1100 Timbuktu (in later Mali) was founded about this time as a
seasonal nomad camp around a wall that was maintained by a group of slaves
under an old woman, Buktu, “the place of Buktu.”
(AM, 11/00, p.51)
1100 In the Netherlands Wittem Castle in Limburg dates to this
time.
(SFEC, 1/31/99, p.T13)
c1100 In Spain the town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada was founded
by a man known as St. Dominic of the Walkway.
(SFEC, 6/15/97, p.T5)
1100 By the 1100s the Chinese began to use the magnetic compass.
(ATC, p.11)
1100 By this time East African traders in Kilwa controlled the
export of gold and ivory from the southern kingdoms. Kilwa was the most
prosperous of the east African city-states.
(ATC, p.143)
1100s Troubadour musicians organized in southern France.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R25)
1100s Bushmills Distillery in Northern Ireland began producing
whiskey.
(SFEC, 1/10/99, p.T8)
c1100-1154 Geoffrey of Monmouth, English chronicler. The Welsh cleric
claimed that Merlin used magic to bring the stones of Stonehenge from Ireland.
(WUD, 1994, p.592)(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.12)
1100-1200 Muhammed ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi, Arab mathematician and astronomer,
wrote “hisab al-jabr w’ al muqabalah” (the science of reduction and comparison)
in the 9th cent. The work dealt with solving equations. It was the first
time that algebra was discussed as a separate branch of mathematics. In
the 12th century it was translated into Latin as “Ludus algebrae et almucgrabalaeque.”
(Alg, 1990, p.87)
1100-1200 The Arab geographer Idrisi claimed that Indians preferred
iron from East Africa over their own because of its malleability.
(NH, 6/97, p.44)
c1100-1200 Shihab el-Din was an anti-Crusader cleric. He was believed
to be buried in Nazareth next to the Basilica of the Annunciation. A cornerstone
for a mosque was laid at the site in 1999.
(SFC, 11/24/99, p.A16)
c1100-1200 Judah Halevi was a Jewish poet who lived in Muslim Spain
in the 12th century. He wrote “City of the Great King, for thee my soul
is longing.”
(WSJ, 12/12/00, p.A24)
1100-1200 Chretien de Troyes of France in the 12th century introduced
Camelot into the Arthurian legend and placed Lancelot in the saga along
with the quest for the Holy Grail.
(WSJ, 3/27/98, p.W10)
c1100-1200 Albigenses were members of the Catharistic sect that arose
in southern France in the 11th century. [see 1244]
(WUD, 1994 p.34)
1100-1200 In France the Abbot Suger was busy embellishing the abbey
of St. Denis.
(WSJ, 3/28/97, p.A16)
1100-1200 In Cambodia the Khmer empire reached its peak under King Jajavarman
II in the 12th century.
(SFEC, 7/26/98, p.T7)
1100-1200 The German Stammheim Missal was made. It told stories from
Creation to the crucifixion of Christ. In 1997 it was acquired by the J.
Paul Getty Museum.
(SFC, 4/26/97, p.E3)
1100-1200 Berlin was founded amid the sandy plains and swamps of Brandenburg.
In 1998 Alexandra Richie published “Faust’s Metropolis: A History of Berlin.”
(WSJ, 5/1/98, p.W5)
1100-1200 In Germany the Oberburg Castle was built in the 12th century
by the Knights of Leyen.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, p.T8)
1100-1200 Two 12th century castles along the Rhine were owned, according
to legend, by the brothers Conrad and Heinrich of Boppard. They came to
blows over a woman, Hildegarde, and the ruins of the castles were named
the Warring Brothers.
(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.T5)
c1100-1200 The Festung Ehrenbreitsen, Europe’s largest fortress, was
built at the convergence of the Mosel and Rhine Rivers.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, p.T1)
1100-1200 In India the bronze sculpture “Shiva Nataraya” depicted the
Hindu god of creation and destruction doing the dance that sustains the
universe.
(SFC, 6/28/97, p.E1)
1100-1200 In India the comic man-elephant “Ganesha” sculpture was carved
in schist.
(SFC, 6/28/97, p.E1)
1100-1200 In Ireland Cistercian monks established an abbey on Clare
Island.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, p.T8)
1100-1200 In Limerick, Ireland a 12th century cathedral was built.
(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.T11)
c1100-1200 In Japan Nichiren Daishonin, the son of a fisherman in Awa,
established a new sect of Buddhism. In 1930 the Soka Gakkai (value-creation
society) was founded in Tokyo based on his teachings.
(WSJ, 4/23/99, B1)
1100-1200 The Norse visited Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic
as early as the 12th century and traded with the Thule, evidenced by chain
mail. boat rivets, knife blades, and other artifacts turned up near Bache
Peninsula.
(NG, 6/1988, p.763)
1100-1200 Norwegian Chronicles mentioned a stave church in the village
of Vaga.
