| Country | Leader | From | To | |
| England | Henry I Beauclerc (1068-1135) | 1100 | Dec. 1, 1135 |  |
| Scotland | David I the Saint (1080-1153) | 1124 | 1153 |  |
| France | Louis VI the Fat (1081-1137) | 1108 | Aug. 1, 1137 |  |
| Germany | HRE Lothair III/II (1075-1137) | 1125 | 1137 |  |
| Papacy | Honorius II (-1130) | 1124 | Feb. 13, 1130 |  |
1130 On Feb. 13 Pope (since 1124) Honorius II dies, and on Feb. 14 after Cardinal Aimerico of Santa Maria Novella splits with Cencio II Frangipani, he gets his candidate Gregorio Papereschi elected Pope (#163) Innocent II (-1143); too bad, the hastiness of the contested election causes a schism, and on May 18 the Roman nobles incl. Cencio II elect distinguished scholar-diplomat Pietro Pierleone (Pierlioni) (son of rich converted Jew Pier Leoni) as Antipope Anacletus II (-1138) (until 1138), sending a letter the same day to German king (since 1125) Lothair III/II (1075-1137) asking for support; Anacletus II allegedly keeps a ho for a mistress, commits incest with his sister and other female relatives, and has a bad er, habit of raping nuns; meanwhile Cencio II is exiled from Rome (until 1133). On Mar. 26 Sigurd I (b. 1090) dies, leaving no legitimate son, causing a power struggle between his many bastard sons and pretenders, escalating into a civil war that lasts until 1240, centered around the Bagler and Birkebeiner clans; round 1 features Magnus IV Sigurdsson (the Blind) (1115-39), and his Irish or Scottish-born uncle Harald Gille (Gillechrist) ("servant of Christ") (1103-36), Sigurd's half-brother, who had promised Sigurd not to claim any share in the govt. until Magnus' death, but once the old fart is gone demands to rule jointly (Magnus in the E, Harald in the W?) while he plans to do him in (ends 1135) - are you ready to challenge yourself, rethink how you eat? Alba go bragh, baby? On Apr. 16 after Alexander I's bastard son Malcolm (Mael Coluim mac Alaxandair) and Earl Angus (Mormaer Oengus) of Moray (son of the daughter of Lulach, stepson of Macbeth) lead a last-hope Gaelic revolt against Norman butt-kisser David I, their 5K men are slaughtered and defeated by a Norman army under Anglo-Saxon noble (later lord high constable to David I in 1140-50) Edward Siwardsson at the Battle of Stracathro (Inchbare) near Brechin in Angus; Earl Angus is KIA along with 4K of his men (vs. 1K Anglo-Saxons), becoming the last Gaelic earl of Moray, ending the Mormaerdom, but Malcolm escapes to fight another day; David I seizes Angus' estates, subdues Moray and grants it to his newphew (son of Duncan II) William fitz Duncan (-1147) (until 1147), and builds royal castles in Elgin, Forres, and Inverness to consolidate his hold, then brings in Fleming Freskin colonists, going on to gain control of most of mainland Scotland by the middle of the decade, making himself #2 in the British Isles; to pacify the Gaelic pop. he grants charters of privileges to commercial settlements growing up around his new castles, but shows who's boss by endowing the Benedictine Urquhart Priory on Earl Angus' estate in 1136 as a daughter to his royal Dunfermline Abbey. On Sept. 27 Norman count (since 1105) Roger II (1095-1154) is crowned king of Sicily (until Feb. 26, 1154) in Palermo, and his kingdom becomes known as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies because the S part of the Italian mainland incl. Apulia is called "Sicily on this side of Cape Faro"; his elaborate coronation cloak is later used by the HREs. Muhammad ibn Tumart (b. 1078) dies, and the Berber Abd al-Mumin (1094-1163) succeeds him as head of the Almohads, taking the title of caliph, and going on to crush the Almoravids and conquer Morocco and parts of N Africa. Tashfin ibn Ali ibn Yusuf, son of the Murabitun Emir takes the castle of Aceca S of Toledo; the Murabitun, led by the gov. of Valencia defeat the invading Aragonese and kill First Crusader hero Gaston de Bearn. (St.) Bernard (Bernhard) (Bernardus) (-1154) becomes bishop of Hildesheim, becoming known as a protector of the arts. The Jews believe that this year will see the appearance of the Messiah, and sho 'nuff, Messiah Moshe Dray conveniently appears in Cordoba. The Knights of St. John (founded 1070) go military on the model of the Knights Templar, with noble blood a requirement for knighthood - the Christian al-Qaida? About this time Breton youth Adam of St. Victor (-1146) joins the Monastery of St. Victor near Paris, living there 60 years following mystics Hugo and Richard, and composing Latin hymns for the Mass, sparking the Notre Dame school in Paris to beef-up its musical repertoire. Architecture: In May Canterbury Cathedral in England (rebuilt in 1070-7) is dedicated; papal legate Cardinal John of Crema (Cremona) arrives, and lords it over the English clergy, causing Canterbury archbishop William of Corbeil to travel to Rome and get appointed as the first English papal legate in England and Scotland. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the oldest of the four round churches in England is built about this time in Cambridge, England by the Knights Templar as a clone of the one in Jerusalem. Nonfiction: Leinster Codex Rawlinson B502, the earliest Irish genealogical ms. to survive to modern times dates to this decade. Simeon (Symeon) of Durham, History of the Church of Durham from 635; History of the Kings; Chronicle of the Angles. Births: Chinese rationalist Neo-Confucian scholar (#2 Chinese philosopher after Confucius) Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi) (d. 1200) on Oct. 18 in Yuxi, Fujian; emphasizes the Four Books over the Book of Changes, and argues for two universal elements, qi (chi) (matter-energy) and li (rational law), whose source is Taiji (Tai Chi) (the Great Ultimate). French count Eustace IV of Boulogne (d. 1153); eldest son of English king Stephen I of Blois (1096-1154) and Queen Matilda of Boulogne (1105-52). Hungarian king (1141-62) Geza II (d. 1162) in Tolna, Poland; son of Bela II the Blind (1110-41) and Ilona (Jelena) of Serbia. Jerusalem king #4 (1143-63) Baldwin III (d. 1163); eldest son of Fulk of Anjou (1089-43) and Queen Melisende (1105-61). Spanish Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela (d. 1173) in Tudela, Navarre. Norman soldier Richard Fitz Gilbert (OG "shining pledge") "Strongbow" "Arc-Fort" de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (d. 1176) in Tonbridge, Kent; son of Gilbert "Strongbow" de Clare, 1st earl of Pembroke (1085-1148) and Isabel de Beaumont; grandson of Earl Gilbert de Clare (-1117); husband (1170-) of Aoife (Eva) MacMurrough of Leinster (1145-88); father of Isabel de Clare, 4th countess of Pembroke and Striguil (1172-1220). Muslim mathematician-astronomer Ibn Yahya al-Maghribi al-Samaw-al (Samau'al al-Maghribi) (d. 1180) in Baghdad, Iraq; Jewish rabbi father from Morroco; converts to Islam in 1163. German Alsatian "Hortus deliciarum" abbess Herrad of Landsberg (d. 1195) in Landsberg. Deaths: Portuguese queen (1112-28) Teresa of Leon (b. 1080) on Nov. 11 in Montederramo Monastery, Galicia. Moroccan Almohad sect founder Muhammad ibn Tumart (b. 1078). Norwegian king Sigurd I (b. 1090) on Mar. 26. Scottish queen Matilda de Senls (b. ?).
