulmonious of Tytalus found the covenant of Rheinstein in the Rhine Gorge with the sponsorship of the First Tribunal. Rheinstein simultaneously announces it will pay a tithe of three pawns of vis each Tribunal to every other covenant, for the next five Tribunals.

1123 Rome: Last encounter recorded with Fortunata of Jerbiton, founder of the Mystery Cult "Principles Lore". It’s suspected she died or entered Final Twilight not long after. She was a famous writer, historian and translator of ancient texts from lost languages as well as a spirit master. Jealous and powerful Hermetic enemies forced her into exile.
Rumor has it she commanded ancient ghosts to read the texts aloud while she used Mentem magics to understand their words, exceeding Hermetic limits on translation. There were also unproven rumors of Infernalism and magical spying.

1123 Levant: After the defeat of a Muslim fleet off Ascalon, the sea fills with corpses. They drift, in an ever-expanding ring, until they pile upon distant beaches like walls of driftwood. No fish can be caught on the site of the battle, and voyages that cross the battle’s location are cursed to fail.
Skulls of the dead of Ascalon are said to be found on ships on ill-fated journeys.

1123 Thebes: Lamites covenant founded. A short-lived Anatolian covenant devoted to prophecy, and claiming the Phrygian Sibyl as their patron. It is
believed that Lamia killed them all for their presumption in 1127.
Although it may have been the faerie called Lamia who objected to the competition.

1124 Iberia: Jujasjun discovers the addictive properties of the white poppies of the Balion River. The Iberian magi discover the Sahir fortress of al-Minzar, which had been isolated until then.

1124 Normandy: Lixivia covenant, vassal of Florum, disbands after having been driven into poverty. Alcuin’s Auberge covenant, a small Mercere House in the city of Tours and vassal of Florum, is founded by Redcaps from Lixivia.
It fell to unknown raiders in 1197.

1127 Thebes: Lamites destroyed.

1127 Rome: The Nineteenth Verdi Competition.

1127: The Order hosts the Third Secular (every 120 years).

1128 Normandy: A "sorceress" of Ghent is eviscerated and her innards paraded around town.
More mob justice of the commoners.

1129 Fourteenth Grand Tribunal: The re-founded Tribunal of the East is ratified by the Order, and named the Levant Tribunal.
Border of Provencal and Normandy Tribunals adjusted to the "modern" boundaries.
Mendalus of House Merinita proclaims that Quendalon had been wrong, and the Order had a duty to follow the true path of Merinita.
While several Merinita took up this pursuit of wilderness magic, starting a sub-tradition in the House, not much else seems to have changed.
Rumors have it that Mendalus was actually a hierophant of the Huntress who was left crazed after a protracted Twilight. He believed that he was the messiah they had been searching for, and the other hierophants of the Huntress were forced to silence him by declaring Wizard’s War against him and slaying him.
The re-founded Tribunal of the East is ratified by the Order, and named the Levant Tribunal. Despite official recognition, the Tribunal differs considerably from the Hermetic ideal. Interference in mundane affairs is commonplace, as is frequent conflict with Muslim mages.
Some magi, disenchanted with the ravages of their sodales, began to side with the Muslims against the crusaders, provoking further conflict. Wizards’ Wars also
became common, as magi disputed over the rich resources of the Levant. The Quaesitors found it difficult to impose their authority on the area because some of their number were as involved in the chaos as any other magi. The Levantine crusader magi usually responded to accusations of breaches of the Code by protestations that their actions were necessary to ensure continued Hermetic presence in the war-torn lands, while the counter-crusaders claimed that their actions were taken to defend the Muslims from the consequences of these breaches. The Tribunal descended into a chaos from which it seemed that it would never recover.

1130 Iberia: The communal covenant of 'Alif is founded as a demonstration of the ideals of the "Perfect Magi". This group advocates a peaceful and contemplative life for magi, without the coercive influences of an Order. Barda begins its current policy of stealing vis belonging to Caium.
Yezirat Tennyn established.

1130 Normandy Tribunal (38th): Jacinth of Oleron is accused of deprivation in that, conducting a raid against the covenant of Infelicitas, he caused the collapse of the upper story of the covenant. Further, he is accused of attempting to slay a magus through the physical destruction of the covenant. The second charge cannot not be proved, but Jacinth is convicted of the first since two laboratories were destroyed. Quaesitor Lothaire rules that raiding magi are forbidden from damaging the physical structure of a covenant, and reminds the Tribunal that they cannot contravene the Code in an otherwise legal raid. Jacinth escapes a Wizard’s March, but suffers the loss of his familiar.

1130 Levant: The order of the Knights of St. John, the Knights Hospitaller, established sixty years prior to defend pilgrims, is militarized to defend the kingdom of Jerusalem.

C. 1130 Stonehenge: Geoffry of Monmouth writes several books regarding the magus Merlin. The popularity of tales of Merlin, his student King Arthur, and the realm of Enchanted Britain continues.

1132 Novgorod: After the death of Mstislav the Great in 1132 a ruling is made that all members of the Tribunal are strictly enjoined not to reveal themselves to any member of the mortal House of Rurik (the Royal Russian house).
This pact was to head off accusations of interfering in mundane affairs. Later this rule was extended to cover the Polish Royals as well.

1132 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.
Last report of a Tremere Vampire.

1133 Iberia: Leading an influx of Arabic learning into European astrology, Abu Ma’shar’s Greater Introduction to Astrology written in 848 is translated into Latin by John of Seville.
While churchmen from time to time denounce it (usually some nonsense about the "free will" clause), astrology is a reputable science and entering the mainstream. As astronomy, it’s taught in the universities as a liberal art.

1133 Stonehenge: Natura Antiqua founded to study nature in the Anglian fens.

1134 Normandy: A mysterious storm alters the coastline at Brugge and carves a deep channel, the Zwin, bringing the town to within a mile from the sea. What was once little more than a castle that collected tolls from merchants crossing the Reie river, has its fortunes forever changed.

1136 Normandy: Moles Magna covenant founded, vassal of Oleron. Located on the edge of the Morvan, this covenant is built within a dam of a minor
tributary of the River Yonne. The river forms a small lake at the covenant’s
back, and cascades over the dam hiding them from view.
It was eventually destroyed in 1182 when the river burst the dam after heavy rain; since the covenant had magically reinforced the dam against such a fate, it is assumed that they had angered a supernatural creature by restraining the river.

1137 Iberia: The Hermetic side of the Kharijite movement is reborn with the establishment of Chaza'ir.

1137 Rhine Tribunal: A handful of covenants in the west of the Tribunal form the Apple Gild, with the intent that magi should seek peaceful and friendly relations with mundanes, and that magi should work towards acceptance in the mundane world, so that they no longer need to hide. It also believes that magi should work to improve the lot of mundanes through teaching and trade as well as magic, and that magi should be humble before the Lord.
I.e. seeking to push the limits of the Peripheral Code with the extent of their mundane dealings. In almost all cases, while leading to temporary enrichment or significant influence among the nobility, these efforts have resulted in disaster.

1139 Iberia: Both members of Langobriga perish during the Battle of Ourique; the covenant is dissolved.
Matlus of Jerbiton arrives in Barcelona and takes on the role of a cloth merchant.
He comes to be Praeco of Iberia.

1141: Insatella becomes Prima of House Mercere.

1141 Stonehenge: Founding of Burnham covenant in Northumberland.

1142 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1143 Iberia: Death of the Almoravid Caliph Ali ibn Yusuf. A war of succession soon breaks out.
Victrix reorganizes in collaboration with the Knights Templar.

1143 Stonehenge: Natura Antiqua covenant destroyed by a mortal, Geoffry de Mandeville, during a mundane war.

1144: Morienus Romanus’ "Liber de Compositione Alchemiae" becomes the first Arabic alchemical work translated into Latin, by Robert of Chester.
This is soon followed by Gerard of Cremona’s translation of De Aluminibus et Salibus, attributed to Rhases, and the Aristoteles de Perfecto Magisterio.
This created a great sensation and a wide spread of interest among mundane, unGifted scholars, and alchemists became common in most large cities as the new science developed. Hermetic Alchemy becomes more readily available.

1144 Normandy Tribunal (40th): Quaesitor Lothaire is publicly accused of partisanship by Jacinth of Oleron, who cites specific instances where the Quaesitor was a beneficiary of numerous raids conducted by the covenants of Montverte, Fudarus, and their allies. A subsequent Quaesitorial investigation exonerates Lothaire from any wrongdoing owing to lack of substance to Jacinth’s accusations.
Nevertheless, Lothaire did not regain his status as chief Quaesitor of Normandy, and was invited to join Magvillus in recognition of his long service to the Order.

1144 Rhine Tribunal: At the urging of the Ash Gild, it is ruled that more information should be gathered about the Norse wizards in lands to the north of the Tribunal - the purported Order of Odin. To this end, Oculus Septentrionalis covenant was formed and dedicated to investigating this potential threat. Uniquely, at the time of its founding, this covenant had no magi and no site, and its charter was written by senior magi of the Tribunal.
There are nasty rumors that the Order’s failure to deal with or even grasp the Order of Odin (as well as the difficulties earlier in the War against the Spider) may be due Parma Magica being unusually vulnerable to their rune magic.

1145 The Almoravid Empire in Iberia fragments into taifas.
The second ones, in fact.

1145 Rome: The Twentieth Verdi Competition.

1145 Partitio Monaviae: Repeated conflicts over vis sources on the Isle of Man lead to a conclave between Stonehenge, Hibernia, and Loch Leglean. They agree to stop harvesting vis on Man and that the island and its vis would go to whatever Tribunal could first found a covenant there.
There have been at least three attempts to found a covenant on Man, all disasters. This Pact instigated by Crun Clach?

C. 1145 Stonehenge: Burnham covenant given a grant of immunity by a mortal king, Stephen, later confirmed by King Henry II.

1147–1149 Levant: The Second Crusade assembles half a million soldiers, marches them on the Levant under the flags of France’s Louis VII and Germany’s Konrad III, and loses them to plague, starvation, and battle wounds.

1147 Iberia: Almohad invasion of Spain. The Almohads capture the Almoravid capital of Seville. This new wave of fundamentalist Muslims spread support for Reconquista covenants. During the rise of the Almohads, the Covenant of Jaferiya rose to power under the leadership of Rasus, a follower of Flambeau

1147: Slaughter of Jews in France, Germany, and Bohemia in religious hysteria.
Does such a fate await magi if exposed?

1147 Novgorod: Roslav Lavickovich summoned from Pripet Maior to Crintera, to assume Primacy of Bjornaer.

1148: The well-respected Quaesitor Simprim of Guernicus founds the Transitionalist faction of House Quaesitor. The Transitionalists argue that the Code should be more flexible, and take into account circumstances that more traditional Quaesitors would ignore. In particular, transitionalists believe the law-enforcement powers of the Quaesitores need to be expanded in order to enforce the Code in the face of corruption and political deadlock.
To Simprim and his followers a law incapable of adaptation doomed the Order rather than helped preserve it. In a number of Tribunals the loss of vis sources and magic auras due to mundane encroachment was becoming an acute issue. In these Tribunals many magi felt the strict prohibition against mundane interference should be relaxed to allow the defense of magic resources. Simprim argued that if the Code demanded that magi sit idle as their magical resources were destroyed, they would be forced to defy it; lawlessness would follow.
In addition, he claimed that the Order had outgrown Guernicus’s vision of a loose society of freemen. Simprim maintained that corruption had beset many local Tribunals and action against them was too difficult under the existing system. The traditional rights of magi hindered investigations and trials too much. Simprim suggested more powers be given to the Quaesitores and Tribunals. He called for the Grand Tribunal to have the authority to amend the First Tribunal rulings as it desired and that local Tribunals be given reasonable scope to set policies on mundane interference.
Some Quaesitors, mostly younger ones, came to agree with Simprim, at least partially. With this split of opinion, the Traditionalists and the Transitionalists were formed.

1148 Iberia: The mostly Jewish city of Lucena is destroyed by the future Almohads, and with it the covenant of 'Olam wa-'ed.

1148 Levant: The Pyramids (I) covenant is founded at the Great Pyramid, by magi obsessed with the pyramids of the ancients.
Nobody knows what horrors they might unleash if they succeed in opening any of the pyramids.

1149: Konrad III, king of Germany and expected to be Holy Roman Emperor, issues a call for each scholarly institution to send a representative to his court.

C. 1150s Novgorod: Expeditions as far as the Urals brings back word of seemingly limitless forests, stretching in unbroken grandeur into the uttermost East. Three Lakes magi visit the area where Thousand Caves covenant is later founded.
The vis wealth reported sounds staggering.

1150 Iberia: The Iberian Chamber convinces Salaman ex Guernicus, one of the founders of 'Alif, to renounce his beliefs and write a manifesto exposing the failings of the "Perfect" ideology.

1151 Iberia: The covenants of Resurgens and Pallantia are formed.
Beit Midrash, a covenant of Jewish magi mostly from ‘Olam, is established in its present location.
Fafhs al-Luyy is dissolved, its resources divided among neighboring covenants.

1151 or 1158? Roman Tribunal: The Tribunal requires that all foreign magi, other than Quaesitors, passing through the Roman Tribunal must announce themselves to each of the Covenants at their embassies in Venice. This requirement is widely ignored, particularly by magi passing through by ship.

1151 Normandy Tribunal: A particularly competitive team from the Iberian Tribunal use a variety of then-legal tactics in the Tourney, which are widely felt to have brought the Tourney into disrepute and immediately outlawed by Peripheral Code. They earn 13th position, and are surprised when the Quaesitors declare that place the "Siege of Shame", stating that henceforth no prize will be awarded to the team that holds that position.
A tradition upheld by the Tribunal to remind everyone of the shameful episode.

1151 Rhine Tribunal: Rudophus Bonisagus of Durenmar, through his actions, had attracted the attention of a major demon. Although he attempted for over a decade to kill this demon, he was unsuccessful. The demon began systematic attacks against the Redcaps of the Tribunal. The senior Mercere brings a case against Rudophus for endangering the Order. The Tribunal convicts Rudophus and he is commanded to provide House Mercere with some magical means of protecting themselves from the depredations of demons.
The murder of the Redcap Ioanna in the city of Trier is reported. The Tribunal expresses sincere regret. Magi of Treverorum covenant disavows any knowledge of this incident. A Quaesitorial investigation is ordered.
As accused by Dankmar, and found guilty, Durenmar is fined ten pawns of vis to every other covenant in the Tribunal for plundering faerie sites of the Black Forest for vis, thereby making large tracts of the Black Forest a hazard for magi, and restricted from taking further vis from faerie sites for fourteen years unless a peace was made earlier with the fae.
Magi from Ombres L’assomption present their notable discovery "The Sphere".
Magi Anaxagoras of Tremere, Ulisterius of Jerbiton, and Forba of Bonisagus are granted a charter to form a covenant, Triamore, attached to the court of Konrad III.
The choice of site in Lübeck for Oculus Septentrionalis is seriously questioned, however, it is reasoned that it does have one major advantage - it will be very hard for the Scandinavian wizards to attack, unless they sack the entire city.
However, it seems like Oculus Septentrionalis soon became subverted by the Apple Gild, much to the anger of leading Ash magi. Nevertheless, more moderate Oak magi secretly concede that Oculus Septentrionalis still performs a useful function, by indirectly hindering the pagan power base of the wizards. Normally, the Order would be rather fearful of mundane and Christian expansion. However, in the sparsely populated Baltic region, such expansion serves it rather well. There is enough space that this should not hamper potential covenants; indeed, covenants require a certain level of mundane trade and civilization in order to prosper. Ideally, the growth of Christianity and trade in the region, as seemingly supported by Oculus Septentrionalis, would hurt the Norse wizards enough so that a direct war would be unnecessary. However, the Hawthorn Gild vigorously opposes this unspoken agenda.

1151 Stonehenge Tribunal: The Covenant of Semitae, led by magus Gerfallon of Criamon, appears at the Tribunal and ask the Quaesitors to note their attendance. They refuse to answer questions about their background. This may or may not be the same group as appeared at Cad Gadu over the centuries.
This is one of the few quorate Stonehenge Tribunals of the century.

1151 Thebes: 41st Theban Tribunal recognized the covenant of Thumachia near Durazzo, founded to protect the western border of the Tribunal in response to the ravages of the Second Crusade.
The primarily Jerbiton magi trod a fine line between intervention in mortal
affairs and protecting their sodales.

1151 Transylvanian Tribunal: Maga Dorisa of Ex Miscellanea charges Constantine of Mercere, a Redcap, with sneaking into her sanctum and taking twelve pawns of Rego vis, thus depriving her of her magical power. Constantine argues that by contract, Dorisa owed that amount of vis to his sodales, as interest on a loan she had negotiated. He had asked her to settle the debt, and she refused, claiming that she could not pay it. Suspecting that she was lying, he entered her sanctum, avoided her defenses, and retrieved the amount. This he delivered to
his sodales "in her better interests." Dorisa counters that there was also more than twelve pawns of Animal vis in her sanctum, and that the Redcap had taken advantage of the situation by seizing the more valuable stash. After deliberation, the presiding Quaesitor determines that Constantine was due twelve pawns and twelve pawns had been paid, regardless of the customary value of the two kinds of vis. The Redcap had risked his life by entering her sanctum, but since that was not in itself illegal and no law had been broken, the charge was dismissed.

1152 Rhine: Konrad III dies never crowned Emperor, upsetting the plan for Triamore.

1152 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1154 Levant: Nur al-Din takes control of Damascus, making himself the supreme Muslim ruler in Syria. Both Nur al-Din and the crusaders turn their attention to Egypt, where the Fatimid caliphate is weak and ailing.
It is said by some that Nur al-Din had magical powers, taught to him by the mysterious prophet Khidr, that enabled him to obtain whatever he wanted with foresight and to travel immense distances in the blink of an eye.
Regardless of the truth in that, the unification of the Muslims under Zangi, Nur al-Din and Salah al-Din was certainly accompanied by a flocking of Muslim magi to their banners.

1154 Iceland: Mount Hekla erupts for the second time in fifty years, again spewing molten rock, smoke, ash, and poisonous vapors. Rumor claims that the pore is an entrance to Hell.

C. 1154 Rhine: Covenant Ombres L’assomption (1101–1154?), founded by migrating french magi and situated in the Taunus forest in the Bishopric of Panderborn, is abandoned or disappears.
It was a poor covenant that struggled to make it from one year to the next.

1154 Stonehenge: Magus Flumen of Tremere, of Blackthorn covenant, traps the Wild Hunt in an iron mine fitted with iron-bound doors, near Wales. The hills echo with their howls for weeks.

1158 Iberia: Merinitae belonging to the Keepers of the Thousand Tales constitute Al-Qussas.
Ezra ex Bonisagus founds 'Arabot as part of his self-imposed 'exile'.

1158 Hibernia Tribunal: Magus Caesus of Tytalus ordered to disband eight of his nine sancti spread around the Tribunal, and reminded by the presiding Quaesitor that he is supposed to have only one.

1158 Rhine Tribunal: Magus Xantippes of House Jerbiton at Treverorum covenant is found guilty of significant meddling in the affairs of mundanes, having repeatedly used Mentem magics of his own devising on the inhabitants of the city of Trier for personal enrichment, setting in place a chain of events which caused damage to relations between the Order of Hermes and the mundane world, and that may have contributed to the death of the Redcap Ioanna. He is fined ten pawns of vis, ordered to distribute his accumulated fortune to the covenants of the First Tribunal equally, and charged to spend three seasons scribing tomes for the Great Library.

1158 Thebes Tribunal: The apprentice of a dead maga of Merinita is awarded to another maga of Merinita, Mondrasine, instead of the amicus of the dead maga, Nykolis of Jerbiton. Neither wished to challenge the other to certamen, as is usual.

1158 Rhine: Founder Merinita is rumored to be sighted alive in the wilderness. A young apprentice named Agnes announces she had met a lady in green in the forests of Bohemia, and learned a special sort of nature magic from
her. She finishes her training at Irencillia, but is soon hailed by Mendalus’ supporters as a "True Merinitae," believed to have learned Nature Lore directly from the Founder.
Rumored, but not supported by witnesses. Distrustful magi have suggested that Agnes could have learned her magic from disgraced Diedne wizards, not Merinitae at all.

1158 Rhine: Friedrich Barbarossa grants the incipient covenant of Triamore a manor in Namur county.

C. 1160: Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii by H. of Sawtrey is written by a
monk who may have been Henricus of Basingwerk Abbey. It is a third hand Latin account of the Vision of Hell and Heaven, experienced by a monk called Owain as told to Gilbert, Abbot of Basingwerk.

1160: The unremarkable magus Zurenzialle of Merinita disappears from his covenant in the Greater Alps suddenly and without warning. When his sodales decide that he's dead and enter his laboratory, they discover evidence that he was never human at all, but a faerie being who had been pretending to be a magus. His objective, if any, is a mystery.
Suspicions that the post-faerie Quendalon was not who he claimed to be seem more likely when considering the evidence of other instances when faeries have taken human shapes and tried to pass themselves off as magi. Zurenzialle seem to have been more effective than most though… Or?

1160 Iberia: Abd al-Mu'min wins the war of succession, declaring the Almohad Caliphate. Many of the southern magi flee Almohad fundamentalism.

1160 Stonehenge: Founding of Servus Maris on the Isle of Man. Destroyed within six months by a dragon. One magus is allowed to live to deliver the message to not return.
If the Order of Odin can control dragons, there is no assailing them. It seems unlikely to have been Diedne; there would be no warning.

1160 Provencal: Passage of magus Belraphazor of Jerbiton into Final Twilight at his covenant, Windgraven.
The Order is well rid of him.

The Age of Dominion and Discovery (AD 1160– )#

The first half of this century sees the continuance of relative calm, although tension mounts within the Order, and friction between Order and Church grows. This period also marks a disturbing trend in the Church of Crusading: the Third Crusade to the Levant, the Albigensian Crusade, the continuing crusade in Iberia, and the crusade in the Baltic point to increasing Papal involvement in temporal matters and willingness to use force. Furthermore, the Church spends much of its energy in conflict with the Empire and other mortal kings. Some magi become concerned that this violent bent will inevitably turn against the Order.

By the 1160s, Europe is firmly in the grip of strong monarchies and reform-minded Church authorities. Vast cathedrals rise above bustling market towns, while new monastic orders and crusading fraternities expand their influence from the Holy Land to the fringes of Christendom. As the Dominion’s aura spreads deeper into once-rural territories, covenants find their magical activities increasingly challenged by interference with spells or the draining presence of constant piety. Even so, these shifting mundane dynamics also open new opportunities for politically savvy magi to broker alliances with powerful nobles - and risk accusations of meddling under the Code of Hermes.

At the same time, learning flourishes in newly established universities (like Bologna and Paris), blending classical philosophy, theology, and even a faint whiff of the arcane. Young Jerbiton and Bonisagus magi, curious about the "outside" world of human learning, venture into these centers of study, forging strange partnerships with theologians, mathematicians, and proto-scientists. While some conservative Hermetic elders grumble at such openness, others see it as a wellspring of new insight - translating ancient Arabic or Greek texts on geometry, alchemy, and astronomy that could enrich Hermetic theory.

As the frontiers of Mythic Europe shift - be it the Reconquista in Iberia, the crusades in the Holy Land, or voyages probing the Baltic and North Atlantic- entire covenants undertake bold forays into terra incognita. They seek unclaimed vis sites and magical beasts, returning laden with obscure knowledge. House Ex Miscellanea, in particular, expands as newly discovered hedge traditions join the Order - somewhat grudgingly. Yet these adventures carry risk: wizards’ skirmishes with distant sahirs, African magicians, or even rumored enclaves of lost Diedne rituals spark fear that a new crisis could erupt if caution is thrown to the wind.

Despite overall peace, not all is harmonious behind covenant walls. House Tremere fortifies its dominance through disciplined cooperative magic, while House Tytalus tries to purge lingering shadows of diabolic scandal from its ranks, pushing its young magi into ever more harrowing "trials" of cunning. House Guernicus grapples with how to enforce the Code in a world where cross-Tribunal covenants, Mystery Cult manipulations, and complex mundane entanglements grow more common. Publicly, the Quaesitores remain the guardians of Hermetic law. Privately, they fret that one wrong move could ignite a new conflagration.

C. 1160–1180: Maga Susan of Wicklow, House Mercere, of the Line of Patrick of Dunderry, accompanies Sadko the merchant and Georgi Yurivich on travels across eastern Europe. She journeys from Sweden to Constantinople on her travels.
Susan’s forbear, Quaesitor Patrick, is likely to have been of Mercere as well, partially explaining his aversion to the Schism War.

1162 Fifteenth Grand Tribunal: Further arguments between Rhine and Novgorod regarding the border and Poland. Friedrich Barbarossa’s march into Poland to place his candidate on the Polish throne had been the perfect cover for magi of Fengheld to accompany him and lay claim to Polish supplies of vis. Fengheld argues for a changing of the border to reflect their interests in Poland. Despite the support of the Rhine’s three Primi, the Grand Tribunal concedes only 10 miles of Polish land to the Rhine, barely sufficient to accommodate Fengheld’s newest chapter
House.
The Iberian covenant of 'Alif is accused of a Major Crime for writing a Hermetic Code opposed to that of the Order.
A large game of Bellum with apprentices and young magi turns into a minor riot.

1162 Iberia: Zaloquia is dissolved, its location occupied by King Alfonso II of Aragon.

1162 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1163: As a ecclesiastical response to commercial medical practice and non-monastic education at universities, the Council of Tours decrees that participation of monks in such matters is forbidden.
This is followed by even harsher rules at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.

1163 Normandy: Construction on the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris begins.

1163 Rome: The twenty-first Verdi Competition.

1163 Stonehenge: Stellasper covenant, in the Scilly Islands, destroyed by a cataclysmic storm of apparently magical origin. No bodies found. Whether the covenant was attacked, attacked something, or an experiment went wrong is undetermined. As the covenant had no allies and no friends, no further investigation was done.
Cultivate allies, magus. They may aid you in life, and even avenge you in death.

1163 Thebes: Moero’s Garden is founded in Constantinople, with the purpose: "To assemble the splendid artifacts and literature of the past to highlight the harmony and peaceful cerebral delight of beauty, which would temper hot emotions and promote a sense of well-being and serenity throughout the Order."

1164: The Holy Roman Emperor, Friedrich Barbarossa, takes the Relics of the Three magi from Milan. They are later installed in a golden shrine in the Cathedral of Cologne.