(WSJ, 8/27/96, p.A12)
1100-1200 Era of the 12 century Persian poet Nizami of Ganja.
(SFC, 5/19/96, p.C-13)
1100-1200 Serbs occupied parts of northern and eastern Albanian inhabited
lands.
(www, Albania, 1998)
c1100-1200 San Isidro, a Spanish farmer, later became the patron saint
of Madrid.
(WSJ, 11/18/97, p.A20)
1100-1200 In Turkey Constantinople was devastated by fires in the 12th
century.
(SFC, 7/27/98, p.A8)
1100-1200 The 12th century book “Gyuschi” was a compilation of Tibetan
medicine that described the making and applications of medications extracted
from herbs, roots and minerals often served as hot teas.
(SFC, 2/20/98, p.C4)
1100-1400 The official stave churches of Norway were mostly built during
this period.
(WSJ, 8/27/96, p.A12)
1101 William IX, the Duke of Aquitaine, returned from the Crusades
and composed songs about his adventures, thus becoming the first troubadour.
He was excommunicated for licentious acts, but his lyrics led to the "courtly
love" genre.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R34)
1101-1125 Huizong ruled over China. He was a calligrapher, painter and
Confucian advocate of embracing antiquity. He broadened the scope of Imperial
collecting to embrace bronze ritual objects as well as old paintings and
calligraphy.
(SFEC, 10/6/96, DB p.36)
1102 Coats were forced to enter into a union with Hungary and
to recognize the Hungarian king as their own.
(WSJ, 7/14/99, p.A23)
1105 Nov 24, Rabbi Nathan ben Yehiel of Rome completed a Talmudic
dictionary.
(MC, 11/24/01)
1106 Sep 28, King Henry of England defeated his brother Robert
at the Battle of Tinchebrai and reunited England and Normandy.
(HN, 9/28/98)
1107 China printed money in 3 colors to thwart counterfeiters.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1107-1205 Enrico Dandolo, ruler of Venice. He was blind and spearheaded
the 4th Crusade. He funded an army to capture Constantinople and after
the "rape of Constantinople" pocketed some of the city's riches. He stole
4 bronze horses and placed them over the entry to the Cathedral of San
Marco.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R6)
1109 Apr 21, Anselmus, philosopher, archbishop of Canterbury,
died.
(MC, 4/21/02)
1109 Apr 28, Hugo van Cluny, 6th abbot of Cluny, saint, died.
(MC, 4/28/02)
1110 May 13, Crusaders marched into Beirut causing a bloodbath.
(MC, 5/13/02)
1110 Dec 4, Syria harbor city of Saida (Sidon) surrendered to
the Crusaders.
(MC, 12/4/01)
1111 Feb 12, Henry V of Germany presented himself to Pope Paschal
II for coronation along with treaty terms that commanded the clergy to
restore fiefs of the crown to Henry. The pope refused to crown and Henry
left Rome taking the pope with him. When Paschal was unable to get help,
he confirmed Henry’s right of investiture and crowned him.
(PCh, 1992, p.91)
1114 Trade fairs were held at Champagne, France, at the crossing
of roads from Flanders, Germany, Italy and Provence.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)
1117 Dec 21, Thomas Becket (d.1170), archbishop of Canterbury,
was born. His close friend Henry II of England later ordered his martyrdom.
(MC, 12/21/01)
1118 Apr 2, Boudouin I of Bologne and Edessa, 1st crusader, king
of Jerusalem, died.
(MC, 4/2/02)
1118 Apr 7, Pope Gelasius II excommunicated Henry V, Holy Roman
Emperor.
(MC, 4/7/02)
1118 Dec 18, Afonso the Battler, the Christian King of Aragon
captured Saragossa, Spain, a major blow to Muslim Spain.
(HN, 12/18/98)
1118 Seborga became the provenance of nine Knight Templars returning
from the crusades.
(SFEC, 3/30/97, p.T7)
1119 The Knights Templar were founded to protect pilgrims in the
Holy Land during the second Crusade.
(AHD, 1971, p.724)
1164 Apr 20, Victor IV, [Ottaviano Montecello], Italian antipope
(1159-64), died.
(MC, 4/20/02)
1120 Nov 25, Countess of Perche, bastard daughter of English king
Henry I, drowned along with William (17), English crown prince and son
of Henry I.
(MC, 11/25/01)
1121 Mar 2, Dirk VI became count of Holland.
(SC, 3/2/02)
1122 Mar 2, Floris II, the fat one, count of Holland, died.
(SC, 3/2/02)
1123 In the film “The Visitors” The noble Sir Godefroy of this
time is transformed to 1996 France to do battle with short order cooks,
rescue bag ladies and learn modern etiquette in order to find the descendant
of his betrothed sweetheart's descendant, the Duchess Frenegonde.