1131 On Jan. 7 Danish prince Canute (Knud) Lavard (the Lord) (b. 1096), 1st duke of Schleswig is trapped and ambushed in Haraldsted Forest near Ringsted in Zealand Island, starting a civil war, which his posth. son (born Jan. 14) Valdemar I ends, getting his daddy canonized in 1170. On Mar. 1 Stephen II (b. 1101) of Hungary dies, and the dynastic conflicts rage as the Byzantine emperor whips them up to extend his sway; Stephen II's swill-swigging cousin (grandson of Geza I through Almos and Ingeborg of Sweden) Bela II (the Blind) (1110-41) becomes Arpad king of Hungary (until 1141), with his Serbian princess wife Ilona (Jelena) and brother-in-law Belos helping him to govern; Ilona's first act is to order the massacre of all the men responsible for his blinding. In Mar. Pope Innocent II crowns German king Lothair III/II and queen Richenza in Liege; in Oct. he crowns Louis VII of France in Rheims. On Aug. 19 Ramon Berenguer III (b. 1082) dies, and his elder son Ramon Berenguer IV (the Holy) (1113-62) becomes count of Barcelona (until 1162), while his younger son Berengar Raymond I (1115-44) becomes count of Provence (until 1144). King (since Apr. 14, 1118) Baldwin II (b. 1060) dies, and is succeeded by his son-in-law Count Fulk (Fulques) V the Young of Anjou (1089-1143), husband (since June 2, 1129) of his daughter (Godfrey de Bouillon's niece) Queen Melisende (Melusine) (Melisanda) (1105-61) as Latin king #4 of Jerusalem (until 1153), with Melisende as joint ruler; too bad, he cuts her out of the loop and favors fellow countrymen from Anjou for his administration, proceeding to bring most of Syria under Christian control, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem reaches its peak in his reign; his marriage causes the Plantagenet family, lords of Anjou to claim descent from the Merovingians. Albert the Bear loses lower Lusatia (modern day E Germany and SW Poland) and the E march of Saxony. Berkyaruq's brother Ahmed Sanjar (1084-1157), prince of Khorasan (since 1096) overthrows his nephew Mahmud II, becoming sultan of the Seljuks. The Neville (Nevill) Family is founded in England, going on to rise to great heights. The Bishopric of Aberdeen (Gael. "mouth of the Dee River") in Scotland is first mentioned. Births: Sicilian Norman king #2 (1154-66) William I (the Bad) (the Wicked) of Sicily (d. 1166); 4th son of Roger II (1095-1154) and Elvira of Castile (1100-35); maternal grandson of Alfonso VI of Castile; father of William II the Good (1155-89). Danish king (1157-8) Valdemar (Waldemar) I (the Great) (d. 1182) on Jan. 14; son of Canute Lavard (1090-1131); grandson of Eric I (1070-1103); father of Valdemar II (1170-1241). French Crusader Baldwin of Ibelin (Baldwin II of Ramla) (d. 1187); son of Barisan of Ibelin (-1150); brother of Hugh of Ibelin (1130-71) and Balian of Ibelin (1141-3). Deaths: Norman lord Robert of Belleme, 3rd earl of Shrewsbury (b. 1056); dies in prison. French mystery man Hugues de Payen (b. 1070) on May 24. Spanish count of Barcelona (1097-1131) Ramon Berenguer III (b. 1082) on Aug. 19. Danish prince Canute Lavard (b. 1090) on Jan. 7 in Hardaldsted Forest (near Ringsted), Zealand Island (murdered). Hungarian king (1116-31) Stephen II (b. 1101) on Mar. 1.
1132 On Jan. 28 the Southern (Nan) Song Chinese under gen. Han Shizhong (1089-1151 siege and capture a city in Fujian, becoming the first known use of gunpowder cannons. Boleslav III of Poland begins campaigning in Hungary (until 1135). Henry I of France grants charters to corporate towns to protect commerce and industry. Grand prince (since 1125) Mstislav I dies, and his younger brother Yaropolk II Vladimirovich (1082-1139), prince of Pereyaslav (since 1114) becomes grand prince of Kiev (until 1139). Having captured Korikos, Levon I of Lesser Armenia seizes Tarsus, Adana, and Mamistra, putting him into conflict with the Crusaders. Louis VI the Fat finally forces the robber barons around Paris to yield to his royal authority. The Benedictine Abbey of Orval in Luxembourg (founded 1071) is taken over by Cistercians, becoming famous for its Trappist Orval beer and its cheese, and growing so rich that by 1750 it owns 300+ towns, villages, and manors, with an annual income of 1.2M livres. Architecture: Cistercian Fountains Abbey is founded 3 mi. SW of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England near Aldfield; in 1539 it is dissolved under orders of Henry VIII. Births: English Roman Catholic martyr (St.) William of Norwich (d. 1144) on Feb. 2 in Norwich; patron saint of bigoted Roman Catholic Jew-baiters? Deaths: Russian grand prince of Kiev (1125-32) Mstislav I the Great (b. 1076) on Apr. 14 in Kiev.
