Chroniclers may pass, but the history of Avalon is still unfolding. The following chronology is accurate as of 1 September, 2007. The numbers in parentheses after each book indicate the order in which they were written. Note that the middle section of Lady of Avalon is chronologically within the period covered by Priestess of Avalon.
- 2000-1995 B.C.E. (approximate): Ancestors of Avalon (5)
- The time for this book is predicated on current archaeological dating for the building of Stonehenge IIIa.
- 40-61 C.E.: Ravens of Avalon (6)
- Ravens tells the story of the conquest of Britannia by the Romans as seen through the eyes of the young Lhiannon and Boudica, who remain friends though their ways part, Lhiannon to become a priestess and Boudica to be queen of the Iceni, ending in her ill-fated rebellion.
- 81-96 C.E.: The Forest House (2)
- This story takes place during the reigns of the Emperors Titus and Domitian, when Agricola is governor of Britannia.
- 96-118 C.E.: Lady of Avalon, Part I (“The Wisewoman”) (3)
- This section of the book is a direct sequel to The Forest House, and ends with the working that separates the timeline of Avalon from that of the mortal world.
- 259-271 C.E.: Priestess of Avalon, Part I (“The Way to Love”) (4)
- When Helena arrives at Avalon she is ten and her cousin Dierna is two years old. She leaves at the age of twenty-two.
- 271-285 C.E.: Priestess of Avalon, Part II: Chapters 8-11 (“The Way to Power”) (4)
- Helena lives with Constantius in various parts of the Empire.
- 285-293 C.E.: Lady of Avalon, Part II (“The High Priestess”) (3)
- Dierna is now twenty-four and Lady of Avalon. She will remain in that post (at least) for the next twenty-two years.
- 293-306 C.E.: Priestess of Avalon, Part II: Chapters 9-14 (4)
- Carausius’ rebellion takes place between chapters 8-9. The story picks up again when Constantius leaves Helena to make a State marriage and continues to the year when her son Constantine became emperor.
- 307-329 C.E.: Priestess of Avalon, Part III (“The Way to Wisdom”) (4)
- Part III covers Helena’s life as mother of the emperor, up to the year when she disappeared from history.
- 440-452 C.E.: Lady of Avalon, Part III (“Daughter of Avalon”) (3)
- This story is a direct prequel to Mists, and covers enough of Viviane’s life to show how she became the person she is in that book…
- 461-539 C.E. (approximate): The Mists of Avalon (1)
- Marion was notoriously allergic to dates, and furthermore, had intentionally decided to detach the Arthurian story from history. The date given here as the begininng is calculated on the assumption that Viviane, who is said to be in her thirties as the story begins, was born in 426, and the date for its end assumes that at that time Morgaine is around 80. These dates do cover the period during which Arthur probably lived.