(SFC, 7/16/96, p.E1)
1123 Omar Khayyam, Persian poet and mathematician, died.
(WUD, 1994, p.1005)
1124 Apr 27, Alexander I, king of Scotland (1107-24), died.
(MC, 4/27/02)
1124 May 6, Balak, Emir of Aleppo (Syria), was murdered.
(MC, 5/6/02)
1124 The quality of English silver coins improved after mint masters
caught adulterating coins had their right hands cut off.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1125 May 25, Hendrik V, last Salische German king, died.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1126 Nov 26, Al-Borsoki, emir of Aleppo-Mosoel (Syria), was assassinated.
(MC, 11/26/01)
1126AD A drought that lasted 1-2 centuries, as measured from tree rings
in the Sierra Nevada, was centered on this time. It coincided with a Medieval
warm period when Vikings navigated the waters surrounding Greenland. A
2nd drought centered at 1340AD.
(NH, 9/96, p.38)
1126-1198AD Averroes (Ibn Rushd), Arab philosopher and commentator
who translated Aristotle from the original Greek to Arabic, which was then
translated to Latin. He wrote a major reinterpretation of Plato's Republic.
He lamented the fact that Islam had not adopted Plato's view of women as
the equal of men and had thus failed to give them civic equality.
(V.D.-H.K.p.117)(WSJ, 7/7/99, p.A23)
1127 Mar 2, Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, was murdered.
Flemish towns (Ghent, Bruges and Ypres) forced the selection of Thierry
of Alsace as the new count despite Louis VI’s choice of the son of Normandy’s
Robert Curthose.
(PCh, 1992, p.92)(SC, 3/2/02)
1128 The Royal High School in Scotland was founded by a group
of Edinburgh Friars.
(SFC, 4/22/98, p.A10)
1129 Aug 21, The warrior Yoritomo was made Shogun without equal
in Japan.
(HN, 8/21/98)
1130 Feb 14, Jewish Cardinal Pietro Pierleone was elected as anti-pope
Anacletus II.
(MC, 2/14/02)
1130 The first travel book was written by a French priest about
travel on the Camino de Santiago (the road of St. James) in northern Spain.
(SFEC, 6/15/97, p.T5)
1130 The French church at the abbey at Cluny was completed and
measured over 400 feet long.
(SFEC, 11/21/99, p.T4)
1130-1150 Tree growth rings revealed that a drought occurred in the
southwest US. This period corresponded with the abandonment of Anasazi
dwelling sites in Arizona.
(Hem., 5/97, p.79)
1130-1200 Chu codified Confucian thought.
(SFEC, 11/28/99, Z1 p.5)
1131 Mar 1, Stephen II, King of Hungary (1116-31), died.
(SC, 3/1/02)
1131 Oct 25, Louis VII the Young, King of France, was crowned.
(MC, 10/25/01)
1132 In China invaders established what became known as the southern
Song dynasty in Hangzhou.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R51)
1133 Mar 25, Henry II, King of England (1154-1189) , was born.
(HN, 3/24/98)
1133 Jun 4, In Rome Pope Innocentius II crowned German King Lothair
II as emperor at the Church of the Lateran.
(MC, 6/4/02)(PCh, 1992, p.92)
1135 Dec 1, Henry I Beauclerc of England died and the crown was
passed to his nephew Stephen of Bloise. He had decreed that the standard
linear measure of one foot be a third the length of his arm which was 36
inches. He was the 1st English king able to read.
(HN, 12/1/98)(SFEC, 2/14/99, Z1 p.8)(MC, 12/1/01)
1135 Dec 22, Stephen of Blois was crowned the king of England.
(HN, 12/22/98)
1135-1204 Maimonides, Jewish scholar, philosopher and rabbi. He was
born in Spain and analyzed linkages between wealth and charity. He created
a ladder of giving with each rung representing a higher degree of virtue.
The most virtuous way to give was to help a stranger by offering him a
loan or job so that he would no longer need help. The lowest rung was to
make a grudging donation.
(WUD, 1994, p.864)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R14)(WSJ, 10/5/01, p.W17)
1136 The people of Novgorod, Russia, expelled their prince, assigned
by Kiev, and transferred his power to the local nobility and merchant class
who formed a sort of city council known as the vieche.
(AM, 11/00, p.32)
1138 May 29, Anti-Pope Victor IV (Gregorio) overthrew self for
Innocentius II.
(SC, 5/29/02)
1139 Apr 20, The Second Lateran Council opened in Rome. The crossbow
was outlawed in the 12th century, at least against Christians, by the second
Lateran council (the 10th ecumenical council), called by Pope Innocent
II. Capable of piercing chain mail from a range of up to 1,000 feet, this
formidable missile weapon remained a fixture of technically-advanced European
armies throughout the Middle Ages. Although it was used after the introduction
of firearms, it was eventually succeeded by the harquebus—a primitive gun—in
the late 15th century. The council attempted universal enforcement of priestly
celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church.