1165 Iberia: Occelum Durii is re-established, this time as a Hermetic inn, managed from Porta Pandere.
Andelos dissolves; its properties are acquired by Duresca.

1165 Rhine Tribunal: Terschelling covenant is founded by Axior of House Flambeau, a member of Oculus Septentrionalis who disagreed about the eventual site for that covenant.
Later to become Waddenzee at the Tribunal of 1207.
A Quaesitorial investigation into reported unrest in the city of Trier has revealed that magi of Treverorum covenant are guilty of interfering in the affairs of mundanes and the Church, to the extent of causing possible harm to their sodales. Treverorum is fined fifty pawns of vis and warned in the strongest possible terms to repair relations with the inhabitants of Trier without delay. Treverorum is ordered to pay this fine by the next Tribunal.

1165 Greater Alps Tribunal: Maga Snadstrich Ex Miscellanea, member of no covenant, ordered to establish no more than one sanctum per season, after complaints that she had moved her sanctum seven times within one year and thereby established seven sancti in series. The Tribunal ruled that a magus cannot establish a new sanctum more than once per season.

1165 Hibernia Tribunal: Magi of covenant Vigil claim the apprentice of one of their Passed sodales; the apprentice is also claimed by magus Caerfloron, who had recovered the body and retained the apprentice after the master’s Passage into Final Twilight. The Tribunal rules neither had clear claim to the boy and that a mage of Vigil therefore must duel Caerfloron for the apprentice.

1165 Normandy Tribunal: Magus Stephios of Tytalus, of Burnham covenant in the Stonehenge Tribunal, asks the Normandy Tribunal to rule on an issue with another covenant, as his Tribunal is routinely inquorate or declared illegal by the Quaesitors. The Normandy Tribunal declines to intervene, declaring that it is unable to make decisions for another Tribunal - whatever its shortcomings.
The failure of Stonehenge to reach a quorum seems to plague it through the first half of this century, but the records are spotty.

1165 Provencal Tribunal: Maga Calonogi Ex Miscellanea tried for endangering the Order after preaching the doctrine that magi are Divine, as indicated by their Gift being a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Her accusers also claim she has thereby blasphemed against God. On the latter count, no ruling as the Tribunal notes that it is not an ecclesiastical court; on the former charge she is found guilty. Ordered to cease this preaching, she refuses and is exiled for seven years.
The maga is most fortunate; this could have resulted in a death sentence.

1165 Thebes: 43rd Theban Tribunal recognizes the covenant of Moero’s Garden.

1167 Rhine: A Great Beast is seen at the Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera. This is seen as a powerful omen.
And only a year later they were invaded, where were their preparations?

1168 Rhine: Danish King Valdemar I (along with Bishop Absolon of Roskilde) invades the island of Rügen, a stronghold of paganism and home to Crintera - the domus magna of Bjornaer. While Crintera is safe within its regio, the heathen stronghold of Arkona is destroyed, and the nervous Christians established several churches and a Cistercian monastery to spread the Dominion.
Crintera’s decision to wait out the occupation was strongly opposed by the Wilderists, but the opinion of the Harmonists within the House prevailed. Appeals to both the Rhine Tribunal and the Grand Tribunal fell on deaf ears; the House was merely reminded in the strongest terms of its duty to uphold the Oath of Hermes, and many Bjornaer magi are still resentful that the Order failed them in their time of greatest need.

1169 Levant: Aurora Borealis of House Jerbiton arrives in Levant and founds Domus Pacis.
Shirkuh becomes vizier of the Fatimid caliphate in Egypt, but dies. Succeeded by nephew Salah al-Din (Saladin).

C. 1170 Hibernia: As mundane England invades Ireland, the rest of the Order has renewed interest in the Emerald Isle. Until now, most magi consider Hibernia backwards and strange. Most have heard the old stories of Hibernia as a land of faerie magic, but too dominated by the fae for it to be of true magical value.
House Tremere, having received new reports through Stonehenge, were the first
to take notice of Hibernia again. Magi of Stonehenge who went there described it as dangerous, archaic, and at odds with good Hermetic governance. This is naturally something that House Tremere cannot allow to continue.
Why this keenness for reform when previous challenges to Hibernia’s Peripheral Code have failed? Firstly, while legal, the protections given to hedge wizards,
and especially the status of Connacht, seem improper, setting these hedge wizards on a par with the Order. Secondly, magi of the continent are now settling in Hibernia and cling to their own view of the Peripheral Code. In their own way, they are every bit as conservative and resistant to change as their Hibernian cousins.
They should follow continental practice; vis is harvested when it is available, the minor traditions of magic are intimidated or ignored depending on their utility, and Connacht should be ripe for the taking.

C. 1170 Provencal: Covenant Calebais falls. Calebais was supposedly protected by a breakthrough magical veil by Mormulus of Merinita, a "magister of illusion". Although the covenant fell, the veil remains, and prevents arcane investigation of the covenant. The magi also had a device called The Bell of Ibyn, a powerful artifact of mysterious origins, and claimed that because of it, no attack or intrusion could catch the magi unawares. Since that time, no one has ever seen inside the covenant, both because the spells that they would use to examine a potentially dangerous place from a distance do not function, and because they fear traffic with demons. To this day, many magi in the Order are intensely concerned over what happened at Calebais, a covenant that should have been too powerful to destroy, but none have been able to penetrate Mormulus’s Veil of secrecy. The ruins have thus been left entirely undisturbed.
Its library is said to have included a faithful copy of the Physiologus, thereafter lost.

1170 Rhine: Roslav Lackovich, Primus of Bjornaer, dies. Urgen is elected as the new Primus.

C. 1170 Stonehenge: The Primus Ex Miscellanea dies. Maga Immanola Ex Miscellanea arrives shortly after, claims the Robes of Dusty Dawn, and is given them, making her the Prima.
There is no internal mechanism for selecting the Primus Ex Miscellanea. The first apprentice of the previous Primus might have pressed a claim, but apparently chose not to.

1171 Thebes: Genoan colony at Galata, Constantinople burned to the ground. Then thousands of Venetians in Constantinople are imprisoned, their ships and property confiscated.
The Venetians raise a great fleet and sail to attack the Empire, but at Chios a terrible plague destroys the Venetian force.

1172 Rhine: The lands of Triamore covenant raided by mortal lords fighting over mortal issues.

1172 Rhine: The covenant Treverorum (1095–1172) in the City of Trier is destroyed. They were consistently in trouble for meddling with the affairs of mundanes, and were eventually destroyed, at the order of the Church.
Others say it was actually destroyed by someone incredibly skilled in destructive Hermetic magic.

1172 Normandy Tribunal (44th): The Duke of Brittany is declared an Enemy of the Order, after extensively persecuting magi. A Tribunal of Quaesitors immediately after declares that any mage who acts against the Duke can be held accountable for interfering with mundanes nevertheless.
Magus Anton Roettar of Tytalus asks to be relieved of his unending labor at Fudarus, 12 seasons of work assigned by his sodales without respite or recompense. Roettar felt this to be unfair, and Fudarus argued that their charter stated that the council could decide how much work a member must do for the covenant, without restriction. The Tribunal finds that the covenant has not violated neither its own charter nor the Code.
Guardinia of Merinita accuses Berenguer of Tytalus of molesting the fey. Berenguer claims in his defense that the faeries had stolen his apprentice, and therefore he had every right to take steps to return the child to his care. The Tribunal upholds Berenguer’s defense, but the Praeco admonishes him for having been heavy-handed in his rescue.
Atlax of Tytalus is accused of stealing and reading the messages carried by the Redcap Camille while the latter was hosted at Fudarus. However, Quaesitor Whent cannot ascertain which magi of Fudarus were responsible and holds the covenant responsible for their magus’s crime, and strips Fudarus of the lease of a legacy, and grants the magical site to House Mercere instead.

1172 Rhine Tribunal: Magus Scholastus of House Jerbiton of Treverorum covenant announces that he is the sole surviving member of his covenant, which is duly abolished. He announces that, due to the activities of local churchmen, in his opinion the city of Trier is currently not safe for magi to visit. He refuses to be drawn on further details and departs immediately for the Tribunal of the Greater Alps.
It is later noted that the fine imposed on the former covenant of Treverorum remains in part unpaid. It is ruled that Scholastus is liable for the remainder of this fine and a request is dispatched to the Greater Alps by Redcap.
Maga Tandaline of Durenmar complains that her fellow magus Quintus Vergilius has denied her access to her own sanctum by erecting magical walls to obstruct the entrance. The Tribunal rules that Quintus Vergilius has deprived her of magic power by keeping her from her sanctum "clearly hampered her capacity for study and creation", and is punished through the loss of familiar and fined two pawns of vis for each season obstructed.
It may be of note that no representatives from Crintera attended.

1172 Roman Tribunal: Luctatio covenant founded, sponsored by Verdi.
Magus Kaldorias brought to trial for banishing a demon which had been terrorizing a certain village, his accusers claiming that other demons may be moved to act against the Order; Kaldorias argues that the Order should be the enemy of demons (dismissed), that demons already work against the Order (granted), and that he had demonstrated to mundanes that magi do not serve the Devil; Kaldorias is convicted for breaking the Code, but not punished.
In the seven years since the last Tribunal, Helvennia of Bonisagus had exercised her right to claim another’s apprentice no less than eight times. All had died within a year. She claimed that the nature of her work was inherently dangerous, and the loss of those apprentices, while unfortunate, was beyond her control. Although the Tribunal was minded to rule in favor of the seven magi who leveled charges against her, the Presiding Quaesitor insisted on the legality of Helvennia’s actions and she was acquitted. However, the Praeco wrote to the Primus of House Bonisagus with the Tribunal’s petition for Helvennia to be censured, but was refused. Helvennia claimed another apprentice in the following year. On the night of the following new moon seven declarations of Wizard War were delivered to her. Despite attempts at arbitration, none of the seven agreed to withdraw their declaration. Helvennia fled into hiding but was found and slain with the aid of her new apprentice.

1172 Thebes: 44th Theban Tribunal. Covenant of Favonius recognized, though at this stage still in construction stages.
The covenant is definitely unconventional - a flotilla of four main ships accompanied by a host of others, in constant movement around the Aegean Sea. It is the creation of Memnos, one of the most famous Verditii alive, and is driven to constant movement by its thrill-seeking patron spirit.

1172 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1174–1187 Levant: Salah al-Din promotes himself as the rightful successor to Nur al-Din and begins creating a united state stretching from Egypt to northern Syria. Nur-al-Din is entombed in Damascus.

1175 Thebes: The Philomela launched.

1176 Thebes: Hoping to win back territory lost at Manzikert, Manuel Komnenos led a large army against Iconium, the capital of the Seljuk Turks. With poor planning and a lack of foresight, Manuel decided to attack while in the mountain passes near the fortress of Myriokephalon, and was utterly defeated. He was forced to accept a truce with the Seljuk sultan, which resulted in the loss of more of Anatolia.

1177 Iberia: Azm Alfil is abandoned as a consequence of the conquest of Cuenca by Alfonso VIII of Castile.

1177 Levant: Magister Heliobus of Bonisagus, a respected Hermetic researcher, finds a cabal of priests and priestesses of the Egyptian gods Thoth and Anubis, in the area of the pyramids and the sphinx, as they begin to suffer from attacks by Hermetic magi keen to plunder their magical resources. He joins the priesthood and quickly secures their entry into House Ex Miscellanea to bring them under the protection of the Hermetic Code to stop the attacks.

1178: Something that looks like a blaze is visible on the moon for several days.
This causes some consternation within the Order, but whatever the event might have been, it is soon forgotten as Hermetic magic cannot affect or reach the moon sphere.

1178 Levant: The Pyramids (II) covenant is founded by Heliobus of Bonisagus.

1179 (March): Pope Alexander III holds the Third Council of the Lateran, where 302 bishops attend and 27 canons are promulgated: Canon 7 forbids the charging of money to conduct burials, bless a marriage or indeed the celebration of any of the sacraments; Canon 11 forbids clerics to have women in their houses and sodomy; Canon 19 declares excommunication for trying to tax churches and clergy without the consent of the bishop; Canon 23 covers the concern and expulsion of lepers; Canon 25 excommunicates those who engage in usury; Canon 26 forbade Jews and Muslims from having Christian servants and that the evidence of Christians is always to be accepted against Jews.

1179 Rhine: Hildegard of Bingen dies at 81 years of age. The Benedictine abbess was a renowned polymath; active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner - known and honored throughout Europe for her visions and scholarship. Hildegard's most significant works were her three volumes of visionary theology.
Hildegard first saw "The Shade of the Living Light" at the age of three, and by the age of five, she began to understand that she was experiencing visio (Latin for "vision") and she recognized that it was a gift that she could not explain to others.

1179 Rhine Tribunal: Urgen, Primus of Bjornaer accuses the magi of Oculus Septentrionalis of assisting the Danish invasion of Rügen, and thereby damaging Crintera’s magical resources. He ultimately slays their leader in a Wizard’s War.

1179 Levant Tribunal: Magus Henry Le Barre of Jerbiton summoned to the Levant Tribunal charged with interfering with mortals by participating in a crusade, and drawing the wrath of the Moors by using magic in the campaign; Henry argues that he served in the crusade as a noble and fought only to save his soul as any crusader does; the Tribunal allows that he may fight, but without magic and in disguise. For already having aided the crusade magically, Le Barre is fined 20 pawns of vis on penalty of expulsion.

1179 Normandy Tribunal (45th): Magus Damon Le Mont accused of scrying on his sodales at Ad Vis Per Veritas covenant - magically listening to their conversations with servants and grogs. Damon admits to spying on the covenant’s mortal servants, but that his spells only allowed him to hear what the mundanes were saying; the Tribunal rules that indirect spying constitutes actual scrying and fines him three pawns to each mage thereby offended against.
A maga is accused of a low crime by the magi of Fudarus. She is convicted in absentia, having been delayed to Tribunal by mortals.
Magus Pernix of Merinita is accused by magus Visurgis of Tytalus of interfering with mundanes when he used magic to heal a young nobleman who fell from his horse. The accused argues that the only people who knew that magic was used were the injured man himself and the abbot, prior, and infirmarian of the monastery where he was taken to recover. All are friends of his covenant and so there is no scandal or "ruin." Magus Pernix is acquitted.
Camille of Mercere is accused by Buliste of Tytalus of interfering with mundanes, in that she used a local knight to secure the vis from one of her legacies. The knight later admitted to his confessor that he had "done the work of devils," and it was only the swift action of Atlax of Fudarus that prevented ruin from being brought on the Order. The Tribunal agrees; Camille is ordered to pay fifteen pawns of vis to Fudarus in damages, and the vis source in question is declared off limits for at least three decades.

1179 Thebes: 45th Theban Tribunal. The covenant of Favonius docks in Philomela at Delos.
Bartholomew of Mercere is charged with two counts of depriving the magus Errantus of Criamon of his magical power. Errantus and other witnesses describe a confrontation with the Redcap, where Bartholomew had entered the covenant’s council room and wrenched a magical staff from Errantus’s hands, ruining a magical ring the magus had been drawing. During the struggle, Bartholomew kicked Errantus hard enough to knock him down, breaking two of the magus’s ribs and causing him to be unable to perform magic for the rest of the season. The Redcap then took the staff and fled the scene.
Bartholomew reminds the assembly that the last Tribunal found that Errantus had stolen the staff from Justina of Criamon, his filia, and had ordered him to return it to her. Though Errantus had many opportunities to discharge this duty, he had not yet done so, and in fact had continued to use the item. Bartholomew maintains that Errantus planned to use it as much as possible before returning it, and that by taking it from him and delivering it to Justina, Bartholomew was merely helping her reclaim her property. The Tribunal acquitts Bartholomew of stealing the device, and Errantus is ordered to pay Justina twelve pawns of vis in damages for his failure to comply with justice. Because Bartholomew had
attacked and injured Errantus, he is found guilty of the second charge, and ordered to pay the magus three pawns of vis as recompense for his lost season.

1180 Rome: Literatus covenant moves from Bologna to lands outside the city, but maintains facilities in the city.
Literatus is said to have the finest mundane library in the Order.

1180 Novgorod: Pripet Maior, long the home of the Praeco, cedes the right to host Tribunal meetings to Three Lakes.

1181 Rome: The twenty-second Verdi Competition.

1182 Iberia: Praeco Matlus of Jerbiton retires from Barcelona after 43 years playing "Louis the cloth merchant."
He remains Praeco, of course.

1182 Normandy: Moles Magna covenant, built within a dam of a minor
tributary of the River Yonne, is destroyed when the river burst the dam after heavy rain. Since the covenant had magically reinforced the dam against such a fate, it is assumed that they had angered a supernatural creature by restraining the river.

1182 Provencal: Andru becomes Primus of Jerbiton, at the young age of 43.
Many primi of this house are surprisingly young. Do the seniors of the House not strive for this position?

1182 Stonehenge: Covenant Schola Pythangoranis founded in Norfolk by a group of Jerbiton, in the university town of Cambridge. Curiously, they devote themselves as much to mundane study as to magical work.

1182 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1183 Levant: At covenant Domus Pacis, Aurora Borealis of House Jerbiton has been following the career of Salah al-Din in unifying the Muslim world. Recognizing the danger to the Order, she contacts the caliph and his magical allies and travels to Baghdad to negotiate a possible treaty. Then she contacts the Quaesitors at Magvillus, offering a possible end to the hostilities, and they jump at the chance to impose some order on the chaotic Tribunal.

1185 Novgorod Tribunal: Charter for a new covenant in the Urals is granted, spurred on by the arguments of a newcomer to the Tribunal, the young Hungarian maga Malincka Capcek of House Bonisagus. In a narrow gorge above the headwaters of the Kama river, whose walls were dotted with literally hundreds of dry, spacious caves, connected by ledges, the Thousand Caves Covenant is swiftly settled.
This covenant later fields controversial theories that rock Hermetic theory.
Malincka Capek eventually achieves a key insight into Volkhv magic; that it relies on faerie and mortal interaction, particularly worship. She brings these up at the 1214 Tribunal.

1185 Thebes: Sicilians attack the Empire, taking Durazzo, and advancing down Via Egnatia. The covenant Thumachia was besieged and destroyed by Norman Sicilians led by William II, who terrorized the lands around Durazzo during their campaign. The surviving magi decided to join other covenants rather than rebuild Thumachia. In August Thessalonica sacked, in an atrocity noted for sacrilege and horror with over 5000 citizens slaughtered, and desecration of holy places. The covenant Oikos tou Eleous is founded by two holy magi in response to that outrage.
In retribution for 1014, House Tremere openly supports a Bulgarian revolt - leading to Bulgarian independence, and in response a few Greek magi announce their support for the emperor and form the League of Advisors, who took up residence in Constantinople to openly participate in the emperor’s court.
They did not benefit monetarily from this association and claimed they only offered advice, mindfully treading the line between the permitted role of advisor and forbidden post of court wizard.

1186 Normandy Tribunal: A maga convicted of a low crime in 1179 appeals, bringing evidence that she was innocent; the ruling is reversed.

1186 Hibernia Tribunal: Helles and Pollices, refugees from destroyed Moles Magna in Normandy, travel to Ireland after hearing it’s being settled by the Angevin Empire. Upon arrival, they discovered it is barely settled and that many of the barbaric native customs linger. Needing a home, they decide to civilize the Tribunal’s archaic legal traditions, considering it a worthy challenge to update Hibernia to 13th century standards. In a shocking demonstration of the Tribunal’s barbarity, Helles and Pollices chooses the disinterred corpse of Rhiannon, former Prima of House Merinita, as their cathach and announce their covenant of Ashenrise at the Tribunal meeting. Amidst uproar and declarations of Wizard War, the praeco Conán Derg approves the cathach. Some claim it isn’t a magical treasure, but Conán Derg says that the raw vis that has formed in the skeleton qualifies it as an appropriate cathach.
A maga Ex Miscellanea submits a written request that she have a mortal translator present for the Tribunal, as she spoke no Latin; the Tribunal refuses, notes that she should learn, and rules that no mortals should be present at Tribunal.
Though it was difficult, Helles and Pollices defended the cathach for a year. Since then Ashenrise has pushed to reform the Tribunal. Helles leads the debate, although as yet he has had little impact.
See the Grand Tribunal of 1195 for an additional ruling on languages.

1186 Iberia Tribunal: Magus Trentus of Flambeau is charged with killing at least one hundred mortals in several battles and raids with magic blatant and spectacular, thereby endangering the Order. Magus Trentus admits to slaying them, but that he had left no witnesses to identify him. He is acquitted.

1186 Levant Tribunal: Crusading magi accuse counter-Crusading magi of breaking the Code assisting the Muslims against them. Several covenants have been destroyed in the war. The Quaesitors find no wrong-doing, and no clear evidence is presented.

1186 Provencal Tribunal: The magi of Windgraven and Mistridge accuse each other of scrying. Mistridge had captured an invisible spy of Windgraven; Windgraven had captured two scouting grogs of Mistridge. Mistridge is acquitted, as it had used no magic to aid the grogs. Windgraven convicted for making their spy invisible and fined 20 pawns.
Magus Hammas convicted in absentia for kidnapping pilgrims, thereby interfering with mortals; punished with the loss of his familiar.
The Tribunal notes that Windgraven might simply have slain the Mistridge spies without breaking the Code.

1186 Rhine Tribunal: The Hawthorn Gild argued that Crintera’s wilderness had been invaded and was under extreme threat, and sought approval for a retaliatory strike, trying to invoke the "Guardians of the Forests" ruling. Despite support from the Ash Gild and (surprisingly) the Elder Gild, the Tribunal was split across factional lines, and no decision was made. However, it promised to investigate the affair further. This was insufficient for the more aggressive Wilderists, and a number of prosecutions against Bjornaer magi attacking Danish settlers followed, which most of the House considered to be just rubbing salt into their wounds.
Magus Antonio Manecis is accused of summoning a demon and negotiating with it; the magus claims he had done so to protect his covenant, and that the agreement was to assure the safety of the covenant so long as they did not interfere in its plots against mortals; convicted and Marched.
The Tribunal notes that the magus’ intentions were worthy.

1186 Thebes: 46th Theban Tribunal recognizes the covenant of Oikos tou Eleous. The office of the Logothete is altered to be a permanent position at this Tribunal, after Petronas elected for his eleventh term.
The logothete is the Chief Redcap of the Theban Tribunal. The role of the logothete is to record all business of the Council of Magistrates, and to oversee all bureaucratic procedures. The logothete used to be an elected position chosen every seven years from among the Tribunal’s Redcaps.
Charges are brought against Fulmen of Guernicus by a consortium of magi led by Archmagus Stregos. During the course of an investigation, Fulmen had discovered certain magical secrets of his target’s mystae. The magus was subsequently cast out for unrelated reasons. Fulmen needlessly disseminated this knowledge to his Hoplites. Archmagus Stregos claims that these secrets
were obtained through breaching the original target’s right to privacy, even though he was subsequently found guilty of a high crime. Fulmen does not contest the charge and apologizes to Stregos for his lapse in judgment. The
Presiding Quaesitor sets the punishment as the loss of his familiar. Heartbroken and disgraced Fulmen renounces his membership in House Guernicus, saving his Primus from expelling him.
Fulmen joined House Jerbiton and established a good reputation as an advocate and legal advisor

1186 Iberia: Farusca of Jerbiton becomes head of the council of Barcelona covenant.

1187 Levant: Salah al-Din (Saladin) decidedly defeats the crusader army at the Horns of Hattin near Tiberias, in July, taking many nobles prisoner and the kingdom’s holiest relic, a fragment of the True Cross, being seized. Jerusalem falls in October, and by the end of the year, only a few parts of the Latin kingdom remain in crusader hands. The Second Crusade is over.

1187 Normandy: Atsingani covenant founded as vassal of Montverte, by Aureliana of Ex Miscellanea, of a Byzantine tradition of wandering sorcerers and itinerant seers named Atsingani that once served the Latin Emperor Constantine IX but fell out of favor.
This is a mobile covenant, consisting largely of soldiers of questionable repute, with wagons and tents. They make a living of sorts either by brigandage or by serving as mercenaries. Once they have stirred up enough trouble and resentment in their current resting place, they flee, only to set themselves up somewhere else where they will attract less attention.

1187 Stonehenge: Magnantum covenant finally disintegrates under internal tensions, and the magi remove to new covenants or Tribunals.

1187 Stonehenge: Master Flumen of Tremere, Blackthorn covenant, passes into Final Twilight.
Master Flumen is famous for capturing the Wild Hunt in 1154.

1188 Levant: The covenant of Foothold is established by two french magi on a hill ten miles east of the coast of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, some ten miles north-east of Acre.

1188 Rhine: The town of Lübeck receives its charter in 1188 from Friedrich Barborossa, Emperor and king of Germany, which superseded a charter previously granted by Heinrich der Löwe (Henry the Lion). The Emperor’s comprehensive charter details the town’s constitution and administration and includes laws on inheritance, fortifications, coinage, and taxes.
Also see 1208.

1189 Richard, later known as "the Lionheart," with the connivance of Philippe II Auguste, defeats his father Henry II of England at Ballans and succeeds him as King of England, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou.

1189 Iberia: Baruch becomes head Quaesitor of Iberia Tribunal.

1189 Hibernia: The Paruchia of Nerius covenant is founded on Little Saltee island as the tiny monastic tradition with the same name joins the Order of Hermes as part of House Ex Miscellanea.
The Paruchia of Nerius was inspired by a vision that a Hermetic magus, Fedelmid of Limerick, had of the mysterious magus-saint Nerius while he was traveling on pilgrimage to Rome. In the Alps he stumbled upon a mysterious valley, where he had a series of bizarre visions that were to shape his life thereafter. Seeking out the secrets of Holy Magic he trained an apprentice, Indrechtach, who in turn taught a manaim of his monastery.

1189: The Third Crusade begins. Many of the great mortal kings, princes, and nobles of the age join. It is generally successful, but ends after its forces dwindle away in a desert.

1189 Loch Leglean: Pact of Crun Clach forbids magi from dabbling in politics, aiding kings or invaders, and sets rules on raiding.
Naturally, this Pact only reinforces the Code as it stands.

C. 1190 Novgorod: Stolitzya "The Swimmer," a famous and respected maga of Bjornaer, loses herself in Final Twilight.
Her giant turtle Heart-Beast is said to have roamed the marshes for decades.

C. 1190 Normandy: Marie of France writes L’espurgatoire Seint Patriz in Norman French, recounting an otherworldly journey to Purgatory.

