Timeline of Kings and Queens, page 4
1035
England Canute’s younger son, Harold I Harefoot, becomes regent in England, while his half-brother, Harthacanute, king of Denmark, fights against Magnus I of Norway. France Normandy, in the north of France, grows powerful. Navarre-Aragón On his death, Sancho III of Navarre, having done his utmost to unite the kingdoms of Spain, divides his kingdom between his sons; Ramiro I becomes count, and later the first king of Aragón; he turns it into an autonomous state; García Sánchez III becomes king of Navarre; Ferdinand receives Castile. Norway Magnus I the Good, illegitimate son of Olaf II, becomes king. Serbia Around this time, Stefan Dobroslav I Vojislav, cousin of Jovan Vladimir, declares independence for Duklja.
1037
England In the absence of his brother, Harthacanute, Harold I assumes the crown of England. León King Bermudo III is killed fighting his brother-in-law, Ferdinand, count of Castile, in the Battle of Tamarón; the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and León unite; Ferdinand, count of Castile, becomes King Ferdinand I the Great, of León and Castile, the first king of the Jiménez dynasty.
1039
Wales Iago ab Idwal is killed by his own men; Gruffyd ap Llewelyn becomes king. Germany Conrad II dies; Henry III continues as sole ruler. Poland Casimir I the Restorer, son of Mieszko II, becomes duke of Poland; he reunites the country after the period of turmoil.
1040
England Harold I dies; Harthacanute lands at Sandwich and reclaims the English throne; Harold’s body is exhumed, beheaded and thrown into a fen bordering the Thames. Scotland King Duncan I of Scotland is killed in battle against his cousin and rival, Macbeth, who succeeds him; Macbeth is the son of Findláech mac Ruaidrí, Mormaer of Moray, and his action represents a Celtic rebellion against English influence on Scottish affairs. Hungary Stephen I’s nephew, Peter Urseolo, becomes king; Bulgaria Peter Delyan, claiming to be the son of Tsar Gavril Radomir, leads an uprising against the Byzantine Empire.
1041
England Harthacanute’s half-brother, Edward the Confessor – they both share the same mother, Emma of Normandy – returns from exile to become the heir to the English throne. Hungary Peter of Hungary causes unrest by confiscating the estates of the widow of former King Stephen, by increasing taxes, repressing pagan customs and appointing Germans and Italians to his council at the expense of the Hungarian nobles; he is deposed and flees to Austria; his brother-in-law, Samuel Aba, is proclaimed king. Bulgaria Peter Delyan’s early successes end when his cousin, Alusian, cuts off his nose and blinds him one night when he is drunk; Alusian is proclaimed emperor, but defects to the Byzantine side; Peter II, although blind, leads his troops into battle, but is captured, taken to Constantinople and probably executed. Byzantine Empire Michael IV, second husband of Empress Zoe, dies; Michael V, nephew of Michael IV and adopted son of Empress Zoe, becomes co-emperor with Zoe.
1042
England On Harthacanute’s death, without an heir, Edward the Confessor, helped by Godwin, earl of Wessex, becomes king of England, the last English king of the House of Wessex; his reign is characterized by conflict between the Norman party at court and the ‘National’ faction, led by Godwin and his son, Harold Godwinsson, later Harold II. Denmark Magnus the Good, king of Norway, also becomes king of Denmark. Hungary The former king, Peter of Hungary, allies with Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and attacks Hungary; he fails to gain the support of the Hungarian nobles. Serbia Stefan Dobroslav I Vojislav comprehensively defeats Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX; Duklja becomes a leading state in Serbia. Byzantine Empire Michael V of Byzantium is deposed by popular revolt; Empress Zoe becomes joint-empress with her sister Theodora; Zoe marries for the third time and elevates her husband to the throne as Constantine IX.
1043
Venice Doge Domenico Flabanico dies; Venice has declined during his reign; Domenico Contarini, the first of eight Contarini doges, is elected and revives its fortunes, recapturing lost territories and boosting the economy.
1044
Hungary Ex-king Peter again attacks Hungary, supported by troops of the Holy Roman Empire; he defeats King Samuel Aba in the Battle of Ménfő and Samuel Aba dies shortly after; Peter becomes king again, but is subservient to the Holy Roman Empire. Belarus Vseslav becomes prince of Polotsk; he is the best-known prince and is also grand prince of Kiev from 1068 until 1069.