1133 A disease strikes cattle and pigs in Britain. On June 4 Lothair III/II is crowned HRE by Pope Innocent II in Rome (until 1137); Cencio II Frangipane is allowed to return, and attends the coronation. On Aug. 24 the first St. Bartholomew's Fair is held in Smithfield, England in NW London outside Aldersgate (until 1855). The Saxon North Mark is conferred upon Albert the Bear, who begins calling himself the margrave of Brandenburg, gets busy fighting the Wends, a mixed pagan Slavic people, who end up huddled along the Spree River and migrate to Texas in the 1850s - Winslow really = Wendslav? The Christian militia of Toledo reach the gates of Seville and kill the Murabitun gov. Abu Hafs Umar ibn Ali ibn al-Hajj; further damage is prevented by the intervention of Tashfin ibn Ali ibn Yusuf. The Diocese of Carlisle in Britain is founded by Henry I as part of the Diocese of Durham, with Aethelwold as bishop #1. Births: English king #25 (1154-89) (founder of the Plantagenet Dynasty) (redhead) Henry II Plantagenet (FitzEmpress) (Curtmantle) (d. 1189) on Mar. 5 in Le Mans, France; son of Count Geoffrey V Plantagenet of Anjou (1113-51) and Empress Matilda (Maud) (1102-67) (daughter of Henry I); grows up in Anjou, and goes to Bristol, England at age 9 to be educated by Master Matthew; husband (1152-) of Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204); father of Count William of Poitiers (1153-6), Henry the Young King (1155-83), Richard I (1157-99), Duke Geoffrey II of Brittany (1158-86), John I (1167-1216), Matilda (Maud) of England (1156-89), Leonora (Eleanor) of Castile (1162-1214), and Joan of Sicily (1165-99). Norwegian king (1136-55) Sigurd II Haraldsson (Munn) (d. 1155); son of king Harald Gille and Tora Gutormsdotter. Spanish king of Navarre (1150-94) Sancho VI Garces (Garcés) (the Wise) (el Sabio) (d. 1194); son of Garcia VI Ramirez the Restorer (-1150) and Marguerite de l'Aigle; first to drop Pamplona from his royal title. Welsh ruler of Deuheubarth (S Wales) (1155-97) Rhys ap Gruffydd (Griffith) (d. 1197) (AKA Lord Rhys).
1134 On Jan. 7 after Niels and Magnus land hoping to finish him off, Eric II Emune (the Memorable) (1090-1137), illegitimate son of Eric I surprises them with a force of German soldiers, slaughters them, kills Magnus and defeats his uncle Niels on June 4 at the Battle of Fodevig (Fotevik) Bay, awards himself the title Emune (the Memorable), and becomes king of Denmark (until 1137), becoming a harsh and unpopular ruler, and marrying Malmfrid of Kiev, daughter of Kiev grand duke Mstislav I and former wife of Sigurd I of Norway; civil wars rock Norway, centered between the Bagler and Birkebeiner parties (until 1217). On July 17 after the Murabitun under Almoravid king #5 (1104-43) Ali ibn Yusuf (1084-1143) raid in the Caceres area, the Aragonese under king (since Sept. 28, 1104) Alfonso I the Battler (b. 1073) siege the small town of Fraga in Aragon until a Murabitun relief army under Yahya ibn Ali ibn Ghaniya defeats the overconfident Christian pricks, and Alfonso I is severely wounded and dies on Sept. 8; Arragonese rule of Navarre (begun 1076) ends, and the W kingdoms of Castile and Leon gain supremacy over the E kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre. On Aug. 9 Magnus IV defeats his uncle Harald IV at Farlev (Fyrileif) in Bohuslan (Bohuslän) in W Sweden, causing Harald to flee to Denmark, but Magnus goofs up by disbanding his army and wintering in Bergen, allowing Harald to gather a new army and surprise him after Christmas. On Sept. 8 after losing to the Moors at Fraga, king (since Sept. 28, 1104) Alfonso I the Battler (b. 1073) of Aragon and Pamplona dies without an heir, willing his kingdom to the military orders, pissing-off the nobles, who elect Garcia VI Ramirez (the Restorer) (1112-50), count of Monzon (grandson of El Cid) as king of Pamplona (Navarre) (until Nov. 21, 1150), who goes on to restore its independent existence after 58 years of union with Aragon; meanwhile Alfonso VII of Leon claims the throne of Aragon, causing other nobles to choose Alfonso I's brother Ramiro II (the Monk) (1075-1157), who becomes king of Aragon (until Aug. 16, 1137), pissing-off Alfonso VII, who occupies La Rioja and conquers Zaragoza, going on to turn both Navarre and Aragon into his vassals. HRE Lothair III/II invests Albert the Bear for his share in his first Italian campaign with the Nordmark (N march of Saxony). War breaks out between Norwegian kings Harald IV and Magnus IV. Boleslav III ends his campaigns in Hungary with no permanent result. The Byzantines war with Lesser Armenia, which allies with the Latin kingdom of Antioch (ends 1137). Scottish pretender Malcolm is captured and imprisoned in Roxburgh Castle, ending the hopes of the Gaels, but later, after 20 years of stability and economic prosperity in an era of English anarchy, they come to accept it? - they call it being thrifty? The religious order of the Humiliati (founded by nobles from Lombardy early in this cent. after rebelling against HRE Henry V and being taking POW, then humiliating themselves to a penitential garb and mode of life to obtain release) withdraws into a monastery in Milan, going on to embrace the Rule of St. Benedict, after which they send a delegation to Rome in 1178 to obtain papal approval but disobey and get excommunicated, but make amends, and continue on until they are suppressed by Pope Pius V in 1571. The U. of Salamanca in Salamanca (120 mi. W of Madrid), Castile and Leon, Spain is founded, becoming the oldest univ. in Spain; in 1218 it receives a royal charter from Alfonso IX; on May 8, 1254 Alfonso X grants it the title of university, which is recognized in 1255 by Pope Alexander IV; "Quod natura non dat, Salamantica non praestat" (What Nature does not give, Salamanca does not lend); "Multos et doctissimos Salmantica habet" (Many and very versed Salamanca has); in 1940 after the Spanish govt. fires the faculties of canon law and theology, Pope Pius XII founds the Pontifical U. of Salamanca. Architecture: The W facade of Chartres Cathedral in France is begun (ends 1150); it is consecrated in 1260; the final monstrous double-spired cathedral with a giant Mister Sun over the main doors isn't finished until about 1300. Poetry: Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100-55), The Prophecies of Merlin (Prophetiae Merlini); creates a cult that lasts until 1445. Births: Spanish king of Castile and Toledo (b. 1134) Sancho III (the Desired) (d. 1158) in Toledo; eldest son of Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile (1105-57) and Berengaria of Barcelona (1116-49); brother of Ferdinand II of Leon (1137-88). Anglo-Norman landowner Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, 4th Baron Lacy (d. 1186); son of Gilbert de Lacy (d. 1164). Indian sage (founder of the Lingayat Sect) Basava (Basavanna) (Basaveshwara) (d. 1196). German duke of Saxony (1180-1212) Bernhard, Count of Anhalt (d. 1212); 7th and last son of Albert the Bear (-1170) and Sophie of Winzenburg. Deaths: Norman duke Robert III Curthose (b. 1053) on Feb. 10 in Cardiff. Spanish king of Aragon and Pamplona (1104-34) Alfonso I the Battler (b. 1073) on Sept. 8 in Polenino (KIA). German bishop St. Norbert (b. 1080) on June 6 in Magdeburg; canonized by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