1190: Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa grants Bolognese scholars freedom to move throughout the Holy Roman Empire and safe residences once they arrive at their destination.
This initial royal grant of protection has been copied throughout western Europe, with many kings granting resident scholars royal protection, legal immunities, and travel privileges, regardless of their nationality.

1190: Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides) writes "The Guide for the Perplexed", a summa on Jewish philosophy and theology, heavily infused with Aristotelian ideas. It has led to controversy among Jewish scholars, and it has caused French and German Jews to vehemently argue with their Spanish colleagues.
Apparently they have yet to read the New Aristotle themselves. They have branded Maimonides a heretic and cast suspicions on all of his scholastic works. Anyway, it’s probably best if this work never gets translated into Latin.

1190 Iberia: Avenzoar, on behalf of the Almohad caliph Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb al-Manṣūr, publish an edict in the main cities of al-Ándalus (Seville, Granada, Jaén, Málaga, Almería, Alcácer do Sal, etc.) where he not only order to deliver all the books of ancient sciences to the zalmedina of the place, but also condemn the use of magic and ask the citizens to participate in denouncing any magician before the alfaquíes. As a consequence, many magi from the south begin to leave al-Andalus.

1190 Hibernia: Many magi in Stonehenge feared what the hedge magicians of the Coill Tri might really represent, and that dark magic might underlie Ruaidrí’s reign. Why was Connacht preserved from the conquest? With the new mundane English presence in Ireland, an increasing number of English magi traveled through the Hibernian Tribunal, and many felt their suspicions were justified, especially after a party was attacked by what appeared to be young Irish magi of the Order. Knowing little or nothing of the Irish custom of the macgnímartha, this attack on Damisona of Jerbiton and her party, with the loss of three grogs, led to an increasing outcry through Stonehenge for something to be done about Hibernia.
Young magi in Hibernia undertake the macgnímartha or youthful exploits: a
short period between apprenticeship and becoming a magus when the apprentice leaves the protection of his covenant and spends a year or more without the support of his parens. He has not yet sworn the Oath, does not know Parma Magica, and is considered outside Hermetic law. Most test their power against faeries, some engage mundanes, and others try their luck against Hermetic targets. In this last case, items successfully stolen from covenants are usually ransomed back. Remembering their own youthful exploits, magi rarely treat those in the macgnímartha harshly. Importantly, no mention is made of the macgnímartha in the treaty of Cnoc Maol Réidh and these youngsters often venture into Connacht for sport or fortune

1190 Levant: The Order of Teutonic Knights is founded in Acre, in Palestine. Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa dies on crusade, drowned while crossing the river Seleph on horseback.
The river Calycadmus?

C. 1190 Novgorod: Leczyca covenant fined heavily for providing Silesian nobles with intelligence about German raids.
This was presumably at either the Tribunal of 1186 or 1194.

1190 Rhine: At Triamore covenant, the apprentice Pietre is found to have scried upon maga Daria of Tremere. The boy flees before being punished. Pietre is expelled from the tutelage of his master, Aline of Bonisagus.

1190 Rhine: A fire at Triamore kills Forba of Bonisagus. Not long after, the covenant is besieged by the army of Henri of Brabant, a mortal lord who wishes for the covenant’s land and castle. The siege is broken through intervention of the new Emperor, Heinrich VI.

1190 Stonehenge: King Arthur’s tomb is found at Glastonbury Abbey, and is seen by Gerald of Wales, among others. The great king is reburied in a fine marble sepulcher behind the high altar.
This year also saw a spate of attacks and massacres against Jews across England. All but a lucky few of the Jews of Norwich were killed in their homes, while the Jews of York fled to the apparent safety of a local castle. The castle was besieged by a mob demanding that they convert and be baptized, and the surrounded Jews decided instead to take their own lives. Those who could not bring themselves to suicide left the next morning and were murdered by the baying crowd.

1191 Thebes: Cyprus captured by Richard the Lionheart, who sells it on to the master of Knights Templar, Robert de Sablé.

1191: Magus Avarret of Bonisagus elevated to Primus of his House, marking
a return to the conservative philosophy of refining the existing Hermetic theory.

1191 Stonehenge: Monks at the Abbey of Glastonbury claim to have discovered the Tomb of King Arthur on Glastonbury Tor.
The claim is disputed.

1192 Levant: Peace is signed between Richard Coeur de Lion and Salah al-Din, and Aurora Borealis of House Jerbiton architect negotiations between the Order and Muslim leadership in Baghdad.

1192 Normandy: Cunfin covenant founded as a vassal of Confluensis, by Eloi of Jerbiton, in the Champagnois village which takes its name. Cunfin is home to both magi and monks in a Cistercian monastery.
Magi have occupied the site for much longer than thirty years. This is an unusual arrangement, but it has proven to be a useful one as it allows the Order of Hermes to stay informed about matters within the Church that might concern them. Rumor persists that the monastery with which it shares its name was founded by Valoran, a student of St. Nerius, in 1136.

1192 Provencal: Lariander covenant founded in a faerie forest, five Tremere and one Merinita.

1192 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1193: Most regional Tribunals are delayed one year to allow preparation for the Grand Tribunal.

1193 Iberia: At the conclusion of the ordinary Tribunal, a small number of magi stay in Harra to discuss how to stop the Almohads: the magi present agree to go to fight the Almohad armies in the next mundane war.

1193 Levant Tribunal: Quaesitors from Magvillus force the Levantine magi to accept the Treaty of Baghdad and hostilities with the Muslims are brought to an end.
Crusading magi were now less able to justify breaches of the Code as responses to the threat from the Muslims, so their activities became more controlled. As conflict was now at an end, the counter-crusading magi were also forced to stop their interference. Magi who were later discovered intervening in mundane affairs were severely punished. For her part in the brokering of peace, Aurora was invited to become a Quaesitor, a duty that she accepted. To help maintain the treaty, she moved to Baghdad, where she founded a new covenant, the Hermetic Embassy. Soon after, she became an Archmaga.
According to the Muslim laws of jihad, truces should have a duration of no longer than ten years. As a result, the treaty has to be renewed every ten years.

1193: The Third Crusade ends after being reduced by an ill-fated journey in the desert.

1194 Iberia Tribunal: A magus formerly of Barcelona covenant accused of theft of fifty marks during his departure; the covenant argues that such theft diminishes the covenant members ability to study; the Tribunal orders the magus to repay twice the amount taken.
Magus Trentus is charged with slaying a magus near but outside Trentus’ sanctum; Trentus claims the other was intending to steal from his sanctum and that he was defending himself; the Tribunal convicts, but instead of slaying him only takes his familiar.
The issue of support for combatants in the Reconquest of Hispania is debated, ending in dissension between Reconquista and Roman covenants.
Magus Trentus may have been better served to wait until the mage had entered his sanctum, where he could have slain his enemy without fear.

1194 Stonehenge Tribunal at Blackthorn inquorate and no representatives sent to the Grand Tribunal.
Blackthorn was the host, so Voluntas sent no representatives. Schola Pythagoranis had little immediate interest in Hermetic politics, and no Redcap
had been able to find Semitae to announce the meeting. Burnham was deeply embroiled in local unrest, and sent no one, so that the Tribunal was declared void, and Stonehenge could not be represented at the Grand Tribunal. Very much to the embarrassment of the Tribunal!

1194 Normandy Tribunal: Quaesitors bring proof that the maga convicted in 1179, acquitted in 1186, was kidnapped by mortals under the influence of Fudarus. Fudarus covenant is fined 24 pawns for misleading the Tribunal and wasting its time.
Magus Damon Le Mont complains that his former apprentice, now magus Aramin, had wasted six pawns of vis and destroyed mundane artifacts in anger, and demanded compensation from the new mage. The Tribunal rules that a mage is responsible for his apprentice's actions and that he has only himself to blame.
Magus William Fireheart of Flambeau, of Ungulus covenant in Stonehenge, accused of killing three knights by use of magic, enraging the nobility of Normandy and endangering the magi of the Tribunal. Magus William is fined sixty pawns against his Renunciation.
Magus William Fireheart is also accused of killing an apprentice of another magus and destroying valuable laboratory equipment in her care. William claims he was ignorant that she had been an apprentice and that she was killed and the equipment destroyed accidentally while she stood near a mortal he did seek to kill. The Tribunal rules that, intent aside, he had reduced the mage’s magical ability and fines him three pawns.
There is tense discussion at the Tribunal over Thomae of Tytalus, a renowned Hermetic Architect, slayer of beasts, magical mercenary and master of flight, who recently returned from a prolonged absence with the most audacious enchantment the Order has yet seen - a flying castle. This vast structure has caused great alarm in the Order as many elder magi feel that the nobility would never permit such an obvious threat to their rule - thereby being an obvious breach of the Code (not provoking the mundane). To avoid Wizard’s War, Thomae agrees to hide his castle in a distant range of mountains, away from the prying eyes of mundanes.
The Quaesitors examined Thomae’s castle, but because it was considered his sanctum, even his fellow Architects did not visit it. Also see 1195 Grand Tribunal, and 1198.

1194 Loch Leglean Tribunal: The Tribunal declares the Knights Hospitaller to be Enemies of the Order following a feud between those knights of the Priory of Torphichen and certain magi.
See the Grand Tribunal of 1195.

1194 Greater Alps Tribunal: After slaying many faeries while seeking the release of valued grogs and covenfolk from a faerie lord, Valnastium covenant accused of molesting Fae. Valnastium argues that they have the right to protect their servants. They are narrowly acquitted.
Magus Syrestus of Bjornaer, of the Rhine Tribunal, accused of endangering his sodales while a guest of other covenants by killing the livestock of nearby mortals while in the shapes of several animals. Fined ten pawns.
See the Rhine Tribunal of 1194 and the appeal of 1195 for additional events on Syrestus. The Syrestus case leads to an important precedent in inter-Tribunal rulings.

1194 Provencal Tribunal: Bentalone covenant accused of aiding a mortal lord against another; Bentalone claims that one mortal served their interests while the other opposed them, and they should be permitted to back one against the other. The Tribunal rules that so long as the magics used were not detected the Code was not violated.
The magi of Bellaquin are accused of preventing a Redcap from taking an announcement of the Tribunal to the magi of Lariander. The Tribunal refuses to condemn or punish Bellaquin.
See the Grand Tribunal of 1195 for an additional ruling on the Redcap complaint.

1194 Rhine Tribunal: A young Bjornaer maga from Fengheld called Falke made a passionate plea to permit Crintera to actively resist the occupiers of Rügen. The Quaesitor Caecilius was quite firm that no wilderness had been invaded or destroyed - Crintera and its forest remained intact, a serious setback for the landmark "Guardians of the Forests" ruling.
Maga Marguerite of Flambeau charged with endangering the Order for attacking a mortal baron and his household. Marguerite claims she had done so to punish the mortal for the murder of a Redcap. The Tribunal rules that Redcaps must be protected, and acquits.
Magus Taedetus of Bonisagus accused of stealing vis; he sends word that he cannot appear because of a delicate experiment requiring his attention, and asks for a postponement. The Tribunal rules to allow a delay to the next Tribunal, but threatens to fine him ten pawns if he does not bring proof of the need for a delay.
Magus Syrestus of Bjornaer, of the Rhine Tribunal, accused of endangering his sodales of the Greater Alps while a guest of other covenants by killing the livestock of nearby mortals while in the shapes of several animals. Fined three pawns. The Tribunal also notes that starting a feud with the baron would not improve relations.
Stung by this rebuke, Crintera descends into a brief period of factional infighting.

1194 Quaesitorial Ruling: Magus Syrestus appeals his convictions to the Quaesitors, saying that he should only be subject to the fine of his home Tribunal, where he was fined three pawns. The Quaesitors rule that he should pay the fine of the Greater Alps, where the crimes were committed, not the Rhine.

1195 Iberia: The Battle of Alarcos is fought between the Almohads led by Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur and King Alfonso VIII of Castile. It results in the defeat of the Castilian forces and their subsequent retreat to Toledo, whereas the Almohads reconquer Trujillo, Montánchez, and Talavera.
The magi who agreed to stop the Almohads in 1193 are killed.

1195 Sixteenth Grand Tribunal: Regarding the declaration of Loch Leglean that the Knights Hospitaller are Enemies of the Order, the Grand Tribunal rules the declaration too broad, and that only the knights of Torphichen Priory be considered enemies.
The Grand Tribunal orders Bellaquin covenant to pay seventy pawns to House Mercere for interfering with a Redcap.
Avarret, Primus Bonisagus, proposes that Tribunals conduct business only in Latin; the Tribunal criticizes Loch Leglean for often conducting business in Gaelic, but refuses to compel Tribunals to conduct themselves in Latin. Regarding language, the Quaesitors note that they must use Latin to officiate.
Crintera’s appeal to deal with the mundane incursion on Rügen falls on deaf ears, the House is merely reminded in the strongest terms of its duty to uphold the Oath of Hermes.
It has become apparent that Thomae of Tytalus, against the agreements made at the last Normandy Tribunal, has been sneaking his flying castle out to sea in the dead of night, and traveling to desolate places in other Tribunals. However, none of his accusers can demonstrate that he had harmed the Order.
Survivors from the Levant blame counter-Crusading magi for the destruction of several covenants, saying that they had assisted the Muslim forces against them. However, no wrongdoing was found by Quaesitors and no definite evidence is presented.
There is a long debate between magi denouncing Hibernia as in need of reform, preferably the introduction of a Peripheral Code based upon that of Stonehenge, and many magi who favor the right of autonomy of a Tribunal and the right of its magi to set their own Peripheral Code. The parens of the apprentices who in 1190 in their macgnímartha had attacked Damisona were convicted of only a Low Crime, to the outrage of the Stonehenge magi.
The Grand Tribunal events led to more traffic between Hibernia and the continent, and an increasing number of appeals to Magvillus from magi who felt they had been unfairly treated by local Quaesitors.
This was the smallest Tribunal in centuries, as Stonehenge was not properly represented, other than by Prima Ex Miscellanea.
Eule of Fengheld presents evidence of the hand of four Roman magi of covenant Luctatio, all of House Tytalus, in assisting the Milanese in defeating Barbarossa at the Battle of Legnano in 1176. At their behest, a necromancer from the covenant of Vardian’s Tomb created the plague that halted the emperor’s army at the gates of Rome. Five magi of the Roman Tribunal are Marched.

1195 Iberia: Harra is destroyed in unknown circumstances.

1195 Hibernia: In the immediate aftermath of the Grand Tribunal, the Covenant of Elk’s Run is founded, close to the border with Connacht, by Oswald of Bonisagus and Lugardis of Guernicus. Oswald used wit and trickery to successfully challenge the local magi for the right to settle, and a vast tract of land for vis sources.
Oswald came from the Stonehenge Tribunal, and his friend Lugardis was clearly a Quaesitor seeking to impose English rule over the Order.

1195 Normandy: Prima Buliste of House Tytalus enters a protracted Twilight and is declared dead by Harpax, her Hermetic brother, who wins the privilege of serving as the tenth Primus.
Harpax had been previously defeated by her for the leadership of the House.

1195 Stonehenge: Quaesitor Trutina joins Burnham covenant.

1196 Rome: Quaesitor Tamgor tours the Roman Tribunal.

C. 1196 Provencal: Maga Consuelia, founder of Mistridge covenant, vanishes on the slopes of Mount Tierne. The maga apparently went there willingly, and no evidence of violence is noted.

1197 Normandy: Alcuin’s Auberge covenant, vassal of Florum, a small Mercere House in the city of Tours, draws unwanted attention and falls to unknown raiders.
Some believe Fudarus sent the ruffians, but it has not been proven.

1197 Provencal: The covenant of Windgraven (1060–1197), famed for its cruelty and the necromantic prowess of its magi, is destroyed by Mistridge after having declined far into Winter.
Few mourned the passing of its reclusive magi, who were widely suspected of diabolism, though this action may have inspired Tres’ destruction of Mistridge shortly thereafter.

1198: Pope Celestine III dies in Rome. Innocentius III is named as the 176th pope.

1198: Last known sighting of Thomae of Tytalus, the flamboyant creator of the most audacious enchantment the Order has ever seen - a flying castle. It caused quite a stir in the last Grand Tribunal.
There are many stories of his fate. Some say that he left for Transylvania to work secretly on weapons platforms for the Tremere. Some claim he has gone exploring. Some say that the Devil claimed him for his hubris and that his castle fell away as dust and ash, leaving Thomae to plummet to his death. Many factions are interested in finding Thomae’s castle and its secrets.

1198 Normandy: Buliste recovers from her three year Twilight (as some suspected she would) and tries to resume her former position as Prima of House Tytalus. Characteristically, Harpax refuses to relinquish control to his rival sibling and a protracted battle ensues.
No victor has yet emerged decades later. All other full magi have left the covenant of Fudarus (domus magna of the House), which is now completely divided between them.
House members supporting the tenth Primus Harpax are "Decimi" and as staff wear revolutionary green, and loyalists of the ninth Prima Buliste are "Fideli" and as staff wear royal purple. Refusing to choose a side invites scorn.

1198 Normandy: John of Matha and Felix of Valois founds the mendicant Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (or Trinitarians) outside Paris. The founding-intention for the order was the ransom of Christians held captive by Muslims, a consequence of crusading and of pirating along the Mediterranean coast of Europe.

1198 Levant: A new Crusading order is founded by merchants from Bremen and Lübeck to defend a hospital in Acre. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, the Teutonic Knights, is open only to Germans.

1198 Rome: Quaesitor Jarane travels to Rome to investigate the activities of the Tribunal covenants. His investigations and intervention amount to little.

C. 1199 Stonehenge: The monastery of Saint Sylvester in West Brockshire is burned by the vile outlaw captain Owen the Beast.
Rumor has it is now haunted by Infernal spirits. No one goes there, not even magicians.

1199 Normandy: Celeres of Bonisagus, an ancient and eccentric magus, arrives at Cunfin covenant and announce that he’s seeking the Holy Grail, and that Cunfin will be the castle from which he and his knights will search for it.
This proclamation is surely the final proof of Celeres’ madness!

1199 Rome: The twenty-third Verdi Competition.

C. 1200 Iberia: The number of magi migrating from the Tribunal is increasing. A concern that is addressed in the ordinary Tribunal of the same year.

1200–1220: Annoyed that the Biblical Commandment to keep Sabbath day holy is so widely and blatantly ignored in England, the pope sends Eustace, Abbot of Flay to lead a mission. So eloquent was his preaching, and so marvelous were
the miracles that he performed, that many places closed down their Sunday markets entirely or moved them to another day of the week.
Another lesson for my sodales to not wake the ire of the church.

1200: A new crusade is announced against the pagans of the Baltic coast. A new order, the Knights of the Sword, is organized to prosecute the crusade.

1200 Normandy: After a terrible outbreak of "town versus gown" rivalry resulted in the death of several students and citizens, the University of Paris receives its charter, from Philippe II. He issues a diploma "for the security of the scholars of Paris", which affirms that students are subject only to ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
This surely leads to lingering resentment among the burghers of Paris. The chancellor of Notre Dame, Phillipus de Grevia, retains the power to confer degrees and excommunicate members of the university, and he uses these rights to maintain his influence over the university masters.

1200–1201 Normandy: Atramentum covenant, vassal of Fudarus, is founded by Helios of House Tytalus and Gulo Midusulfis of House Bjornaer and ousted by Fudarus magi the following year.
Its founding was sponsored just as the battle between the two Tytalan Primi began. Cynics would say that the young magi were duped into preparing the ground for the magi of Exspectatio, who now occupy the spot. The founders went on to form Atramentum Renatus.

1200 Iberian Tribunal: The subject of support for Christian and Moorish mortals again ends the Tribunal in dissension between Reconquista and Roman covenants.

1200 Stonehenge Tribunal at Blackthorn inquorate.
Blackthorn called the scheduled Tribunal of Stonehenge, but again no one attends.

1200 Levant Tribunal: Renewal of the Treaty of Baghdad due in 1203 is fervently discussed, but agreed.

1200 Normandy Tribunal: Maga Pugnatis found guilty of interfering with mortals, in that she had used magic to control the mayor of Laval to obtain access to a vis source. She was ordered to enchant items to allow magi to hide from them.
The finer details of her crime are curiously absent.
The magi of Fudarus are claimed to have brought ruin upon the magi of Atramentum by sending an agent to form an artificer guild in the town of Le Conquet. This, it was claimed, ruined the magi of Atramentum - as guild politics interrupted the work of artisans in the town whom they had commissioned to manufacture quality items for enchantment, which in turn delayed Atramentum’s ability to collect vis from a newly discovered source. The Tribunal rules that there is no case to answer. The basis being that Le Conquet is closer to Fudarus than Atramentum, and therefore Fudarus’s activities in the town has precedence. Effectively, the Tribunal ruled, the magi of Atramentum had "ruined" themselves by relying on the work of mundane artificers, and not long afterwards the magi of Atramentum were evicted by senior magi leaving Fudarus.
Tribunal determines that the agents of the covenant closest to a town, referred to as the senex, have superior rights to those of the agents of other covenants operating in that town. In particular, this means that if the actions of the senex collaterally damage the interests of another covenant, then ruin has not been caused. The senex is judged to be the covenant in which the town’s church bells sound the loudest, as determined by a Quaesitor. Therefore, if a town’s church bells cannot be heard at all in a covenant that covenant is too distant from the town to claim senex rights, and for many towns therefore there is no extant senex.

1200 Thebes Tribunal: Magus Aescliops of House Jerbiton, itinerant, is noted to have marked any room he resided in as his sanctum; the Tribunal rules that although no mage may mark a covenant room as a sanctum without permission, any mage may mark a sanctum for any period, so long as it marks his true residence.
Compare to the ruling of the Greater Alps Tribunal, 1165.

1200 Rhine: Covenant Rheinstein (1123–1200), founded on an island in the Rhine Gorge close to the border between Bohemia and Meissen is destroyed by an irate mob of mundanes rumored to be led by the archbishop of Trier.
Or by influential merchants. What the magi did to upset the locals remains a mystery to this day.
The demises of Rudiaria, Oakdell, Treverorum and Rheinstein are believed by some to be linked to a curse on the region of the Rhine Gorge, an area that is rich in magical sites, but where no covenant has endured.

1200 Rhine Tribunal: Covenant Fengheld complains that Maga Odorpes of Bjornaer had failed to collect and provide six pawns of vis per season as she had agreed; Odorpes argues that she had provided six pawns each season except for Winter, when she hibernated in the shape of her heart-beast, a bear; Tribunal rules that she is still responsible for her obligations, since she chose to spend her winters as a bear, and must make up the difference within seven years.
Horst of House Mercere reports that Rheinstein covenant was attacked and destroyed by an army of irate mundanes, led by the archbishop of Trier. The fate of the magi of Rheinstein is unknown. Horst notes that their actions have in large part contributed to their demise, and may have caused undue attention to the Order of Hermes in the region.
After the destruction of Rheinstein, yet another covenant lost in the Rhine Gorge, the Tribunal rules that magi are forbidden from practicing any form of magical activity within the area of the Rhine Gorge for the next twenty years.

1200 Rome: Rebelling Italian cities ask for Hermetic aid, offering silver and patronage if they aid in their battles.

1201: The Fourth Crusade to the Levant begins, poorly. The crusade gathers at Venice, but lacks the money for passage. The doge agrees to transport them if the crusaders will help him return the city of Zara to his control and give him half of any booty.

1201 Normandy: Exspectatio covenant, vassal of Fudarus, is founded in place of the failed covenant Atramentum.
Atramentum Renatus covenant is founded, vassal of Exspectatio.

1201 Stonehenge: Maximianus founds covenant Nigrasaxa in Suffolk, and together with Voluntas, Schola Pythagoranis and Ungulus, calls for a second Tribunal. This gathering is quorate, and Blackthorn, worried that it would lose
control, agrees to host it. Blackthorn thus maintains its dominance, but politics are active in the Tribunal once again.

1201 Stonehenge Tribunal: Covenant Voluntas contests covenant Blackthorn over 12 pawns of vis, as they had a bargain with Robert Wood of Yorkshire, an exceptional archer and woodsman that they had registered in 1192 as a source of Animal and Herbam vis.
The local Redcap network is reorganized to prevent further inquorate meetings.
Each Stonehenge Tribunal thereafter has been a year late.

1202 King John of England fails to respond to a summons to attend a French court; Philippe II of France claims Anjou and invades Normandy, and supports the claims of Arthur of Brittany against John.
This marks a turning point in the struggles between the Angevins and Capetians; thereafter, Philippe II holds the upper hand in most of France.

1202: To the chagrin of House Tremere, at the Venetians' request (as payment for shipping) crusaders sack Zadar (Zara), the most prosperous seaport on the Croatian coastline. Prince Alexius, Byzantine exile, offers crusaders aid and wealth in exchange for his restoration to the throne of the Empire. The whole of the Fourth Crusade is excommunicated by the pope for the sack of Zadar.

1202 New Slavonic Tribunal: Covenant Rethra in Pomerania, Oracle of the god Radegast, is destroyed by the Knights of the Sword.
This covenant fell out of favor in Rhine by allying itself with the New Slavonic Tribunal in the 11th century. It entered a deep Winter for many decades, with no contact with other magi.

1202 Rhine: The Prima of Merinita, Vinaria of Irencillia, disappears in the woods, much the same way as Merinita and Quendalon had done. Handri of Irencillia resumes the Primacy.
She returned in 1209.

1202 Rome: Leonardo Bigollo Pisano (Fibonacci) writes Liber Abaci, about the modus Indorum, the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, including the use of zero; it is the first major work in Europe to move away from the use of Roman numerals.

1202 Thebes: Catella of Bonisagus joins the Covenant of Alexandria

1203: Crusaders besiege Constantinople, Emperor Alexios III Angelos flees into exile. Alexios IV Angelos and Isaac II Angelos proclaimed joint emperors, but fail to meet promises made to the crusaders camped outside the city. By August. tensions between Byzantines and crusaders have mounted to sporadic fighting, and a skirmish leads to the Great Fire of Constantinople.
Ignem magics at work?

1203 Normandy: A mortal monk named Eustace puts aside his vows to inherit his father’s lands. It is said that in earlier years Eustace the Monk had learned magic in the city of Toledo.
See 1205.

1203 Rhine: Urgen of Crintera resigns as Primus of Bjornaer, but retains a seat on the Bjornaer council; Falke is elected Prima in his place.

1203 Transylvania: House Tremere build a zenodochium in a regio in a
magical lacuna found in the city of Zadar, that after its sacking suffered from violence and lawlessness. Anticipating more fighting, the building is staffed by a competent surgeon and a few assistants. The House loses contact with the men several months later and the regio itself seems to have disappeared.
Did all the money, murder, and malcontents draw demonic attention?

