Tag Archives: The Crusades

August 21st

28 Monday Oct 2013

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Events:
1810 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France and renowned military leader is elected to be Crown Prince of Sweden, to succeed the childless Charles XIII. He is the founder of the current reigning House of Bernadotte in Sweden.

Birthdays:
1165 – Phillip Augustus is born in France as the son of Louis VII of France. In 1179, he was crowned as co-ruler with his father, and then became King in his own right in 1180. He was Phillip II, King of France, and the first to use that title, as his predecessors are called King of the Franks. He went on the Third Crusade with Richard the Lionheart and Frederick Barbarossa, and after Richard’s death, he successfully dismantled the Angevin Empire of France, now led by King John of England. He was popular with the commons, for taking power from the nobles, and is known as one of the more successful medieval monarchs.

1643- Afonso IV of Portugal is born as a younger son of John IV and Luisa of Medina-Sidonia. An illness as a toddler left his mentally unstable and partially paralyzed. He succeeded his father at age 13, with his mother acting as regent for six years. Despite his mental instability Portugal scored some major military victories under him, but in 1668, his brother Peter was appointed Prince Regent and ruled on Afonso’s behalf until his death in 1683.

1765 – The future William IV of the United Kingdom is born in Britain. He would become King in 1830, after the death of his elder brother, George IV. Like the other British Hanoverian kings, he was also ruler of the German province of Hanover, which he never visited as King. He had spent time in his youth in the Royal Navy, and later was active in the House of Lords. He enacted several reforms during his short reign, including restrictions on child labor, the abolition of slavery in the majority of the colonies, and gave Hanover a constitution. Although he had several illegitimate children, he had none with his wife, Queen Adelaide, when he passed. So the Crown of Britain went to his niece, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, now Queen Victoria. Hanover observed Salic law, so his brother, Ernest Augustus, became King there.

1858 – Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf is born as the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth. Despite being groomed from an early age to be Emperor, he was quite different politically from his father. He married Princess Stephanie of Belgium and had a daughter. However he was unfaithful. In 1889, he was found dead from an apparent murder-suicide, next to a mistress of his. His mother wore black for mourning for the rest of her life.

Deaths:
1157 – Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile died at age 52. He was the son of Urraca of Castile and Raymond of Burgundy, and in 1111, as a child, he was named King of Galicia by his mother. In 1126, she died, leaving Alfonso as King of Leon and Castile. He called himself Emperor of All Spain. He also participated in the Reconquista of lower Spain, attempting to expel the Muslims. Before his death, he split his lands between his two elder sons, and his daughters would go on to be Queens of France, Navarre, and Aragon.

August 1st

12 Monday Aug 2013

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Events:
1192 – Richard I of England landed near the town of Jaffa in the Holy Land. The Lionheart and his Crusaders were ambushed by the Muslim army of Saladin, but it would a victory for Richard and his men.

1800 – The Acts of Union passed Parliament. The Acts officially combined the nations of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Since 1603, the nations had operated under the same sovereign, but with separate Governments.

1893 – Alexander I of Greece was born near Athens. He was a younger son of Constantine I, and became King in 1917 when his father was forced to abdicate, and both his father and his brother, the Crown Prince, were exiled. Alexander had little to do with government though, as the Prime Minister held most of the power. In 1919, he married a commoner, Aspasia Manos, and they would have one daughter, barred from the Greek succession due to her mothers humble origins. The girl would later become Queen consort Alexandra of Yugoslavia. In 1920, Alexander was bitten by a macaque and developed an infection. His father would later be restored to the crown.

Deaths:
1137 – Louis VI of France died at age 55. He had been King since 1108, and was the son of Phillip I. Like other Kings of his time, he spent much time at war. However he would emerge as a stronger King than his predecessors. Months before his death, he would be made guardian of Eleanor of Aquitaine, heiress to the richest Duchy in France. He would marry Eleanor to his son and heir, the future Louis VII.

1402 – Edmund of Langley died at age 61. He was the younger son of Edward III of England and Phillippa of Hainault. The Yorkist claimants to the throne of England are descended from him. He would spend time on military campaigns in both France and Castilian Spain. Edmund also fought on the side of Henry Bolingbroke when he invaded England and overthrew Richard II, becoming Henry IV.