1135 This is the German Year of Pacification, with a gen. peace proclaimed; Conrad III, Frederick of Swabia, the king of Denmark, and the duke of Poland all submit to HRE Lothair III/II and his Welf son-in-law Henry the Proud, to whom Lothair plans to give a vast dynastic holding, incl. Bavaria, Swabia, Saxony, the allodial (freehold) lands and fiefs of Matilda of Tuscany, along with the imperial crown - don't get too proud till you've got them? On Jan. 7 Harald IV attacks Bergen, captures Magnus IV, deposes him, and blinds, castrates and amputes one of his legs, causing him to be known as Magnus the Dickless Blind Pegleg, er, Magnus the Blind, and become a monk; meanwhile pretender Sigurd Magnusson Slembe (Slembedjakn) (Noisy) (-1139) appears, claiming to be a son of Magnus II, and is allowed to become co-king with Harald - big mistake? On May 26 Alfonso VII of Castile-Leon is crowned "emperor of all the Spains" (imperator totius Hispaniae) in the Cathedral of Leon. On May 26 (Pentecost) a fire seriously damages St. Paul's Cathedral and London Bridge in London, England. On Aug. 10 the Battle of Konungahella in modern-day Kungalv, Sweden sees Duke Ratibor arrive with a 550-ship fleet, each with 44 men and two horses aboard, razing the town, killing most of the pop. and enslaving the rest. On Aug. 29 caliph (since Aug. 6, 1118) Al-Mustarshid (b. 1092) is assassinated by the Hashshashins in his tent while reading the Quran, and his son Al-Rashid (1109-38)) succeeds him as Abbassid caliph (until 1136), avenging his daddy's death by insulting Sultan Masud's envoy after he came to demand a large, er, largess, inciting the mob to plunder his place, then gaining the support of Zengi to set up a rival sultan, causing Masud to siege to Baghdad, get them to flee to Mosul, and appoint his uncle Al-Muqtafi as new caliph. Slim fast, find your good life? On Nov. 25 after making the barons and bishops swear fealty to his choice for succession, English king (since 1100) Henry I Beauclerc (b. 1068) falls ill at Lyons-la-Foret in Normandy after eating too many lampreys, and dies on Dec. 1 in Saint-Denis-en-Lyons; having no male heirs because of the 1120 White Ship disaster he leaves the throne to his sole legitimate child (of 20+) Henry II (b. 1133) and his mother Empress Matilda (Maude) (Maude); although there is no male supremacy Salian Law in England, everybody knows the story of Peter Rabbit, and both because she acts like a royal asshole, and because Henry I's expansion of royal power has been threatening the feudal privileges of the nobility, three weeks later on Dec. 22 Henry I's favorite nephew (her cousin's husband) Stephen of Blois (Boulogne) (Mortain and Boulogne) (1096-1154), son of William I's daughter Adela, and richest man in England and Normandy seizes the throne (until Oct. 25, 1154), helped by the unpopularity of Matilda with the people, probably because of their unwillingness to accept a woman ruler, and the fact that her hubby is unpopular red-haired Geoffrey V Plantagenet (Le Bel) (the Handsome) (Martel) (the Hammer), Count of Anjou (1113-51) (son of Jerusalem king Fulk of Anjou), head of the French province that is always trying to take over Normandy; on Dec. 22 after the barons switch their support, Stephen I becomes England's 24th monarch, crowned by Canterbury archbishop William of Corbeil, who reneges on a promise to Henry I (like everybody else); guess what, Matilda's husband Count Geoffrey V the Handsome of Anjou then undertakes to conquer Normandy in her name this time, beginning The Anarchy (Nineteen-Year Winter) (ends 1154); too bad, he later proves unwilling to send reinforcements to England; meanwhile David I of Scotland, the first lay person to take an oath to uphold Matilda in 1127 declares war on Stephen. Levon I of Lesser Armenia seizes Saravantikar, pissing-off Raymond of Antioch, who had wanted it. The Repub. of Avignon in SE France is founded (until 1146) after it splits off from the kingdom of Arles. The Normans begin raiding the N African coast between Cape Bon and Tripoli (until 1153). The town of Amalfi on the Gulf of Salerno 20 mi. SE of Naples (founded by Roman emperor Constantine the Great) is plundered by the Pisans. The Italian line of the House of Este is founded (ends 1803), controlling Ferrara, Italy until the end of the 16th cent., when it becomes a papal state. The king of Leon is recognized as overlord of Navarre and Aragon. After the efforts of good clerk Henry I, the Pipe Rolls of the Exchequer (fancy word for abacus), containing sophisticated accounts of the royal income and expenditures begin to be compiled by the exchequer in England; the French Capetian monarchy takes until the early 13th cent. to catch up. The first known written mention is made of the 7th cent. C.E. W German farming-fishing town of Dusseldorf (Düsseldorf) (Dusseldorp), at the confluence of the Dussel and Rhine Rivers (modern-day pop. 619K/1.2M); in 1946 it becomes the capital of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Births: Spanish Sephardic Jewish physician-philosopher-rabbi Moses Maimonides (Moshe ben Maimon) (Maimuni) (Rambam) (Rabbeinu Mosheh Ben Maimon) (Rabbi Moyses) (d. 1204) (b. 1338?) on Mar. 30 in Cordova; son of Maimon ben Joseph; pupil of Rabbi Joseph ibn Migas; moves to Fez, Morocco in 1159, pretending to be Muslim for nine years, then to Alexandria and Cairo in 1165, becoming chief physician of Saladin's vizier al-Qadi al-Fadil al-Baisani and Saladin's eldest son Nur-ud-Din Ali, rising to Ra'is al Yahud (Nagid) in 1176 (1177?), going on to talk Saladin into letting Jews settle again in Jerusalem after he conquers it in 1187; born in the same city as rival Averroes, they never meet, and Maimonides only reads his books in his old age; father of Abraham ben Moses; grandfather of David ben Abraham; great-grandfather of Solomon ben Abraham. Norwegian king (1136-61) Inge I Haraldsson (Krokrygg) (the Hunchback) (d. 1161); only legitimate son of king Harald Gille by his wife Inigior Ragnvaldsdottir. Spanish count of Provence (1144-66) Ramon Berenguer (Raymond Berengar) II (d. 1166); son of Berenguer Ramon (1115-44); newphew of Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona (1113-62). English Carthusian bishop (St.) Hugh of Lincoln (Avalon) (d. 1200) in Avalon, Burgundy; his daddy the Lord of Avalon renounces the world and takes 8-y.-o. Hugh to a monastery near Grenoble with him; canonized in 1220; feast day: Nov. 17. Italian mystic Joachim of Fiore (Joachim of Flora) (Gioacchino da Fiore) (d. 1202) in Celica (near Cosenza), Calabria, Two Sicilies; has a spiritual conversion in Jerusalem about 1170, gets his hands on St. John's Revelation, and watch out?; uses the "IEUE" interlaced circles diagram to represent the Trinity, later known as the Borromean Rings (logo of Ballantine beer). Deaths: English king (1100-35) Henry I (b. 1068) on Dec. 1 in Saint-Denis-en-Lyons, Normandy; buried in Reading Abbey, Berkshire. Chinese Song emperor #8 (1100-26) Huizong (b. 1082) on June 4 in Wuguocheng; dies in captivity. Arab Abbasid caliph (1118-35) Al-Mustarshid (b. 1092) on Aug. 29 (assassinated by the Hashshashins).