(HN, 4/20/98)(HN, 4/20/98)(HNQ, 12/5/00)(SFC, 3/16/02, p.A3)
1139 Incendiary weapons that burned people to death were banned
by the countries of northern Europe as “too murderous.” The practice was
resumed the next century.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.57)
1140 Gratian wrote the illuminated “Decretum,” a standard treatise
on canon law in Bologna about this time. He wrote three volumes on the
subject which were lavishly illustrated. The three volumes were later published
by the Vatican in 1975.
(WSJ, 7/13/95, p.A-12)
1140 Ghorid leaders from central Afghanistan captured and burned
Ghazni, then moved on to conquer India.
(www.afghan, 5/25/98)
1141 Jan 31, Pope Innocent II authorized Bishop Henry of Moravia
to preach Catholicism in Prussia.
(LHC, 1/31/03)
1141 Sep 8, Battle of Samarkand (Uzbekistan): Yelutashi defeated
Islams.
(MC, 9/8/01)
1141 Dec 29, Yue Fei, Chinese general, was executed.
(MC, 12/29/01)
1141 The Ricasoli family produced Chianti wine.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1142 Apr 21, Pierre Abelard (62), French philosopher (priestly
lover of Heloise), died.
(MC, 4/21/02)
1142-1271 In Syria the Crac des Chevaliers, a Crusader castle, was built
by the Knights Hospitalers.
(AMNHDT, 11/99)
1144 Mar 8, Celestine II [Guido], Italian Pope (1143-44), died
in battle.
(MC, 3/8/02)
1144 The Saracens recaptured the crusader’s castles along the
Palestine coast.
(V.D.-H.K.p.109)
1146 Aug 30, European leaders outlawed the crossbow with the intention
to end war for all time. [see 1139]
(MC, 8/30/01)
1146 Sep 14, Zangi of the Near East was murdered. The Sultan Nur
ad-Din, his son, pursued the conquest of Edessa (NW Mesopotamia).
(HN, 9/14/98)
1147 Oct 25, At the Battle at Doryleum Arabs beat Konrad III's
crusaders. Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France had assembled
500,000 men for the 2nd Crusade. Most of the men were lost to starvation,
disease and battle wounds.
(PCh, 1992, p.94)(MC, 10/25/01)
1147 Moscow was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, a ruler of the
northeastern Rus. He built the first fortress, or Kremlin, along the Moscow
River.
(SFC, 11/12/96, p.A14)(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.27,28)
1148 The Second Crusade.
(V.D.-H.K.p.109)
1150 Mar 26, Tichborne family of Hampshire, England, started tradition
of giving a gallon of flour to each resident to keep deathbed promise.
(SS, 3/26/02)
c1150 The original Hopi territory in the southwest encompassed
some 225,000 sq. miles around villages established about this time.
(SFC, 1/3/97, p.A26)
c1150 A group of Anasazi villages in southwest Colorado were suddenly
abandoned during a period of severe drought. In 2000 evidence showed that
a raiding party had swept through the area, killed the inhabitants and
ate their flesh.
(SFC, 9/6/00, p.A3)
c1150 Suryavarman II, Khmer ruler, died about this time. He commissioned
the building of Angkor Wat, possibly the largest religious monument in
the world. He traded elephant tusks, rhinoceros horns and kingfisher feathers
for gold. The feathers were prized in China for bridal attire.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R6)
1151 Sep 7, Geoffrey Plantagenet, earl of Anjou and duke of Normandy,
died at 38.
(MC, 9/7/01)
1151 In Iceland the first known fire and plague insurance was
offered.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1152 Mar 4, Frederick Barbarossa was chosen as emperor and united
the two factions, which emerged in Germany after the death of Henry V.
(HN, 3/4/99)
1153 Mar 23, Treaty of Konstanz between Frederik I "Barbarossa"
and Pope Eugene III.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1153 May 23, David I (~68), king of Scotland (1124-53), died.
(MC, 5/23/02)
1153 May 24, Malcolm IV became king of Scotland.
(MC, 5/24/02)
1153 A wandering Arab holy man converted the king of the Buddhist
islanders of the Maldives.
(WSJ, 7/22/96, p.A12)
1153 A chicken restaurant, the world's oldest existing eatery,
opened in Kai-Feng.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R34)
1154 Feb 26, Rogier II Guiscard (60), King of Sicily (1101-54),
died. William the bad succeeded his father, Roger the II.
(SC, 2/26/02)(HN, 2/26/99)
1154 Oct 25, King Steven of England (1135-54), died.
(MC, 10/25/01)
1154 Dec 19, Henry II of the Angevin dynasty was crowned King
of England.
(HN, 12/19/98)(WSJ, 3/10/99, p.A22)
1154 Sir Thomas Becket was given the high office of Chancellor
to the King, Henry II.
