T.L. Winslow's 1050s Historyscope 1050-1059 C.E.

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1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059

1050-1059 C.E.



A decade that resembles a missing hubcap, as the Christian Church splits (schisms) permanently between Rome and Constantinople, while an English babe goes around naked and people buy it?

Country Leader From To
England Edward III the Confessor (1004-66) 1042 Jan. 5, 1066 Edward III the Confessor of England (1004-66)
Scotland Macbeth (1005-57) 1040 1057 Macbeth of Scotland (1005-57)
France Henri I (1008-60) 1031 Aug. 4, 1060 Henri I of France (1008-60)
Germany HRE Henry III the Black (1017-56) Dec. 25, 1046 Oct. 5, 1056 HRE Henry III the Black (1017-56)
Papacy Leo IX (1002-54) 1049 Apr. 19, 1054 Pope Leo IX (1002-54)



1050 - The Robert of Jumieges Year?

Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus (1000-55) Muhammad al-Biruni (973-1051) Ssu-ma Kuang (Sima Guang) (1019-86)

1050 In this decade Roman Catholic Europe begins to pass the Greek Orthodox Byzantine Empire and the Muslim World, and to politically penetrate the Mediterranean world, ending the early Middle Ages; France and England begin forming centralized nat. govts. which check or reduce the powers of independent feudal barons, while Germany goes the other way, developing territorial lordships supported by the German emperors. In June Byzantine empress (since Nov. 15, 1029) Zoe Porphyrogenita (b. 978) dies, leaving her 3rd and last hubby (since 1042) Constantine IX Monomachus (Monomachos) (1000-55) to return from exile in Lesbos and becomes sole Roman Byzantine emperor #145 until Jan. 11, 1055), with Zoe's sister Theodora II waiting in the wings; Constantine IX goes on to support the mercantile classes and intellectuals over the military aristocracy, pissing them off, and living an extravagant life of pleasure with many mistresses while endowing the Nea Moni Monastery in Chios, the Mangana Monastery et al., becoming the emperor to preside over the Great Schism. In Sept. after Berengarius of Tours (999-1088) is summoned by Pope Leo IX over his denial of the in the Real Presence of the Eucharist, and tells him to stuff it, the Council of Vercelli condemns him, and also condemns the 200-y.-o. "De Divina Praedestinatione" (851) of Johannes Scotus Erigena. On Oct. 28 Eadsige dies, and 5 mo. later on June 29, 1051 London bishop Robert Chambert (Champart) of Jumieges (-1055) becomes Canterbury archbishop #33 (until Sept. 1052), the first Norman, traveling to Normandy and telling Duke William that Edward the Confessor wishes for him to become his heir; the whole affair pisses-off the Saxons. HRE Henry III acknowledges Norman control of S Italy; meanwhile the Normans penetrate into England, getting big ideas (wait till 1066). Egypt collapses under a military dictatorship. After Viking sea raids become a concern, the seat of the bishop of Devon and Cornwall is transferred from Crediton to Exeter, competing with a Saxon minister used by Bishop Leofric as his seat. Macbeth goes on a pilgrimage to Rome, where "he scattered money like seed corn to the poor", gaining brownie points with the Church. In this half-cent. the English manorial system reaches its apex, starting a slow decline due to the development of guilds and trade. The city of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany on the Pegnitz River (modern-day pop. 510K/3.5M) is first mentioned; in 1062 it is given the right by HRE Henry IV to hold a fair and coin money transferred to it from Furth; its patron is St. Sebald. Augustinian monk St. Bernard of Montjou founds a hospice in Switzerland in this decade; dogs aren't mentioned until the year 1695. Japanese sculptor Jocho sets up a school. Architecture: After the Monastery of Bourg-Saint-Pierre (built ca. 812) is destroyed by the Saracens in 940, the Great St. Bernard Hospice is founded in Great St. Bernard's Pass on the snow-covered path from the Aosta Valley to the Swiss canton of Valais in the Pennine Alps of Switzerland (2,469m alt.) near the Italian border by miracle-working St. Bernard of Menthon (Montjoux) (1020-81), archdeacon of Aosta, dedicated to St. Nicholas; it is first mentioned in 1125; it is placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Sion, prefect-count of Valais, putting it in Swiss territory. The Benedictine Weihenstephan Abbey (founded 768) obtains a brewing license from the city of Freising, Bavaria; meanwhile the Benedictine Weltenburg Abbey (founded 617) in Weltenburg (near Kelheim) on the Danube River in Bavaria, Germany does ditto, going on to share the title of oldest monastic brewery on Earth. The Benedictine Weltenburg Abbey in Kelheim on the Danube River in Germany (founded 620) begins brewing its famous dunkel (dark) beer, going on to become #1 in Germany to modern times. Palazzo Reale in Palermo is built in this decade. St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (begun 1045) is built in this decade by Yaroslav I of Kiev, becoming one of the first stone structures in N Russia and the first to show divergences from the Byzantine pattern; meanwhile Russian Metropolitan Hilarion of Kiev founds the Monastery of the Caves (Kiev Pechersk Lavra); the first Russian monasteries are also founded in Kiev in this decade. In this decade the white marble Jain temples on Mount Abu in Rajasthan, W India are built. Inventions: Astrolabes arrive in Europe from the East about this time. In this decade English monasteries begin to excel in embroidery. In this decade the harp arrives in Europe. In this decade polyphonic singing replaces the Gregorian chant. In this decade time values are given to musical notes. Science: Geman geographer Adam of Bremen claims that the Baltic Sea is an ocean open to the E. Music: Sys Willekomen Heirre Kerst, the first German Christmas carol is composed about this time. Nonfiction: The French biography Vie de St. Alexis (Life of St. Alexis) is written about this time. Poetry: In this half-cent the 11-story Welsh epic Mabinogion (Four Branches of Mabigoni) is written, mentioning the Arthurian legend and the game of chess. Births: Austrian Babenberg margrave (1075-95) Leopold II (the Fair) (d. 1095); in Tulln, Lower Austria; son of Ernest the Brave (1027-75) and Adelheid (daughter of Margrave Dedo II of Meissen). German Hohenstaufen Swabian duke #1 (1079-1105) Frederick I (d. 1105); son of Frederick von Buren, count of Riesgau and Hildegard of Egisheim-Dagsburg (daughter of Duke Otto II of Swabia, and niece of Pope Leo IX); father of Frederick II (1090-1147) and Conrad III of Germany (1093-1152). German Salian king #3 (1056-1106) and HRE (1084-1105) Henry IV (d. 1106) on Nov. 11 in Goslar; eldest son of HRE Henry III (1017-56) and Agnes of Poitou; father of HRE Henry V (1081-1125). Russian kieven prince (1093-1113) Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich (d. 1113); son of Iziaslav I (1024-78). Persian Assassins (Hashshaashins) founder Hassan ibn (Hassan-i) Sabbah (Sabah) (d. 1124) in Qom.