1136 A fire in London disrupts the rebuilding of St. Paul's Cathedral (consecrated in 1240). In Apr. the Welsh under Morgan ap Owain (-1158), king of Glamorgan see their chance and revolt, and are defeated by Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, who at this point is loyal to Stephen I; the treaty recognizes Morgan's gains. In Oct. the Battle of Crug Mawr (Great Barrow) (Cardigan) 2 mi. NE of Cardigan sees the warlike Welsh introduce the longbow, routing the Norman heavy horse, killing 3K and winning the battle, followed by a great slaughter in the town. On Nov. 15 Leopold III the Saint (b. 1073) dies, and his son Leopold IV (the Generous) (1108-41) becomes margrave of Austria (until 1141). Scottish king David I invades N England allegedly to support Matilda, but really to take possession of "his" parts there, incl. Cumberland, Westmorland, and Northumberland, capturing Carlisle and Newcastle, then sieging Durham before Stephen I meets him there with his army, and they agree to a peace treaty greatly favoring the Scots, which gives David time to recuperate after 2 mo. of Vs; David I refuses to do homage to Stephen, but permits his son Earl Henry to do so in order to gain control of some English territory, getting him created earl of Huntingdon, lord of Doncaster, and confirmed in possession of Carlisle; David surrenders Newcastle in return for tacit acceptance of his son's future rights to Northumberland; meanwhile Matilda continues to assert her right to the English throne, with Stephen's whimpy indecisiveness playing into her hands and encouraging the barons to trespass on the king's rights, leading to widespread anarchy. HRE Lothair III/II invades S Italy for a 2nd time, conquering Apulia, and driving Roger II of Sicily out of the peninsula. Raymond of Poitiers, prince of Antioch seizes Levon I of Lesser Armenia by treachery, and ransoms him for 60K gold pieces, plus Saravantikar, Mamistra, and Adana, plus promise of help against the Byzantines; once released, Levon recaptures the cities and attacks the principality of Antioch allied with the Kingdom of Jerusalem (ends 1137). The superior white blonde race shows their dark dumb side? Harald IV Gille (b. 1103) is murdered in his sleep on orders of his half-brother Sigurd Slembi, who restores Magnus IV from his abbey then rules jointly with him, with Magnus going to E Norway; meanwhile Harald's infant sons Sigurd II Haraldsson (Munn) (1133-55), Inge I Haraldsson Krokrygg (the Hunchback) (1135-61) (only legitimate son), and Magnus V Haraldsson (1135-45) gain their own following and become co-kings, but the guardians of Inge I take on Magnus and defeat him in Minne, causing him to flee to Denmark to gain support, causing Danish king Erik Emune to invade and be defeated, after which Magnus IV rejoins Sigurd Slembi, and now become more like bandits than kings. The Murabitun under Yahya ibn Ali ibn Ghaniya and Sad ibn Mardanish reconquer Mequinenza on the Lower Ebro River. Caliph (since Aug. 29, 1135) Al-Rashid (d. 1138) is deposed, and Al-Muqtafi (1096-1160) succeeds him as Abbassid caliph (until Mar. 12, 1160). Architecture: The Abbey of Hamborn in Duisburg, Germany is founded. David I founds the super-austere Cistercian Melrose Abbey in Tweeddale about 2.5 mi. W of Old Melrose and 37 mi. SE of Edinburgh on the S bank of the Tweed River with monks from Rievaulx in Yorkshire, becoming the first Cistercian abbey in Scotland - the original Melrose Place? Scarborough Castle is built in Yorkshire, England on a high headland above the North Sea - when's the fair? Nonfiction: Peter Abelard (1079-1142), Historia Calamitatum Mearum (Story of My Misfortunes) (Abaelardi ad Amicum Suum Consolatoria) (autobio.); story of his love affair with Heloise - rated PG: pure gunk? Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100-55), Historia Regum Britanniae (Historia Britonum) (History of the Kings of Britain) (12 vols.); based on the writings of Nennius; claims to trace Britain from London's settlement by first king Brutus (Brut), great-grandson of Trojan hero Aeneas to the death of Cadwallader (Caedwalla) in the 7th cent. C.E., mentioning Caesar's invasions and British kings Leir (Lear) and Cymbeline (later subject of Shakespeare plays); tries to make the English kings out to be as important as the Roman emperors; vols. 9-11 found the modern Arthurian Legend, becoming the first book to place King Arthur and his father Uther the Conqueror in the line of British kings, and to describe Merlin ("small falcon" in Middle English, a deliberate mistrans. of Myrddin or Merthyn or Mervyn, meaning "sea tower" or "sea hill" in Old Welsh Gaelic, to avoid asssociation with French merde = shit?), whom he claims built Stonehenge using giants; the work earns the patronage of Earl Robert of Gloucester and two bishops, getting him named archdeacon of Llandaff next year, followed by bishop of St. Asaph in 1152. Births: Spanish Jimenez queen of Aragon (last) (1137-64) Petronila (Petronilla) (Petronella) (d. 1173) in Huesca; daughter of Ramori II and Agnes. French Crusader king of Jerusalem #5 (1163-74) Amalric I (d. 1174); 2nd son of Fulk of Jerusalem and Melisende of Jerusalem; younger brother of Baldwin II; father of Sibylla of Jerusalem, Baldwin IV, and Isabella I of Jerusalem. Deaths: Spanish Jewish brain man Abraham ben Hiyya of Barcelona (b. 1065); leaves Hibbur ha Meshihah, #1 mathematical treatise of the cent., incl. algebra, geometry, and trigonometry; also leaves the oldest surviving Hebrew treatise on the calendar, and a lost encyclopedia on astronomy, math, optics, and music. French Knights Templar grand master #1 Hugues de Payens (b. 1070) on May 24 in Jerusalem. Austrian margrave (1095-1136) St. Leopold III (b. 1073) on Nov. 15. English Norman knight Earl Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare (b. 1084) on Apr. 15 in Abergavenny (KIA with Welsh soldier). Norwegian king (1130-6) Harald IV Gille (b. 1103) (murdered). French-born English archbishop (of Canterbury) William of Corbeil (b. ?) on Nov. 21 in Canterbury.