1045
England Edward the Confessor begins the construction of Westminster Abbey. Rome Pope Benedict IX is forced from Rome, although some say he has accepted payment in return for his abdication; Sylvester III is elected pope; in April, Benedict IX forces the expulsion of Sylvester III; Benedict IX resigns in May, possibly to marry, selling the papacy to his godfather, John Gratian, who becomes Pope Gregory VI; Benedict IX returns to the papal throne shortly after, although Gregory continues to be recognized as the true pope.
Westminster Abbey
1045–1050
This monument to Edward the Confessor is inside Westminster Abbey. The historic Abbey itself was built by Edward between 1045 and1050 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065. The building came about because Edward failed to keep a promise — to go on a pilgrimage — instead he redeemed himself by constructing this magnificent Abbey.
1046
Rome Benedict IX and Sylvester III are deprived of their offices by Holy Roman Emperor Henry III; the German bishop, Suidger, is crowned Clement II. Holy Roman Empire Henry III, king of Germany, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
1047
Normandy William the Conqueror secures control of Normandy. Rome Benedict IX seizes the Lateran Palace and becomes pope again. Denmark After years of trying, Sweyn II Estridson, nephew of Canute, becomes king when Magnus the Good divides up his empire on his death; he reunites Denmark and repulses the Norwegians. Norway The last great Viking king, Harald III Sigurdsson, also known as Harald Hardråde, uncle of Magnus I, takes the throne after sharing power with him for a year. Hungary King Peter antagonizes the nobles and clergy and is deposed for a second time; he is captured near Zámoly and is blinded by the rebels and expelled from the country; Hungary favours agnatic seniority for determining succession, and Andrew I, great-grandson of King Stephen’s grandfather, returns from 15 years’ exile to become king; he follows an anti-pagan policy.
1048
Rome Pope Benedict IX resigns; he is the only pope to have served three times and the only man ever to have sold the papacy; Poppo the German, bishop of Brixen, is elected pope as Damasus II; he dies after 21 days, possibly of malaria. Hungary King Andrew assigns control of one-third of Hungary to his brother, Duke Béla, as appanage; the two brothers share power.
1049
Rome Bruno von Eguisheim-Dagsburg is elected pope, as Leo IX; he becomes the most important German pope of the Middle Ages, renewing the practice of celibacy and introducing many other reforms.
1050
Portugal Nuno Mendes becomes 7th count of Portugal; he is the last count of the House of Vímara Peres. Sweden Emund the Old, illegitimate son of Olaf Skötkonung and older half-brother of King Anund Jakob, becomes king; he is the last king of the House of Munsö. Byzantine Empire Empress Zoe dies, and her husband and co-emperor, Constantine IX, becomes sole ruler.
1051
Serbia Mihailo I becomes grand prince of Duklja.
1054
Navarre García Sánchez III dies in the Battle of Atapuerca; he is succeeded by 14-year-old Sancho IV. Germany Henry IV becomes king; he is one of the most important figures of the 11th century; he defeats the rebellious Saxons and quarrels with the pope; he faces and defeats three rivals to his throne. Rome Pope Leo IX’s excommunication of the patriarch of Constantinople, Michael I Cerularius, leads to the split between the Eastern and Western Churches, known as the Great Schism. Kievan Rus’ Izyaslav I becomes prince of Kiev.
1055
Wales Gruffydd ap Llewelyn claims sovereignty over all of Wales, a claim recognized by the English. Rome Gebhard, count of Calw, Tollenstein und Hirschberg is elected pope, as Victor II; he strengthens the papacy against the aggressions of the nobles. Byzantine Empire On the death of her co-emperor, Constantine IX, Theodora becomes sole ruler.
1056
León-Castile Having consolidated his possessions in northern Iberia, Ferdinand I the Great declares himself ‘Emperor of Hispania’, to the annoyance of Pope Victor II and the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III. Byzantine Empire Empress Theodora dies childless; she recommends the defence minister, Michael VI Bringas, to replace her; he does not receive universal support and conflict breaks out between noble families until around 1081.
1057
Scotland King Macbeth is killed in battle against Malcolm III; Macbeth’s stepson, Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin, grandson of Kenneth III, is installed as king; he is a weak king, known as ‘the Foolish’. Rome Frederick of Lorraine is elected pope as Stephen IX. Hungary King Andrew I tries to ensure succession by having his son Solomon crowned ‘junior’ king, angering his brother, Duke Béla. Byzantine Empire Michael VI abdicates; Isaac I Komnenos is the first and only emperor of the Komnenid dynasty.
