1233

1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 1237 1238 1239 1240

political events

England's Henry III faces a rebellion of barons led by Richard Marshall, 3rd earl of Pembroke, who gain support from the prince of North Wales Llewelyn the Great and demand that Henry dismiss the Poitevin foreigners with whom Peter des Roches has filled the royal administration. The king summons Pembroke to Gloucester in August, but the earl fears treachery and does not go. Henry declares him a traitor, and Pembroke crosses to Ireland, where Peter des Roches instigates his supporters against the earl.

Aragon's Jaime I embarks on a new war of reconquest against the Saracen rulers of Valencia (see 1238).

Mongol forces under Ughedei (Ogödei, or Subutai) capture a Chinese ammunition works at Bian Qin as they regroup in the wake of their late emperor Genghis Khan (see 1227). A son of Genghis Khan, Ughedei will be the first great khan (khagan) and lead the Mongols until his death in 1246 (see 1235).

retail, trade

England mines coal at Newcastle-on-Tyne for the first time. The town will become so famous for its coal that "carrying coals to Newcastle" will become a common phrase to signify superfluous effort (see 1589; environment, 1285).

religion

The "Great Hallelujah" penitential movement begins in the north of Italy.

Pope Gregory IX establishes an inquisition in the spring as a special court to curb the spread of the Cathar "heretics," entrusting it to the Dominican order that was established in 1217 (see 1213; Albigensian Crusade, 1229). A Franciscan friar in the Rhineland murders the papal legate Conrad of Marburg July 30, ending Conrad's attacks on "heretics," whom he has had burnt at the stake by the hundreds if not thousands. Pope Gregory writes a disingenuous letter to the archbishops of Cologne and Trier, deploring Conrad's excesses, but his inquisition in Languedoc will continue for 100 years (see 1234).

everyday life

A Japanese royal family adopts the ancient custom of staining teeth black (ohaguro). The practice begins to gain wide acceptance as a sign of beauty.

1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 1237 1238 1239 1240