(HN, 9/3/98)
1155 Jun 18, German-born Frederick I, Barbarossa, was crowned
emperor of Rome by Pope Adrian IV.
(HN, 6/18/98)(MC, 6/18/02)
1155 A map of western China was printed and is the oldest known
printed map.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R14)
1156 May 28, Battle at Brindisi: King William of Sicily beat a
Byzantine fleet.
(MC, 5/28/02)
1156 The first foreign exchange contracts were issued and allowed
the repayment of Genoese pounds debt with Byzantine bezants.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1157 Sep 8, Richard I, [Richard the Lion Hearted], King of England
(1189-99), was born.
(MC, 9/8/01)
1157 The Bank of Venice issued the first government bonds to raise
funds for was with Constantinople.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1158 Aug 31, Sancho III, King of Castilia, died.
(MC, 8/31/01)
1158 Nov 11, Emperor Frederik I Barbarossa declared himself ruler
of North Italy.
(MC, 11/11/01)
1159 Sep 1, Adrian IV, [Nicole Breakspear], only English pope
(1154-59), died.
(MC, 9/1/02)
1160 Feb 3, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa hurtled prisoners, including
children, at the Italian city of Crema, forcing its surrender.
(HN, 2/3/99)
1160 May 18, Erik IX Helgi, [The Saint] King of Sweden, died.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1160 Dec 6, Jean Bodel's "Jeu de St Nicholas," premiered in Arras,
France.
(MC, 12/6/01)
1160-1216 Giovanni Lotario de' Conti, served as Pope Innocent III from
1198-1216.
(WUD, 1994, p.733)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R6)
1160-1225 Ma Yuan, an academic painter, made his Southern Song masterpiece
“Banquet by Lantern Light.”
(SFEC, 10/6/96, DB p.37)
1162 This date was given by Marco Polo for the Tartars settling
around the area south of Lake Baikal and forming a city called Karakoram.
(TMPV, P.80)
1162-1227 Genghis Khan was born in the Hentiyn Nuruu mountains north
of Ulan Bator. His given name was Temujin, “the ironsmith,” and seized
control over much of 5 million square miles that covered China, Iran, Iraq,
Burma, Vietnam, and most of Korea and Russia. His efforts in Vietnam were
not successful. "In Search of Genghis Khan" is a book by Tim Severin. He
was succeeded by his son Ogedai, who was succeeded by Guyuk. Ogedai ignored
numerous pleas from his brother Chaghatai to cut down on his drinking and
died of alcoholism as did Guyuk. [see 1167]
(SFC, 4/14/96, T-10)(WUD, 1994, p. 591)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R6)
1164 Jan 27, Abraham ibn Ezra, poet, philosopher, died.
(MC, 1/27/02)
1164 Apr 22, Raynald of Dassel named Guido di Crema as anti-pope
Paschalis III.
(MC, 4/22/02)
1165 Dec 9, Malcom IV (24), king of Scotland (1153-65), died.
(MC, 12/9/01)
1167 Feb 27, Robert of Melun, English philosopher, bishop of Hereford,
died.
(MC, 2/27/02)
1167 Dec 1, Northern Italian towns formed the Lombardi League.
(MC, 12/1/01)
1167 Dec 24, John "Lackland" Plantagenet, King of England (1199-1216),
was born.
(HN, 12/24/98)(MC, 12/24/01)
1167 Genghis Khan (d.1227) was born. Genghis Khan (Temuujin) united
the Mongol tribes, defeated the Tatars, and successively conquered parts
of Central Asia, the Persian Gulf region, and the southern Caucasus, all
of which became part of the Mongol empire. [see 1162]
(SFEM, 10/12/97, p.26)(www.gobiexpeditions.com)
1168 Sep 20, Paschal III, [Guido di Crema], Italian anti-Pope,
died.
(MC, 9/20/01)
1169 Mar 23, Shirkuh, Kurd General, vizier of Cairo, Saladin's
uncle, died.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1169-1181 The heyday of the Kiyomori Clan in Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
1170 Dec 29, Thomas Becket (b.1117), St. Thomas archbishop of
Canterbury, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in England. Barons had
heard Henry II cry out, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"
(HFA, '96, p.20)(AP, 12/29/97)(HN, 12/29/98)(MC, 1/29/02)
c1170 Leonardo Fibonacci, Italian mathematician, was born. It
is believed Fibonacci discovered the relationship of what are now referred
to as Fibonacci numbers while studying the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt
and by investigating how fast rabbits could breed in ideal circumstances.
Suppose a newborn pair of rabbits, one male, one female, is put in a field.
Rabbits are able to mate at the age of one month so at the end of its second
month a female can produce another pair of rabbits. Suppose our rabbits
never die and the female always produces one new pair (one male, one female)
every month from the second month on. The puzzle Fibonacci posed was:
How many pairs will there be in one year? At the end of the first
month, they mate, but there is still one only 1 pair. At the end
of the second month the female produces a new pair, so now there are 2
pairs of rabbits in the field. At the end of the third month, the
original female produces a second pair, making 3 pairs in all in the field.