1058
Scotland King Lulach is assassinated; Malcolm III Canmore, oldest son of Duncan I, becomes king; his line will rule Scotland for many years. Poland Bolesław II the Bold becomes duke of Poland; he is one of the most talented of the rulers of the House of Piast, making alliances with neighbours to fight the threat of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.
1059
Rome Gérard de Bourgogne, bishop of Florence, is elected pope, as Nicholas II; he achieves the subjugation of Milan to Rome and allies with the Normans; he introduces the practice – in place to this day – of popes being elected by the cardinals instead of the Roman aristocracy. Byzantine Empire Isaac I abdicates, believing, wrongly, that he is suffering from an incurable disease; Constantine X Doukas becomes the first emperor of the Doukid dynasty; he is unpopular and unsuccessful, losing most of Byzantine Italy to the Normans.
1060
France Philippe I succeeds to the throne aged 8; he is ruling in his own right by the age of 14. Sweden Stenkil Ragnvaldson becomes king; he is the first king of the House of Stenkil. Hungary Duke Béla defeats his brother, Andrew I, to become Béla I; Andrew is captured and dies.
1061
Rome Anselmo da Baggio, bishop of Lucca, is elected pope as Alexander II; an antipope, Honorius II, threatens him for some time, but Alexander is confirmed by a council at Mantua.
1063
Aragón Sancho Ramírez becomes king. Hungary King Béla I dies when his throne’s canopy collapses on top of him; Solomon, son of Andrew I, is crowned king for the second time at the age of 9.
1064
Wales Gruffydd ap Llewelyn is killed by Cynan ap Iago, whose father, Iago ab Idwal, Gruffydd had put to death in 1039; Bleddyn ap Cyfyn, half-brother of Gruffydd ap Llewelyn, becomes ruler.
1065
León-Castile On the death of Ferdinand I of León-Castile, his kingdom is split between his three sons; Sancho II the Strong receives the Kingdom of Castile; Alfonso VI becomes king of León; García becomes king of Galicia and declares the independence of Galicia and Portugal.
1066
England Edward the Confessor’s heir, Edgar Ætheling, is thought to be too young to become king, aged 15; Edward allegedly nominates Harold Godwinson, earl of Wessex, as his successor; he is the last Anglo-Saxon to be crowned king of England, as Harold II; at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Harold II defeats Harald III Hardråde, king of Norway, marking the end of the Viking era in England; at the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy and bastard son of Robert II of Normandy, defeats and kills Harold II, who has reigned for just 10 months; Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed king by the Witan, but never crowned; William I, his claim to the English crown coming through his great-aunt, Emma of Normandy, is crowned king. Sweden On the death of Stenkil Ragnvaldsson, an interregnum ensues until 1078. Norway Magnus II Haraldsson, son of Harald Hardråde, becomes king.
1067
France The Trencavel family comes to power in Carcassonne, in France. Norway Olaf III the Peaceful returns from England to claim his share of the Kingdom of his father Harald Hardråde; Magnus II rules the north and Olaf rules the south. Byzantine Empire Michael VII becomes emperor, aged 17; his mother, Eudokia, and general Romanos IV Diogenes, rule as regents.
William the Conqueror
Reign: 1028–1087
William the Conqueror was the illegitimate son of Robert, Duke of Normandy and Herleva. Despite his somewhat shaky start in life having been dubbed ‘William the Bastard’, William was supported by the majority of the Norman barons and suc-ceeded his father in 1035.
His early life was fraught with danger due to the fact that he was not a very popular choice of ruler. However, William quickly learned to trust no one, which led to a series of major conflicts. Prepared to fight for his beliefs and his leadership, William soon learned the skills of fighting and became a gifted knight and warrior.
William the Conqueror is best remembered for the famous Battle of Hastings that took place on 14 October 1066, an event that changed the course of English History. At the time there were three potential contenders to the throne: Harald Hardråde, king of Norway, Duke William of Normandy and the Saxon Harold, son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex. These three contenders for the throne of England became locked in a conflict that led to the Battle of Hastings. The tradition that Harold was killed by an arrow in the eye probably arose from a misreading of the Bayeux Tapestry; the English king was hacked to pieces by Norman soldiers. Once Harold was dead, the battle was lost. The day belonged to Duke William, soon to be dubbed ‘The Conqueror’.