1714 – Queen Anne of Great Britain and Ireland died at Kensington Palace in London. She was 49 years old. She was the younger daughter of James II and VII and his first wife, and sister to Queen Mary II. In 1683, she was married to Prince George of Denmark. They were said to be devoted to each other, but they would have no children that survived childhood. She was supportive of her sister Mary, and her brother in law William, when they overthrew James in 1688, during the Glorious Revolution. Anne was a presence at court, but had a falling out with her sister, and they would be estranged until Mary’s early death. Anne would become Queen in 1702, when William died childless. Just a few years later, Anne gave Royal Assent to the Acts of Union, which united England and Scotland into Great Britain. Her successors would her German cousins, the Hanovers.

Have an awesome day!

July 12th

18 Thursday Jul 2013

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Events:
1191 – Saladin’s troops in Acre surrendered to Phillip II of France, ending a two year siege of the city.

1543 – King Henry VIII of England and Ireland married his sixth wife, Catherine Parr, the recently widowed Lady Latimer. The marriage would last until Henry’s death in 1547.

1690 – The Battle of the Boyne took place in Ireland between the forces of the deposed James II and VII and his son in law, William III. The battle was a victory for the Williamites and James would never regain the British crowns.

1806 – Sixteen German states and Liechtenstein form the Confederation of the Rhine after leaving the Holy Roman Empire.

Birthdays:
1596 – The future Michael I of Russia is born in Moscow. He was the nephew of Ivan the Terrible’s wife, Anastasia, and was offered the throne in 1613. It was the first Tsar from the House of Romanov, who would rule Russia until the abolition of the monarch in 1918. He was said to have a good personality, and left the government to his councilors most of the time. His son would succeed him as Alexei I. Michael died also on this day in 1645.

1870 – Prince Louis II of Monaco is born in Baden, Germany as the son of Albert I and Lady Mary Hamilton. He became Sovereign in 1922, following the death of his father. Under his rule, Monaco formed its first Football Club and the first Grand Prix of Monaco took place as well. He attempted to remain neutral during World War II, but Monaco was occupied by the Nazis. He would do his best to help Jews who were about to be arrested escape capture. His grandson and successor, Rainier thought Louis to hesitant to fight the Nazis, which caused a rift between them.

No additional deaths.

Have a great day!

July 11th

17 Wednesday Jul 2013

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Events:
1174 – Baldwin IV becomes King of Jerusalem at age 13. Soon after, he was found to have leprosy, which claimed his life at age 24.

Birthdays:
1274 – Estimated to be a possible birthday of Robert the Bruce, or King Robert I of Scotland. A claimant to the throne from an early age, he was crowned King in 1306. He was one of the primary leaders of the Scottish rebellions against the invasion and overlordship of Edward I of England. It wasn’t until the 1320’s after the death of Edward I, and major successes against Edward II, including the Battle of Bannockburn, that Robert was finally recognized by the Pope as King, and war with the new English King, the young Edward III, finally concluded. Robert would die in 1329. Nearly 700 years after his death, Robert is still a national hero of Scotland.

1657 – The future Frederick I of Prussia is born to Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg and Louise Henrietta of Orange-Nassau. In 1701, he convinced the Holy Roman Emperor to allow Brandenburg-Prussia to be elevated from a Duchy to a Kingdom, making himself the first Prussian King. However, the new nation was still under the sovereignty of the Empire.

1751 – Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain was born in London. She was the sister of George III of Great Britain and in 1766 she married Christian VII of Denmark at the ripe age of 15. In 1768, she gave birth to the future Frederick VI. But her marriage was unhappy, as Christian was mentally ill, and acted indifferent to his wife. In 1770, she most likely started an affair with Christian’s physician, Johann Struensee, who, it was rumored, fathered her second child, although Christian recognized the girl as his daughter. In 1772 though, Christian had enough apparently, and both Caroline and Struensee were arrested, and the marriage was dissolved. Her lover was executed and Caroline died suddenly of scarlet fever in 1775.