1204: Constantinople falls to the Fourth Crusade, and is sacked. Alexios and David Komnenos, long time exiles in Georgia, seize Trebizond, creating the Kingdom of Trebizond. Constantinople is taken again, and the Latin Empire created. William de Champlitte founds Principality of Achaea following the great Battle of the Olive Grove. The Latin Empire attacks exiles who have created a new capital at Nicea, smashing the Nicene forces at the Battle of Adramyttion. Venice claims the most strategically important ports: those of Candia, Rodos, Karpathos, and the Cyclades
Once boasting three covenants, the fall of the mighty City of the East sees the end of them all. Thermakopolis is destroyed utterly, and its only survivor, Mathieus, is in self-imposed exile. Moero’s Garden flees to Nicaea. The Ex Miscellanea traveling covenant the Court of Fools is unfortunately caught in the city and destroyed in the fires.
The remaining crusaders of the Fourth Crusade disband after being decimated by plague and desertions. The crusade had been foiled by morale problems, lack of funding, and poor leadership. It has sacked two Christian cities, been excommunicated, and failed to impact the Saracens at all.
Thus demonstrating that crusades can be fragile.
In the aftermath, accusations flew as rapidly as arrows. House Tremere was blamed, as was House Jerbiton. The League of Advisors, which had lost many of its members with the fall of Thermakopolis, couldn’t weather allegations of interference with mundanes, and disbanded.

1204 Normandy: Eboris covenant founded in Paris by Archmagus Mathieus of Constantinople, follower of Jerbiton and "most prominent witness to the death of history", as a commemoration of the glory of the Constantinople that was; the new Rome, the center of civilization and the tool of God - meant to usher in an age of peace and stability in preparation for the return of Christ.

1205: Pope Innocentius III lays down the principle that Jews are doomed to perpetual servitude, because they had crucified Jesus. Therefore, it is desirable that the Jews remain in Christian society. As long as the Jews maintain their submission, it reminds the world of their crime in rejecting Jesus and the validity of Jesus' teachings.

1205: The Sultanate besieges Trebizond but is forced to withdraw. Greek nobles of Thrace rise in revolt, and Bulgarians under Tsar Kaloyan invade the Latin Empire. Bulgarians capture and kill Emperor Baldwin I. Most members of the covenant of Xylinites flee into exile in Western Europe from Constantinople.
Following the death of Doge Dandolo, Doge Pietro Ziani becomes leader of Venetian Republic.
Battle of the Olive Grove, and subsequent creation of the state of Epiros by defeated rebel Michael Komnenos Doukas.

1205–1207 Thebes: Construction of wall around Venetian Quarter of Constantinople, under Podesta Marino Zeno.

1205–1206 Levant: With the Byzantine refugees comes several Theban magi, also seeking to establish themselves further east. The Tribunal of Thebes supports its magi, and so the border between Thebes and the Levant becomes disputed territory. War threatens to break out between the two Tribunals.

C. 1205: Ruprecht de Solange of House Tremere, Leczya covenant, claims his sigil. Frania Popovich of Tremere, also of Leczya, is also a sigil-holder, making Leczya a notable center of power in House Tremere.

1205: Amaury de Bène (Amalric of Bena), magister at University of Paris and who taught theological philosophy, dies of grief by humiliation after his doctrines were condemned by the university and, on a personal appeal to Pope Innocentius III, the sentence was ratified, and being ordered to return to Paris and recant his errors.
See 1209.

1205 Novgorod: Most recent claimed sighting of Stolitzya "The Swimmer," by Susan of Wicklow.

1205 Normandy: Eustace the Monk quarrels with the Count of Boulogne and enters the service of John of England as a sea captain. He spends several years plaguing the Count with his ship, cunning, and magic.
See 1212.

1206 Stonehenge: A peasant named Thurkhill in England is taken by Saint Julian on a tour of Purgatory. Thurkhill confides colorful descriptions of Purgatory's torture chambers.
Remarkable!

1206 Novgorod: Yannes Kolski suffers a prolonged Twilight and issues an extended series of prophecies, the Yannes Discourse.
This may have been his Final Twilight, but the issue is not settled. Magus Yannes disappeared in 1216, while returning from Thousand Caves. His fate remains a mystery.

1207 Iberia Tribunal: Laertia of Jerbiton reports to the Tribunal on shamanism and the spirit world.
Just before the close of the Tribunal, Terrace of Jerbiton brings illegally obtained evidence of diabolism. Baruch of Guernicus uses Summoning the Distant Image to examine the grounds of Jaferiya. Magi of Jaferiya covenant cast out for diabolism. The magi of Jaferiya escape the Tribunal through magic and diabolic aid.
No known penalty assigned to Terrace or Baruch.

1207 Levant Tribunal: Renewal of the Treaty of Baghdad due in 1213 is barely agreed upon. The war between Thebes and Levant Tribunals is averted through the efforts of Aurora Borealis and other Quaesitors from both Tribunals. Now the Empire of Nicaea is considered part of the Theban Tribunal, while the Empire of Trebizond falls under the sway of the Levant.
Not all magi are happy with this outcome, however.

1207 Normandy Tribunal (49th): Maga Pugnatis, having failed to produce the items she was ordered to by the Tribunal of 1200, and failing to present herself to the Tribunal, is expelled from the Order.
The Tribunal determines that a covenant may be sited in a town, and the normal interaction of covenant members with the townsfolk does not thereby cause ruin to other members of the Order of Hermes. Further, the Tribunal determines that a covenant may be granted a town charter by a mundane lord. However, the magi themselves cannot take advantage of any privileges under the charter, as to do so would be effectively the same as swearing an oath of fealty. It is acceptable, however, for a covenant to collectively pay a tax, either in coin or mundane produce.
The Tribunal also deems it acceptable for eligible members of a covenant to vote or hold office in a town.
Whatever the town charter might state, a magus, however, is not eligible as under the Code of Hermes he cannot swear an oath of fealty to mundane authorities!

1207 Provencal Tribunal: Held at Aedes Mercurii, the Tribunal spends a whole day discussing the implications of the Church’s attempts to suppress Catharism. Ultimately no firm decision is made, although Praeco Oxioun of Tytalus, leader of Aedes Mercurii, speaks at length about the need to avoid interfering in mundane affairs. Oxioun, Chief Quaesitor Protanus, and the large bloc of Mercurian magi seem content to wait out developments from their mountain sanctuaries despite the misgivings of the lowland covenants of the Toulousain, Narbonnais, and the Rhone Valley.
A few months after the Tribunal, the papal legate is murdered near St Gilles and Pope Innocent III declares a crusade against the heretics of southern France. Shortly thereafter Protantus, the Traditionalist Chief Quaesitor, dies and is replaced by the more flexible Tibaut, a Transitionalist without Mercurian affiliations. The coincidence passes unnoticed to most magi, although the deaths mark the beginning of great changes in the mundane and Hermetic politics of Provençal.

1207 Thebes: 49th Theban Tribunal. To the disappointment of House Tremere, the Tribunal fails to secure a conviction against members of the former League of Advisors for interference with the mundane.
Redcap Cosmas ostracized, possibly for dynastic connections.
Petronas abdicates as logothete, after almost a hundred years on the post, he is replaced by Leontius.
Boniface of Montferrat, ruler of Thessalonica, killed in battle by Bulgarians. Tsar Kaloyan is killed by St. Demetrius outside the walls of Thessalonica. Tsar Boril succeeds him to the Bulgarian throne. Podesta Zeno is recalled to Venice appointment by Venetian Council of new Podesta, Ottaviano Quirino. Marco Sanudo captures the island of Naxos.
Covenant of Novocastrum founded on the western border of Thessalonica.
Covenant of Michael’s Tabula in Constantinople formally recognized, it was founded by surviving Flambeau and Jerbiton magi in the catacombs beneath the city, forever pledging their lives to its defense.
Also see Levant Tribunal this year.

1207 Rhine Tribunal: Hygwald Veritus of Tremere and Eric Ribecus of Tytalus declare themselves to be the only remaining magi of Terschelling as the others had elected to leave. The covenant was to be renamed Waddenzee (indicative of a wider and more ambitious claim of notional Hermetic territory), and its charter and symbol had changed. This caused uproar in the Tribunal, with the two magi being accused of all sorts of malfeasance, but the Quaesitors who investigated could not uncover any evidence of wrongdoing.
An uncommon alliance of Houses indeed.

1207–1214 Iberia: The Shadow Wars. Diabolic Flambeau, "The Flaming Shadow," in Iberia are hunted and gradually eliminated. The Flaming Shadow destroys two covenants and slay most of their inhabitants by the Tribunal of 1214. Fifty magi are slain by the Shadow in seven years, and only three of the renegades are destroyed.

1207 Provencal: The summer covenant of Bentalone (1106–1207) is destroyed by the armies of Simon de Montfort when the castle they inhabited was mistaken for a Cathar stronghold and overrun in a surprise attack.

1208 Thebes: Ruler of Nicea crowned as Emperor Theodore II Lascaris. Leo Sgouros, Greek rebel leader, commits suicide as defeated at the fortress of Acrocorinth.

1208 Rhine: Lübeck’s town charter law was granted to Rostock, by Prince Borwin of Mecklenburg, and their Baltic towns also use Lübeck’s law. The Teutonic Knights, a landowning monastic military order, are suspicious of Lübeck’s charter and promote their own, less autonomous, charter to Baltic towns.

1208 Stonehenge Tribunal: Glenius of Bonisagus reports on encounters with shamans in Novgorod.
The Tribunal rules that no covenant may put more than two pounds of magically created silver per resident, magus or mortal, into circulation.
The ruling did not cover gold, since gold is not used as currency in England. However, this has brought the issue to the attention of magi throughout Europe, and so most members of the Order practice moderation when using magic to create wealth, to avoid creating a precedent for a Grand Tribunal ruling.

1208 Provencal: The Albigensian Crusade declared against the Cathars in Languedoc. These Cathars are heretics in the eyes of the Church, the dispute concerning whether the world and its creator are intrinsically evil.
How different from the Hermetic view.

1208 Iberia: Archmagus Karendos forms a group of Flambeau to hunt his filius, Rasus, a Renounced magus of Jaferiya. He confronts Rasus in this year, but the renegade calls on demons to oppose his Pater and escapes. Karendos suffers Twilight and must retire from the hunt.

1208 Stonehenge: The mortal kingdom of England is placed under an interdiction by Pope Innocentius III, forbidding the administration of the sacraments, for the interference of King John in Church elections.

1209 (February): The Franciscan Order is founded by the Italian priest Francis of Assisi. He and 11 of his followers journey to Rome where he receives approval of his rule from Pope Innocentius III. Franciscan friars can not own any possessions of any kind. Instead, they wander and preach among the people, helping the poor and the sick. They support themselves by working and by begging for food, but they are forbidden to accept money either for work or as alms. The Franciscans work at first in Umbria and then in the rest of Italy.
The impact of these street preachers and especially of their founder is immense, within the next ten years they number some 5,000 followers.

1209 Hibernia: The maga Swan of Ghent is killed during the Black Monday massacre when Ua Broin raiders killed a number of English settlers outside the walls of Dublin.

1209 Normandy: Four years dead, ten of Amaury of Béne’s followers are burnt before the gates of Paris and Amaury's own body is exhumed and burnt and the ashes given to the winds.
The doctrines of his followers, known as the Amalricians, were formally condemned by the fourth Lateran Council in 1215.

1209 (October 21): Pope Innocentius III crowns Otto IV as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

1209 Provencal: The city of Bezier is destroyed in the Albigensian Crusade.
The covenant of Mistridge (1050-1209), occupying a magical tower situated in the Val du Bosque, is destroyed in a Wizard’s War led by the magus Tres with his magical siege engines, spurring a major Tribunal case.

1209 Rhine: Mystifyingly, the former Prima of Merinita, Vinaria of Irencillia, returns after 7 years disappeared.
She makes no attempt to resume the primacy.

1209 Stonehenge: King John is excommunicated for interfering in Church elections.

1209 Thebes: Sultan Kaikosru I begins war on the Empire of Nicaea, who ally with the Bulgarians. William de Champlitte of Principality of Achaea dies traveling back to
France, leaving Geoffrey de Villehardouin as regent, and then ruler.

1210: A special synod at Sens decreed that the philosophy of the New Aristotle and all commentaries on those works were not to be read at Paris in public or in secret, under threat of excommunication.
This ban was repeated in 1215 specifically for the University of Paris, and there are rumors that the pope is planning to establish a commission to expurgate doctrinal errors from Aristotle.

1210 Iberia: Matlus of Jerbiton, Praeco of the Iberian Tribunal, is found dead with ash on his hands and a circle of ash on his right temple. Cause of death unknown. Terrace of Jerbiton, now eldest, elevated to Praeco.

1210 Stonehenge: Foundation of Libellus, in Suffolk.

1210 Rome: The Holy Roman Emperor is excommunicated by the pope for his military adventures in southern Italy, but the Emperor finishes his conquest of the territory.

1210: Two Seekers, Alphonsus and Tabitha Ex Miscellanea, tour Ultima Thule.

1211: The Teutonic Order of Knights moves to Transylvania to help defend the south-eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Cumans.

1211 Provencal: Lariander (1192–1211), a Tremere spring covenant in a faerie forest at Montgey, Toulouse, is destroyed during the crusade. The magi were mistaken for a community of Cathars after a party of three hundred German crusaders were murdered by rebels as they passed through the forest while in the vicinity of the covenant.
A terrible example that even the Order can fall victim to the crusaders violence even with non-involvement.

1211 Thebes: Theodore Lascaris of Nicea defeats the Sultanate in battle, killing Sultan Kaikosru I and capturing the exile Alexios III. Latin Patriarch Tomas Morasini dies; the post remains vacant till 1215.

1212 Iberia: The tide of Reconquista crests in fire and steel: the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, followed by the Siege of Badajoz. The Christian kingdoms of Iberia: Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal - form an uneasy but effective alliance under the blessing of Pope Innocentius III. United by threat more than faith, they march south against the Almohad Caliphate, whose power has grown intolerably bold under the self-styled “Commander of the Faithful,” Caliph Muhammad al-Nasir. On July 16th, beneath the scorched Andalusian sky at Las Navas de Tolosa, the armies of Christendom break the back of Almohad strength in Iberia. Despite near-impossible terrain, political bickering, and treacherous supply lines, the Christian host - led by King Alfonso VIII of Castile - pierces the Caliph’s personal guard.
Later this year, seizing the opportunity, Christian forces besiege Badajoz, a key Almohad stronghold guarding the borderlands. The city holds out through autumn, but by winter’s edge it yields. The fall of Badajoz opens the western flank of al-Andalus to Christian advance.
The Tribunal of Iberia, ever sensitive to political storms, watch the battle lines carefully. Redcaps report heavy magical interference - mirages disorienting scouts, cursed weather over the mountain passes, and an inexplicable silence in some areas.
Legend insists that Navarrese knights, including King Sancho VII "the Strong", shattered the iron circle of slave-warriors with the sheer brutality of their charge. The defeat irreparably fractures Almohad authority. Though al-Nasir escapes, his army does not. Within a generation, the Caliphate collapses into internal strife.
Certain Flambeau (Magi of the Flaming Shadow) and Tytalus magi are rumored to have participated - discreetly - as "consultants" to various noble houses, their spells masked behind papal indulgence. A lost correspondence from an unnamed magus in the Order hints that a powerful spirit or jinn bound to the Caliph’s army was unbound at Las Navas, and its vengeance remains unfinished.

1212 Provencal: Children's Crusade: Thousands of children from all over the Rhineland march on the Holy Land, eventually sold into slavery in the city of Marseilles.
They claimed the sea would part, allowing them to cross and convert the Muslims of North Africa before marching on to Jerusalem. When they reached Marseilles, the sea did not part, but a large number boarded ships to sail to Africa, and were never seen again.

1212 Thebes: Marco Sanudo completes conquest of Cyclades. Venetians defeat pirates on Candia, establishing the Kingdom of Candia.
The newly established covenant of Novocastrum is destroyed as Epiros attacks the Kingdom of Thesssaloniki.
It had little time to prepare for the Greek attack, and was destroyed when its
magi unsuccessfully resisted; few in the Tribunal mourned their loss.

1212 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1212 Novgorod: Three Lakes Covenant celebrates its bicentenary, and decides to take on apprentices. They are attentively trained, and flourish.
This dedicated training is rare and laudable.

1212 Rhine: Magus Carolus of Jerbiton from Oculus Septentrionalis covenant in Lübeck visits Crintera, the domus magna of Bjornaer, in an attempt to repair relations with the Rügen covenant. The visit turns sour when his raven familiar, believed to be spying, is blinded by Caprea of Bjornaer - a guest maga there, when it enters the covenant library.
As a result, relations between the two covenants have further worsened.

1212 Stonehenge: King John of England and the Count of Boulogne make an alliance. The sea-captain Eustace the Monk, the Count’s enemy and John’s former man, departs John’s service, enters the service of Prince Louis of France, and bedevils both the king and count with his wits and magic.
See 1215.

1213: Before slipping into Final Twilight, Primus Avarret of House Bonisagus selects maga Murion as his successor.
This is a deliberate snub to the arguably more qualified Occultes (who he seemed to have deemed too dangerous), and Murion’s selection signifies the continued dominance of the conservative philosophy in the House.

1213–1214 Hibernia: The Siege of Praesis: Holzner of Tytalus from the Rhine Tribunal joined the Covenant of Praesis in 1213. A while later, he attempted to steal the cathach of Praesis and flee, but was slain by his sodales. The maga Meadhbh, leader of Praesis, hung his head by its hair from the covenant’s palisade. Word of Holzner’s humiliation reached his parens, Ballack, who then left the Rhine to seek justice in Hibernia. He convinced others that if the Tribunal would not sanction Praesis then they should take the covenant by force. Declaring Wizard War, Ballack struck quickly, but the attack was resisted, and he laid siege to the covenant preventing Meadhbh from attending the Tribunal meeting in 1214, where they might no doubt have appealed for and gained allies. While the covenants of Hibernia debated, the war continued. The sides seemed evenly matched, man-for-man and magic-for-magic, but Ballack’s nerve held out longer. As the last of the Praesis’ allies fled, Báetáin Ua Traimair of Praesis negotiated a peace with Ballack; the cathach in return for safe passage for Meadhbh. The terms were accepted and Ballack took control of Praesis. Meadhbh claimed sanctuary at the covenant of Qui Sonant Pro Quieto.
Hibernia’s Peripheral Code does not recognize any need for a break between months of Wizard War. Indeed it assumes that it has been extended unless there is positive evidence that it has not, meaning that in practice it continues until the death of an opponent, surrender, or a treaty.
Many Hibernian magi saw this war as a clear cut case of foreign aggression, but by the conventions of the Tribunal, few intervened. Relations between Hibernian magi and those from outside the Tribunal are increasingly strained. Praesis has fallen, and peace may be restored, but it is an uneasy peace.
Once the shining example of friendship between the druids of Ireland and the Order, to some the covenant now represents the dangers posed by outsiders, while to others it demonstrates that Hibernia itself needs to change.

1213 Stonehenge: King John is absolved by the archbishop he had opposed. The king becomes a Papal vassal and all his lands become Papal fiefs.

1214: The Archmagus Hadrianus of Flambeau and his two filii depart Bergen for the remote Norse colony of Iceland, to investigate recent rumors of the "Order of Odin". He’s not heard from again.
For over a century rumors of a powerful rival order of Norse wizards have circulated within the Order of Hermes. These rumors were given credence by the mysterious destruction of a number of spring covenants founded in Scandinavian lands. A number of Hermetic investigations have headed to the northlands, only to find the occasional weak hedge wizard who knew nothing of any "Order of Odin." This lack of success only heightened the paranoia among many Hermetics. It seems as if this Order of Odin - if they even exist - possess potent powers of disguise and concealment, perhaps even Infernally granted.

1214 Provence: A mysterious manuscript circulates among Jewish mystics, containing advanced theories of numerology, divine letters, and creation magic. It is said to reveal the lost Shem ha-Mephorash, the True Name of God. Magi of House Criamon whisper that those who read it correctly gain enlightenment, while those who fail are unmade.
There are no confirmed reports from Hermetic readers.

1214 Thebes: Nicaea arrange a truce with the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, Henri of Flanders, at the Peace of Nymphaeum. David Komnenos killed fighting the Sultanate. Nicea takes Amatris, but is now isolated from Trebizond by Sultanate territory. Corfu is captured from the Venetians by Epiros.

1214 Iberia Tribunal: Iberian Covenants form a pact of mutual defense in response to the Flaming Shadow.

1214 Hibernia Tribunal: The covenants of the Tribunal debate issues of foreign aggression and the Siege of Praesis, but a Wizard’s War was declared and the covenant itself is not attending. By local convention few come to their aid, and no action is taken by the Tribunal.

1214 Novgorod Tribunal: A delegation of shamans & shapechangers arrives at the Novgorod Tribunal seeking alliance with the Order. The issue is discussed at length, but the matter of bringing it up to the Grand Tribunal is tabled. In the meanwhile, the visitors are told to join House Ex Miscellanea.
The Quaesitors of Three Lakes are asked to consider if Yannes Kolski has entered Final Twilight.
Thousand Caves accuses Pripet Maior of brutally suppressing mortals in the Pripet Marshes. Pripet Maior accuses Thousand Caves of despoiling wilderness.
Finally, the Tribunal is stunned by the revelations of Thousand Caves covenant, which shares with the Tribunal its investigations and success in affecting Auras, involving faeries, mortal worship, and magi-priests.
The Tribunal is closed after the Quaesitors announce that they will investigate both Thousand Caves and Pripet Maior.
The reason for the shamans and shapeshifters to seek an alliance was not made clear. Possibly they recognized the influence of the Order, or sought protection from another influence.

1214 Provencal Tribunal: A rustic magus named Tres Ex Miscellanea is brought to trial for interference with mundanes. He had declared Wizard’s War against the magi of another covenant in the region, and with more than a hundred armed men he had marched against their tower, completely destroying it and killing most of the inhabitants. The prosecutors argue that Tres had broken the Code when he hired his army, since he had essentially bought their service with enchanted devices, and that he had thereby become significantly and criminally invested in mundane politics of the region. Tres argues that all of the men in his army belonged to his covenant, which had been duly registered at the previous Tribunal, and that he had the right to support his covenfolk with his magic however he wished. The Tribunal eventually decides in his favor, though the presiding Quaesitor also notes disapprovingly that all of these covenfolk had since left his service.

1214 Rhine Tribunal: Maga Caprea of Bjornaer is found guilty of harming magus Carolus’ familiar and is sentenced to produce a bestiary using her own resources.
After the Tribunal, three magi, Signum Irruptus of Criamon, Theoderich of Jerbiton, and Pancrestis of Bonisagus, decide to establish a covenant in Denmark, on the island of Zealand, in the ruins of Lethra town, which they name Heorot covenant, after the Hall of King Beowulf.
The magi of Heorot did not seek any permission to colonize, which may yet cause them difficulty, as Denmark lies within Ultima Thule, which is ceded to Novgorod Tribunal. That Tribunal is ever fearful of Rhine magi expanding into their territories.
Fengheld magi again bring up the unfairness that the Praeco of the Rhine Tribunal always is the Primus of Bonisagus and suggest that the Rhine Tribunal should reform to match the system used by the rest of the Order. The more cynical magi suggest the reason for this is that Eule of Fengheld is an excellent candidate for the Praeco, as she is likely to be the oldest maga in the Rhine. However, there are at least two other candidates - Caecilius of Durenmar and Schadrith of Dankmar - who may well be older, although the records are in doubt.
Fengheld is likely to propose, at the next Tribunal, an investigation into the Rhine’s oldest magus, as a first move to break Durenmar’s stranglehold.

1214 Theban Tribunal: The new logothete Leontius from Alexandria has been unsatisfactory and narrowly escapes being ostracized.
Records have been lost, lists have gone missing, and the all-important book registering tokens and shards has been found to be faulty.

1215: The Fourth Lateran Council or "The Great Council of the Lateran" in Rome is convened by Pope Innocentius III to establish three main objectives: crusading, church reform and combating heresy. It was the largest, most representative, and most influential council ever assembled with over 400 bishops - including 71 cardinals and archbishops, over 800 abbots and priors representing some eighty ecclesiastical provinces, 23 Latin-speaking prelates from the Eastern Orthodox Church, and representatives of nearly all Christian monarchs in attendance.
The seventy-one Lateran canons, which were not debated, were only formally adopted on the last day of the council. They define the teaching of the Catholic Church on transubstantiation, the sacrament; procedure and penalties against heretics and their protectors; prescribed dressing for clergy members; prohibited gambling and spectating theatrical performances by clergy. As well as proclamations that the papal primacy is to be recognized by all antiquity; prohibition against new religious orders; that clerics may neither pronounce nor execute a sentence of death, nor may they act as judges in extreme criminal cases, or take part in matters connected with judicial tests and trials by ordeal; physicians bound under pain of exclusion from the church, to exhort their patients to call in a priest before prescribing medicine, and thus provide for their spiritual welfare; religious law should not interfere with secular law, and vice versa; tithe payments to have priority over all other taxes and dues; a special dress code for Jews and Saracens to distinguish them from Christians so that "no Christian shall come to marry them ignorant of who they are"; freeing Christian debtors from "extortionate and excessive" interest on loans from Jews; excluding Jews from positions of authority over Christians. The last Canon calls for a new crusade to the Levant to recover the Holy Land, designating June 1st 1217 as the start of the Fifth Crusade.
The effect of the Great Council will certainly be felt for centuries. The 71 canons were probably drafted by Innocentius III himself. Interesting though, is canon 32 "Ut patroni compententem portionem dimittant clericis", which ruled that priests are entitled to a "fitting portion from the revenues of the church". How clever indeed!
As the Council now forbids clergy from cautery or chirurgical incision, this now falls to laymen. The clergy is not allowed to consult these physicians.

1215 Normandy: David of Dinant, magister in artibus at the University of Paris, is discovered a heretic by Cardinal Robert Robert Caurçon, after a reading of his book, Quaternuli ("little note-books"). His book confiscated, David refused to recant his beliefs and fled the city during the night.
Rumor has it that David is writing a second book.

1215 Normandy: The covenant of Lapis Crudus in the forest of Fontainebleau, lost since 1118, reestablishes contact with the Order after their leader Aries of Flambeau succumbs to Final Twilight and the faerie Candidus agrees to renegotiate their pact.
Since this time, members of the covenant have been able to leave the regio, but only if they are simultaneously replaced by someone of the same social standing from the outside entering the covenant.