1051 - The St. Eric Red Ale Year?

Robert of Jumieges (-1055)

1051 On Aug. 10 Drogo of Hauteville (b. 1010) is assassinated in Montoglio by the Byzantines after promising Pope Leo IX to end Norman pillaging, and is succeeded by his younger brother Humphrey Abagelard of Hauteville (1010-57) as Norman count of Apulia and Calabria in S Italy; he goes on to punish the murderers, but fails to stop the pillaging of papal lands by Norman knights, causing Leo IX to organize an army against them. The Byzantines finally expel the Patzinaks (Pechenegs) from Bulgaria - I'm just a patzinak? After a group of Norman nobles raise hell and kill some men, Edward the Confessor orders Earl Godwin of Wessex (1001-53) to punish the townsfolk of Dover rather than his Norman friends; Godwin refuses, goes to Flanders to gather a mercenary fleet, and returns in the summer, meeting his sons who invaded from Ireland, then marches on Gloucester, advancing toward London by Sept., causing Canterbury archbishop Robert of Jumieges to flee to Rome, after which he is declared and outlaw and deposed on Sept. 14, dying in exile; Leofric III, Earl of Mercia mediates the quarrel, having it referred to the Witan, in which the earl of Northumbria supports the king, and it orders Godwin to leave England, and he goes into exile in Flanders, plotting a comeback - jealous of Godwin for all the king's favors? Danish Viking Eric of Odense sacks a monastery on the coast of Ireland, captures its brewmaster Father McBlarney and moves to Iceland, creating St. Eric Red Ale. The Asian nomad Seljuk Turks move W and capture Isfahan. The Fatimids "grant" their former N African provinces to the warlike Arab Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes, which had migrated to Egypt in the 8th cent. and kept begging for lebensraum; the Banu Sulaym stop and settle in Cyrenaica, while the Banu Hilal push on to Tunisia and E Algeria, conquering it by 1057. Births: English king (1066) Edgar Aetheling (the Outlaw) (d. 1126) in Hungary; last member of the West Saxon royal house of Cerdic; only son of Edward the Exile (1016-57); grandson of Edmund II Ironside (988-1016). Deaths: Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad al-Biruni (b. 973) on Dec. 13 in Ghazni, modern-day Afghanistan; leaves 100+ works on natural science, mathematics, and astronomy, incl. Kitab al-0Athar al-Baikya, Kitab Tarikh al-Hind (History of India), Kitab at-Tafhim (Elements of Astrology), Kitab al-Qanun al-Mas'udi (The Mas'udi Canon) (major work on astronomy), and Kitab as-Saydalah (treatise on medical drugs); uses Archimedes' Principle to calculate specific gravity; claims that the Earth rotates on its axis as well as around the Sun, but that the data can be equally well explained by the reverse hypothesis; speculates that the Indus Valley was once at the bottom of the sea; explains the working of artesian wells by the hydrostatic principle. Italian music theorist Guido d'Arezzo (b. 991). Persian Muslim brain man Abu al-Biruni (b. 973) on Dec. 13; leaves Chinese movable type printing inventor Bi Sheng (b. 990).



1052 - The Stigand Year?

Stigand of Canterbury (-1072) Patriarch Michael I Cerularius (1000-1058)