William died on the morning of 9 September 1087 following a spell of illness. He was 59 years old and had ruled England for 21 years and Normandy for 31 more.
1068
Kievan Rus’ A popular uprising deposes Izyaslav I; he flees to Poland.
1069
England William the Conqueror crushes rebellion in the north of England, burning houses, crops, cattle and land, resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 people, from starvation and winter cold; the action is known as the Harrying of the North. Norway Magnus II dies, leaving his brother Olaf as sole ruler. Kievan Rus’ Izyaslav I retakes Kiev, with the help of the Polish army.
1070
England Hereward the Wake begins a Saxon revolt in the Fens of eastern England.
1071
Spain García II, as king of Galicia, is the first to use the title king of Portugal, following his defeat of Count Nuno Mendes, last count of Portugal of the House of Vímara Peres, in the Battle of Pedroso. Italy The last Byzantine-controlled city in southern Italy, Bari, is captured by Robert Guiscard. Venice Domenico Selvo is elected doge; Venice begins a long period of prosperity. Byzantine Empire Emperor Michael VII dispatches his mother to a monastery, murders Romanos IV and is crowned senior emperor.
1072
England William I invades Scotland; he defeats Hereward the Wake in the Fens. Ireland Toirdelbach Ua Briain becomes high king of Ireland; at 15, he is said to have commanded an army of a thousand men. León-Castile Sancho the Strong of León reannexes his brother García’s Kingdom of Galicia and then forces his brother, Alfonso, into exile, taking control of León; Sancho is assassinated by a Zamoran noble; his brother, Alfonso VI, takes control of his kingdoms and styles himself ‘Emperor of all Hispania’. Bulgaria Constantin Bodin, seventh son of Michael I of Zeta, assumes the throne as Peter III, following a revolt by Bulgarian noblemen; the Byzantines retaliate and capture Peter, who is taken into captivity in Constantinople; Bulgaria is ruled by the Byzantine Empire until 1186.
1073
Rome Hildebrand of Soana is elected pope as Gregory VII; he restricts the use of the title ‘Papa’ to the bishop of Rome, the pope. Kievan Rus’ Izyaslav I is ousted again, by his brothers; Sviatoslav II becomes prince of Kiev.
1074
Denmark Harald III, the oldest illegitimate son of Sweyn II, is elected king. Hungary Solomon is defeated by Béla I’s son, Géza I, in the Battle of Mogyoród, and goes into exile, but remains in control of the western part of the country.
1075
England The Revolt of the Three Earls, against William the Conqueror, is the last serious act of resistance to the Norman Conquest. Wales Bleddyn ap Gyfyn is killed by Rhys ab Owain of Deheubarth and the nobility of Ystrad Tywi in south Wales; Bleddyn’s cousin, Trahaern ap Caradog, becomes king of Gwynedd. Holy Roman Empire Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, subjugates Saxony.
1076
Aragón and Navarre Sancho Ramírez is elected king of Navarre after Sancho IV is murdered by his brothers; Sancho Ramírez becomes king of Aragón and Navarre. Rome Pope Gregory VII excommunicates the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV; he is the first pope to stand up to a king; Henry pleads forgiveness, but conflict between the empire and the papacy continues into the 12th century.
1076
Kievan Rus’ Vsevolod I becomes prince of Kiev, but cedes the throne to Izyaslav I who has retaken Kiev.
1077
England The rebellious Robert Curthose, future duke of Normandy, instigates his first insurrection against his father, William the Conqueror. Sweden Halsten Stenkilsson becomes king. Hungary Géza I of Hungary dies; his brother, Ladislaus I, becomes king. Montenegro The Kingdom of Duklja is founded with the support of Pope Gregory VII; Mihailo I is its first king.
1078
Wales Trahaern ap Caradog, king of Gwynedd, defeats Rhys ab Owain in the Battle of Goodwick. Bulgaria Constantin Bodin – Peter III of Bulgaria – is freed by Venetian sailors and returns to his homeland of Zeta. Byzantine Empire Michael VII resigns and enters a monastery amid widespread dissatisfaction; Nikephoros III Botaneiates, a general and governor, proclaims himself emperor, and bigamously marries the wife of Michael VII. Kievan Rus’ Izyaslav I dies in a civil war; Vsevolod I is restored to power.
1079
Poland Bolesław II the Bold murders the bishop of Kraków and future saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów; nobles and prelates revolt, and Bolesław is forced into exile in Hungary; his brother, Władysław I Herman, becomes duke of Poland.