At the end of the fourth month, the original female has produced yet another
new pair, the female born two months ago produces her first pair also,
making 5 pairs. The number of pairs of rabbits in the field at the
start of each month is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ... The next
number in the Fibonacci sequence is arrived at by adding the previous two
values together. Thus, to get the next value after 34 add 21 to 34
and arrive at 55. As you can see, Fibonacci numbers are a sequence
of numbers in which each successive number is the sum of the two previous
numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, etc.
Now, if you take any two adjacent values and divide each one by their sum,
a peculiar thing occurs, the values converge to 38.2% and 61.8%. These
numbers also possess an intriguing number of natural interrelationships,
such as the fact that any given number is approximately 1.618 times the
preceding number and any given number is approximately 0.618 times the
following number. The booklet Understanding Fibonacci Numbers by
Edward Dobson contains a good discussion of these interrelationships.
(BMTI, 8/2/00)
1170 Henry II sent his Anglo-Norman barons to invade Ireland after
he gained support from the English pope.
(SFEM, 2/22/98, p.37)
c1170 Hua was chief of Hana, in what is now the Hawaiian Islands.
(SFEM, 3/16/97, p.46)
1170-1221 Domingo de Guzman, a Spanish monk founded the Dominicans,
also called mendicants, for they abjured great abbeys and cloisters in
favor of a life of utmost simplicity and poverty. The Order of St. Dominic
was fashioned to minister to the educated classes in the new towns.
(V.D.-H.K.p.108)(CU, 6/87)
1171 May 1, Dermot MacMurrough, last Irish King of Leinster, died.
(MC, 5/1/02)
c1171 Benjamin ben Jonah, a Spanish Jew, returned to his home
in Tudela and published an account of his 6-year journey to Constantinople,
Cyprus, Palestine, Damascus, Persia and Egypt: “The Travels of Benjamin
of Tudela.”
(WSJ, 8/8/02, p.D10)
1172 Mar 4, Stephan III, King of Hungary (1162-72), died.
(SC, 3/4/02)
1173 Feb 21, Pope Alexander III canonized Thomas Becket (1117-1170)
of Canterbury.
(MC, 2/21/02)
1173 The first stone of the Tower of Pisa was laid. It later became
the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
(WSJ, 2/16/99, p.A1)
1174 The earliest known English horse races were held.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R34)
1176 May 22, There was a murder attempt by "Assassins" (hashish-smoking
mountain killers) on Saladin near Aleppo.
(MC, 5/22/02)
1176 May 29, Lombard League defeated Frederick Barbarossa at Battle
of Legnano.
(SC, 5/29/02)
1178 Aug 29, Anti-Pope Callistus III gave pope title to Alexander
III.
(MC, 8/29/01)
1178 English raiders attacked the Irish town of Clonmacnoise but
spared the churches.
(SFEC, 8/1/99, p.T8)
1179 Sep 17, Hildegard van Bingen, mystic and composer (Ordo Virtutum),
died at 81. The abbess Hildegard concocted the Lingua Ignota, an artificial
language. Her work included the morality play “Ordo Virtutum.”
(WSJ, 6/20/96, p.A16)(Wired, 8/96, p.84)(WSJ, 7/30/98, p.A16)(MC,
9/17/01)
1180 In Montpellier, France, a medical school was founded.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R22)
1180-1185 War between the Taira and Minamoto clans in Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
1181 Chinese and Japanese astronomers observed a supernova. The
star 3C58 was later identified as the heart of the explosion in the constellation
Cassiopeia. In 2002 it was thought to be composed of quarks.
(SFC, 4/11/02, p.A2)
1182 Francis of Assisi was born as Guiovanni di Bernardone (d.1226),
the son of a rich Umbrian cloth merchant. He later created an Order to
minister to the poor and destitute clustered in the slums outside the walled
towns.
(V.D.-H.K.p.108)(CU, 6/87)(SFC, 10/4/99, p.A21)
1182 In Constantinople a mob massacred the Latins who ruled as
agents of the regent Maria of Antioch. They killed the city officials and
proclaimed an uncle of Alexius II Comnenus co-emperor to rule as Andronicus
I Comnenus together with his nephew.
(PCh, 1992, p.98)
1183 James Goldman wrote his 1966 play "The Lion in Winter," set
in 1183 England. The 1968 film “The Lion in Winter” focused on Henry II
and his estranged wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their battle over succession.
The 1834 opera by Gaetano Donizetti, “Rosmonda d’Inghilterra,” was
the story of Rosamond Clifford, who was put in a tower by her lover King
Henry II, and offered death by dagger or poison by Queen Eleanor.