1052 On June 2/3 Guaimar IV (b. 1013) is assassinated, and his eldest son Gisulf (Gisulph) II (-1090) becomes Norman prince of Salerno (until 1077). Seeing the Norman favorites gaining and the Saxon earls losing, the public sentiment veers to Earl Godwin, who after a year of exile raises another army against Edward the Confessor, invades England, and sails up the Thames River to London, where he forces Edward to send his Norman advisors home and restore his estates; Godwin is now the most powerful man in England; Robert of Jumieges, Norman archbishop of Canterbury is ousted by the Witan, and Stigand (-1072) (an English Saxon) becomes Canterbury archbishop #34 (until Apr. 11, 1070); too bad, the pope will not recognize him and give him the pallium (scarf) since he is also serving as bishop of Wincester since 1047; Robert flees to Rome and remains in exile for life, his treatment by the Saxons later being used by Duke William of Normandy as a pretext to invade England; Scottish king Macbeth welcomes Norman knights expelled from England to bolster his throne against Donald I's sons, now grown and waiting in the wings. Fed up with their incursions into S Italy, Pope Leo IX goes to Saxony and asks his relative HRE Henry III for help in his fight against the pesky Normans, causing Henry to give up on his campaigns against the Hungarians. Pisa takes Sardinia from the Arabs. Duke Conrad of Bavaria revolts. Germany finally subdues Hungary, making it a fief of the German crown. Denmark does homage to HRE Henry III, but soon repudiates it. Chola Rajadhiraja I of S India is KIA in a battle in the Battle of Koppam against Chalukya Somesvara I of Kalyani. No yeast, no rising, or, Split Happens? Constantinople Patriarch (since 1043) Michael I Cerularius (Caerularius) (Kerularios) (1000-58) closes down the Latin-rite churches in Byzantium for using unleavened bread in their rites, leading to the Great Schism of 1054. The Irish wrest control of Dublin from the Danes (until ?). Architecture: Edward the Confessor begins rebuilding Westminster (St. Peter's) Abbey (finished 1060), becoming the first English church built in the Romanesque style. Births: French Capetian king (1060-1108) Philip I (the Amorous) (the Fat) (d. 1108) on May 23; son of Henri I and Anne of Kiev (1024-75) (daughter of Grand Prince Jaroslav I of Kiev); she gives him the Greek name for horse-lover, wowing the W Euros, who begin copying it; nephew of Count Baldwin V of Flanders; great-grandson of Hugh Capet; husband of loose old fat Bertha of Holland and tight young Bertrada of Monfort. Deaths: Italian margrave Boniface III of Tuscany (b. 985) on May 6 (assassinated). Norman prince of Salerno (1027-52) Guaimar IV



1053 - 900 years before TLW is a memorable date for Sizedoesntmatterordoesitarians?

Robert Guiscard (1016-85) Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen (1000-72)

1053 On Apr. 15 Earl Godwin (b. 990) dies during a banquet at Winchester, and his oldest surviving son Harold Godwinson (1022-66) becomes earl #2 of Wessex and chief advisor to the king, dominating him like his daddy did; Danegeld is finally abolished. On June 18 after Pope Leo IX returns to S Italy with a Swabian-Italian army under Prince Rudolph of Benevento, and agrees to a joint attack with the Byzantines on the Normans at Siponto (Manfredonia), he is intercepted on the way by the Normans under Count Humphrey of Hauteville and Richard I Drengot at the Battle of Civitate (Civitella del Fortore), and the Normans slaughter the pope's army even though they are outnumbered, and are inferior in stature to the German mercenaries; Pope Leo IX is captured by other Normans under Robert Guiscard (Lat. "the Fox") (1016-85) and forced to ratify their conquests in S Italy and pardon them, founding the Norman Kingdom of S Italy; the alliance between Duke William II the Bastard of Normandy (future William I the Conqueror of England) and HRE Henry III is broken, freeing William to invade England in 1066 - Pythagoras and Boudicca roll over in their graves? Henry IV (1050-1106) (son of Henry III) is elected and crowned HRE. Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople declares war on the pope and the Roman Catholic Church via a letter condemning fasting on Saturday, celibacy, and the use of unleavened bread for the Eucharist. Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen (1000-72), archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen since 1043 is appointed papal vicar of N Europe. The Murabitun (Arab. "hermits") fundamentalist Muslim sect begins taking over NW Africa (finished 1061). Architecture: The Hoodo (Jap. "hall of the phoenix") Pavilion in Byodoin, Japan is built. Births: Japanese Yamato emperor #72 (1073-87) Shirakawa (Sadahito) (d. 1129) on July 7; eldest son of Go-Sanjo (1034-73); father of Horikawa (1079-1107). Spanish count of Barcelona (1076-82) Ramon Berenguer II (the Towhead) (d. 1082); son of Ramon Berenguer I (1024-76); father of Ramon Berenguer III. (1082-1131). Spanish count of Barcelona (1076-?) Berenguer Ramon II (d. ?); twin brother of Ramon Berenguer II the Towhead (1053-82); son of Ramon Berenguer I (1024-76). Jesus Christ (d. 1086) is born this year, according to Russian topologist Anatoly Fomenko, who claims that conventional chronology is vastly inflated and contains repeated mirror images because the Russian Empire is the real heir to the Roman Empire, and all the English kings were really Byzantine kings backdated after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 by survivors who fled to the barbaric backward British island bringing their light from the East, and that ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome were actually manufactured by fiction authors during the Renaissance - didn't I hear all this before from Ensign Pavel Chekov in Star Trek? Hungarian king (1057-81) Solomon (Salamon) I (d. 1087); son of Andras I (1014-61). Byzantine empress (1071-81) Maria of Alania (Martha Bagrationi) (d. 1118) in Georgia; wife (1065-78) of Michael VII and (1078-81) Nicephorus III. Russian prince of Kiev (1113-25) Vladimir II Monomakh (d. 1125); son of Vsevolod I and Anastasia, daughter of Constantine IX Monomachos. Norman duke Robert III Curthose (d. 1134) in Normandy; wears short hose because he's a half-pint, and/or because his daddy calls him short boot (brevis ocrea)?; eldest son of William I the Conqueror (1026-87) and Matilda of Flanders; brother of William II Rufus (1057-1100) and Henry I (1068-1135). Deaths: English earl Godwin of Wessex (b. 1001) on Apr. 15 in Winchester; collapses during a royal banquet (stroke?).



1054 - The Dazzler Year? The Second Great Catholic Schism, the Bull Breaks Out in Crabs, and Birnam Wood Comes to Dunsinane, all in the same year?