1137 In the summer David I of Scotland invades N England again, and another truce is agreed to until Nov., at which point David demands that Stephen I hand over the earldom of Northumberland to him, and when he refuses, the war continues; meanwhile Earl Robert of Gloucester gets pissed-off at the rising power of Flemish gen. William of Ypres (1090-1165), and the Beaumont twins, Count Waleran of Meulan (near Paris) and Earl Robert of Leicester. On July 8 Eric II (b. 1100) is assassinated at Urnehoved Thing (assembly) by local nobleman Sorteplov, who plovs his way over to him armed with a spear tipped with a kefli (block of wood), then you know what, and when Eric's nephew and heir apparent Erik III Hankonsson Lam ("lamb") (1200-46) comes at him, utters the immortal soundbyte: "Put away thine mace, young Erik, a juicy piece of meat has fallen in your bowl"; after sparing the lucky tipper, Erik III becomes king of Denmark (until 1146), the first Danish king influenced by German knightly culture, since he spent his youth with them and his wife Lutgard of Salzwedel is German. On Aug. 1 French king (since 1108) Louis VI the Fat of France (b. 1081) dies, and is succeeded by his 17-y.-o. son Louis VII Capet (the Young or Younger) (Le Jeune) (1120-80) as yet another long-reigning French Capetian king (#6) (until Sept. 18, 1180); before his accession he marries 15-y.-o. wealthy manly woman Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204), heiress of Duke William II of Aquitaine (Gascony and Guienne or Aquitania Secunda), joining Aquitaine and France, and countering the Anglo-Norman menace in the N by adding territory S of the Loire; he establishes the Fleur de Lis (Flower-de-Luce) (lily) as the royal emblem of France; since he is pious he is popular with the clergy; he is under the influence of Suger until the latter's death in 1151. On Nov. 13 Ramiro II the Monk abdicates as king of Aragon, and gives it to his ally (against Alfonso VII of Castile) Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona, who became betrothed to his infant daughter Petronila (Petronilla) (Petronella) of Aragon (1136-73) on Aug. 11, with their treaty stipulating that their descendants will rule jointly over both realms but remain autonomous and distinct with their own laws and institutions, a smooth move that protects them both and gives Aragon access to the sea, while balancing out the peninsula against recently separated Leon and Portugal; meanwhile Ramon uses his sister Berenguela, wife of Alfonso VII to smooth over the termination of his pledged submission to Castile. On Dec. 3-4 after sending an army to Rome to conduct Pope Innocent II into the city (which is held by Antipope Anacletus II), Lothair III/II (b. 1075) dies suddenly in Breitenwang in modern-day Austria on his return from his expedition against Roger II of Sicily, and his Welf son-in-law Henry the Proud becomes Duke Henry II Saxony (1108-39) (until Oct. 20, 1139) and margrave of Tuscany (until 1139), vying with Conrad III for the imperial title. After Joscelin II of Edessa mediates a peace between Antioch and Lesser Armenia, the Byzantines under John II Comnenus invade, capturing Seleucia, Korikos, Tarsus, Mamistra, Adana, Til Hamdoun, and Anazarbe, forcing Levon I of Armenia into hiding in the Taurus Mts.; Antioch becomes a vassal to Byzantium. Fulk of Anjou, Latin king of Jerusalem is captured by the Zanghid Turks at Baarin in N Syria, and held for a time. The kingdom of Aragon and counties of Catalonia unite. The Murabitun under Tashfin ibn Ali ibn Yusuf defeat the Castilians near Alcazar de San Juan and sack the castle at Escalona N of the Tagus. Gruffydd ap Rhys (b. 1081) is KIA in battle, and his son Anarawd ap Gruffydd (-1143) becomes king (prince) of Deheubarth in SW Wales. The Normans under Roger II of Sicily conquer the duchy of Naples (Neapolis) in Italy (founded in 661) from Duke Sergius VII, incorporating it into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Shams al-Din Eldiguz (-1176), atabeg of the Seljuk sultan of Baghdad founds an independent dynastic state in Azerbaijan and NW Persia (ends 1225). The Qara-Khitai defeat the Qarakhanids (vassals of the Seljuks) at the Battle of Khodjent (Khujand) in Tajikistan. The Exchange of Mautem between Leopold IV of Bavaria and the bishop of Paussau gives the latter the Church of St. Peter in Vienna in exchange for large tracts of land outside the city walls, except for the spot where the new A great wind (hurricane?) hits Ireland, causing colic. Les Halles market is founded in Paris, becoming known as "the belly of France" (Emile Zola); traffic congestion causes it to be moved 9 mi. S of Paris to Rungis near Orly Airport in 1969. Architecture: Abbot Suger of St. Denis begins rebuilding the Abbey Church of St. Denis (finished 1144). The Romanesque St. Stephen's Cathedral in Stephansplatz, Vienna, Austria is begun by Duke Rudolf IV as a parish church (consecrated 1147). Rochester Cathedral burns down, and is rebuilt. Births: Norman count of Boulogne (1153-9) and earl of Surrey (1153-9) William of Blois (d. 1159); 3rd son of English king Stephen I and queen Matilda of Boulogne; brother of Eustace IV (1130-53); husband of Isabel de Warenne, 4th countess Surrey (-1203), daughter of William de Warenne, 3rd earl of Surrey (-1148), who was the great-grandson of Henry I of France. Spanish king of Leon and Galicia (1157-88) >Ferdinand II (d. 1188); son of Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile (1105-57) and Berenguela of Barcelona (1116-49); brother of Sancho III of Castile (1134-58); husband (1165-75) of Urraca (1148-1211), daughter of Afonso I Henriques of Portugal. Deaths: French breed mare Adela of Normandy (b. 1062) on Mar. 8. Byzantine gen. Nikephoros Bryennios (b. 1062) in Constantinople. German king (1125-37) and HRE (1133-7) Lothair III/II of Luxembourg (b. 1075) on Dec. 3-4 in Breitenwang, Austria. French king (1108-37) Louis VI (b. 1081) on Aug. 1 in Bethisy-Saint-Pierre; buried in St. Denis Basilica, Paris. Danish king (1134-7) Eric II (b. 1090) on July 8 in Urnehoved Ting (assassinated).