(SFC, 10/30/98, p.D4)(WSJ, 11/10/98, p.A20)(WSJ, 3/17/99, p.A24)
1184 Jun 15, King Magnus of Norway was defeated by his rival,
Sverre.
(HN, 6/15/98)
1185 Sep 12, Andronicus I Comnenus, Byzantine emperor (1183-85),
was lynched.
(MC, 9/12/01)
1185 The Bishopric of Livonia was founded by Meinhard of Germany.
(TB-Com, 10/11/00)
1185-1333 The Kamakura Period of Japan. A sect known as Pure Land Buddhism
began to enjoy great popularity.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(SFC, 3/14/03, p.D1)
1186 In Cambodia the temple monastery of Ta Prohm at Angkor was
consecrated. Inscriptions say that 79,365 servants were required to for
its upkeep. It was paid by funds from over 3,000 villages.
(SFEC, 7/26/98, p.T7)
1186 Zara (present-day Zadar, Croatia), previously part of the
Venetian republic, rebelled against Venice and allied itself with Hungary,
posing competition to Venice’s maritime trade.
(HNQ, 1/23/01)
1187 Jul 4, Battle of Hittin (Tiberias): Saladin defeated Reinoud
of Chƒtillon. Salah al Din, who ruled from his imperial seat in ancient
Syria, defeated Christian armies of the Crusaders and forced their retreat
from the Holy Land. The battle was depicted in a mosaic that was found
and restored for the palace of Pres, Hafez Assad of Syria.
(WSJ, 9/30/96, p.A1)(Maggio)
1187 Sep 5, Louis VIII, [Coeur-de-Lion] king of France (1223-26),
was born.
(MC, 9/5/01)
1187 Oct 2, Sultan Saladin captured Jerusalem from Crusaders.
(MC, 10/2/01)
1189 Jan 21, Philip Augustus, Henry II of England and Frederick
Barbarossa assembled the troops for the Third Crusade.
(V.D.-H.K.p.109)(HN, 1/21/99)
1189 Feb 6, Riots of Lynn in Norfolk spread to Norwich,
England.
(MC, 2/6/02)
1189 May 11, Emperor Frederik I Barbarossa and 100,000 crusaders
departed Regensburg.
(MC, 5/11/02)
1189 Sep 3, After the death of Henry II, Richard Lionheart, King
Richard I, was crowned king of England in Westminster.
(AP, 9/3/97)(HN, 9/3/98)
1189 Sep 3, Jacob of Orleans, Rabbi, was killed in the London
anti Jewish riot in which 30 Jews were massacred.
(MC, 9/3/01)
1189 Giraldus Cambrensis authored "History of the Conquest of
Ireland."
(ON, SC, p.1)
1189 The first lord mayor was elected in London.
(WSJ,3/13/95, p.A-1)
1189 In England Henry II died.
(SFC, 10/30/98, p.D4)
1190 Mar 16, The Crusades began the massacre of Jews in York,
England. The Jewish population of York fled to Clifford’s Tower overlooking
the rivers Ouse and Foss during an anti-Jewish riot. A crazed friar set
fire to the tower and rather than be captured, the inhabitants committed
mass suicide,
(SFEC,10/26/97, p.T5)(HN, 3/16/99)
1190 Mar 17, Crusaders completed the massacre of Jews of York,
England.
(MC, 3/17/02)
1190 Mar 18, Crusaders killed 57 Jews in Bury St. Edmonds, England.
(MC, 3/18/02)
1190 Jun 10, Frederick I van Hohenstaufen, Barbarossa (1123-1190),
king of Germany and Italy and the Holy Roman Empire, drowned crossing the
Saleph River while leading an army of the Third Crusade. Frederick struggled
to extend German influence throughout Europe, maneuvering both politically
and militarily. He clashed with the pope, the powerful Lombards and fellow
Germans among others throughout the years. He joined the Third Crusade
in the Spring of 1189 in their efforts to free Jerusalem from Saladin's
army
(WUD, 1994, p.565)(HN, 6/10/98)(HNQ, 2/3/01)
1190 Matthaeus Platerius, a teaching physician at the School of
Salerno, wrote his manuscript “Circa Instans,” a Latin work on the medicinal
properties of plants.
(WSJ, 7/7/98, p.A14)
1190 The Louvre Museum in Paris was built as a fortress.
(SFC, 6/16/96, T-5)
1191 Apr 14, Giacinto Bobo (85) became Pope Coelestinus III.
(MC, 4/14/02)
1191 May 12, Richard the Lionheart married (Bernegaria) Berengaria
of Navarre in Limassol, Cyprus.
(NH, 4/97, p.62)(EofA, p.161)
1191 Zen Buddhism, guided by the Dao (The Way) arrived to Japan
from China.
(Hem., 2/96, p.58)
1191 In Cambodia Preah Khan was dedicated on what is thought to
be the site where the Khmer defeated their eastern neighbors the Cham.