Crab Nebula, 1054 Macbeth of Scotland (1005-57) Iziaslav I of Kiev (1024-78)

1054 In Feb. Henry I of France invades Normandy with a combined force under his brother Odo, Count Rainald of Clerement, and Count Guy of Ponthieu to steal it from Duke William II the Bastard (later William I the Conqueror), and is defeated at the Battle of Mortemer by William's Norman force under Count Robert of Eu, Hugh of Gournay, Walter Giffard, Roger of Mortemer, and William de Warenne, 1st earl of Surrey, proving that the duke has iron balls and that the king can forget it? On Apr. 19 Pope (since 1049) Leo IX dies, and the papal chair remains empty for a year. On July 4 Chinese astronomers note a "guest star" in the constellation Taurus, the star Zeta Thauri in the Crab Nebula (later known as a source of gamma rays); it is visible in daylight for 23 days and at night for two years; American aborigines see it, along with Arab astronomers, but no European records it - maybe this is a sign that a new country will be born on July 4 halfway to China in America, which will never be ruled by the ever-split Church? 900 years before Joseph McCarthy a demogogue accuses the Church of infiltration by agents of an evil power, and it ends up with no head? On July 16 after Byzantine patriarch (since 1043) Michael Cerularius disputes Pope Leo IX's claim to jurisdiction in S Italy over the Norman takeover, and lifestyle disputes over unleavened bread (azymes), celibate clergy, Saturday fasts et al. reach the breaking point, Constantiopole Studion monk Niketas Stethatos (Nicetas Pectoratus) writes a bestseller, not stressing that, but instead attacking the Roman Catholics on theoretical lines, making a big thing of their addition in 633 of the 2-word "filioque" clause ("and from the Son") to the 381 First Council of Constantinople Creed, claiming it denies the supremacy of the Father in the Trinity (even though filio and non-filio churches had coexisted peacefully up till now?); after reading it and blowing his top, patriarch Michael Cerularius and his whole church are excommunicated by deceased Pope Leo IX's delegate, Benedictine cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida (Moyenmoutier) (1000-61) (Moyen Moutier), and he responds by excommunicating the pope and the entire Roman Catholic Church, and the hard-hearted Second Great Schism (last) of the churches of Rome and Constantinople begins (ends 1965?); from now on the Greek Orthodox Church, led by the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople rejects the supremacy of the Roman Catholic pope and the use of the word "purgatory", and only accepts the authority of its first seven ecumenical councils; Orthodox priests are permitted to marry, but only those from celibate monastic orders can become bishops (enjoying all the hos they can buy?); the major patriarchates are Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, with the Church of Russia added in 1598 - if you start me up, if you start me up I'll never stop? On July 27 after Edward Confessor again sanctions Earl Siward of Northumbria to invade Scotland in support of Malcolm Mac Donald (with a plan to install him as a client or puppet king), he defeats Scottish "Red King" (since 1040) Macbeth (1005-57) (thane of Cawdor on the Moray Firth) in the bloody Battle of Birnam Wood Come to Dunsinane (Hill) at a hill fortress in C Scotland in the Sidlaw Hills in E Perthshire 7 mi. NE of Perth (Scone) on 1K-ft. Dunsinane Hill, overlooking the Carse of Gowrie and the Tay River Valley; On Sept. 1 the Battle of Atapuerca sees the army of Ferdinand I the Great of Castile defeat that of his brother Garcia V of Navarre at Atapuerca, 12 mi. E of Burgos; several Navarrese knights pretend to join the Castilians before the battle, and one of these kills Garcia, after which his eldest son is proclaimed king Sancho IV Garces (the Noble) of Navarre (of Penalen) (1039-76) (until 1076) on the field of battle, and the war continues. Casimir I the Restorer of Poland recaptures Silesia from Bohemia, but has to give up the royal title and accept the title of grand duke, plus make numerous concessions to the nobility and clergy, incl. a yearly tribute of 117 kg of silver and 7 kg of gold, setting a bad precedent - I love it when we're cruising together? Grand prince (since 1019) Yaroslav I the Wise (b. 978) dies, and his son Yziaslav (Iziaslav) I Yaroslavich (1024-78) becomes grand prince of Kiev, which begins a downhill slide, although Yaroslav I married a Swedish princess, his sister married a Polish king, three of his daughters married kings of France, Hungary, and Norway, and a son married a Byzantine princess; the loose federation of city-states he ruled is divided among his five sons, who begin interminable civil wars while the Cuman nomads of the steppe conquer the Pechenegs then begin raiding Slavic towns for the next 150 years, carrying off entire pops. to be sold into slavery. Seljuk Sultan Tugrul Beg sieges Manzikert in Armenia, under the command of Christian Byzantine Gen. Basil Apokapes (Apocapes), using a massive catapault to break down the walls until a Roman Catholic Frank bravely sallies forth and destroys it, after which the Armenians catapult a pig into the Muslim camp while shouting "O sultan, take that pig for your wife, and hwe will give you Manzikert as a victory", pissing him off and causing him to order all Christian POWs in his camp ritually decapitated before packing up and leaving. Abbot Crinan of Dunkeld, former ruler of Atholl and father of dead Duncan I leads an uprising against Macbeth in support of his youngest son Maldred and/or eldest grandson Malcom Mac Donald, but the rising is crushed and Crinan killed. Toghrul conquers Tabriz prince (since 1019) Vahsudan (Wahsudan); his son Abu Nasr Mamlan II (-1071) becomes the 6th and last ruler of the Rawwadid Dynasty. Italy and Egypt sign a commercial treaty expanding their commercial relations. Godfrey III the Bearded (997-1069), duke of Lower Lorraine marries Beatrice (Beatrix) of Bar (1017-76), widow of Boniface III of Tuscany (d. 1052), who was one of the pope's top Italian supporters; too bad, next year HRE Henry III arrests her for marrying a traitor, and takes her back a prisoner to Germany, while summoning Godfrey to his court in Florence, which he refuses to attend, while taking over Tuscany, and surviving till Henry III dies, then reconciling with HRE Henry IV. Ly Thai-tong dies, and his son Ly Nhat Ton (Ly Thanh-Tong) (1023-72) becomes emperor of Vietnam, adopting the ritual trappings of a Chinese emperor, which worries the real one. Births: Georgian Bagrationi king (1072-89) George (Giorgi) II (d. 1112); son of Bagrat IV (1018-72); father of David IV (1073-1125). Muslim Arab poet Abu Muhammad al-Qasim al-Hariri (d. 1122) in Basra. Deaths: Russian Kievan grand prince Yaroslav I (b. 978).



