12th Century

†1170 Thomas Becket murdered

Thomas Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket, served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death in 1170. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the King in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. Becket’s assassins fled north to de Morville’s Knaresborough Castle for about a year. They were not arrested and seeking forgiveness, the assassins travelled to Rome, […]

Events 1100s – The Venice Arsenal

12th Century, Events Decade

1104 The Venice Arsenal is founded Events 1101: In July, the Treaty of Alton is signed between Henry I of England and his older brother Robert, Duke of Normandy in which Robert agrees to recognize Henry as king of England in exchange for a yearly stipend and other concessions. The agreement temporarily ends a crisis in the succession of the Anglo-Norman kings. 1102: King Coloman unites Hungary and Croatia under the Hungarian Crown. At about this date, the Chinese population reaches around 100 million and in Kaifeng, his capital, the number of registered citizens within the walls is about 1,050,000 with the army stationed here boosting the overall populace to some […]

Events 1110s – Knights Templars founded

12th Century, Events Decade, With Docu

1119 Knights Templars are founded Events 1110 Lunar eclipse, in which the moon becomes totally dark (according to the Peterborough Chronicle), due to an earlier volcanic eruption putting aerosols into the upper atmosphere of the earth, thus cutting off the earthlight c. 1119: The Knights Templar are founded to protect Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem. Hugh de Payns founds the monastic order of the Knights Templar and becomes the first Grand Master. In association with Bernard of Clairvaux, a French abbot and religious leader, he creates the Latin Rule, the code of behavior of the Order. The Templars get the primary task to protect the pilgrime-routes in Palestine. Religion 1115 – Peter Abelard, French scholastic philosopher, becomes master of […]

Events 1120s – Kingdom Portugal gains independence

12th Century, Events Decade

1128 Kingdom Portugal gains independence Events 1128: On June 24, the Kingdom of Portugal gains independence from the Kingdom of León at the Battle of São Mamede; (recognised by León in 1143). Baldwin II grants the Knights Templar under Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer a headquarters in a wing of the royal palace on the Temple Mount in the captured Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem King Henry I of England arranges the marriage of his daughter Matilda (the widow of Emperor Henry V) to the 14-year-old Geoffrey of Anjou (son of Count Fulk V). This is done to ensure an alliance between England and Anjou, and to prevent Fulk allying with Louis VI. Henry has the English nobles swear allegiance to Matilda as the rightful heir […]

1140 Poem of the Cid

12th Century, With Movie

El Cantar de mio Cid, literally “The Song of my Cid”, or “The Song of my lord” (or El Poema de mio Cid), also known in English as The Poem of the Cid, is the oldest preserved Castilian epic poem. Based on a true story, it tells of the deeds of the Castilian hero Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar known as El Cid and takes place during the eleventh century, an era of conflicts in the Iberian Peninsula between the Kingdom of Castile and various Taifa principalities of Al-Andalus. It is considered a national epic of Spain. The linguistic analysis allows […]

1194 Bernart de Ventadorn

12th Century, Early Music

Bernart de Ventadorn (also Bernard de Ventadour or Bernat del Ventadorn; 1135–1194) was a prominent troubadour of the classical age of troubadour poetry. Now thought of as “the Master Singer” he developed the cançons into a more formalized style which allowed for sudden turns. Youtube Playlist (click top right icon for songtitles) He is remembered for his mastery as well as popularisation of the trobar leu style, and for his prolific cançons, which helped define the genre and establish the “classical” form of courtly love poetry, to be imitated and reproduced throughout the remaining century and a half […]

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122 -1204)

12th Century, With Docu, With Podcast

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122 – 1204) was queen consort of France (1137–1152) and England (1154–1189) and duchess of Aquitaine in her own right (1137–1204). As the heir of the House of Poitiers, rulers in southwestern France, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. She was patron of literary figures such as Wace, Benoît de Sainte-Maure, and Bernart de Ventadorn. She led armies several times in her life and was a leader of the Second Crusade. As the duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor was the most eligible bride in Europe. Three […]

1144 Fall of the crusader city of Edessa

12th Century

December 24, 1144: The capital of the crusader County of Edessa fell to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo. As a direct response to this, Pope Eugene III issued the papal bull ‘Quantum praedecessores’ calling for the Second Crusade. That crusade was led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, but by 1148 it had ended in disaster, and Edessa was never recovered. Siege of Edessa, (28 November–24 December 1144). The fall of the crusader city of Edessa to the Muslims was the spark that ignited the Second Crusade. The victory entrenched Zengi as […]

12th Century

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