1215 Provencal: The covenant of Filii Sinapis (1063–1215), established by Flambeau of the abandoned Normandy Liege of Sinapis, is abandoned in the wake of the crusade.
Simon de Montfort triumphantly enters Toulouse and installs himself in the Château Narbonnais. A popular uprising occurs, and fighting throughout the city is put down only after great efforts.

1215 Rhine: Magister Signum Irruptus of Criamon founds the covenant of Heorot. Not as a member of the Rhine Tribunal, but it hopes to have its membership approved at the next Rhine Tribunal meeting in 1221. This plan is not without controversy as Heorot is sited on the island of Zealand, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark and therefore clearly within the territory that traditionally forms part of the Novgorod Tribunal. However, because of the perceived threat of the "Order of Odin", the Order has not yet established a covenant in Norse lands that has lasted long enough to attend a Tribunal meeting; thus the territory remains a gray area.
The covenant has occupied the hall of Hrothgar, former king of the Danes, who was terrorized by a troll called Grendel before the hero Beowulf slew him.
The magi of Oculus Septentrionalis and Crintera must have been fuming as this is clearly stepping on their toes in the north, but many in the Rhine Tribunal greet Heorot’s move with glee. The Rhine Tribunal has long disputed the eastern border with the Novgorod Tribunal; and to "steal territory" from them is the ultimate in one-upmanship.

1215 Thebes: Gervase appointed Latin Patriarch of Constantinople

1215 Stonehenge: England’s rebellious barons force King John to sign the Magna Carta, a proto-constitution that cracks open centuries-old royal absolutism.
A raucous middle finger to unchecked power and a bold step toward a modern governance like the Order? A Tremere experiment in Mundane Governance or a Mercere/Jerbiton initiative for stability with a more predictable legal framework for travel and commerce?
Was something more sinister in the works? The Church's fierce opposition to certain clauses might stem from recognizing an unnatural, supernatural force at work.

1215 Stonehenge Tribunal: One year late, but quorate.
Some magi argue that the principles of the Magna Carta could be adapted into the Peripheral Code to restrain the power of Tribunal Primi or even the Grand Tribunal.

1215 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1215-1216 Novgorod: Quaesitor delegation visits Pripet Maior and Thousand Caves.
They intend to issue findings at the Tribunal of 1221.

1215 Stonehenge: Prince Louis of France invades England in May, as part of the First Barons' War (1215–1217), which was triggered by John's refusal to abide by Magna Carta and the barons' increasing frustration with his rule. The sea-captain Eustace the Monk lands knights, soldiers, and siege engines for his lord. He is said to know how to make his ships invisible to mortal eyes.
See 1217.

1216: The papacy is at the height of its power and the Fifth Crusade is being prepared. 400 bishops, 800 abbots and representatives of the secular powers congregate. However, Pope Innocentius III dies during the preparations and is succeeded by Honorius III who immediately orders Andreas II of Hungary and Friedrich II, king of Germany and Sicily to lead it. Friedrich II is holding back however, as his crown is still contested at home.

1216 Loch Leglean: Thomas Verus of Mercere writes about the Loch Leglean Tribunal.

1216 Novgorod: Magus Yannes Kolski, possibly in Final Twilight, disappears after visiting Thousand Caves Covenant.
His fate remains mysterious.

1216 (October) Stonehenge: On his deathbed, King John of England appoints a council of thirteen executors to help his nine year old son Henry reclaim the kingdom and requests that he be placed into the guardianship of William Marshal, one of the most famous knights in England. The loyalist leaders decide to crown Henry immediately to reinforce his claim to the throne. William knights the boy, and Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, the papal legate to England, then oversees his coronation at Gloucester Cathedral.
The royal crown had been either lost or sold during the civil war or possibly lost in The Wash, so instead the ceremony used a simple gold corolla belonging to Queen Isabella.

1217: The Fifth Crusade begins.

1217 Novgorod: Pripet Maior raids Thousand Caves, in direct violation of Tribunal traditions.

1217 Provencal: The League of Gastronomers announce that the magus who will most impress the other Gastronomers during the annual feasts between 1218 and 1228, as decided by the Grand Tribunal feast at Durenmar that year, will be selected to arrange the grandest celebration in the Order’s history in 1248, the 2,000th anniversary of the founding of Rome. During the 20 years in-between, all Gastronomers will be expected to aid in the preparations.

1217 Provencal: In the autumn of, while Simon de Montfort campaigns in the north of the region, Count Raimond suddenly returns and the jubilant citizens admit him. On his return, de Montfort finds the city gates locked against him, and Raimond restored as count, so once again besiege the city. After many months, a stone from a siege machine upon the walls strikes de Montfort directly upon the head, killing him. Amaury de Montfort lays claim to Simon’s titles.
Some suspect this may have been one of the magical siege engines devised by
Tres Ex Miscellanea and employed in the destruction of Mistridge.

1217 Rome: The twenty-fourth Verdi Competition.

1217 Stonehenge: A great sea battle at Sandwich, on the second day of Virgo, in which Eustace the Monk is killed. His invisible ships are revealed to the English sea captains by a mariner, Stephen Crabbe of Winchelsea, formerly under Eustace’s command. Stephen battles his old captain and kills him by beheading. The French fleet is then destroyed by a tempest, apparently at the instigation of St. Bartholomew.
Perhaps a mage calling himself Bartholomew, who appears in the air above the English and tells them to fear not.

1218: In a move to facilitate the Reconquista, Pope Honorius III reverses a prior judgment and declares King Ferdinand III the legitimate heir to the Kingdom of León. This papal endorsement strengthens Ferdinand's claim and bolsters efforts to reclaim territories from Muslim control in the Iberian Peninsula.

1218 Iberia: The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives (the Mercedarians), a new mendicant order is established by Peter Nolasco in the city of Barcelona, for the redemption of Christian captives. Its members are required to take a fourth vow: to die, if necessary, for another who is in danger of losing their faith.

1218 Iberia: Alfonso IX of León grants the studium generale title to the cathedral school of Salamanca, thus creating the Studii Salmantini.

1218 Iberia: Duresca, Barcelona, Estancia-es-Karida linked by Hermes Portals under Iberian Defense Pact.

1218 Hibernia: The ard-ollamh Érenn (the Chief Bard of Ireland) Giolla Ernain Ua Martain dies. A successor is not yet chosen.
Not only the personal bard of the high-king, he is also the king of the bards. Bards have inherited the traditional respect for druids given by the native Irish. While the concept of bardic immunity - once guaranteed by the high-king - has lapsed, the reputation of a bard holds a great deal of weight.

1218 (March) Stonehenge: King Henry III of England extends an offer of safe conduct to Llywelyn the Great, leading to a meeting in Worcester. The resulting treaty acknowledges Llywelyn's dominion over Wales, with the stipulation that he pays homage to Henry and returns certain castles acquired during recent conflicts. This accord solidifies Llywelyn's authority and brings a measure of stability to the region.

1218 (May–June) Levant: A substantial crusader expeditionary force, numbering approximately 30,000 and led by King John I of Jerusalem, embarks from the port city of Acre. Supported by a fleet of Frisian ships, they set sail with the strategic objective of capturing the Egyptian city of Damietta, aiming to weaken the Ayyubid hold on the Holy Land. The crusader fleet reaches the fortified harbor of Damietta, situated on the right bank of the Nile River. Sultan Al-Adil, caught off guard by the sudden invasion, mobilizes an army from Syria, while his son, Al-Kamil, advances northward from Cairo to establish a defensive position south of Damietta.
The crusader army launches a series of attacks against the formidable defenses of Damietta but faces staunch resistance and fails to breach the city's walls. In response, they devise innovative siege weaponry, including a novel design attributed to the German chronicler and preacher Oliver of Paderborn: two ships bound together, supporting a siege tower and ladder to facilitate assaults on the city's fortifications.
Oliver later reported in his chronicle, Historia Damiatina.

1218 (June) Provencal: While leading an assault during the siege of Toulouse, Simon de Montfort is mysteriously struck and killed by a projectile from the city's defenders. His death marks a significant turning point in the Albigensian Crusade, leading to a shift in leadership and momentum.

1218 (August) Levant: After intense combat, the crusaders succeed in capturing the strategically vital Chain Tower, a key defensive position controlling access to the city via the Nile. This victory allows them to cut the heavy chain that spans the river, effectively opening a route for their fleet and tightening the siege on Damietta.
Meanwhile, Sultan Al-Adil I falls ill and dies in Damascus after an 18-year reign over the Ayyubid dynasty. His death prompts a division of power: his eldest son, Al-Mu'azzam, assumes control over Syria, while his younger son, Al-Kamil, takes command in Egypt. This transition occurs amidst the ongoing siege of Damietta, adding complexity to the Ayyubid defense efforts.

1218 (September) Levant: Cardinal Pelagius arrives at the crusader encampment with additional reinforcements and asserts the primacy of ecclesiastical authority over secular leaders, challenging King John I's command.
Sultan Al-Kamil orchestrates a sudden assault on the crusader encampment. Forewarned of the maneuver, King John I leads a counterattack that decimates the Egyptian advance guard, reinforcing the crusaders' position and morale during the protracted siege.

1218 (November) Levant: A severe three-day storm inundates the crusader camp, causing significant damage to supplies and infrastructure. In the aftermath, an epidemic sweeps through the debilitated forces, claiming the lives of approximately one-sixth of the soldiers.
Were the sahirs involved?

1218 Thebes: Ivan Asen’s son returns from exile, and leads a rebellion in Bulgaria. After a seven month siege Tsar Boril was captured, blinded and consigned to a monastery, and Tsar Ivan Asen II crowned. Geoffrey de Villehardouin II becomes Prince of Achaea following his father’s death. Genoese traders readmitted to Constantinople.
Ivan Asen II's reign is noted for territorial expansion, including the annexation of regions such as Epirus, Albania, and parts of Macedonia, significantly enhancing the influence and reach of the Bulgarian state.

1218 Transylvania: Tremere Decennial conference at Coeris. Primus Umno retires
to lead the Burning Acorns Vexillation. Poena becomes Prima. Begins a series of research covenants.

1218: Bilera elected as Guernicus Prima.

1218 Iceland: Icelandic lawspeaker Snorri Sturluson writes the Gylfaginning ("The Deluding of Gylfi") while visiting Norway.

1219 (January) Rhine: A catastrophic storm surge breaches the dikes of the Northern Netherlands, inundating vast regions and resulting in the deaths of thousands. The deluge reshapes the coastline, creating the Zuiderzee and submerging entire villages.
Some magi speculate that the flood was not solely a natural disaster.

1219 (January) Levant: Through diplomatic negotiations during the Fifth Crusade, the city of Jerusalem is handed back to the Christian Kingdom under a peace treaty.
This transfer is short-lived, as control shifts again in subsequent years. The event sparks discussions among Hermetic scholars about the fluctuating Dominion auras in the Holy City and the potential for ancient relics to resurface during these transitions.

1219 (July) Levant: The Knights Hospitaller launch a raid on the town of Burlus in Egypt's Nile Delta. While initially successful in pillaging, the knights are ambushed on their return, leading to the capture of several members, including Grand Master Guérin de Montaigu.

1219 Levant: The True Cross covenant is founded in the wake of the crusader conquest of Damietta, seeking to establish a Hermetic presence in the city.

1219 (August) Novgorod: An Estonian force encircles the Lihula stronghold, occupied by an invading Swedish crusader army led by Karl the Deaf. The Estonians besiege the fortress and, after intense combat, the Swedish troops attempt to break out but are ultimately defeated and killed.
This battle highlights the fierce resistance of the Estonian tribes against northern crusaders and the volatile nature of power in the Baltic region.

1219 Provencal: A second crusade begins, directed by the French royal court. This is supported by the nobility of Northern France in order to incorporate the South within greater France. The crusade takes Marmande and conducts a massacre there, before being repulsed at the walls of Toulouse by Count Raimond.

1219 (September) Rome: Prima Imanitosi of House Verditius succumbs to Final Twilight while experimenting in her laboratory. Next in line for Primus is Stouritus of covenant Ingasia on Lemnos, but he refuses to relocate to Verdi as tradition demands and declares Ingasia the new domus magna.
This is what you get for having no House means to override a Primus decision.

1219 Thebes: Gervase, the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople dies.
The post is still to be filled.

1219: A papal decree (expanding prohibitions set at the 1215 Fourth Lateran Council) forbids secular clergy from absenting themselves from their pastoral duties to study medicine or law.
The Church is obviously suspicious that the medici will put the patient's physical health before their Spiritual well being, and their fees before either…
Upset by its growing popularity, the masters at Paris University are explicitly forbidden by the pope to teach civil law, and also banned from teaching the New Aristotle.

[---]

1220: Papal decree demands that degrees at the University of Paris are bestowed on the master’s recommendation alone, and states that the chancellor of Notre Dame, Phillipus de Grevia, is compelled to follow their recommendations.
Also see 1200. This surely exacerbates the tension.

1220 Iberia: Alfonso IX of Leon founds a new university in Salamanca with ambitions to rival the best on the continent. However, in popular opinion, the university is associated with sorcery.
A cave on the site was previously believed to be a school for black magic. In Spanish, Salamanca can mean "cave", "an evil iguana" and "sleight of hand". The Salamanquesa is a reptile with magical attributes in the Spanish tradition.

1220 Levant: Far northwest of the Tribunal, the seer of Bayalaqan - the most important city in Arran, having ravingly predicted a "storm gathering in the east" is proven right as the Mongols descend on the city, slaughter the inhabitants and burn it down.

1220 (May) Stonehenge: At the age of twelve, Henry III's second coronation at Westminster Abbey. During the ceremony, he is reminded of his duties to maintain peace and defend the rights of the English crown, while the barons swear fealty to him.
This coronation marks a pivotal moment in English history, with potential implications for the stability of the region and the interests of magi operating within the British Isles.

1220 Thebes: War breaks out between the Latin Empire and Nicea. In the summer Sultan Kaikawus I dies, succeeded by his son Kayqubad I who begins to fortify the Anatolian highlands

1220 (Summer Solstice) Provencal: Flambeau tournament held at Castra Solis (domus magna), at summer solstice.

1220 Normandy: Magus William Fireheart of Ungulus, last of that covenant's line of Flambeau, killed in Wizard’s War with a mage of Fudarus.
The volatile William Fireheart had dodged Renunciation for years, and was no doubt pleased to die in battle.

1220 Novgorod: An Estonian crusader force, supported by Revalians, Harrians, and Vironians, attempts to conquer the Danish stronghold of Tallinn. The siege lasts for 14 days but ultimately ends with the Estonian forces retreating.
This event underscores the ongoing struggle for control in the Baltic region and the resilience of the Danish occupiers. The failed siege also leads to shifts in local power dynamics, with potential ramifications for the magical landscape of the area. ​

1220 Rhine: Following a ritual murder libel, a violent mob attacks the Jewish community in Erfurt, Duchy of Thuringia. The synagogue is stormed, and many Jews are tortured and killed, while the Jewish quarter is razed.
The tragic event reflects the pervasive tensions and dangers faced by minority communities in medieval Europe. There is some speculation that the unrest may have been exacerbated by Infernal influences seeking to sow discord and suffering.

1220 Rome: Mathematician Lionardo Bonacci of Pisa (Fibonacci) publishes Practica Geometriae, a treatise on geometry and a sequel to his 1202 work Liber Abaci (on arithmetic and the use of Hindu-Arabic numerals).

1220 (November) Rome: In a grand ceremony in Rome, The German King Friedrich II (Frederick II) is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Honorius III - after promising to undertake a new crusade. Following his coronation, Friedrich implements significant reforms in Sicily, establishing it as an absolute monarchy with Palermo as its principal seat.
The hedge wizard, famous philosopher and astrologer Michael Scotus returns to Palermo and becomes court magician for the Emperor.
Hermetic scholars observe Friedrich's court with interest, particularly his patronage of scholars and rumored engagement with esoteric knowledge.
Scotus, among many other things, has written "Every astrologer is worthy of praise and honor, since by such a doctrine as astrology he probably knows many secrets of God, and things known to few." It is said that the legendary Michael Scotus feasts his friends with dishes brought by blessed spirits from the royal kitchens of France, Spain, and other countries. He is also rumored to have petrified a coven of witches, the "Tall Meg and Her Daughters" stone circle in Cumbria.

1221: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1221 Novgorod Tribunal: Debate about the new terror out of the East, a barbarian people called the Mongols that have appeared to the east and south-east of the Tribunal.
Reportedly, the Mongols are also supported by Gifted individuals of an unknown tradition.

1221 Levant Tribunal: Renewal of the Treaty of Baghdad due in 1223 is heatedly discussed. Crusading magi have called vehemently for the rejection of the treaty this time, so that they can aid their mundane allies in Egypt. A scramble has begun to gather votes before the next meeting.
The fate of the Tribunal rests on the outcome of this meeting. The treaty may be kept, in which case little will change, or it may be rejected, in which case the Tribunal may slide into chaos again.

1221 Levant: After a protracted campaign, the crusader forces occupying the Egyptian city of Damietta attempt to advance towards Cairo but are encircled by Sultan Al-Kamil's army. Cut off from supplies and weakened by disease, the crusaders are compelled to surrender. In August 1221, they evacuate Damietta and agree to an eight-year truce, marking the unsuccessful conclusion of the Fifth Crusade.

1221 Rhine Tribunal: Prima Murion of Bonisagus is Praeco and Caecillius of Bjornaer from Durenmar is presiding Quaesitor.
Fengheld proposes that an investigation into the Rhine’s oldest magus should be conducted, and presented at the following Tribunal.
Surely as another move to break Durenmar’s stranglehold on the Tribunal.
New covenant Heorot on Zealand is voted into the Tribunal after a great speech by their leader Magister Signum Irruptus of House Criamon. There is debate however, as the area traditionally belongs to Novgorod - but they haven’t done anything there for a very long time so the concern is dismissed.
Irencillia and Crintera again lament on mundane encroachment on the forests and want the Order to take firm action. Nothing concrete happens and the issue will be brought up again next Tribunal.
Another ridiculous suggestion from Irencillia to move the entire Order into faerie regions is laughed off and not even voted on.
Daria La Gris of Tremere, leader of Triamore, accuses Tabania for interference with the mundane. When Tabania was a peregrinator in Triamore, she found out that a local noble had a permanent magic item - a coat that keeps the rain out. She had protested this, but Daria had respectfully told her not to interfere with the covenant’s business. Tabana then stole the coat, as she did not agree that mundane can have magical items, but was found out by the noble who complained to Triamore. After some debate, the presiding Quaesitor orders Tabania to return the cape and pay three vis to Triamore.
There is now a fresh legal precedent for mundanes to own magic items. Perhaps this was just a cleverly engineered ruse to get this exact result?

1221 Stonehenge: Archbishop Stephen Langton convenes a church council at Osney Abbey in Oxford. This synod enacts several canonical statutes, notably imposing stringent measures against the Jewish population. These include prohibitions on social interactions between Jews and Christians, the imposition of distinctive identifying badges for Jews, and restrictions on the construction of new synagogues.
These decrees exacerbate existing tensions and lay the groundwork for future expulsions of Jewish communities in England. ​

1222 (May) Levant: A devastating earthquake strikes the island of Cyprus, causing significant destruction and loss of life. The tremors are felt across the Eastern Mediterranean region.
A destructive event of significant "magnitude"?

1222 Novgorod: As part of the ongoing Livonian Crusade, Danish forces attempt to conquer the island of Saaremaa. Despite their efforts, the campaign fails to secure the island from the heathens.

1222 Rome: The University of Padua is founded, with coastal access through its neighbor-city Venice.
Promptly emerging as a prominent center for learning and scholarship in Europe.

1222 Stonehenge Tribunal: Late but quorate.

1222 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1222: The six-year-old Erik Eriksson is elected as King Erik XI of Sweden. His minority reign necessitates the establishment of a regency council.

1222 (October): Total lunar eclipse.

1222 (December) Rome: A powerful earthquake strikes the city of Brescia on Christmas Day, leading residents to evacuate and seek refuge outside the city walls to avoid collapsing structures.
Again?

1223: The Emperor’s court magician, the hedge wizard Michael Scotus is offered the role of Archbishop of Cashel in Ireland by Pope Honorius III. He declines.

1223 Iberia: Following the death of his father, King Afonso II, Sancho II ascends to the Portuguese throne. His reign begins amidst tensions with the Catholic Church, stemming from disputes over ecclesiastical privileges and property. ​

1223 Novgorod: Mongols shatter a large mortal army of Russians and Cumans at the Battle of Kalka river, then mysteriously depart.

1223 Normandy: King Philippe II, known as Philip Augustus, passes away in Mantes at the age of 57. His reign, spanning from 1180 to 1223, is marked by significant territorial expansion and consolidation of royal power. Philippe's strategic marriages and military campaigns have transformed France into a formidable European power. He is succeeded by his son, Louis VIII.

1223 Rhine: Count Heinrich von Schwerin captures King Valdemar II of Denmark on the island of Lyø. This significantly weakens Danish influence in the Baltic region and shifts the balance of power among the northern European states.

1223 Stonehenge: Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of Gwynedd, crosses into Shropshire and captures the castles of Kinnerley and Whittington. This bold move prompts a military response from William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, leading to a series of engagements that underscore the ongoing tensions between the Welsh principalities and the English crown. ​
Later in the year, attempts to broker peace between Llywelyn and William Marshal, mediated by Archbishop Stephen Langton, collapse. The failure of these talks leads to Llywelyn's excommunication and further military confrontations. IN october, Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, along with fellow Welsh princes Maelgwn ap Rhys and Rhys Gryg, formally submit to King Henry III of England.

1223 Transylvania: 20,000 families of Cumans settle in Hungary, under the agreement that they will become Christians and fight the Mongols if they return.

1224: Francis of Assisi develops unusual wounds, lumps of flesh on his hands take the shape of nail heads on one side of the hand and sharp nail points on the other.
These sound like magical stigmata, like those possessed by House Criamon members or like strange Twilight scars.

1224 (Summer Solstice) Provencal: Flambeau tournament held at Castra Solis (domus magna).

1224 Rome: Emperor Friedrich II offers patronage to the covenant of Literatus. This emperor is noted for his learning and patronage of the wise.

1224 Rome: Filii of Literatus found a new covenant in Naples. The Naples covenant may have been founded with the Emperor's aid; the issue is not clear.

1225 Africa: The three century agreement (since 925, when Iberian sahirs joined the Order) banning covenants in Africa expires. At least some magi are eager to explore the new lands and the wonders therein.

1226 (February): Total lunar eclipse.

1226 Rome: Other covenants in Rome seek to undermine the alliance of Literatus and the Emperor.

1227: The Emperor’s court magician, the hedge wizard Michael Scotus is again offered an archbishopry, this time that of Canterbury, by Pope Gregorious IX. He declines this one as well.

1227 Sixth Crusade: Emperor Friedrich II embarks on crusade, seven years after promising it. His army is stricken with fever and delayed; Friedrich is, after 20 days delay, excommunicated for malingering.
Rumor has it that magic may have been involved with the weird illness. Perhaps the Emperor’s friends at Literatus betrayed him?

1227: Regional Tribunals are held a year early, to prepare for the Grand Tribunal of the next year. Presumably the Stonehenge Tribunal, late one year since 1202, will synchronize with the Order.

1227 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1228 Normandy: Papal ban on teaching of Aristotle at the University of Paris.

1228 (Summer Solstice) Provencal: Flambeau tournament held at Castra Solis (domus magna), at summer solstice.

1228 Seventeenth Grand Tribunal.
House Tremere appeals the Theban Tribunal of 1207’s non-conviction of the disbanded League of Advisors for interference with mundanes.
Should this appeal be successful, it could have important consequences for
the autonomy of Tribunals in general and the Theban polity in particular.

1228: The Sixth Crusade finally departs under the Emperor’s command (while still excommunicated). It lands in Egypt with little opposition. The pope’s calls for Friedrich’s army to abandon the Emperor are in vain.

1228: Pope Gregorius IX invades the Emperor’s lands in Italy.

1229: The Sixth Crusade secures Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth, and a corridor of land, all in six months. Friedrich II is crowned king of Jerusalem while still excommunicated. The Emperor returns to Italy and quickly drives out his foes, but the Pope Gregorius IX excommunicates him again.

1229: End of the Albigensian Crusade.

1230: The pope and Emperor are reconciled; the Emperor is absolved. For appearance’s sake, Freidrich repays the pope’s "leniency" by issuing a strong edict against heretics, strengthening the newly formed Inquisition. However, Friedrich makes it clear that Roman Magi, particularly those of Literatus, are to be spared the Inquisitor’s torch (at least in the early years of the purge).
Jokes persist in the Imperial court, retelling how Friedrich discovered the pope in his chambers, in the company of a goat, three strong servants and a bucket of miller’s grease.

1230–1234 Novgorod: A civil war between the Knights of the Sword and the Church, over the conduct of the Knights toward their ecclesiastical superiors. This points to a disunity in the Church, possibly of use if a crusade is preached against the Order.

1231: Papal Bull Excommunicamus forms the Inquisition to root out heresy. They focus initially on the Albigensian movement, under the guidance of the Dominicans.

1232 (Summer Solstice) Provencal: Flambeau tournament held at Castra Solis (domus magna), at summer solstice.

1232 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1232 Normandy: A mortal, Hubert de Burgh, is accused of taking from the vaults of the king of France a magic gemstone that conferred invincibility in combat, and delivering it to an enemy of the king.

1233 (September): Total lunar eclipse.

1235: The strained peace between the Empire and communes of northern Italy comes to an end. Hoping to gain greater independence from the Empire, northern cities aid Friedrich’s son, Heinrich, to rise against the Emperor. Friedrich's forces, populated even by Saracens loyal to him - evidence of Friedrich II’s still liberal mind - defeat the communes.

1235: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1235 Rome: The twenty-fifth Verdi Competition.

1236 (Summer Solstice) Provencal: Flambeau tournament held at Castra Solis (domus magna), at summer solstice.

1237 (January): Total lunar eclipse.

1237 Rome: The magi of Literatus take an active role in destroying a group of diabolists in Milan, at the behest of Friedrich II.

1237 Novgorod: The Knights of the Sword subordinated to the Teutonic Knights. This is intended to resolve lingering problems of obedience by the Knights of the Sword. The Teutonic Knights descend hereafter into brutality and barbarism. Indicating deep corruption among the crusaders by this point.