1138 On Jan. 25 Antipope (since 1130) Anacletus II dies, and Innocent II becomes sole pope until Mar., when Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope Victor IV (-1138), but he dies on May 29. Look and feel your best with a beauty career? In Jan. David I of Scotland invades Northumberland for the 3rd time in support of Matilda, stinking himself up with atrocities, incl. murder, blackmail, church desecration, and giving female captives to Gaelic levies as slaves, which shocks the English, who had thought of David as "their" guy, trying to help a woman, er, forget it (really shock at their vaunted cultural and economic superiority being shown up?); in Feb. Stephen rounds up an army and launches a counter-raid into Lothian, but avoids the Scots, and Stephen retreats to England; in June David splits his armies, putting a Gaelic one in charge of his nephew William Fitz Duncan, earl of Moray, who heads to Lancashire and harries Craven and Furness, then defeats a Norman army on June 10 at the Battle of Clitheroe in Lancashire at the S edge of the Yorkshire Dales near Bowland Falls; on Aug. 22 after the Scots take Cumberland, Northumberland, Carlisle, and Bamburgh Castle, and reunite on the S side of the Tyne River, the 3-hour Battle of the Standard(s) on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire on the Great North Road is a big D for the 16K Scots, led by David I, who get their butts kicked by a 10K-man English force led by William le Gros, 1st Earl of Abemarle (-1179), and cheered on by Archbishop Thurstan of York, who fights on a hill behind a chariot carrying a ship's mast topped with a bunch of consecrated you-know-whats (St. Peter of York, St. Cuthbert of Durham, St. Wilfrid of Ripon, St. John of Beverley), and decimates the pesky charging Scots (crying "Albanaich!" - "men of Scotland!") with arrows until they give up and retreat after David's Norman vassals split ranks with him, not wanting to fight against fellow Normans alongside "Galwegians" (Gaels), and the leaders of the latter get killed despite zany charges against arrows while wearing no chain mail; meanwhile a group of English barons rebel on behalf of Matilda, keeping Stephen from following up his V against the Scots, and allowing David to retire to Carlisle Castle with most of his army intact and consolidate his hold on seized territory, agreeing to a 6-week truce in late Sept., then capturing pesky Wark on Tweed (Carham) Castle on the Tweed River in Northumberland in Nov., which had been under siege since Jan. and wasn't mentioned; meanwhile Earl Robert of Gloucester declares for Matilda, and is defeated in Normandy by Count Waleran of Meulan, while his English allies are crushed by Stephen and driven back to Bristol; Castle Cary in Somerset is sieged by Stephen; in 1141 Stephen makes Flemish gen. William of Ypres the new earl of Kent, until Henry II pulls the plug in 1155; Sir Henry Sinclair (1100-65) is rewarded with lands in Cardaine for his services at the Battle of the Standard. On Mar. 7 the clergy, led by Adalbert of Trier elect Lothair III/II's Waiblinger rival Conrad of Hohenstaufen, son of Duke Frederick of Swabia as king Conrad III (1093-1152) of Germany, and he is crowned on Mar. 13 in Aachen, founding the Hohenstaufen (Staufer) Dynasty (Ger. "High Staufen"), named after their late 11th cent. Swabian Staufen Castle on the conical hill named Staufen (Ger. "chalice") in the Swabian Jura of Germany in the district of Goppingen (ends 1254), launching Germany's greatest age until Bismarck, expanding their rule from the Rhine to the Vistula, the Rhone to the Balkans, the Baltic to the Danube, and the North Sea to Italy, with 100 prosperous cities; he is never crowned HRE, but calls himself king of the Romans; after Welf man Henry the Proud (1108-39) (son of Henry IX the Black, and son-in-law of designated heir Lothair III/II) is passed over, pissing him off (esp. as he is the most powerful prince in Germany), and causing him to be too proud to acknowledge him as king, Conrad III immediately deprives him of his duchies, and gives Saxony to Albert the Bear, and Bavaria to his half-brother (via Conrad III's wife Agnes) Leopold IV of Austria, beginning a cent.-long civil war between the Guelphs (Welfs) and Ghibellines. King Boleslav III the Wry-Mouthed of Poland (b. 1086) dies after having divided his hard-won enlarged realm into five principalities (Silesia, Great Poland, Masovia, Sandomir, Cracow) among his sons Wladyslaw II the Exile (1105-59), Mieszko III the Old (1126-1202), Boleslav (Boleslaus) IV the Curly (1127-73), and infant Casimir II the Just (1138-94); Poland begins to disintegrate into small provinces for the next two cents. as the nobility and clergy get more powerful while the royal power goes down the toilet. The Byzantines seize Gaban and Vahka, then capture Levon I of Lesser Armenia along with his wife and children, and they die in captivity in Constantinople in 1140; the Armenian army fights on. The Genoese induce Pope Innocent II to divide jurisdiction over Corsica between them and their rival Pisa (who administered it since 1077), and since only one can remain, the power struggle begins. Pretender Messiahs appear in France and Persia - I'll buy that for a dollar? Waleran de Beaumont (1104-66), son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, and twin brother of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester is created the 1st Earl of Worcester by English king Stephen I; too bad, after the 1141 Battle of Lincoln he switches to Matilda's side, and is deprived of his earldom by Stephen in 1145, after which the earldom goes dead for 250 years (until 1397). Births: Kurdish Egyptian-Syrian Ayyubid sultan #1 (1171-93) Saladin (Sala-ha-din) (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub) (d. 1193) in Tikrit, Iraq; son of Kurdish chief Ayyub; younger brother of Turan-Shah (-1180). Polish king (1177-94) Casimir II the Just (d. 1194); son of Boleslav III the Wry-Mouthed. Deaths: Polish king (1107-38) Boleslav III the Wry-Mouthed (b. 1086) on Oct. 28 in Sochaczew. Abassid caliph (1135-6) Ar-Rashid (b. 1109) on June 6 in Isfahan (assassinated by Hashshashins).
