istoryworld
Events relating to europe
Work begins on the story of the Norman conquest, narrated in embroidery in the Bayeux tapestry
Norman earls are given territories on the marches of Wales, with the specific task of raiding their neighbours
Venice acquires valuable trading privileges from Constantinople, her merchants being excused all dues and customs in the Byzantine empire
St Bruno and six companions retire to Chartreuse, in the French Alps, and establish the Carthusian order
Toledo is captured from the Muslims by Alfonso VI of Castile, who continues the city's traditions of religious tolerance
On the death of his father, William the Conqueror, William II becomes king of England
The Domesday Book provides the Normans with an inventory of England
Roger I, the first Norman count of Sicily, completes the conquest of the island from the Muslims
Rodrigo Diaz, known as El Cid, drives out the Muslims and wins Valencia
Pope Urban II preaches the first crusade, urging the Christians of Europe to march east to recover Jerusalem from the Muslims
Benedictine monks, wishing to return to the early ideals of the order, form a community at Cîteaux which becomes the Cistercian order
On the death of his brother, William II, Henry I becomes king of England
Many of the towns of northern Italy acquire virtual independence as self-governing communes
Greek texts, translated by Arabic scholars in Baghdad, gradually make their way through the Muslim world to Christian Europe
The chansons de geste, performed by professional minstrels in castles and manors, celebrate the exploits of Charlemagne and his paladins
Peter Abelard teaches philosophy at Notre Dame until an affair with one of his pupils, Héloïse, brings his career to a dramatic end
St Bernard establishes a new monastery at Clairvaux, from which he presides over the rapid expansion of the Cistercian order
The troubadours of Provence develop a new form of love poetry in French, introducing courtly love
A popular French poem, the Chanson de Roland, turns a minor disaster in one of Charlemagne's campaigns into a tale of epic heroism
The full flowering of the Romanesque style is seen in the nave of the abbey church at Vézelay, in France
Work begins on the exquisite palace chapel in Palermo, built for the Norman kings of Sicily
On the death of Henry I, his nephew Stephen moves quickly to keep Henry's daughter Matilda off the English throne
Walter FitzAlan takes a post as steward with the Scottish king, thus establishing the Stewart family and later dynasty
Pope Innocent III and the second Lateran council outlaw the crossbow as a weapon causing unacceptable devastation
Victory over the Muslims at Ourique is seen as the moment of Portugal's independence from the kingdom of Leon