1055 - The Seljuk Turks become the new toughest kid on the block in Mesopotamia?

Pope Victor II (1018-57) Byzantine Empress Theodora II (989-1056) Tostig Godwinson (1026-66) Ferdinand I the Great of Castile and Leon (1017-65)

1055 On Jan. 10 Bretislaus I (b. 1002) dies in Chudrim in E Bohemia while making preparations to invade Hungary, and in Mar. his son Spitigniev (Spytihnev) II (1031-61) becomes duke of Bohemia (until 1061), his coronation being celebrated with the first known rendition of Lord, Have Mercy on Us, which becomes the oldest Czech song to survive to modern times; Moravia is left to three of Bretislaus' four sons, with Vratislaus II (-1092) getting Olomouc, Conrad I (-1092) getting Znojmo, and Otto getting Brno, and Jaromir (-1088) entering the Church and becoming bishop of Prague in 1068; when Otto dies, Conrad takes that over too, becoming known as Conrad of Brno; Spitigniev immediately goes to Regensburg to receive confirmation from the HRE, then expels all Germans from his lands, becoming known for his anti-Germany policy. On Jan. 11 Byzantine emperor (since June 11, 1042) Constantine IX (b. 1000) dies after leaving the empire a mess and weakening the military, and after overpowering his counsellors (who try to get him to name Bulgarian duke Nikephoros Proteuon on his deathbed) by coming out of the convent and convening the Senate and have the imperial guard proclaim her emperor, Theodora (Gr. "gift of God") II (980-1056), younger sister of Zoe rules alone as Roman Byzantine emperor #146 (until Aug. 31, 1056), while Greek patriarch of Constantinople (1043-58) (author of the Great Schism) Michael I Cerularius (Caerularius) (Kerularios) (1000-58), pissed-off at her appointment of clerics and centralization of power tries in vain to get her to marry to ensure the succession. On May 26 Adalbert the Victorious dies in Melk, and his son Ernst the Brave (1027-75) becomes margrave of Austria (until 1055), going on to amalgamate the Bohemian and Hungarian marches into Austria and colonize the Waldviertiel, earning the epithet Brave for fighting Bela I and his son Geza I of Hungary; he ends up siding the HRE Henry IV in the Investiture Controversy, which proves fatal. In Dec. Muslim Turkish nomad Seljuk leader #2 Tughrul (Tughril) (Togrul) Begh (990-1063) moves W and takes Baghdad, then frees the Abbasid caliph from the Shiite Buyid (Buwayhid) Dynasty (founded 934), which becomes kaput, causing the caliph to recognize him as sultan, after which the Turks become the "men of the sword" (official protectors of Sunni Islam), partnering with the Persians and Arabs, who become "men of the law"; the Seljuks hold Baghdad until 1258; meanwhile they plan on moving farther W by contracting the Byzantines. After a 1-year vacancy, Swabian count Gebhard is elected Pope (#152) Victor II (1018-57) (5th and last German pope until 2005), continuing the reversal of moral degeneration by battling simony and clerical concubinage, and allying with HRE Henry III to protest the 1039 claim of Spanish king of Castile (since 1029) and Leon (since 1037) Ferdinand I the Great (1017-65) to be emperor of Spain, implying that he is usurping the HRE and claiming headship of all of Christendom? The Council of Tours, presided over by Hildebrand condemns Berengarius of Tours, causing him to sign a recantation. Siward dies, and Tostig Godwinson (1026-66), son of Godwin and brother of Harold becomes king, er, earl of Northumbria. Ernest the Brave (1027-75) becomes margrave of Austria (until June 10, 1075). Vijayabahu I (-1110) becomes ruler of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) (until 1110), going on to share Pali Buddhist texts and monks with Anawrata of Burma. The earliest written record in the Hungarian language, a Charter for the Abbey at Tihany is written. Births: French queen consort (1072-94) Bertha (Berthe) of Holland (Frisia) (d. 1093) in Vlaardingen, Netherlands; daughter of Count Floris (Florent) I of Holland and Gertrude of Saxony (daughter of Duke Bernard II of Saxony). Austrian Babenberg queen Ida (Itha) of Formbach-Ratelnberg (d. 1101); daughter of Rapolo IV of Cham and Mathilde; wife of Leopold II; mother of Leopold III, and Ida, wife of Duke Luitpold of Moravia. Deaths Egyptian Jewish physician Isaac Israeli (b. 955); dies a lifelong bachelor; his medical textbooks written in Arabic are trans. into Hebrew and Latin, and used in Salermo and Paris. Roman Byzantine emperor #145 (1042-55) Constantine IX Monomachos (b. 1000) on Jan. 11. Bohemian duke (1035-55) Bretislaus I (b. 1002) on Jan. 10 in Chudrim; dies while preparing for another invasion of Hungary. Norman archbishop of Canterbury (1050-2) Robert of Jumieges on May 26.



