1130

1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130

political events

Norway's Sigurd I Magnusson dies at age 40 (approximate) after a 27-year reign in which he has participated in the crusades (the only Scandinavian king to do so). Known as Sigurd the Crusader, or Sigurd Jerusalemfarer, he has been mentally unbalanced in his final years; his son will reign over part of the realm until 1135 as Magnus IV Sigurdsson, but Harald Gille (or Gilchrist), now 27, disavows his pledge not to claim sovereignty and is accepted in half the kingdom as Harald IV (see 1134).

Sweden's Magnus the Strong (Magnus den Starke Nilsson) loses his throne to a rival who will reign until 1156 as Sverker I, establishing a dynasty that will rule off and on until 1250 along with the House of Eric.

religion

Pope Honorius II dies at Rome February 13 after a reign of less than 6 years. The Rome-born Gregorio Cardinal Papareschi is elected by a minority vote to succeed him as Innocent II, but France's Louis VI convokes the Council of Etampes to decide the legitimacy of the succession, it elects Pietro Cardinal Pierleone as pope Anacletus II by a majority vote, and both claimants are consecrated February 23, precipitating a major schism. Anacletus II has the support of the Frangipani family and most Romans, he forces Innocent to flee to France in June and gains support also from Sicily's Roger II, whom he crowns at Palermo December 25, beginning a 10-year war with Pope Innocent's champion Bernard of Clairvaux, an anorexic mystic who calls Roger a "half-heathen king" and enlists the support of Louis VI, England's Henry I, and the German king Lothair. They support Innocent II, as does the Byzantine emperor John II Comnenus. The antipope Anacletus II is more acceptable canonically than is Innocent II, but his father is a rich converted Jew; prejudice prevents him from gaining the support of the Church hierarchy (see politics 1133).

art

Painter Li Tang (Li T'ang) dies at age 50 (year and age approximate), having established a style that will become the basis for academy-style landscapes in the Southern Song (Sung) dynasty.

architecture, real estate

A great cathedral is dedicated in May at Canterbury, Kent, by the French-born William of Corbeil, archbishop of Canterbury, who was consecrated in that position 7 years ago after a long conflict with Thurstan, archbishop of York. The cathedral will take centuries to complete (see 1503).

1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130