1237: The Mongol Horde returns and conquers much of eastern Europe. In the midst of this, the Teutonic Knights wage war on the Russians, who are caught between two invading armies.

1238–1311: Life of Arnold of Villanova, physician and alchemist.

1239: Emperor Friedrich II excommunicated for the second time. The pope calls him a heretic, rake, and the Antichrist.

1239 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1240 (Summer Solstice) Provencal: Flambeau tournament held at Castra Solis (domus magna), at summer solstice.

1240 Rome: Magi of Literatus covenant helps Friedrich II capture hundreds of clergy. A special Tribunal disbands the covenant later in this year.
The covenant in Naples picks up where Literatus left off, before Friedrich II corrupted Literatus.

1241 Novgorod:

1241 Novgorod: The Mongols devastate the nobility of Poland, Moravia and the Knights Templar at the Battle of Legnica (Liegnitz) April 9th. They withdraw later in the year, as mysteriously as they had come, but keep control over Kievan Rus.

1241 Transylvania: A second Mongolian army invades the Kingdom of Hungary, and crushes Hungarians, Croatians, Austrians and Templars at the Battle of Mohi on April 11th.
More than half of all settlements of the Kingdom of Hungary are destroyed. The combination of massacres perpetrated by the Mongols, the famines induced by their foraging, and the simultaneous devastation of the countryside by the fleeing Cumans result in an estimated loss of a fifth to a fourth of Hungary's population, up to half a million people killed.
County of Leczyca raided by Mongols, effect on Leczyca covenant unclear.

1242: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1242 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1243 Rhine: Famine sweeps Germany, spurred by a plague of rats.

1243: Nearly two years after the death of his predecessor, Innocentius IV becomes pope. Innocentius is determined to eliminate the blight called Friedrich II.

1245: Emperor Friedrich II deposed by order of the pope. Civil war breaks out across Germany.

1247 (December): Total lunar eclipse.

1247 Rome: Some magi of the Roman Tribunal move against demons afflicting the court of Emperor Friedrich II.
Whether the Emperor himself is influenced by demons is hotly disputed.

1247: The Order hosts the Fourth Secular (every 120 years).
Some discussion of canceling it, because of the unprecedented feast that follows in 1248.

1248: Seventh Crusade, led by Louis IX of France begins.

1248: A new Cathedral is begun in Cologne to more greatly honor the Relics of the Three Magi. Their reliquary has become a great pilgrimage site, and the old cathedral is considered inadequate.

1248 (May 22): A total eclipse of the sun progresses across Europe, beginning in Hibernia and crossing to Levant in the space of four hours, ending over Jerusalem.
Effect hotly debated and highly anticipated.

1248: The Order celebrates the 2,000th anniversary of the founding of Rome. A feast of unprecedented opulence and size hosted by the magus who most impressed the other Gastronomers during the Jerbiton annual feasts at Valnastium between 1218 and 1228.

1249: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1250: Seventh Crusade ends with the complete rout of the French, and Louis’s capture by the egyptians at the battle of Fariskur.

1250: Emperor Friedrich II finally dies, worn down by long wars or the sins of his soul. The battles of Friederich’s reign leave northern Italy in ruins, and under the rule of wicked tyrants. Furthermore, rivalries between cities and parties intensify, causing ceaseless fighting for the next half century. It’s as if the evil of Friedrich,
at the end of his life, is so great that it lives in the minds and hearts of Italians for years to come. Indeed, Friedrich II is remembered as the Anti-Christ.
His last days are spent in a Cistercian monastery, no doubt in an attempt to save his soul as Friedrich Barbarossa had done. However, it’s believed Friedrich II’s soul is carried by demons to the pit of Mount Etna.

1251 The Shepherd's Crusade: A popular crusade of poor shepherds and peasants from the Low Countries and northern France who went out with the objective of aiding the captive Louis IX and rescuing the Holy Land from the infidels. After his release from the Egyptians, Louis sends his brothers to France to obtain relief and his mother Blanche of Castile, acting as regent, endeavour in vain to find reinforcements as neither the noblemen nor the clergy will help. At this juncture the citizens rise up, announcing that they would go to the king's rescue. At Easter time 1251, a mysterious person known as the Le Maître de Hongrie (Master of Hungary) began to preach a crusade to the shepherds in the north of France, always holding a map supposedly given to him by the Virgin Mary. He draws large crowds and allow them to take the cross without papal authorization.

1251 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1252 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1253 Rome: The twenty-sixth Verdi Competition.

1254: The Great Interregnum. The Imperial Throne remains empty from the death of Konrad IV to the reign of Rudolph, nineteen years later.

1255 (July): Total lunar eclipse.

1256: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1257: Germany and Italy afflicted by crop failure, famine, and disease. These disasters are thought to be Divine punishment for widespread sin. This in turn gives rise to the flagellant movement, whose members live in strict discipline, wear uniforms, and conduct public and private self-flagellation to atone for the sins that have offended God.

1258 Levant: The Mongol horde take Baghdad, roll the caliph up in a carpet and trample him to death - following the Mongol custom that forbids the shedding of royal blood onto the ground.

1258 (May): Total lunar eclipse (in southern Europe).

1259 Rome: Some magi of this Tribunal wage a campaign against demon-influenced rulers in northern Italy.

1260 Levant: The Mongols are turned back when their advance is checked in Syria by a Mamluk army from Egypt.

1261 The Eighteenth Grand Tribunal:
It has been observed that in the mundane world, the coming decades will see increased conflict between Church and kings. The Church press claim of universal authority stemming from its spiritual authority.

1262 (August): Total lunar eclipse (western Europe only).

1262 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1263: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1263 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1265 (December): Total lunar eclipse on Christmas day.

1266 Rome: A mortal, Charles of Anjou, was some years before crowned king of Sicily by the pope. In this year he arrives to press his claim, and among his advisors are the magi of Windgraven.
This leads to a period of Roman-Provencal Tribunal friction.

1270: The Eighth Crusade, led by Louis IX of France. The army is afflicted by plague after landing in Carthage, and the king dies.

1270: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1271 Rome: The twenty-seventh Verdi Competition.

1272 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1273: The Great Interregnum ends after nineteen years with the election of Rudolf I.

1275 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1276 (November): Total lunar eclipse.

1277: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1280 (March): Total lunar eclipse.

1282 Rome: The magi of the Provencal covenant Mistridge begin a campaign to oppose their old enemy, Windgraven, in the Roman Tribunal.

1282 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1284 Rhine: A strange piper leads away the rats of Hamelin using the magical music of his pipe. After the people of that town refuse his fee, he leads away their children.
Whether he was demon, faerie, or Hedge Wizard, we know not.

1284: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1287 (October): Total lunar eclipse.

1287 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1289 Rome: The twenty-eighth Verdi Competition.

1291 (February): Total lunar eclipse.

1291: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1292 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1294 Nineteenth Grand Tribunal: The Roman and Provencal Tribunals clash over issues of cross-Tribunal interference and meddling in mortal affairs.
The Church continues to press claim of universal authority stemming from its spiritual authority, but falls increasingly under the influence of the French crown under Philip IV (Philippe le Bel), who it has come to rely on for military aid.

1294 Stonehenge: Famine in England, possibly due to excessive exporting of grain.

1298: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1299 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1300 Iberia: Last of the known diabolic Flaming Shadow magi killed.

1302 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1305: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1307 Rome: The twenty-ninth Verdi Competition.

1307–1314: The Knights Templar are accused of heresy and idolatry, discredited, tried, and the leaders of the order executed. The surviving Templars are spread through other Crusading orders and the lands of the Templars seized by local mortal authorities.
It seems that the kings to whom the Templars loaned money did not wish to pay it back.

1309: Papal seat removed to Avignon.

1311 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1312: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1312 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1315: A three year famine strikes western Europe.

1319: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1320: Pope John XXII issues Bull Super Illius Specula, condemning ritual magic as diabolism and heresy.

1322 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1323 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1325 Rome: The Thirtieth Verdi Competition.

1326: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1327 Twentieth Grand Tribunal:

1327 Rhine: A great fire burns much of Munich.

1332 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1333: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1335 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1337 Beginning of the Hundred Year’s War between England and France over English claims to the throne of France and the French holdings of the English king.

1340: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1342 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1343 Rome: The thirty-first Verdi Competition.

1346 Normandy: Reports of a new mundane engine employed at the Battle of Crecy. The engine propels a solid stone or metal ball with a thunderclap.

1347–1351: The Black Death ravages Europe, killing roughly one-third of the mundane population.

1347: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1347 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1352 Transylvania: Tremere conference at Coeris.

1354: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1357 Iberia: Destruction of Estancia-es-Karida covenant by its own magi, fleeing the Inquisition. Most of the covenant escapes through its Hermes Portal, but one stays behind to collapse the building.

1359 Rhine: The Bjornaer Gathering of Twelve Years at Crintera.

1360 Twenty-first Grand Tribunal:

1361: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1368: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1375: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1382: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1389: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

1393 Twenty-second Grand Tribunal:

1396: Regional Tribunal Meetings.

APPENDIX#

Thoth, Hermes and Mercurius#

"Quod est superius est sicut quod inferius, et quod inferius est sicut quod est superius."
("That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above." or simply "As above, so below")
– Hermes Trismegistus (Hermes the Thrice-Great). The beginning of the "Tabula Smaragdina" (Emerald Tablet)

Hermes was born from the union of Zeus with the nymph Maia, on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, and later took on the role as messenger of the Greek god Zeus. With winged helmet and feet he would fly on the winds and deliver information, threats, orders, or whatever else it was that Zeus required; and was the god of mental activity, gambling, and business. Hermes loved trickery and sudden turns of fate, often bringing victory to heroes and gods in need; as god of travelers and night, he also rules dreams, prophecy, and escorts the dead to the underworld.
During the Greco-Egyptian period, the Greeks saw in Thoth many similar attributes to their own god Hermes and the two were essentially married in name to represent the same ideas. During the Roman period, the god Mercurius, or Mercury was added, and with it, one of the more significant astrological associations for Thoth-Hermes, also known as Thoth-Hermes-Mercurius.

Works Cited - version 1.1#

[Note: this section unchanged by the 2.0 compiler. However, with v2.50, the entries from books not under Open License - that aren't covered by Open License material - has been removed.]

Most of the works cited are Ars Magica supplements, but a few "mundane" texts were consulted. Most of the abbreviations of the titles are likely to be fairly obvious to the long-time Ars Magica player, but for the less experienced a full list of supplements is provided.

Ars Magica Texts:

BaS: Blood and Sand
BCC: The Broken Covenant of Calebais
Covenants: Covenants
DatB: Dragon and the Bear
FA: The Fallen Angel
HoH: Houses of Hermes
HtM: Heirs to Merlin
Iberia: Tribunals of Hermes: Iberia
Kabbalah: Kabbalah: Mythic Judaism
LotN: Lion of the North
Maleficium: The Maleficium
MB: Medieval Bestiary
MBRE: Medieval Bestiary, Revised Edition
ME: Mythic Europe
Mistridge: Mistridge
MND: A Midsummer Night's Dream
MS: Mythic Seas
ON: Ordo Nobilis
OoH: Order of Hermes
PD: Pax Dei
Rome: Tribunals of Hermes: Rome
Saga Pack: Saga Pack
SoI: Sanctum of Ice
Stormrider: Stormrider
RotSR: Return of the Stormrider
Tempest: The Tempest
Triamore: Triamore: The Covenant at Lucien's Folly
UT: Ultima Thule
WG: The Wizard's Grimoire
WGRE: Wizard's Grimoire, Revised Edition
WT: A Winter's Tale

Mundane Texts
These are some of the texts used to prepare the non-Mythic Europe specific entries.
Legends of the World, Edited by Richard Cavendish
Magic in the Middle Ages, by Richard Kiekefer
The People's Chronology, Edited by James Trager
Other texts were consulted and titles not noted; this is particularly true of the "Era of" entries for Charlemagne, Beowulf, Arthur, etc. Several entries of "legendary historical" characters were extrapolated, and no authority is claimed or cited. If Lyonesse sank toward the end of Arthur's Reign, and Beowulf’s predecessor’s sent Saxons to England in Arthur's predecessor's period, then all three are roughly contemporary. Similarly, the fall of Troy is a historical event around 1200 BC, and is in the later Greek Heroic Age, so the Heroic Age occurred around 1200 BC. The exercise of confirmation is left to the reader.
Images
Arts and Houses symbols originally designed by Richard Thomas for Ars Magica.

Works Cited - version 2.0x#

A harsh but difficult choice was made to remove all citations in the timeline, as the document is overhauled and rewritten to be player-facing directly (and to improve player legibility, and avoid too easy "cheating"). All the previous work cited pre-Arm5e works, and there are many inconsistencies. Rewriting everything to add Arm5e citations as well would have been a big task in itself.

The ambition is also for the document to be more self-contained, which is why as many entries as possible have been expanded to put them in the proper context.
When needed, it should not be that difficult to find the suitable Arm5e supplement.

Note: 2.20 adds Finis Terrae.

See Versioning Information below for available details.

Versioning Information & Changes#

This Chronology was based on OM version v1.2 which only had few rewrites and minor changes relative to "The Chronology of the Order of Hermes" (Version 1.1, completely pre-ArM5e).
You can find the source here (can be useful if you want to find the citations for earlier (pre-ArM5e) editions, which have been removed in these later versions):
https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/hermetic-timeline/1003

OM Version 2.0x to 2.06 updates & changes#

• Posted this to the Atlas forum (if you have a copy, and not using the gdocs, you can look here for latest version and discussion): https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/ars-magica-chronology-an-in-progress-updated-really-big-fat-timeline-of-the-order/171381
  
• Tons of formatting, cleanup and language improvement
  
• Removal of Age of Aries dates (as in ArM5e) on all entries - much less clutter (it’s just a matter of 139 year difference, or actually 138 when year 0 does not exist in used calendars)
  
• Removed the word "Mythic" from all references such as "Mythic Europe", "Mythic Pounds" etc. No self-respecting magus or maga would refer to themselves as Mythic…
  
• Changed all entries of Dav’nalleus to Gaelic name Damhan-Allaidh as per ArM5e standard.
  
• Rewrote the foreword
  
• Added an about the Order blurb section
  • + Reference to the fun "Dialect on the Wizards of Hermes"
    
• Added and clarified the Four Major Crises of the Order.
  
• Uncounted clarifications and minor adjustments not breaking canon or changing dates.
  
• Adding depth and commentary to uncounted entries - while trying to avoid breaking canon as much as possible.
  
• Adding ambiguity and (as in later revisions) uncertainty to many entries. After all, this is a colored "historical record" with unknowns and errors. However, no outright known errors have been added.
  
• Contemporary Christian-centric view of creation of the World and its age. Atlantean prehistory, what nonsense!
  
• Schism War entries rewritten and attempted to bring more in-line to recent canon (a few too many sources makes it a somewhat difficult job, some select choices have been made)
  
• Incorporated the Thebes Timeline (ArM5e) found here: https://www.atlas-games.com/pdf_storage/ThebesTimeline.pdf
  
• Incorporated Arm5e timeline from Houses of Hermes: True Lineages (p144). Several parts expanded with lore from the book. Added the Tribunal rulings. There are a few more important historical facts from this book that should be added, but these don’t have established dates in this book unfortunately. Waiting a bit with those.
  
• Incorporated several parts from Houses of Hermes: Societates. In particular, Flambeau’s history required quite a few changes to update to Arm5e canon. However, Flambeau’s history has had a lot of (more or less controversial) changes over the years (mainly towards nerfing Flambeau), and especially with Arm5e canon. Note that this chronology retains a few items of the older version. There are a few more important historical facts from this book that should be added, but these don’t have established dates in this book unfortunately. Waiting a bit with those.
  
• Incorporated parts from Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults. There are a few more important historical facts from this book that should be added, but these don’t have established dates in this book unfortunately. Waiting a bit with those.
  • A note on sale of magical items becoming restricted in 1061 (for whole order) as written in this book does not make sense since there is no Grand Tribunal this year. There is a regional Tribunal but that does not make sense either to be so fast. We’ll stick with earlier canon that this is where Quaesitor Iernilus' investigation starts, and the decisions are in 1068 at the Roman Tribunal. The rest of the Order can be considered to slowly adapt afterwards.
    
  • Note: Transforming Mythic Europe and Core rules also has the same 1061 date, but not the details as the earlier works. In Transforming… it’s ratified in the Grand Tribunal of 1063 (which in my opinion would be very fast).
    
• Incorporated many Rhine Tribunal events from Guardians of the Forest and updated to Arm5e canon (there may be more to get from this book).
  • For v2.06 reviewed a 2nd time. Added many Tribunal events. Book should be quite done.
    
• Moved the fall of Calebais from 1137 to 1170 and updated entries to be more in line with ArM5e Broken Covenant of Calebais supplement canon.
  
• Went back to ArM2e "The Tempest" to expand on some interesting and important pre-Order events (Cult of Mercury vs Druids).
  
• Re-reviewed ArM4e Heirs to Merlin: Stonehenge Tribunal and improved many events.
  
• Reviewed ArM4e Blood & Sand, The Levant Tribunal and added over a dozen events and all covenant foundings (It seems like this supplement was never covered by earlier iteration).
  
• Added 1214 Hadrianus event hook that can start ArM4e Icelandic Wars.
  
• Reviewed and added some additional suitable items from the following ArM3e books (v.1.1 already covered all 1e to 4e):
  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream
    
  • Houses of Hermes
    
  • Medieval Handbook
    
  • Mistridge
    
  • Mythic Europe
    
  • Mythic Places
    
  • Pax Dei
    
  • Tribunals of Hermes - Iberia
    
  • Tribunals of Hermes - Rome
    
  • Twelfth Night
    
• Reviewed and added suitable items from the following ArM4e books (v.1.1 already covered nearly all 1e to 4e):
  • Blood & Sand, The Levant Tribunal
    
  • The Dragon and the Bear - The Novgorod Tribunal
    
  • Faeries
    
  • Icelandic Wars (PDF)
    
  • Hedge Magic
    
  • Heirs to Merlin: Stonehenge Tribunal
    
  • Kabbalah
    
  • Land of Fire & Ice, Mythic Iceland
    
  • The Mysteries
    
  • Ordo Nobilis
    
  • Triamore
    
  • Ultima Thule - Mythic Scandinavia
    
  • The Wizard’s Grimoire
    
• Reviewed and added suitable items from ALL ArM5e books (these books were not covered by v1.1 and have all been, now considered as "done" - at least as a first good pass):
  • Against the Dark - The Transylvanian Tribunal
    
  • Ancient Magic
    
  • Antagonists (no events added)
    
  • Apprentices
    
  • Art & Academe
    
  • Between Sand & Sea: Mythic Africa
    
  • Broken Covenant of Calebais
    
  • The Church
    
  • City & Guild
    
  • The Contested Isle - The Hibernian Tribunal
    
  • Core Rules
    
  • Covenants
    
  • The Cradle & The Crescent
    
  • Dies Irae
    
  • Faith & Flame - The Provencal Tribunal
    
  • Grogs (no events added)
    
  • Guardians of the Forests - The Rhine Tribunal
    
  • Hedge Magic Revised (no events added)
    
  • Hermetic Projects (no events added)
    
  • Hooks
    
  • Houses of Hermes - Mystery Cults
    
  • Houses of Hermes - Societates
    
  • Houses of Hermes - True Lineages
    
  • Lands of the Nile
    
  • Legends of Hermes
    
  • The Lion and the Lily - The Normandy Tribunal
    
  • Lords of Men (no new events added)
    
  • Magi of Hermes (no events added)
    
  • The Mysteries Revised
    
  • Mythic Locations
    
  • Realms of Power: The Divine (Revised)
    
  • Realms of Power: Faerie (no events added)
    
  • Realms of Power: Infernal
    
  • Realms of Power: Magic (no events added)
    
  • Rival Magic (no events added)
    
  • The Sundered Eagle - The Theban Tribunal
    
  • Tales of Mythic Europe
    
  • Tales of Power (no events added)
    
  • Thrice-Told Tales
    
  • Through the Aegis
    
  • Transforming Mythic Europe
    
• Added or expanded several interesting "historical" events, including (but not limited to):
  • Ancient Egypt
    
  • Hellenic legends
    
  • A few biblical items
    
  • Bladud, Lucius etc from Geoffrey of Monmouth
    
  • Greek philosophers
    
  • The works of Hermes Trismegistus (took some liberty in attribution)
    
  • Alchemists
    
  • Julius Caesar
    
  • Gallic wars
    
  • First Emperor Augustus
    
  • Conquest of Britain
    
  • Beowulf
    
  • Saint George
    
  • More german heroes
    
  • Merovingian kings
    
  • Charlemagne
    
  • The Crusades (keeping it light - focusing on the most important - not to take over the timeline)
    
  • Fibonacci
    
  • Sackings of Rome, and other important turning points of civilization at the time (where major repercussions to setting)
    
  • 1179 Third Lateran Council
    
  • 1206 Thurkills purgatory story
    
  • 1215 Fourth Lateran Council - as it’s rulings had significant impact
    
  • Some relevant town charters
    
  • Papacy updates (some of the most important updates for setting)
    
  • Friedrich II (Frederick II) items (important, as he’s the Emperor, and strongest secular power of the setting)
    
  • Michael Scotus (Scot)
    
  • [So many many more additions, mostly added before this versioning started.]

OM version 2.07 updates#

• Rereviewed, updated and expanded Grand Tribunal and Tribunal rulings, mainly based on source material in ArM4e. Specifically Hermetic Law and Politics.

OM version 2.08 updates#

• Mostly minor fixes, spellings etc over several months. Many from community suggestions, thanks!
  
• Version update set to 2023-06-14

OM version 2.10+ updates 2023-2024#

• Numerous minor edits over the past year.
  
• Many crowd-source editing suggestions

OM version 2.20 The Finis Terrae update 2024-06-07#

• Merged in chronology from the spanish 5e Iberian supplement "Finis Terrae". Huge thanks to Kuni Mizomura al-Tŷtalī and Antomonio who kindly provided 120+ entries over roughly 11 pages of similarly formatted Chronology. Several fixes and merges still needed to be made for continuity (and an entry or two had different time from previously, e.g. Concietta 923 or 930), but this made it a lot easier (feel free to provide more such)
  • You can find these as "Iberia" entries from 698 through 1218. Note: Not all Iberia entries are new.
    
  • Some items were added to Grand- and Rhine Tribunals.
    
  • These provide some new excellent entries in the history of the Order.
    
  • Note that Finis Terrae may not be seen as fully canon as it is by separate publishing and not available in English. However, IMHO all the entries fit in great with the rest and deserve the spot.

OM version 2.21 update 2024-08-06#

• Numerous minor edits as found (as usual)
  
• Version bump due to re-review of Faith & Flame. Many added Provencal entries.

OM version 2.22 update 2024-09-04#

• Belated rework and update on Pralix and The Spider War, more in line with the 5e and Thrice Told Tales in particular.
  • Edited some, but mostly new entries 798 to 810.
    
  • Moved several old entries out of timeline (saved in the Appendix entries)
    
  • Brude Deathless was removed/replaced in 5e canon with Damhadh-Duidas (although several things still seem different, and they made his tradition Infernal! Not personally a fan of that…). The name change is likely to have his kinship with Damhan-Allaidh be more apparent in the name. Good ole Brude heavily features in 3e Lion of the North - Loch Leglean Tribunal - which I delved personally into earlier (and therefore it was heavily featured in the earlier timeline). Brude is now removed from timeline (as the name doesn’t exist anywhere in 5e). Old entries are in the Appendix items. The 1099 Entry was simply replaced with Damhadh-Duidas.

OM version 2.23 update 2024-12-15#

• Thanks to Ptitboul who prompted further update to The Spider War entries at the beginning of the 9th century. They’ve been cleaned up a bit further (including the Four Major Crisis Entry at the beginning - an earlier oversight). This includes the founding of Ex Miscellanea and Diedne vs Pralix fight. The earlier "Canon" date for founding of Ordo Ex Miscellanea does not make sense in relation with the Spider War. Date of founding has been moved from 816 to 811 to fit better with the rest of history. The 816 date was actually not part of any of the main 5e iterations (I could find no date set, or where I found that date eaerlier). Overall the Chronology should now be very much in line with what you’ll find in the Core Rules, Thrice Told Tales (has the 5e full appendix on the Spider War) and Houses of Hermes books.
  One identified exception: According to Thrice Told Tales; "Pralix never rejoined the Order". IMHO this really does not make sense as 1) Her entire Order did, and 2) She’s revered and noted as an additional Founder in so many other places. Her heart might not have been in it, and she stuck to Cad Gadu - but not rejoining, and not being at Grand Tribunal 817 does not make sense.
  
• Several entries with Quendalon and Guernicus, including 817 Grand Tribunal have been extended.
  
• 830 Rome entry on Magvillus was fixed after maastrictian1 kindly pointed it out.

OM version 2.24 update 2025-02-20#

• Added Ars Magica Open Licensing attribution.
  
• Fixed several dozen spelling and grammar errors. Thanks for reporting them through comments!
  
• Added non-canonical 1091 London Tornado for fun.

OM version 2.30 update 2025-02-27#

• Beginning preparations for reformatting and PDF release. The intent is to make an open license "Pay What You Want" release on DriveThruRPG and possibly elsewhere. I will remain available for free.
  
• Updated Attributions on page 2 (feel free to let me know if I forgot anyone, or if you prefer to be removed or name-changed).
  
• Added new "What is this?" abstract at beginning of document.
  
• Added a Table of Contents
  
• Added 6 pages of Glossary of Terms (a significant update, and will make the document more self-contained).
  
• Fixed more spelling and grammar errors throughout. Due to the many non-standard words and language used, as well as present tense in main entries - this remains a toil. Always happy for your kind reporting through gdoc comments (I’m trying to make sure the attribution lists who’s helped with identified significance).

OM version 2.40 update 2025-03-01#

• Another major update! (spending far too many hours, but enjoying it)
  
• Removing "Age of Aries" since 1) Ars Magica removed it with 5th edition (except for it being used erroneously in the Hermetic Oath, and 4 Tribunal ruling entries in Guardians of the Forest), and 2) it differed from real-world astrological ages, which was quite a bit jarring. It really made no sense to keep it around.
  