1056 - The HRE Henry IV Year?

HRE Henry IV of Germany (1050-1106) German Empress Agnes of Poitou (1025-77) Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas (-1059)

1056 Call out the dancing bears? In May HRE (since 1039) Henry III the Black (b. 1017) meets with Henri I of France in Ivois, and the hotheaded French king challenges the German king to single combat, after which Henry III flees during the night back to Germany, falling ill on the way and dying on Oct. 5 in Bodfeld in the Hartz Mts.; he is succeeded by his 6-y.-o. son Henry IV (1050-1106), with his pious mother Empress Agnes (Gr. "pure") of Poitou (Poitiers) (1025-77) as regent (until 1065), who lets the lay and clerical magnates sell the store, appropriating royal resources and sovereign rights with impunity. On Aug. 31 emperor (since Jan. 11, 1055) Theodora (980) dies after selecting the elderly finance minister Michael VI Bringas Stratiokitos (Stratioticus) ("the Warlike") (Gerontas) ("the Old") (-1059) (relative of courtier Joseph Bringas) as Roman Byzantine emperor #147 (until Aug. 31, 1057), who beats off a challenge by Constantine IX's nephew Theodosios Monomachus (Monomachos) only to alienate the military by restoring the rank of ex-gen. Nikephoros Bryennios (Nicephorus Bryennius) but refusing to restore his wealth and estate, then sending him to Cappadocia with a 3K-man army, which he turns against him. Gruffydd does homage to Harold of Wessex and Leofric III of Mercia. Sheik Abdallah Ibn Yasin (-1059) founds the Almoravid Dynasty in N Africa among Saharan tribes, who jive with his brand of strict orthodox Islam (ends 1147). Beginning of the democratic anti-clerical Pataria movement in Milan, opposing simony, clerical marriage and concubinage, incubating the soil for the Cathar movement. Humbert, a constable of HRE Conrad II receives from Rudolph II, last king of Arles the part-French part-Italian territories forming the nucleus of the small subalpine state of Savoy, along with the title of count, becoming the oldest reigning family in Europe to survive to modern times (until 1946); his son Count Odo of Savoy (d. 1060) marries Countess Adelaide of Turin, greatly extending the dominions, then in the next 3 cents. the holdings are extended to the Piedmont and parts of Switzerland. Styria, attached to the duchy of Carinthia by Charlemagne becomes a mark (until 1192). HRE Henry III's confessor (St.) Anno II (1010-75) becomes archbishop of Cologne, Germany (until 1075). Architecture: Kauyuan Temple (begun 1001) is finished; it is used as a watchtower by Song soldiers for looking over the Liao border. Births: Anglo-Norman nobleman Robert of Belleme, 3rd Earl of Shewsbury (d. 1131); the real Robert the Devil? Deaths: Arab Abbasid caliph #27 (1075-94) (Sunni Muslim) Al-Muqtadi (d. 1094); son of Muhammad, son of Caliph Al-Qa'im; father of Al-Mustazhir. Flann of Monsterboice (b. ?) dies, leaving the poem Synchronisms of Flann Mainistraech. Deaths: Roman Byzantine empress (1042, 1055-6) Theodora II (b. 980) on Aug. 31 in Constantinople. German Salian king #2 (1039-56) and HRE (1039-56) Henry III the Black (b. 1017) on Oct. 5 in Bodfeld in the Hartz Mts.



1057 - (He) Does Look? - The Lady Godiva Don't Pinch Yourself You're Not Dreaming Year of the 11th Century?

Pope Stephen X (-1058) Byzantine Emperor Isaac I Comnenus (1005-61) St. Peter Damian (1007-72) Lady Godiva (1020-80) Abu al-Ma'arri (973-1057) The Alcazaba, 1057