1139 In Apr. Pope Innocent II calls the Second Lateran (10th Ecumenical) Council to end the papal schism; the acts of Antipope Anacletus II are annulled, and Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated; Abelard's pupil, Italian Augustinian monk Arnold of Brescia (1090-1155), who calls for the return of Church property to the Roman city govt. and preaches against baptism and the Eucharist is exiled from Italy, and the Arnoldists (Publicans) (Poplecans) and Anabaptist Petrobrussians (who appeared in S France about 1104, led by Peter de Bruys, followed by Henry of Lausanne) are condemned. The happy Christian home people celebrate in Portugal? On July 25 (St. James Day) the badly outnumbered Portuguese defeat the Murabitun at the Battle of Ourique in Alentejo, S Portugal, and on July 26 victorious Count Alfonso (Afonso) I (the Conqueror) (the Founder) (the Great) (1106-85) proclaims himself the first king of Muslim-free Portugal (until Dec. 6, 1185), claiming to have vanquished and slain five Moorish kings; he then calls the first assembly of the estates-gen. of Portugal at Lamego, and is crowned by the bishop of Braga, confirming Portugal's independence from Leon and Castile; later St. James the Great is venerated for allgedly miraculously intervening in the battle, becoming known as the Miracle of Ourique, the founding myth of Portugal. On Sept. 30 after Henry I's daughter Matilda, aided by her half-brother Earl Robert of Gloucester prepares to invade England to claim the throne, they land at Arundel in Norfolk, and civil war is on, forcing Stephen I to send his wife Queen Maud (Matilda) of Boulogne (1105-52) (a Matilda clone to throw off later historyscopers?) to sign a truce with David I of Scotland on Apr. 9, confirming his son Earl Henry in possession of the 1136 estates, plus the earldom of Northumbria, but excluding the key English castles of Newcastle and Bamburgh and the bishopric of Durham between the Tyne and Tees Rivers; David returns his hostages, and Earl Henry marries Ada de Warenne (Adeline de Varenne) (1120-78), sister of one of Stephen's key supporters William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey (1119-48), binding him into Stephen's service, although David is now out from under the English kings' shadow and is his own man; meanwhile Earl Robert leaves for Bristol, allowing Stephen to blockade Matila in Arundel Castle along with Henry II's 2nd wife Queen Adeliza, but he proves a sport and lets them escape under escort to Bristol, after which Matilda sets up her base in W England and the Severn Valley. On Nov. 12 the Battle of Holmengra sees the supporters of Sigurd II and Inge I defeat Sigurd Slembe and Magnus IV; Magnus IV the Blind is lifted by his loyal guard Reidar Grjotgardsson in his longship to hear what's going on, then both are impaled by the same spear; Sigurd is slowly flayed alive before being executed with max pain. On Oct. 20 Henry the Proud dies unexpectedly while preparing an invasion of Bavaria, and Albert the Bear becomes duke of Saxony; since Henry's Welf son Henry the Lion (1129-95) is underage, Bavaria is given to Babenberg margrave Leopold IV of Austria. The kingless Little Armenians retake Vahka. Grand prince (since 1132) Yaropolk II (b. 1082) dies, and his younger brother Vyacheslav I (1083-1154) becomes grand prince of Kiev; a civil war breaks out, and his cousin Vsevolod II (-1146), prince of Cherngiv allies with the Polovtsi (traditional enemies of the Russians) and takes over (until 1146). Olaf (Olav) (Oluf) II (-1141), son of Eric II's brother Harald Kesja takes over Scania (S Sweden), and gets in a war with Danish king Eric III, trading raids, and finally killing the bishop of Roskilde, which gets him excommunicated by the pope and dooms him. English king Henry I's former royal marshal (head of the king's household troops) John FitzGilbert the Marshalof the Horses (1105-65), who won the right to make his title hereditary, then switched to Stephen I after Henry I died in order to gain the choice castles of Marlborough and Ludgershall and gain control of the Kennet River Valley in Wiltshire, decides to switch back to Empress Matilda. After an earthquake, Demetre I of Georgia raids Ganja in Azerbaijan and brings back its iron gate, but loses the city in a few years. After being appointed by King Stephen, Normandy-born Theobald of Bec (1090-1161), patron of Thomas Becket becomes archbishop of Canterbury (until Apr. 18, 1161), getting into a war over his authority with Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester, who is backed by the king's younger brother, causing his relationship with kingy to get dicey too. Irish archbishop of Armagh (1132-8) (St.) Malachy (1094-1148) journeys to Rome via Scotland, England, and France, where he visits St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and becomes papal legate for Ireland before returning, writing St. Malachy's Prophecy of the Succession of the Popes, which becomes near and dear to Millennium Feverists, predicting all 110 future popes through Pope Paul II, and naming only two more, the last to be called Peter the Roman, who will preside over the end of the Church and the coming of Christ. French Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) writes the first Rules of the Monastic Knights Templar Order, which by papal bull is declared under the protection of the church of Troyes and under the direct authority of the pope, "a law unto themselves", bypassing all other temporal and spiritual authority, and soon expanding into every Christian country, going into banking, lending money to bankrupt royals at interest, and amassing vast estates - is this because they finally found the secret documents under Herod's Temple in Jerusalem and blackmailed the pope with exposure of the faulty foundation of his male supremacist church? You're just a ho-o-ome-wrecker? The monk Gratian (teacher of law at Bologna) finishes the Decretrum of Gratian, a systematic treatise on the ecclesiastical (canon) law; it claims that there is a heavenly empire and an earthly empire over which the Pope with a Capital P rules Supreme with a capital S, and becomes a textbook for clerical lawyers seeking to encroach on the jurisdiction of lay courts to let clergymen get off with slaps on the wrist for homicide and other crimes (ecclesiastical courts cannot inflict any penalty involving the drawing of blood, and burning is for witches and heretics, not the clergy) - the original U.S. federal bankruptcy court? The Roman Catholic Church bans bows and crossbows as immoral "murderous art" not to be used against Christians - Jews and Muslims, let 'em fly? Births: Japanese emperor #76 (1142-55) Konoe (Narihito) (d. 1155) on June 16; 8th son of Toba (1103-56). Dutch/German writer Hendrik van Veldeke (d. 1191) in Holland. Italian surgeon Rogerius Salernitanus (Roggerio dei Frugardi) (d. 1195) in Salerno. Deaths: Bavarian duke (1126-39), Saxon duke (1137-9) and Tuscan margrave (1137-9) Henry X the Proud (b. 1108) on Oct. 20 in Quedlinburg Abbey. Norwegian king Magnus IV the Blind (b. 1115) on Nov. 12 in Hvaler Island (KIA).