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Contents: political eventsreligion literature |
French mercenaries land on the English coast in January to help John Lackland fight the barons who last year forced him to sign the Magna Carta. The French dauphin, Louis Coeur de Lion, 28, arrives in May; some of the barons who had earlier supported John now rally to Louis; and many of John's French mercenaries desert to him. Barons friendly to Louis lay siege to Lincoln Castle, rebel barons in Nottinghamshire take the castles of Nottingham and Newark, Louis captures Winchester in the south, but he is unable to take Windsor or Dover.
Sweden's Erik X Knutsson dies at Vsingsö April 10 at age 35 after an 8-year reign and is succeeded by a 15-year-old son of the late Sverker II who will reign until 1222 as Johan I Sverkersson.
Norway's Erik X Cnutsson dies after an 8-year reign during which civil war has wracked the country (see 1217).
England's John Lackland comes down with dysentery in October after crushing French-led resistance to his rule in the north. He crosses the Wash and reaches Newark Castle but dies there October 19 at age 38. John's widow, Isabella of Angoulême, returns to France, where she will marry a former lover, the comte de la Marche. Her 9-year-old son will reign until 1272 as Henry III; William Marshall, 1st earl of Pembroke, serves as regent (governor of the king and of the kingdom, rector regis et regni), and the moderate party takes control, thus ending the need for opposition to royal authority, but Louis VIII's wife, Blanche of Castile, 29, a granddaughter of the late Eleanor of Aquitaine, tries to organize naval forces at Calais with a view to mounting an invasion force (see 1217).
The Latin emperor Henri I of Hainaut dies at Thessalonica in Macedonia June 11 at age 41 (approximate), possibly having been poisoned. He is succeeded after a reign of less than 10 years by Peter of Courtenay, but in the absence of more capable rulers the empire created by the late Baldwin I and consolidated by Henri will now go into a swift decline. The Nicaean emperor Theodore Lascaris strengthens his ties to the Latin empire by taking as his (third) wife Maria, daughter of Henri's widow, Yolande.
Genghis Khan invades the Near East with 60,000 Mongol horsemen, destroying ancient centers of civilization, ruining irrigation works, and destroying every living thing in his path (see 1214; 1218).
Pope Innocent III dies suddenly of fever at Perugia July 16 at age 56 (approximate) after an 18-year reign and is succeeded July 18 by Cencio Cardinal Savelli, who will reign until 1227 as Honorius III.
Nonfiction: Essentials of Poetic Composition (Eiga taiga) by Japanese poet-critic Sadaie (Teika) Fujiwara.
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