1057 After receiving news of his whereabouts, Edward the Confessor sends William "the Seemly" Sinclair (St. Clair), 1st Baron Roslin (1028-70) of Normandy to Hungary to fetch his long-lost heir Edward Aetheling the Exile (1016-57), son of Edmund II Ironside and Ealdgyth (exiled since 1016, and now in the custody of HRE Henry III) in a last ditch attempt to save the Saxon royal house of England from the shenanigans of Harold Godwinson and Duke William of Normandy; too bad, he dies in Feb. after reaching England (murdered by Harold Godwinson's men?), leaving infant son Edgar the Aetheling (1051-1126). On June 28 Pope (since 1055) Victor II (b. 1018) dies in Tuscany, and on Aug. 2 (Feast of Pope St. Stephen I) Pope (#153) Stephen X (IX) (-1058) is elected, going on to prohibit matrimony among blood relations - it took this long? On Aug. 31 Leofric III (b. 968), earl of Mercia and lord of Coventry dies, and his son Alfgar (Aelfgar) (1002-59) succeeds him; earlier in the year Leofric III's wife Lady Godiva (Godgifu) (Lat. "God's gift") (1020-80) took a buck-naked horseback ride through the Coventry marketplace to induce him to lower the oppressive taxes, while Peeping Tom the Tailor, the only person to disobey the earl's orders to keep the shutters closed was struck blind? - what did she do, make him a sucker bet that he would have to lower the taxes if nobody peeped? In Aug. after crossing the Mounth, Duncan I's son and avenger Malcolm Mac Duncan kills Macbeth (b. 1005) in Lumphanan, near Aberdeen (where the road into Moray runs N from Deeside); Macbeth's army wins, though, and he is succeeded by his stepson Lulach Mac Gillcomgain (the Fatuous) (the Simpleton) (-1058) as king of listen-to-the-music-of-the-traffic-in-the-city kingdom of Scotland. On Aug. 31 after he loses the Battle of Petroe (Hades) on Aug. 20, and his lame attempts to negotiate using Michael Psellos as negotiator are ended by a riot in Constantinople, Byzantine emperor (since 1056) Michael IV (-1059) is deposed by Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople (so powerful now that he has become a kingmaker), who cuts off his hair and imprisons him in a monastery; on Sept. 1 after being proclaimed by his army on June 8, Isaac I Comnenus (Comnenos) (1005-61) of the military family of Comnenus (Komnenos) becomes Roman Byzantine emperor #148 (until Nov. 22, 1059), founding the Comnenus (Komnenos) Dynasty, which rules from 1081-1185, but for now Cerularius is the real emperor, proving it by wearing purple shoes; Isaac attempts to reform the finances, abolishing sinecures, etc., but although he saves the empire he's too old for the job and soon abdicates; he becomes the only Byzantine emperor to strike a military pose bearing a naked sword on coinage. The Normans under Robert Guiscard begin the conquest of Calabria (ends 1060). The Banu Hilal seize most of the Zirid and Hammadid territory in Tunisia and E Algeria, sacking the #3 holy city (after Mecca and Medina) of Al Qayrawan (Kirwan), and destroying its preeminence; the Arabic language starts to displace the Berber language in N Africa while the economy tanks. Anawrata of Burma conquers the Mon kingdom of Thaton. Norwegian King Harald III Hardrada begins debasing Norway's silver currency by mixing in softa reda coppera. (St.) Peter Damian (1007-72) becomes cardinal bishop of Ostia. Architecture: The Alcazaba palace-fortress is built in Malaga in S Spain on the Costa del Sol by the badass ruler Badis. Nonfiction: The Ostromir Gospel is written in Novgorod. Births: French duke of Burgundy (1076-9) and archbishop of Lyon (1081-1106) Hugh I (d. 1093); son of Henry of Burgundy (1035-71); grandson of Robert I Capet (1011-76); brother of Eudes I (1058-1103). Welsh bishop of St. David's (1091-99) Rhigyfarch (Rhygyfarch) (Ricemarch) (d. 1099); eldest son of Sulien. English Norman king #2 (1087-1100) William II Rufus (the Red) (d. 1100); William I the Conqueror (1026-87) and Matilda of Flanders; brother of Robert III Curthose (1053-1134) and Henry I (1068-1135); nicknamed from his ruddy complexion and/or red beard. French count Hugh (the Younger) of Vermandois (d. 1101); youngest son of Henry I and Anne of Kiev; younger brother of Philip I. Norman duke (First Crusade cmdr.) (prince of Antioch and Taranto) Bohemund (Bohemond) (Boamund) I de Hauteville (d. 1111); son of Robert Guiscard (1016-85). Deaths: Arab rationalist poet Abu al'-Ala' al-Ma'arri (b. 973) on May 10 (May 21?); leaves The Tinder Spark, Unnecessary Necessity (Luzumiyat), The Epistle of Forgiveness (Resalat Al-Ghufran) (inspires Dante's "Divine Comedy"?), and Paragraphs and Periods (Fusul wal Ghayat) (parody of the Quran's style); "Muslims are stumbling, Christians all astray/ Jews bewildered, Magis far on error's way./ We mortals are composed of two great schools:/ Enlightened knaves and religious fools"; "Do not suppose the statements of the prophets to be true; they are all fabrications. Men lived comfortably till they came and spoiled life. The sacred books are only such a set of idle tales as any age could produce"; "It is certain that the soul, being of the same nature in all the animal kingdom, is dissipated with a man's death as with an animal's death"; "What poets and theologians tell us about the next world is a chimera that they have made up and recited for reasons not hard to guess". Scottish king Macbeth (b. 1005) in Aug. in Lumphanan (near Aberdeen) (KIA); buried in Iona Abbey, Argyll. English heir apparent Edward the Exile (b. 1016) in Aug. (murdered?); dies two days after arriving in England and being prevented from seeing the king.



1058 - The Malcolm III Canmore Year?

Malcolm III Canmore of Scotland (1031-93) Boleslaus II the Bold of Poland (1038-81) Ali al-Mawardi (974-1058)