• Removing Age of Aries as a concept and from all chapters, which resulted into needing new chapters segmentation. I ended up doing a completely new and more logical set that divides Hermetic history into much more logical ages. I put some real thought into this, and I think it’s a great improvement:
  • The Age of Creation and Exile
    
  • A New Dawn and The Age of the First Magi
    
  • The Age of Hermetic Predecessors (1685-250 BC)
    
  • Rome and the Cult of Mercury (250 BC – AD 476)
    
  • The Dark Age of Magic (AD 476–731)
    
  • The Hermetic Ascendancy (AD 731–832)
    
  • The Age of Ambition and Intrigue (AD 833–910)
    
  • The Tide of Mars (AD 898–1018)
    
  • The Age of Faith and Fire (AD 1018-1160)
    
  • The Age of Dominion and Discovery (AD 1160- )
    
• The problem was now I had to write-up ALL new Ages headings, describing and summarizing the age at a higher level. This took a ton of effort and time. But the new headings here combined can now stand out as the complete high level story throughout Hermetic history (you can skip and read just them if you want). Should be a huge improvement in readability and enjoyment of the whole Chronology.
  
• Changed author’s foreword to match new structure.
  
• Since had to do that anyway, I reworked the early BC history quite a bit, making it more medievally biblical with maintained Ars Magica flavor. After all, this is what people believed at the time, "canon knowledge". I realigned timings and dates more with various versions of Genesis and apocrypha (while trying to stay somewhat on Saint Jeromes version, it’s very early and suitable for here) - for example matching biblical ages and lifespans of Adam and descendants and timing on things and expected number of years in-between and between eden and the Flood so it’s all much closer to the actual religion now. Nothing was really removed, but prehistorical and biblical dates were moved around and a ton of things added to make a more engaging Divine Lore - and what people actually believe(d) - or at least the unreliable narrator, being a somewhat read-up Christian.
  
• Added Gilgamesh in prehistory
  
• Cleaned and updated Imhotep in prehistory
  
• Changed Hiberian early history a bit when it comes to timing (matches better to various sources):
  • Partholons arrival C. 2600BC to 2300BC
    
  • Nemeds arrival C.2500BC to 1800BC
    
  • Fir Bolg arrival C. 2300BC to 1400BC
    
  • The Tuatha Dé Danann arrival C. 2100BC to C. 1050-1000BC
    
• Tower of babel moved from 2200BC to 3001BC, and solidified some interesting lore.
  
• Titanomachy moved from 3500BC to 3200BC
  
• Improved Mongol invasion and added several entries 1220-1260
  
• Reorganized appendix and versioning information a bit
  
• Minor errors and language in places
  
• This was the most fun update in a while (and I’m not making more of these I think). Enjoy!

OM version 2.41 update 2025-04-06#

• A few slight improvements on the chapter abstracts.
  
• Minor language edits and fixes. Combined a handful of entries.
  
• Added page numbers in footer
  
• Cleaned up inconsistent use of various length dashes throughout the entire document.
  
• Uneven use of smart quotation marks ("") and straight quotation marks (") throughout the document have been resolved to only use straight.
  
• Enhanced Trojan War, Founding of Rome, Moses, King Solomon.
  
• Added Lindisfarne (793) as it’s an event with significant impact on Christianity.
  
• Clarified some of Friedrich II’s actions in the late history.
  
• Reintroduced Birna. Actually only mentioned by name in two Arm5e products (Houses of Hermes - Mystery Cults and Through the Aegis) - but it’s canon that Birna was Bjornaers actual name.
  
• Astrological comments on auspice of the day of the Founding (see 767 entry).
  
• Upgraded entries 845-847 of Viking and Saracen raiding and its implications.
  
• Again readjustments on the timeline of Hibernian pre-history based on comments from the forum. Thanks in particular to Gary Barber.
  
• Added section of "Optional non-canon events" for interesting entries not on the default timeline that I have used for my own campaign. Including the 1227 "Fall of Durenmar".

OM version 2.50 - Massive Update 2025-04-21#

• Changed the Latin title from "Historia Magica et Ordinis Hermae" to the better and (likely) more grammatically correct "Historia Magica et Ordo Hermetis".
  
• The Old Testament Abraham, Moses and Age of Israel update:
  • Reviewed and worked all existing biblical entries from Abraham 2166 BC to birth of Jesus.
    
  • Added Hermetic pov versions of the Abrahamic lineages aligned to actual theological dates, with timing and event consistency with general biblical "scholar" consensus. Note: Sundered Eagle has date of 2016 BC for it, but Abraham’s birth is here set at 2166 BCE, a date derived by working backward from the Exodus, traditionally placed at 1446 BCE. This approach, common among scholars who take the biblical chronologies as historically exact, allows the entire patriarchal sequence - from Abraham to Moses - to unfold in a coherent, internally consistent timeline. It also aligns well with a setting that treats these biblical events as anchored historical milestones. The date is theological arithmetic, not archaeology or historiography.
    
  • Two dozen entries from Abraham to Joseph (2166-1800 BC)
    
  • Almost as many in the Age of Israel, Moses, Joshua, David, Saul, Solomon.
    
• As I did the bible, I just felt I had to balance things out a bit with the greek philosophers - establishing more of the base of Hermetic theory, very exciting! Upgraded/added the entries (Hermetic pov perspective) for Pythagoras, Parmenides, Empedocles, Zeno, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Hermes Trismegistus, Archimedes, Plotinus, Hipparchus. See 570 BC downwards.
  
• Revamped Ptolemy, and moved him to correct lifetime 100 CE (not BC) - too great an influence on astrology and Hermetic magic not to dive into his importance a bit more.
  
• Added Theft of Europa and fixed a few mythical Greek events.
  
• Added 1122: Concordat of Worms (a canon combined entry, with interesting ramifications)
  
• Made a cutoff section between 1219 and 1220, the default recommended start date for sagas - to align the book to be a bit more easily player facing at the typical campaign start without showing what the future will bring (intended to ensure at least a new page turn before spoilers). There are very interesting events going on in 1220 and beyond, which can serve as a great lead-in to adventures or as background events as the saga moves through history.
  
• As it's near the typical campaign start, the years of 1217-1223 were revamped with additional interesting and pivotal historical events that may be quite noticeable in the world, or at least the local Tribunal.
  
• The historically important 1212 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, followed by the Siege of Badajoz revamped.
  
• C. 200 BC: Plentarch's 38 golden tablets of Cult of Mercury rituals revamped (was needed due to removed item).
  
• 826-854 entry on Pendule revamped.
  
• Fixed and moved the few Tremere vampire references to get in-line with ArM5e canon from Against the Dark (older version canon purged). Note: The current material doesn't have an exact timeline, beyond that it was "about hundred years ago".
  
• Changed/removed entries on Val-Negra in and after 1012 to align with ArM5 canon that it was destroyed in 1012.
  
• Fixed entries on Jerbiton covenant of Barcelona and Kabbalists (in 1014+), to be more in-line with both Iberia AND ArM5 canon.
  
• Added 1096: The Peasants' Crusade, revamped the First Crusade, and corrected all capitalization of specific crusades (such as First Crusade), and the words crusade and crusaders.
  
• Changed all spellings of "Moslem" to "Muslim" for consistency. Use in Ars Magica supplements has been overall quite inconsistent with heavy use of both, but the latter is more used in Arm5 (including the core rules) as well as the real world (at least in 20th century and now).
  
• Fixed proper capitalization for Christian, Muslim, Jew etc.
  
• Fixed proper capitalization as titles - and standard non-capitalization of pope, bishop, rabbi.
  
• Decapitalized all instances of magi, magus, maga, domus magna as per current Ars Magica style guide.
  
• Reviewed the capitalization for Archmagus, Archmaga, Code, Hermetic, Hoplite, Prima/Primus/Primi, Quaesitor, Realm (and Magic, Faerie, Divine, Infernal when relating to the Realms), Tribunal as per Ars Magica style guide.
  
• Fixed all use of Quaesitor, Quaesitors, Quasitores to conform to Ars Magica style guide.
  
• Restandardized to double-dash (ln-dash) delineating time between years.
  
• A lot of legacy items were reviewed and removed to conform to actual Open License coverage. Unfortunately a fairly large amount of events had to be removed as they directly reference 2e to 4e material not released under the Open License. See separate heading "Legacy items without Open License coverage" below for details and removed items.
  
• Since the Chronology now is so rich and heavy, I decided to add an Abridged Timeline (it's a work in progress) - with just a summary of the most important events for a briefer overview. It's situated before the full chronology. I guess I've really gone full circle now…

OM version 2.52 - Minor fixes Update 2026-03-31#

• Numerous minor formatting, spaces and tabulation fixes based on community feedback over the past few months.
  
• Inconsistencies in Hibernian timeline fixed. Thanks Sheri F

OM version 2.53 - Minor fixes Update 2026-05-17#

• Minor formatting fixes
  
• Corrected to proper capitalization for Pope/pope and King/king throughout.
  
• Normalized all instances of king names Friedrich vs Frederick, Philip vs Philippe, Heinrich vs Henry etc. Mostly to have consistency and not mix up English and German kings.
  
• Expanded Heinrich V vs the papacy, the antipope and the investiture controversy a bit.
  
• Fixed many historical facts, corrected pope and king names.

OM version 2.54 - Minor fixes Update 2026-10-03#

• Another editorial review of all content and language, with many improvements, of the beginning sections: Introduction, Foreword, The Order of Hermes, The Four Crises, Abridged Timeline.
  
• Fixed and removed a lot of slanted (curly) apostrophes throughout the document to standardize on straight (only the ones for arabic names are left).
  
• Minor fixes as edits as found over the months since last version update.
  
• Reviewed all submitted suggestions. Shout-out thanks to John Nephew!

Items to find suitable slot for#

While Barcelona worked for peace between Reconquista and Roman Covenants, Jaferiya secretly provided support to Christian armies. The restrictions of the Quaesitors limited their activities, though, so Jaferiya’s efforts made little immediate difference in the peninsula’s reconquest.

Non-canonical items and deviations#

• The vast majority of the biblical and mythological entries in pre-Order history is not Ars Magica canon (beyond some timestamps), but the lore has been written to fit and deepen the legacy of the old times. Once the Order comes into play in the 8th century however, almost everything is canon Ars Magica.
  
• Pre-history is really everywhere across "canon" Ars Magica, as it was in the middle-ages and in theology. They all made up the dates anyway, nobody has it right. The timeline in this Chronology follows "The Sundered Eagle" most closely, and date of Creation was chosen from there (because it was earlier than most options and allowed most of the rest to fit). However, its date for the Flood does not match outright calculation from the bible (1656 years after creation) so that was changed - which also allows for repopulation - something an academic like the fictional author definitely thought of. As an example: The "Lands of the Nile" supplement follows Maimonides where earth was created 4058 BC and has the flood in 2402 BC (with the "correct" amount of years between). The rest of the timeline get's very tight and doesn't match so well with other things and repopulation.
  The dates used are therefore mostly arbitrarily chosen but thought has gone into timings as much as possible to fit the in-between history. The compiler has made an effort fit and adjust to what made more sense to him and the fictional author.
  
• Sundered Eagle date of 2016 BC for the birth of Abraham, it was here shifted to 2166 BC Birth of Abraham to align with biblical scholars who take the biblical chronologies as historically exact (perhaps fitting the setting quite well) - from matching the Exodus in 1446 BC. The 2166 BCE date is theological arithmetic, not archaeology or historiography.
  
• Founding and ratification of Collem Leonis (from Through the Aegis) shifted slightly. As the site per the book was found in late 850’s and listed as "founded" in 865, it makes more sense it was founded in the late 850’s and ratified at the 864 Rhine Tribunal.
  
• 1007 "Canceled" Secular Event (makes sense due to Schism War)
  
• C. 1154 Rhine: Covenant Ombres L’assomption (1101-1154?), founded by migrating french magi and situated in the Taunus forest in the Bishopric of Panderborn, is abandoned or disappears.
  This is not the canon location in Thrice Told Tales, but it’s not really specified anyway although its name should set it in Normandy or Provencal.
  
• So called "Canon" dates seem to contradict themselves a lot. Numerous items in so many books (nearly all of them) had to be shifted one year (very commonly) and sometimes several to fit an actually existing canon Tribunal date. Lesson learned: Don’t necessarily trust the books!
  
• Pralix’ and Diedne’s meeting in Hibernia had to be moved 10 years from 816 to 806 to even fit chronology. UPDATE v2.23: Actually this is the date given in Mythic Locations and Contested Isle. We’re back to canon.
  
• Canon date for founding of Ordo Ex Miscellanea often does not make sense in relation with the Spider War. The rival Order should need at least a few years (instead of one) to be perceived as a proper rival. Date of founding has been moved from 816 to 811 to fit better with the rest of history. [v2.23]. The 816 date was not part of the main iterations (had no dates) and overall the Chronology should now be very much in line with the main 5e iterations in Core Rules, Thrice Told Tales and Houses of Hermes.
  
• 1091 London tornado isn’t canon in Ars Magica, but it happened in history and the entry was fun.

Issues and inconsistencies#

• There are many inconsistencies about Grand vs Regional Tribunals 780-799, their actual numbering and when they happen. I’ve tried to sort it out as well as possible but the released content seems to be inconsistent.
  
• Released material seems to differ a bit on the early Britannian Tribunal (and even its existence) and timing of its split into Stonehenge, Hibernian and Loch Legean.
  
• Released materials across 3e to 5e all has disparate dates for the Spider War. Some efforts have been done to streamline dates. I believe the current timeline is now consistent with the main iterations in Core Rules, Thrice Told Tales and Houses of Hermes.
  
• Disparate dates for Schism War. Arm5e timeline entries and some references end it in 1017 instead of 1012, but not much else supports why (so 1012 is kept for now as it’s the final "battle"). It may be because remaining Diedne are still being hunted - but I have not seen any battle dates represented after 1012 with the exception of in Hibernia 1014. The following Tribunals at 1018 makes regional sense (but that is not 1017) - and funnily enough this is the date in Lion and the Lily - or the next Grand Tribunal 1030 (where matters are still being settled). Also, hostilities and issues seems to have arised much earlier than "start date 1003" as Bjornaer brought it up 999 which indicates it built up for longer as a kind of cold war (Latin vs Pagan houses has had issues since the beginning). In fact, the full war itself can also be said to have started when there were full Houses declaring vs Diedne in 1010. Regardless, records from this time can be expected to be sketchy - and tampered with.
  
• Organization of Tremere Decennial dates? (Arm5e HoH has the latest at 1218, while older materials at 1212 and 1222 etc). Maybe they just changed it…?
  
• Realms of Power: Infernal references "Rudolphus" as being marched in 1151 for persecuting demons to such an extent that he endangered the order and references True Lineages. However, the entry in True Lineages does not match version at all (even his name is "Rudophus" without an "l"). The True Lineages statement is kept in the timeline, A selection had to be made for now…
  
• The ArM5e supplement: The Lion and the Lily - The Normandy Tribunal is a bit of a mess chronologically. It has many obviously erroneous dates, internal inconsistencies with itself and other ArM5e and direct references to Tribunals AND Grand Tribunals in years where there was no Tribunal (it feels like there was some lazy writing/editing here, even though it’s an otherwise great module). This timeline has attempted to adjust, fix or ignore these as smoothly as possible (to nearest proper dates, or adjusting as needed). It can be VERY good to be aware of these built-in inconsistencies in the module.
  
• 698 and 715 - Two Births of Flambeau… (kept as it’s a fun inconsistency, but 715 is more arm5e canon)
  
• Finis Terrae material provides some minor inconsistency with earlier material, but nothing "material" so to speak. Conciettas date is 923 vs 930 in old chronology (decided to keep 923 as it fit better). Additionally, there is still significant fighting against Diedne underway very late in Schism war. However, that can make sense in several ways so it’s left as-is.
  
• The Flambeau covenant of Val-Negra in the Pyrenees is wildly inconsistent between modules and editions. In Faith and Flame it’s lost in Schism war. Many other entries include it later. Not all are converged (the easy non-canon "solution" is that perhaps another covenant took the name).
  [Update for v2.50: After another review the inconsistencies seem to mostly be between the editions, and ArM5 canon can be seen to have it lost in the war]
  
• The date of events of the Albigensian crusade in Faith & Flame are not consistent with history (annoyingly, as I can see little benefit to the changes). The crusade in history started 1209, the murder of the pope's legate was in 1208 and the order came after that. Faith & Flame has this all happening earlier in 1207, including covenants destroyed by the crusade. The Faith & Flame dates have been kept (for now).
  
• According to Thrice Told Tales; "Pralix never rejoined the Order". IMHO this really does not make sense as 1) Her entire Order did, and 2) She’s revered and noted as an additional Founder in so many other places. Her heart might not have been in it, and she stuck to Cad Gadu - but not rejoining, and not being at Grand Tribunal 817 does not make sense.
  
• Founding of Ex Miscellanea and Pralix’s status and participation in the 817 Grand Tribunal is all over the place in the source material. Just but a few more examples (note: decision was made to have there there in the Chronology):
  • HoHS p111 mentions "the first Prima of the House instituted the tradition of holding a council seat for Pralix" which means that that the first Prima is not Pralix.
    
  • HoHS p126: "Pralix never officially joined the House that she created, and since she had foresworn the Order of Hermes, she remained outside of Hermetic circles until her eventual disappearance". Which means that when the House Ex Miscellanea was created, some other maga than Pralix was appointed as Prima, and I suppose that Pralix left the Grand Tribunal of 817 just after this appointment.
    
  • In HoH:MC p99 a strong suggestion that Pralix went to the Grand Tribunal: "At the inauguration of House Ex Miscellanea in 817, there was a great party of non-Hermetic wizards from the British Isles who accompanied Pralix to the Rhineland and participated in her welcoming ceremony as the thirteenth House."
    
• [Many many more should be listed here…]

Items where pre-ArM5e lore has been kept instead of ArM5e#

• There are disparate dates in earlier editions and Arm5e on the decisions concerning sale of magical items. Earlier editions were pretty clear that 1061 is when a Quaesitor Iernilus' investigation starts, however in Arm5e this is where decisions are already made (and ratified by grand Tribunal already in 1063) - I think this may be a transition issue where later writers just used the jumpoff date without much detail on the matter (as in core rules, mystery cults, transforming mythic europe) rather than let the Quaesitor investigation run its course, then ratify the decision AND have it promulgate through the Tribunals and to the Grand. For this reason I think it’s better to stick with the older more detailed canon (it’s only a few years, but it’s not as Arm5e’s somewhat simplified canon). There is not a single mention of Quaesitor Iernilus in ANY Arm5e book, but this is a Rome Tribunal event and that’s a 3rd edition sourcebook that’s not updated.
  
• Some fringe dates and details of the Spider War (a mess overall). Nearly all are aligned to Arm5e main though.
  
• [Actually, there are many more that should be listed here. Occasionally, ArM5e lore seems to have been a bit lax on updating or keeping previously established lore together. Fortunately, we can always blame any inconsistencies on the human failures of the compiler of this chronology…]

Legacy items without Open License coverage#

Note: Purge started with v2.50. Entries were removed but saved here until proper release. If anyone know these as references in Open License material (basically all Arm5e + the 3e and 4e Tribunal books), they can be fixed to that.

• All references to Grimgroth (allegedly Mark Rein Hagen's PC) removed from chronology to avoid trademark, and he doesn't exist in any of the Open License material anyway.

• All references to Doissetep removed from chronology to avoid trademark and legacy. There is only a single mention of it throughout ArM5 (in Guardians of the Forest).

• Ladkyis, Restitius, Caritopulus, Caecus, Gettra, Firento scrubbed from the chronology as they don't appear in any Open License material.

• Important events around the Schism War and The Tempest were rewritten to avoid using old material.

• 1062 events around Blackthorn, Tagelyn and Ashenrise fixed to only conform to Heirs to Merlin. References from "Order of Hermes" and "Medieval Bestiary" removed.

Items from "A Midsummer Night's Dream":

1180 Rhine: Maga Alicia de Pahn Ex Miscellanea expelled from her covenant for consorting with mortals and bearing a child, in contravention of her covenant's rules.

Items from "Covenants" (ArsM2):

876 Provencal: Doissetep covenant founded.

Items from "Faeries Revised Edition":

1024 Rome: Joseph Pietro, bishop of Venice disappears.
Allegedly into Faerie.

1177 Greater Alps: Monstro of Criamon vanishes from his tower near the Cave of Twisting Shadows.

Items from "Houses of Hermes":

Note: Several of these are redone to conform to Open License content versions (including Blood and Sand, Covenants, Houses of Hermes - Societates)

C. 500 BC: Greek Cult of Hermes at its height, per Primus Fenicil of Guernicus.

390 BC: Sacking of Rome by Celts, aided by the Druids. According to Primus Fenicil this is the impetus for formation of Cult of Mercury. [HoH, Tempest]

C. 160 BC: Plentarch codifies Mercurian Rituals into thirty eight spells.
These spells are unfortunately lost to the common knowledge of the Order.

C. 150 BC: Cult of Mercury at its height. The magic of the cult is little understood now, but they are credited in our history with supporting the Roman Empire through its thirty eight powerful rituals. It is known that Mercurian magic required large numbers of ritual participants, and it is believed that the Roman roads served to symbolically tie the Roman Republic and later Empire together. The rituals of Mercury may have been to undermine the gods of the enemy, or to bring the favor of the gods to the Romans.

C. 1005: A conference of the leaders of the Houses is held. A senior Diedne magus publicly insults the Primus of Tremere.

C. 1005: Primus Pietre of Jerbiton isolates his House from the Order and largely integrates the membership with mortal society. This policy continue throughout his Primacy.
This was almost certainly done to insulate the House Jerbiton from the disintegration of the Order.

C. 1050: Primus Firento Ex Miscellanea attempts to convert his House to Hermetic traditions. He is killed on a quest for the Spinning Pearls, probably by members of his own House.
He may have forgotten his House motto.

C. 1100–1200 Gettra of House Bjornaer assumes the identities of many magi, for unknown reasons. She flees when discovered and has yet to face Hermetic justice.
The period of Gettra’s impersonation is difficult to research, and may be significantly shorter.

C. 1145–1150: Magus Agnis Nestiphilis tortures and kills three apprentices.

1151 Normandy Tribunal: Magus Agnis Nestiphilis acquitted of any wrongdoing in the torture and killing of three apprentices in five years, on grounds that apprentices are the property of the mage, to do with as he please.

1156: The leader of the line of Ex Miscellanea witches opens their ranks to male magi.

C. 1197–1220: At some point in this period, Primus Vancasitum dies and Tertious of Doissetep becomes the Primus of Flambeau. Traditionally, the Primus transfers residence from his former covenant to the domus magna, but in this case Val-Negra is lost and Doissetep becomes domus magna Flambeau.
How did Tertious know that Vancasitum was dead if Val-Negra is inaccessible?

Items from "Kabbalah":

1205 Thebes: Hoplitic Pact of Byzantium formed in the wake of the sack of Constantinople, allying House Jerbiton with the Order of Geonim to defend Jewish Quarters from mortal destruction.

1210: Appolonius of Jerbiton is given the gift of Arcane Memory by Order of Geonim.

1213: Arash of Criamon renounces the Order for Judaism. He is protected by Criamon magi until he can escape to a Jewish quarter in Baghdad.

Items from "Maleficium":

1052: The Apotropaic sect founded through agreement of Church and Order, and charged to slay demons. Pope Leo IX issues a secret bull on the matter and presents each of the original members with the Agnus Dei.
Possibly only legend. The inconsistent nature of the Church’s policies only serves to complicate the question.

1121: Pope Calixtus II speaks on the topic of Diabolism.

1194: Hilden, the Pious Magus, writes on the nature of Heaven and Hell.

1203: Pilantius of Stonehill covenant writes letter to the deacon of a church near Lyon regarding Dark Magi.

Items from "Medieval Bestiary" and "Medieval Bestiary Revised Edition":

Note: Caprea is canon in Guardians of the Forest, some entries are kept.

1204: Causabon of Bonisagus completes his Physiologus Hermeticum, a bestiary based mainly on the classic Physiologus. He includes elements from other bestiaries to fill in and compliment his work.
It is not widely circulated, or at least Caprea seems unfamiliar with it.

1221 Rhine: Caprea filia Equus Minor of House Bjornaer completes her bestiary, based mainly on Pliny’s Historia Naturalis and the original Physiologus. She makes multiple copies, one to be placed in the library of Durenmar and the rest circulated throughout the Order.
It disagrees with the Physiologus Hermeticum of Causabon on some points.

Items from "Mistridge":

C. 1223 and later, Provencal: Refugees from the Albigensian Crusade, including magi of Bellaquin, find haven at Mistridge covenant. The population of Mistridge triples, and the council of Mistridge increases from four to twelve. The covenant becomes an important center of resistance to the crusaders.
Mistridge is eventually cautioned by the Tribunal against becoming overly involved in mortal concerns.
The tale of Mistridge gives an important caution against magi who think to oppose the crusaders of the Church.

C. 1244 Provencal: Mistridge covenant has drastically weakened in the face of the Albigensian Crusade. It has acquired new enemies both in and out of the Order and most or all of its senior magi have died or gone mad.

1246 Provencal: Mistridge covenant destroyed after an extended siege. The survivors flee deeper into the Pyrenees and refound the covenant with a new council, the senior magi all having Passed, died, or vanished.
The fate of magus Grimgroth is the most mysterious; after leading his covenfolk out of danger, he rode to nearby Mount Tierne, and vanished on its slopes.

Items from "Mythic Europe":

C. 1180–1200 Rhine: The Bishop of Stettin requests aid of the Order against wizards of the Order of Odin, aiding local pagans. A covenant of a dozen magi is founded (name unknown), but fails within two years due to disagreement between magi Ignibus Impervious of Flambeau and Wilhelm of Tytalus. The covenant site is abandoned, and later becomes quarters for hedge wizards. These squatters are eventually killed in a pitched battle.
The account of these events is very sketchy.

1198 Rhine: Rumor claims that a German covenant purchases twelve indulgences in one night, Allhallow’s Eve.
Unlikely.

1212 Iberia: Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, followed by the siege of Badajoz. Some magi are accused of interference, though nothing is proved.
Shortly after the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, Bishop Tello Téllez de Meneses urged Alfonso VIII of Castile to found the first studium generale of Iberia from the episcopal school of Palencia.

Muslim sorcerers living in Badajoz employed djinn to defend it. Magi serving the Castillians opposed them; a two day battle raged around the Tower of the Djinn, ending in a massive explosion destroying the tower and killing many. All the sorcerers die, along with many of their servants. Many Muslim devices were scattered across the city and nearby land, from the force of the explosion.

1214: Saracen sorcerers found a school of sorcery in Oran, in Africa, using the profits from defending the merchant ships of Oran from pirates.