The central temple was dedicated by Jayavarman VII to his father, King
Dharanindravavarman II, in the name of Lokesvara, a god who embodies the
compassionate qualities of the Buddha.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.E)
1192 Sep 2, Sultan Saladin and King Richard the Lion Hearted signed
a cease fire.
(MC, 9/2/01)
1192 Sep 21, English King Richard I the Lion Hearted was captured
in Austria on his return from the Third Crusade. An entire year’s supply
of wool from the Cistercian and two other monasteries in England was promised
as ransom for the King. It was never paid in full. [see Oct 9]
(NG, 5.1988, pp. 569)(MC, 9/21/01)
1192 Oct 9, Richard Coeur de Lion left Jerusalem in disguise.
[see Sep 21, 1192]
(MC, 10/9/01)
1192 Dec 20, Richard the Lionhearted was captured in Vienna.
(MC, 12/20/01)
1192 The founding of the Kamakura Shogunate in Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
1192 Enrico Dandolo (85) was elected doge of Venice.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R6)
1193 Mar 3, Saladin [Salah ed-Din]) Yusuf ibn Ayyub (52), Kurdish
sultan of Egypt and Syria (1175-1193), died.
(WUD, 1994 p.1261)(SC, 3/3/02)(SSFC, 9/29/02, p.M6)
1193 In 1779 The German playwright, Gotthold Lessing, wrote a
play that was set at this time in Jerusalem. [see 1779, Lessing]
(WSJ,11/24/95, p.A-6)
1193 In Tibet the Karma Kargyu sect preceded the Geluk sect of
the Dalai Lama. It introduced the idea of religious succession by reincarnation
when a great lama used it to predict his own rebirth.
(SFEM, 12/20/98, p.18)
1194 Feb 4, Richard I, King of England, was freed from captivity
in Germany with the payment of Leopold VI's ransom of 100,000
(HN, 2/4/99)(MC, 2/4/02)
1194 Feb 20, Tancredo of Lecce, King of Sicily, died.
(MC, 2/20/02)
1194 May 5, Kazimierz II, the Justified, grand duke of Poland
(1177-94), died.
(MC, 5/5/02)
1194 Dec 26, Frederick II, German Emperor (1212-1250) and King
of Sicily, was born in Lesi, Italy.
(HN, 12/26/98)(MC, 12/26/01)
1194 Dec 27, Frederick II, German Emperor, was born.
(HN, 12/27/98)
1194 The cathedral at Chartres was mostly destroyed by fire. The
Sancta Camisia relic survived intact and the cathedral was rebuilt in 29
years.
(Hem., 10/97, p.86)
1195-1270 Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman (Nahmanides) was a Catalan kabbalist.
(SFEC, 10/25/98, BR p.6)
1196 The Chateau Gaillard in Normandy was built by Richard the
Lionhearted, Duke of Normandy, to protect his domain from Philip Augustus,
King of France.
(AMNH, DT, 1998)
1197 Dec 4, Crusaders wounded Rabbi Elezar ben Judah.
(MC, 12/4/01)
1197 Sep 29, Emperor Henry VI died in Messina, Sicily.
(HN, 9/29/98)
c1197 In Ethiopia the sacred cross of Lalibela dates to this time.
It was believed to belong to King Lalibela who ordered “on command of God
and with the help of angels” the construction of a holy city hewn from
rock. In 1997 it was reported lost.
(SDUT, 6/6/97, p.E4)
1198 The German Bishop Bertold shipped up the Baltic
with armed forces and attacked the native people of Livonia. The attack
was repulsed.
(Ist. L.H., 1948, p.39-40)(TB-Com, 10/11/00)
1198 The Fourth Crusade was funded by Enrico Dandolo, doge of
Venice.
(V.D.-H.K.p.109)
1198 Fleeing from the Turks, a group of Armenian nobles and their followers settled in Byzantine Cilicia where they established a state know as Lesser or Little Armenia. In this year the area attained the status of kingdom and survived to 1375.
1198-1216 Pope Innocent III raised the papacy to an acme of papal prestige
and power, and Christian Europe came close to being a unified theocracy
with no internal contradictions. He oversaw 2 crusades and established
fees for indulgences to fatten the Church's treasury. He hired Italian
merchant bankers to manage papal funds and sanctioned the new Franciscan
and Dominican orders.
(V.D.-H.K.p.111)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R6)
1199 Apr 6, Richard I "the Lion-hearted" (41), King of England
(1189-99), died. Richard was killed by an arrow at the siege of the castle
of Chaluz in France.
(HN, 4/6/99)(MC, 4/6/02)
1199 Sep 30, Rambam (Maimonides) authorized Samuel Ibn Tibbon
to translate “Guide of Perplexed” from Arabic into Hebrew.
(MC, 9/30/01)