1058 On Mar. 29 Pope (since 1057) Stephen X dies. On Nov. 28 Casimir I the Restorer (b. 1016) dies, and his son Boleslaus (Boleslaw) II the Bold (1038-1081) becomes duke (don't say king) of Poland (until 1076), incl. Mazovia, Silesia, and Pomerania, going on to become the first Polish monarch to produce his own coinage in great enough quantity to replace foreign coins, establishing royal mints in Cracow and Wroclaw, and becoming known as "the Generous" for founding Benedictine monasteries in Lubin, Mogilno, and Wroclaw; too bad, thanks to the fractured power structure he's always in a catfight with the Polish nobles. HRE Henry III recognizes Hungary's independence from the empire. Malcolm III Canmore slays Lulach at his stronghold in Essie in Strathbogie a few mi. N of where his stepfather Macbeth was killed, and becomes king Malcolm (Mael Coluim) Mac Donald (Donnchada) III "Canmore" (Ceann Mor) (Gael. "big head" or "big chief") (1031-93) (his wife's bragging?) of Scotland next year (until 1093) in the good ole days before the Norman Conquest, going on to fight off challenges by the still-true line of Kenneth Mac Duib while setting up his line, that of great-great-grandfather Kenneth Mac Malcolm to control the throne, founding the Canmore Dynasty (ends 1290); Macbeth's castle in Inverness is razed; despite his long exposure to Anglo-Saxon culture he doesn't sell out the Gaelic Celts yet, but does absorb Norse culture in Earl Siward's court at York? Duke William of Normandy defeats Geoffrey of Anjou in the Battle of Varaville; meanwhile HRE Henry III ravages the heart of Normandy. Isaac I Comnenus overthrows Constantinople patriarch (since 1043) Cerularius and banishes him, and the latter dies after a shipwreck; later, the emperor flops and raises his name and memory to great heights - let's talk about eternity? Sunni Muslims led by Abd al-Buhlul stage a successful revolt from the Shiite Qarmatians in Bahrain. Architecture: Abbot Desiderius (-1087) (later Pope Victor III) rebuilds the Abbey of Monte Cassino in Italy, which was burned by the pesky Muslims in 883, and the Lombards in 584, creating the unique Beneventan Script; in the 1060s Desiderius hires Byzantine mosaic experts, who teach his monks how to do it, and in 1071 the new improved abbey church is consecrated by Pope Alexander II. Parma Cathedral is begun (finished 1074). Births: French First Crusade leader Godfrey (Godfroi) (Godefroi) (Geoffrey) (OG "spear peace") de Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine and Margrave of Antwerp (d. 1100); a direct descendant of Charlemagne (742-814) in the female line, and a direct descendant of Sigisbert IV (676-758), last Merovingian king in the male line, son of the count of Boulogne, son of Eustache, first count of Boulogne, son of Hugues "Long Nose" de Plantard, descendant of Dagobert II and Jewish prince Guillem de Gellone; his mother is inheritor of Brabant, lower province of Lorraine (Lotharingia) in the Meuse River Valley; brother of Eustace and Baldwin; founder of the original Priory of Sion? French duke of Burgundy (1079-1103) Eudes I Borel (the Red) (d. 1103); son of Henry of Burgundy (1035-71), son of Robert I Capet (1011-76); brother of Hugh I (1057-93). French Crusader Latin king of Jerusalem #2 (1100-1118) (gay?) Baldwin I of Edessa/Boulogne/Jerusalem (d. 1118) in Lorraine; son of Eustace II of Boulogne (1015-87) and Ida of Lorraine (1040-1113) (daughter of Duke Godfrey III of Lower Lorraine); younger brother of Godfrey of Bouillon (1060-1100) and Eustace III of Boulogne. Persian Arab #1 Sunni Sufi mystic theologian ("the St. Augustine and Immanuel Kant of Islam") Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (Algazel) (d. 1111) in Tus, Khorasan. Deaths: Persian Muslim Sunni jurist Ali al-Mawardi (b. 972); leaves The Principles of Government (Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya), arguing for the relevance of the caliphate in a world of sultanates. Greek patriarch of Constantinople (1043-58) Michael Cerularius (b. 1000); dies after a shipwreck. Polish duke (1040-58) Casimir I the Restorer (b. 1016) on Nov. 28 in Poznan. English last bishop of Sherborne (1045-58) St. Alfwold (Aelfwold) (b. ?) in Dorsetshire; dies while singing the antiphon of St. Cuthbert.



1059 - The Treaty of Melfi Year?

Pope Nicholas II (-1061) Byzantine Emperor Constantine X Ducas (1006-67)

1059 On Jan. 24 Gerhard of Burgundy (Gerard de Bourgogne), bishop of Florence is elected Pope (#154) Nicholas II (-1061), holding an Easter synod which passes a new law requiring papal elections by cardinals only. On May 23 as his daddy's health fails, child Philip I is crowned co-regent of France in Reims. In Aug. the Treaty of Melfi is signed by Pope Nicholas II and the Normans, making Robert Guiscard and Richard of Aversa, prince of Capua into papal vassals with the power to take S Italy from the Greeks, and Sicily from the Muslims; Apulia is given to Robert Guiscard and raised from a county to a duchy by the pope - you're the apulia of my eye? On Nov. 22 after a successful campaign against Andrew I of Hungary and the Pechenegs that results in a peace treaty with Hungary, during which he is nearly struck by lightning while leaning against a tree, then grows ill, attributing it to God's displeasure, whipped on by Michael Psellos, Isaac I Comnenus abdicates and retires to a monastery, and on Nov. 24 is succeeded by effete intellectual anti-military snob finance official Constantine X Ducas (Doukas) (1006-67), who becomes Roman Byzantine emperor #149 (until May 22, 1067), giving free rein to civil and church officials while treating the military with suspicion, bloating its payroll with court officials, replacing standing soldiers with mercenaries, failing to repair frontier fortifications, and attempting to raise taxes, pissing-off the pop. while fatally weaking Byzantine defenses by disbanding the local militia of 50K Armenian troops just as the Seljuk Turks are advancing from the E, going on to lose most of Byzantine Italy to the Normans under Robert Guiscard except Bari. Malcolm III Canmore goes to the court of Edward the Confessor to renew the oath of prior Scottish rulers to be "sworn helper" of the English king. A church council in Milan is presided over by Peter Damian, in which the pop. complains about being subject to Rome, and after Archbishop Guido promises to change it and reneges, Erlembaldo (-1074) begins a popular revolt, which ends with his death. Architecture: The Florentine Romanesque Florence Baptistery (of St. John) in Italy is begun (finished 1128). Bonn Minster is begun. Deaths: Welsh bishop Rhigyfarch (b. 1057); leaves Life of St. David Hungarian king (1038-46) Stephen Orseolo (b. 1011) on Aug. 30.



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