Items from "Mythic Seas":

1120 Hibernia: Aquae Desilientes founded on a small island off the southern coast of the greater island, by Enoch of Bonisagus and his sodales.

Items from "Order of Hermes" (ArsM2):

1062 Stonehenge: Blackthorn seizes the caves of Tagelyn covenant as their own, a more defensible site than their old fortress.
The magi of Tagelyn move to Hibernia and later found Ashenrise.
Among the classic texts lost in the struggle is a copy of the rare Physiologus, a classic bestiary. It is generally assumed that Blackthorn had always intended this betrayal.

1179 Provencal Tribunal: Archmaga Ladkyis of Tremere complains that magus Asidnael of Jerbiton had endangered her by claiming to mortals she was possessed by a spirit, as it could have led to her being brought to the attention of the Church; magus Asidnael claims that she had been observed casting spells by mortals, and they had suggested that she was possessed, and that he claimed she was but that it was by a spirit that did no harm; each mage fined one pawn for endangering the other.
Magus Grimgroth of Mistridge fined Animal vis sufficient to heal a horse, for allowing his apprentice to go unsupervised and start a fire in a stable at the covenant of Bentalone.

1180 Provencal: Archmaga Ladkyis enters Final Twilight. Her body continues to function completely normally and behaves much as she had the day before her Passing.

1181 Rome: The twenty-second Verdi Competition: Won by Restitius of Doissetep, with his creation of a bronze dog which can bark, wag its tail, and urinate wine. It also has a paralyzing stare, useful for guarding.

1193 Hibernia: Lombard covenant reprimanded for interfering in mortal affairs.

C. 1197 Hibernia: A magus of Cliffheart covenant revealed to be a diabolist. The other magi of Cliffheart are cleared by a Quaesitoreal investigation.

1198: Magus Caritopulus of Flambeau issues a call to destroy hedge wizards across Europe to prevent them from gaining power and destroying the Order.
His call is widely ignored, as he is considered easily alarmed.

Items from "Ordo Nobilis":

722 Iberia: A glowing rider on a white horse panics the Moors at the battle of Covadonga. This rider is later identified as St. James by Dominion.
Possibly Delandar? See related event in 844.

844 Iberia: A mysterious glowing rider on a white horse appears before the Asturian king Ramiro I on the eve of battle at Clarijo, and assures him of victory. The next day the rider leads Dominion forces to victory. The king defeats the Saracens and declares that the horseman was St. James the Apostle.
A magus or the actual Saint?

C. 940 Normandy: The Quaesitors uncover a plot by a maga of Tytalus, masquerading as the Faerie queen Melisandre, apparently furthering Infernal ends.
This is another early piece of the Tytalus Corruption puzzle.

Items from "Pax Dei":

941 Greater Alps: Probable year in which magus Nerius, patron saint of Christian magi, passes his Gauntlet to enter House Criamon.
He goes on to be a most controversial and storied figure. Magus Nerius supposedly finished his apprenticeship in only five years.

1004 Normandy Tribunal: Probable Tribunal at which magus Nerius of Criamon, the Pious Magus, who came to urge restraint in the Schism War, is tried for attempting to undermine the Order; he is challenged by Malvon of Tremere to certamen on the issue of his devout Christianity and refuses; he is therefore cast out of the Order for refusing to honor custom, and killed. Some regard Nerius as a saint, others as a heretic, theurgist, or madman.
It is said that Nerius had survived unscathed an attack by the combined might of many magi, and that he died only after delivering a final sermon.

Items from "Saga Pack":

1227 Hibernia: Magus Caecus of Tytalus visits and speaks to the Hibernian Tribunal on the subject of grogs, urging their humane and just treatment. His speech is received with mixed opinions.
Magus Caecus is known to be overly sympathetic to grogs and mundane soldiers.

Items from "Stormrider" and "Return of the Stormrider":

C. 1100 Provence: First recorded appearance of the mysterious Stormrider, in the Val du Bosque. This elemental being seems to be the rage of a storm in the shape of a black knight.
The year is very approximate.

C. 1110 Provence: St. Fabia of the Roses works miracles in the Val du Bosque, and is eventually martyred by the Stormrider.
Date is unclear.

Items from "The Tempest":

Note: All mentions of Cimbrinsula and Kymr* (spelled with a "K") came from it and had to go.

C. 1300 BC: The ancient Kymric civilization flourishes around Albion (Britannia), guided by magician-priests; they were a peaceful, nature-worshiping people. In the tradition of their ancestors, the Kymry captured the magical essence of nature in their cave paintings and engravings. The most powerful of these could directly control many natural phenomena, and could be found at the sacred isle of Cimbrinsula between Albion and Hibernia.
In time, the Kymric culture is destroyed by invading Gaels and Brutus, the island of Cimbrinsula sinks under the waves, and the Kymric and Gaelic cultures merge into the Celtic people. The Kymric priest-magicians become the Druids of later years.

C. 560 Stonehenge: The Kingdom of Lyonesse, formerly a land or island of Britain off Cornwall, sinks into the sea after the death of its last heir, Tristram, after his treacherous murder at the hands of King Mark. Some claim the Scilly Isles are the mountaintops of this drowned land.
This whole quarter of the world seems to be sinking into the sea, if one includes Atlantis, Cimbrinsula, and the many Western Isles said to lie under the waves!

1012 Battle of the Tempest: Flambeau, Tremere, Tytalus, and Quaesitor magi clash with Diedne magi in a final battle. The Diedne magi meet their enemies with summoned monsters and storms but are ultimately defeated. Nearly all of both sides’ magi are slain in this great battle, said to have lasted a full month.
The Diedne leaders - including the last Primus of the accursed House, Llewellyn - are rumored to have escaped to an unknown land, possibly Faerie, possibly a far-off mundane land. Others claim that House Ex Miscellanea sheltered Diedne magi, but some magi Ex Miscellanea are known to have fought Diedne with great vigor, particularly in Loch Leglean.
Some said that eventually, when the druids concluded that they could neither win nor survive the battle, they decided to take their enemies with them - like in their oldest legends where their ancestors the Kymryc sealed their own fate by calling up on the ocean to overwhelm their sacred island, Cimbrinsula.
The Tempest was the primary reason the Schism War came to an end.

Items from "Triamore":

TBD if removals actually needed, as it's integrated and repeated in ArM5 canon.

Items from "Twelfth Night":

C. 500–600 Greater Alps: In this century, the Golden Wyrm of the High Alps, Impathis, begins to collect a hoard of gold, silver, and gems, seizing them from mortals.

C. 600–700 Greater Alps: The Dragon Impathis, called the Golden Wyrm for her wondrous golden scales, burns cities and the realms of kings who oppose her continuing quest for gold and gems. She is opposed by the mortal kings, and brave knights are sent to slay her, but she is not defeated.

C. 700–800 Greater Alps: The Great Golden Wyrm Impathis, having collected a vast hoard of gold through seizure and tribute, retires to her cave in the High Alps, where she is only occasionally disturbed by foolhardy mortal knights.

Items from "The Wizard's Grimoire":

1116 Hibernia: Beginning of the 'Supplicants of Truth' cult in Hibernia.

1129 Hibernia: Supplicants of Truth cult destroyed.

Items from "The Wizard's Grimoire Revised Edition":

C. 1000: Maga Ucerta of Criamon creates the "Box of Wonders", a box said to contain fabulous treasure.

1017: The Enameled Horse, a legendary enchanted statue that can be ridden as a well-trained war horse, is seen in the court of a noble of Baghdad.
It seems to have disappeared for a while when the noble fell out of favor.

1036: The Enameled Horse is bought by the Covenant of Van. It was later ridden into the mundane world by Jukolus of Jerbiton, who was forced to abandon it when using spells to escape danger.
The Horse was presumed destroyed, but various rumors suggest that presumption may have been hasty. Its survival or location is still unknown.

1169 Rome: Magus Kaldorias of Jerbiton banishes a demon which had been terrorizing certain villagers.

1172 Iberia Tribunal: Magus Trentus of Flambeau (apprentice name Vermbar) is accused of killing several mortals and burning two ships in Barcelona during his gauntlet, as he was abandoned in Barcelona lacking clothes, provisions, and money, and was told to get to Sicily within a month. The Quaesitor suggests that Trentus be held accountable as a mage for willfully interfering with mundanes in the gauntlet. The Tribunal rules that during a gauntlet an apprentice is not yet a mage and cannot be held to the Code, but cannot be guided by his parens either. Neither Trentus nor his parens is punished.

1174 Provencal: Magus Questus of Criamon, Bellaquin covenant, disappears without explanation.

1188 Provencal: Magus Teslil of Jerbiton finds a Gifted girl and, having his own apprentice, sells her to magus Gentric of Jerbiton.
See 1192 for additional developments.

1191 Provencal: Magus Questus of Criamon returns to his covenant, Bellaquin, and claims seventeen years of vis and monies, per the covenant charter. The covenant refuses to pay. Magus Questus complains; Quaesitor Jerines called in to settle the matter, and after reviewing the charter rules in Questus’ favor.
Beware of the hidden traps and agreements in your covenant charter, magus!

1192 Provencal: Magus Gentric dies. His property is disposed of in the manner of his covenant, and his apprentice taken by magus Alarmon of Tytalus.
See the Provencal Tribunal of 1194 for additional developments.

[Part] 1194 Provencal Tribunal:
Magus Teslil claims that the former apprentice of magus Gentric, died 1192, should be granted him, as Gentric had been of his House and he had found the girl to begin with. The Tribunal ruled that Teslil, having sold the girl, had given up all claim.
Regarding magus Teslil, the Tribunal noted its disapproval of selling apprentices, but did not forbid it.

1197 Hibernia: Ashenrise covenant destroyed by demons.

1199 Hibernia: Ashenrise refounded and dedicated to fighting demons. Magus Caecus of Ashenrise removes to Provencal Tribunal.

[Note: Entries for maga Pugnatis at the Provencal Tribunals of 1200 and 1207, as it's canon in The Lion and the Lily]

1214 Loch Leglean Tribunal: Magus Erdras Tan-Gwyllt of Flambeau is cast out of the Order for setting her apprentice a gauntlet that kills several of her mortal enemies; the Tribunal absolves magus Curwin, the former apprentice, and rules that magi are responsible for their apprentices even in gauntlet.
Compare to the ruling of the Iberian Tribunal of 1172.

1220 Provencal: The controversial Wizard's Grimoire assembled at Doissetep, compiled through the efforts of Occultis of Bonisagus and others.
The wise Occultis is to be praised for his efforts!

Items moved out of the timeline#

The OM version 2.0+ compiler decided to remove these items off the timeline for various reasons. They’re listed here for posterity.

10,920 BC 1 AV Age of Virgo. According to the Egyptians the great civilization of this age is Atlantis, a continent beyond the Pillars of Hercules. The island was "larger than Libya and Asia (probably meaning Asia Minor) combined," and a center of great learning and civilization. The Atlanteans mined the metal orichalc, landscaped their continent to their needs, worshiped Poseidon, and were ruled by royal twins. The empire of Atlantis extends as far east as Egypt. [Plato] This civilization's reported age seems to predate the Creation according to many authorities. The author cannot say which is correct.

Circa 9500 BC Circa 1400 AV Sinking of Atlantis, according to the ancient Egyptians. The sinking was spurred by the recent impiety of the Atlanteans. To punish them the gods sent a great flood and sank the island. [Plato] The Civilization of Atlantis seems to predate that of the Old Ones, assuming they are not identical.

8467 BC 1 AL Age of Leo.

6608 BC 1 AC Age of Cancer.

C. 5000 BC C. 1600 AC Date of the Creation of the World, according to some Church authorities. [HoH] The exact year of Creation differs from authority to authority.

2294 BC: Age of Taurus begins.

C. 900 BC: The dragon Pan Caudarax settles or is hatched in what will become Flanders.

C. 420 BC: Flowering of the philosophies of Socrates and his students. Socrates is credited with developing the dialectic technique, promoting investigation, and claimed that Knowledge is intrinsically Good, and Ignorance Evil. Socrates is also famous for his great wisdom, spurred by a genius spirit; he knew his own ignorance.

261 Fifth Century of the Age of Aries (261-360)
This is the first century of a five hundred year dark age of magic. The century saw the decline of the Cult of Mercury from the vis vitae of Rome to a loose collection of minor enchanters. Some blame the rise of the Church and its rejection of the old magic for this collapse; others consider it a natural progression of life, from strength to death. The Cult remained for some decades as a dwindling political force and some less powerful magical applications were developed for individual uses. These applications become the foundation of the vulgar traditions that dominated before the organization of the Order of Hermes after the sack of Rome in 412. By the middle of the century, it is certain that the Cult could no longer cast its major rituals due to insufficient numbers of priests and low sacrifices.

361 Sixth Century of the Age of Aries (361-460)
This is a dark and little understood period. The Empire was collapsing under the twin pressures of barbarian invasion and civil war, and the Priests of Mercury were hard pressed to survive, much less record histories. The magic of the Cult of Mercury begins to change in this period, shifting from a communal activity to an individual craft. Each line develops an idiosyncratic understanding of magic, leading to vulgarization.

745 Thebes: Jerbiton completes his apprenticeship to Bernice in Thessalonica.
[a bit too early in his life]

785 Rome: Earliest possible date for the Verdi Competition, perhaps to celebrate the first decade of Verdi. This date is also eighteen years after the Founding of the Order, probably setting the period of the Verdi cycle. The Verdi Competition is a House Verditius contest held at Verdi to see who has made the best enchanted device.
Unfortunately, records of this early period are fragmentary.
[This entry was from the earlier pre-5e timeline and I cannot find it in supplements - I believe it is derived. 5e canon from "Mystery Cults has the first competition in 803 so we use that]

808 Normandy: Battle of Carnac in Brittany; the hedge wizard Damhan-Allaidh the Spider (Damhan-Allaidh in Gaelic, which means "spider") defeats a group of Flambeau and Tremere magi. The dark magician practiced bloody sacrificial rites to power his magic, and refused to join the Order, as it would mean giving up his magic to avoid interfering with mortals. Human sacrifice was among Damhan-Allaidh’s rites.
[Removed as it differs from The Spider War chronology in Thrice Told Tales, which puts it at or before 799, also participants don’t match. Events are covered.]

810–816 Normandy: The Order makes war against Damhan-Allaidh. Some additional magi fight the sorcerer while he remains in Brittany, and are slain.
[Removed as it differs from The Spider War chronology in Thrice Told Tales. Events are covered.]

810 Normandy: Damhan-Allaidh flees Brittany to Caledonia. He is followed and fought by magi, but they are defeated.
[Removed as it differs from The Spider War chronology in Thrice Told Tales. Events are covered.]

814 (May) The Spider War: War Against Damhan-Allaidh in Britain begins, led by Pralix filia Tytalus, including several other magi, including Ignis Festi of Flambeau and a century of grogs. The expedition lands in Northumbria. The expedition is equipped with stores of vis, and Pralix is given the Robes of Dusty Dawn by Founder Verditius, now the robes of office for House Ex Miscellanea.
If it is true that Hariste manipulated the Order into sending Pralix to battle Damhan-Allaidh, it was a masterstroke worthy of Tytalus himself! Most of the details of the war against Damhan-Allaidh come from the reports of Pralix herself, as she was the lone Hermetic survivor of the war.

814 (June): Pralix ambushed at Loch Oadh by Damhan-Allaidh and his magical allies. All the magi but Pralix and Ignis Festi are killed, as are the fifty grogs; these two magi escape. Pralix recruits local hedge wizards (Clan Mac) in the battle, including Brude Deathless, a powerful gruagach. In the coming year Pralix teaches some of the hedge magicians the Parma Magica.
Gruagach are wizards of Caledonia, with power to curse or gift, and to change shape. There were perhaps a few too many local hedge traditions brought into the Order under Pralix’s banner.

815 (June): Defection of Brude Deathless after quarreling with Ignis Festi; Brude’s gruagachan followers leave with him. Battle of Loch Ochy; a near stalemate. Pralix retreats to Loch Leglean and makes a base camp.
Yes, this proves it was a bad idea…

815 (July): Pralix guarantees Hermetic status for all who follow her banner (like the gruagachan), and Brude Deathless returns.
When will we learn…

815 (Aug.) Battle of the Bloody Glen: Ignis Festi breaks with Pralix over offering protection to hedge wizards, storms from her camp, and encounters and duels with Damhan-Allaidh. The land echoes with their battle, in which Damhan-Allaidh is wounded but Ignis Festi killed.

815 (Dec.) Night of the Sluagh: Damhan-Allaidh slaughters many wizards with a treacherous attack using the spirits of the dead. Almost a dozen magicians are killed, and Damhan-Allaidh retreats to the forest of Cad Gadu (North Wales). This attack is said to have taken place on one of the longest nights of the year, possibly the winter solstice.

816 (March 21) Battle of the False Sun: Damhan-Allaidh defeated and apparently killed after a great light summoned by the hedge magi banishes his dark allies. His body is laid out for destruction; before it can be destroyed it disappears and the guards watching it are slaughtered. Brude Deathless now reveals that some gruagachan can hide their souls and survive any fatal wound, unless their soul’s hiding place is harmed.
A great pity that Brude waited until this late date to reveal this important gruagach power. Research, magus, always research!

761 Tenth Century of the Age of Aries (761-860)
The Order was founded only six years into this century and a new age of magic began. Most of the Founders still called themselves priests of Mercury, but in the coming generations magicians would find the title magus enough. This was a century of great conflict, as Founders Flambeau and Tytalus hunted the greatest wizards of the age and gave them the choice of a life under the Order or death in Chaos.
The classic tale of this struggle is that of Pralix, the Thirteenth Founder, who organized a motley band of barbarian hedge magi into an effective fighting force, largely without additional aid from the Order. With aggressive recruitment by the Founders, this was also a century of great growth for the young Order. Most of the domus magnae were founded in this period, and they proved to be strong: Only one has entered the Final Winter which has consumed so many younger covenants.

961 Twelfth Century of the Age of Aries (961-1060)
In this century, the tensions of the Order grew in the wake of the Corruption of House Tytalus. Tribunals were poorly attended, the Quaesitores had lost their authority in spite of the exposure of Tytalus, or perhaps because of their extended investigations. House Bonisagus, never large, had suffered losses second only to Tytalus; the effect on magical thought was chilling. House Diedne, always secretive, was now seen as suspicious. Fear and recrimination grew, culminating in the Schism War. Fortunately, the spark of war seems to have burned itself out, as evidenced by the rejection of a war with the Order of Geonim in 1018 (AA1157), only a few years after the Schism.

1018 Iberia: The battles between Val-Negra and the Barcelona Kabbalists remain stalemated until a huge Jewish grog tears down the gates of Val-Negra with his bare hands. The Kabbalists are apparently ashamed of this action and offer a truce.
The magic of the Kabbalists remains alien, but fortunately they seem unthreatening.
Treaty of Barcelona made between Order of Hermes and Order of Geonim, the Kabbalist magi of the Jews.
This is the first and only known peace between magical Orders.

1099 Loch Leglean: German and Spanish Flambeau magi hunt non-Hermetic magi in Scotland; they are stalked and defeated one by one by Brude Deathless, a mighty gruagach, who strips them of their Gift. Threats to retaliate are met with a unified Tribunal resolve to defend Loch Leglean hedge wizards against foreign magi.
This served only to enflame tensions between Flambeau and Ex Miscellanea. No action was taken against Brude for these acts, a violation of his Oath. Of course, there is no record of Brude having taken the Oath.
[Brude Deathless was completely removed from 5e, replaced with Damhadh-Duidas]

C. 1107 Provencal: Val-Negra falls into Winter after a mass exodus of its younger members, following the Grand Tribunal of 1096.

1206–1280 Rhine: Lifetime of St. Albertus Magnus, philosopher and possible mage. Teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas, authority, lecturer, wise man, preacher, and papal legate. [History, Legend]

1214–1294: Life of Roger Bacon, monk, inventor, and reputed magician. He is said to have the advice of a bronze head, which may or may not be the one that advised Pope Sylvester II. [History, Legend] He is also said to have constructed the bronze head, as are Vergil and Sylvester II.

1220 Rhine: Magus Sicero of Tremere joins Triamore covenant.

1261 Fifteenth Century of the Age of Aries (1261–1360)
In the mortal world, this is a century of increased conflict between Church and kings. The Church presses a claim of universal authority stemming from its spiritual authority, but falls increasingly under the influence of the French crown, who it has come to rely on for military aid.

Note: Additional entries have disappeared as they have been moved or edited as to be unrecognizable.

Optional non-canon events (from compilers campaign)#

C. 5200 BC: Lilith, the First Wife and First Rebel, created alongside Adam as his equal, refuses to submit to him. She speaks the Ineffable Name of God and flees the Garden, passing beyond the borders of Eden and entering the unknown. Some say she vanishes into the Magic Realm, where she takes residence in forgotten places of power, while others claim she falls into the clutches of dark spirits, becoming the mother of demons. The Talmudic and Akkadian traditions tell of her seduction of unwary men, her theft of infants, and her transformation into a winged night-stalker feared in all lands.
Some magi of House Merinita claim Lilith is the first Faerie Queen, ruling the liminal spaces between worlds, appearing to those who seek forbidden knowledge. Infernalists whisper that she still lurks in the wastelands, offering pacts to those desperate enough to call upon her. Whatever her fate, her story is the first warning of what happens to those who defy Divine order.

C. 5100 BC: The Fall and the Banishment from Eden: Adam and Eve are cast from the Garden, the gates sealed by the Cherubim with the flaming sword, severing perfect Divine communion. The exiles settle in the land of Nod, a barren and wild region, and labor in hardship tilling the ground, yet the earth yields thorns and thistles. They build a simple altar of stone and offer sacrifices, remembering their lost Paradise. Satan and his angels continue to torment them, appearing as false visions to deceive them.
Some say Lilith watches from the shadows, whispering to Eve in her dreams, reminding her of a different path she could have taken. Others claim Lilith mocks Adam’s suffering, reveling in the downfall of the one who sought to rule over her.
Unlike Eve, she never tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and so she remains untouched by the Fall, existing outside the curse of death. Some sects believe she holds the key to immortality and seek her out in hidden groves and ancient ruins. Others warn that she is the mother of monsters, birthing the lilitu, creatures of shadow and desire who ensnare the hearts of men and magi alike.
Some scholars of House Criamon claim Lilith never truly left the world, but instead exists in a cyclic pattern, returning at times of great upheaval to guide or destroy. House Flambeau denounces such theories, arguing that Lilith is nothing more than a tool of the Adversary, to be eradicated whenever her name is spoken.

C. 5100–5000 BC: Adam and Eve’s descendants establish the first human lineages. God curses Cain for killing Abel, marking him and sending him to wander before founding the city of Enoch. Seth is born to replace Abel, and his righteous line remains in the mountains and continues worshiping God. The Faerie and Magic Realms stir, forming reflections of Eden in hidden places.
Some claim Cain was cursed not just with wandering, but with an unnatural resilience, creating the first being resistant to death. Cain’s legend spreads among sorcerers who seek his secret of immortality. A darker tale whispers that Lilith finds the exiled Cain and takes him as her consort, forging a lineage of beings neither truly mortal nor truly faerie. These children, the first true sorcerers, possess an unnatural command over the shadows and are said to bear the same Mark as their father.

C. 4700 BC: In the shadow of Enoch, a secretive sect emerges - women who claim descent from Lilith and Cain, wielding magic unlike any seen before. They are feared as seductresses, shapechangers, and weavers of curses, often appearing as owls or jackals in the desert.
The earliest records of witches appear in Akkadian tablets, describing their nocturnal flights and the binding of spirits to their will. The Quaesitores of later ages will burn their texts as dangerous and Infernal, yet their secrets persist.
The Daughters of Lilith move unseen through history, whispering to rulers, corrupting scholars, and shaping events from the shadows. Some Hermetic magi believe their influence has never truly faded and that their secrets are encoded in lost tomes hidden deep within Durenmar’s ruined archives.

1227 Rhine Tribunal: The summer of 1227 marks the greatest disaster of the Order of Hermes since the Schism War. What begins as a regular Tribunal at Durenmar ends in catastrophe when faerie forces overwhelm the domus magna, consuming it into a regio of their own making.
By dawn, Durenmar is gone. Its towers shimmer within an unreachable glade, a beacon of faerie dominion in the heart of the Order. Those who escape bring only fragmented accounts of the fall, their memories distorted by glamour and grief. With the loss of Durenmar, the stability of the Rhine Tribunal shatters, and the Order teeters on the brink of chaos.
Rumours have it that a coalition of ancient faerie sovereigns, long thought to be myths of the Rhine, breach the walls with an otherworldly surge of power. The Aegis of the Hearth collapses in a cascade of silver light, and almost in an instant, the battle is lost.

Potential Todo’s#

• Correct more errors… (always)
  
• Re-review some of the (identified) books that could use a second pass:
  • Sanctuary of Ice
    
  • Heirs to Merlin
    
  • Iberia
    
  • Faith & Flame - The Provencal Tribunal
    
  • Houses of Hermes - Mystery Cults
    
  • Houses of Hermes - Societates
    
  • Houses of Hermes - True Lineages
    
• Re-review the most important ArM5e books, such as the Houses of Hermes books for events missed. Fill in some more blanks where there is good event information but not canon dates.
  
• Review previous edition supplements, not touched for long (there are plenty of entries that are a bit too vaguely done) - A few modules have already been covered.
  
• Clean up the tempus form all through the document as it is inconsistent. [ongoing effort when found, reasonable state]
  
• Fill out more short entries that aren’t self-contained and explanatory
  
• Limit and write down some unnecessarily long entries. EDIT: Decision was made to add an abbreviated timeline instead.
  
• Possibly clean out some placeholders (Verdi competitions, Tremere conferences etc). For now will keep as convenient for SG’s as placeholders.
  
• Refocus a bit more on just items relating to magic and the Order. Clean out some chaff.
  
• Possibly clean out the less interesting and unrelated historical items - and move them to the Mundane Timeline project. The Chronology should perhaps focus entirely on Magic and the Order - and only contain mundane events when they have a significant impact on that. [will probably NOT happen]
  
• Possibly trawl and review some 3rd party sources (Sub Rosa, Hermes Portal, Peripheral Code etc). Needs some caution though, as technically non-canonical. EDIT: Will only be done where Open License is available.
  
• Add new entries from Finis Terrae (new Iberia Tribunal book, only available in spanish as of yet)
  
• Format into nice pdf format and release as Open License PWYW