1866 – Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine was born in Darmstadt, Germany. She was a middle child of Grand Duke Ludwig IV and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, and thus, a grandchild of Queen Victoria. She was also the elder sister of the doomed Empress Alexandra of Russia. Irene was married to Prince Heinrich of Prussia, a younger brother of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Like her sister, Irene turned out to be a carrier for the haemophilia gene, which affected two of her sons.

Deaths:
1766 – Elisabeth Farnese died in Spain. She was the Queen consort of Spain as the wife of Phillip V of Spain. Italian by birth, she was of the powerful Farnese family, who were the Dukes of Parma. Early in the marriage she exercised great influence on her husband, but it waned eventually. Among her children, she numbers a King of Spain, and Queen of Portugal and a Duke of her ancestral Parma. She was 73 years old at her death.

1920 – Eugenie de Montijo died in Madrid, Spain. She had lived in France while young and caught the eye of Prince Louis Napoleon, President of France and nephew of Napoleon I. They wed in 1853, a year after he became Emperor Napoleon III. She was the counter influences to liberal policies and was blamed for the French interventions in Mexico. Her husband was overthrown in 1871, and she lived the rest of her days first in England, then later her native Spain, outliving both her husband and son.

Have an awesome day!

July 4th

10 Wednesday Jul 2013

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Events:
1187 – The Battle of Hattin takes place between the Christian forces of Jerusalem and the Muslim forces loyal to Saladin. It was a decisive victory for the Muslims and would be one of the events leading to the Third Crusade.

1534 – Christian III of Norway and Denmark is elected as King. He was a fervent Protestant and his election helped spread the Reformation in Continental Europe.

1569 – The Union of Lubin is signed by Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. The treaty merged the two countries into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

1914 – The funeral of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie took place. They were shot six days prior in Sarajevo and the even would help spark World War I.

Birthdays:
1799 – The future Oscar I of Sweden is born in Paris, France. In 1810 his father, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected to succeed Charles XIII. He succeeded his father in 1844, and ruled until 1859. Before his accession, he married Josephine of Leuchtenberg, daughter of Eugene de Beauharnais, and granddaughter of Josephine de Beauharnais. He was very liberal in his youth, but settled down after his accession. But under him, Norway was given more equality, and early freedom of the press laws and gender equality laws.

1937 – In not so dead royalty, Queen Sonja of Norway is born in Oslo. In 1968, she married Crown Prince Harald of Norway, and in 1991, they became King and Queen of Norway. Her son, Haakon, is the current Crown Prince and future ruler of Norway.

1942 – Prince Michael of Kent is born in England to Prince George and Princess Marina. He is a grandson of King George V, and thus a first cousin to Queen Elizabeth. Through his mother, he is also a first cousin to Prince Phillip. He undertakes royal duties on his cousin’s behalf although he lost is place in the line of succession in 1978, when he married a Roman Catholic.

Deaths:
2011 – Otto von Habsburg died in Germany at age 98. He was the last Crown Prince of Austria, as the son of Charles I of Austria and Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He fled Europe during World War II but returned to the continent after the war, never living in Austria again. He was a member of the European Parliament and a strong supporter of the European Union. His father never abdicated, and by his family and supporters he was still considered to be Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

April 30th

30 Tuesday Apr 2013

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Events:
1980 – Queen Juliana of the Netherlands abdicates the Dutch throne on her birthday, the holiday known as Queen’s Day, in favour of her daughter, Beatrix.

2013 – Queen Beatrix then abdicates on Queen’s Day at age 75. Her son, Willem-Alexander, becomes the first Dutch King in 120 years.

Birthdays:
1245 – Phillip III of France is born in Poissy, France, as the son of Louis IX and Margaret of Provence. He became King at age 25 when his father died while they were on the Eighth Crusade. Phillip ruled until 1285, when while on campaign in Italy he died suddenly of dysentery. His son, now Phillip IV, succeeded him.

1662 – The future Queen Mary II of England, Scotland, and Ireland. She was the eldest surviving daughter of James, Duke of York and Anne Hyde, and niece to Charles II. Her father later became King James II and VII and converted to Catholicism. Combine his conversion, later marrying a Catholic and giving birth to a son, this caused uncertainty in Protestant England. Mary’s husband, William of Orange was asked to invade in what has become known as the Glorious Revolution. Mary and William were crowned as joint monarchs. They ruled together until Mary’s death, and then William ruled on his own, with Mary’s sister, Anne, as his successor.

1909 – Born today in The Hague was Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. She was the daughter of Queen Wilhelmina. She took over as ruler after her mother’s abdication in 1948 after Juliana and her children lived in Canadian exile. She abdicated in favor of her daughter in 1980. Juliana even has an asteroid named after her, the 816 Juliana. Her birthday is a national holiday in the Netherlands, called Queen’s Day.

1946 – In not so dead royalty, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf is born. He succeeded his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolph in 1973. Also, he presents the Nobel Prizes every year. His daughter, Crown Princess Victoria is his current heir apparent, after the laws were changed to recognize absolute primogeniture in stead of male first.

Deaths:
1632 – Polish King Sigismund III Vasa died at age 65 in Warsaw. Swedish by birth, he was elected to be King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, which sparked the War of Polish Succession, where Sigismund was the victor. From 1592 until 1599, he was also the King of Sweden, but could not hold both territories. He ruled Poland until his death. His reign is looked on positively, and with his death, ended the Golden Age of the Commonwealth.

Have an awesome day!

April 28th!

28 Sunday Apr 2013

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Events:
1603 – Elizabeth I’s funeral took place in London. Her body was first taken by barge down the river, then carried on a horse drawn hearse, draped in all black. A contemporary chronicler stated that people lined the streets of Westminster and wept openly as she passed. It was stated that there had never been such an outpouring of grief for any other person to date. She was buried at Westminster Abbey in a tomb with her sister, Mary I.

Birthdays:
1442 – Edward of York was born to Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville, while in Rouen, France. Through both parents, he inherited a strong claim to the Crown of England, as a great-great grandson of Edward III. In 1460, he would assert the claim against his cousins of the House of Lancaster, in a series of fights called the Wars of the Roses. The following year he would win the throne and be crowned as Edward IV.

Deaths:
1192 – Conrad of Montferrat is assassinated in Acre by the Hashshashin, just four days after being elected as the new King of Jerusalem. He was also due to the crown through his wife, Isabella I of Jerusalem, but there had been some debate about the will of Baldwin IV, and some push back from Guy of Luisignan. However who ordered the hit on Conrad is still a mystery, as the Third Crusade was in full swing.

Have a good one!

April 6th

06 Saturday Apr 2013

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Events:
1320 – Scotland reaffirms its independence with a document called the Declaration of Arbroath, named for the Abbey in which it was probably written. It was sealed by 51 nobles and magnates of the land. One copy survives today.

1385 – The Portuguese Council of the Kingdom meets in Coimbra and declares John, Master of Aviz, King of Portugal. He was the illegitimate son of Peter I, but there had been civil war before him, as his sister, Beatrice was married to John I of Castile, and thus with their accession, Portugal would have been annexed by Castile.

Birthdays:
1632 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria is born in Innsbruck. She was he daughter of and Archduke of Austria, thus making her and Archduchess. She would marry Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor in 1648, and thus be Empress consort. They were first cousins. A year later, Maria would die after a difficult labour with the couples only child. She was 17 years old.

1871 – A baby boy is born to the future Edward VII and Alexandra of the United Kingdom. He would be christened as Alexander John, but would die within 24 hours of his birth.

Deaths:
1199 – King Richard I of England dies in France of injuries while laying siege to a castle. He had been King of England for 10 years, but spent most of the time on the Third Crusade or protecting his vast lands in southern France. He was the son of first Plantagenet king, Henry II, and the equally indomitable Eleanor of Aquitaine. His legacy lives on in the Royal Arms of England, which still bear his standard, three gold lions. He is also the only English king better known by his nickname , the Lionheart, rather than his number.

1490 – Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, and Duke of Austria, dies in Vienna at age 47. He had been king of Hungary since age 14 and acquired the other titles in time. He was one of the first rulers to fully embrace the Italian Renaissance, and fashioned himself a philosopher king after Plato’s Republic. However his empire would not last after him, as he had only one illegitimate son, and he was not accepted as ruler in most lands.

2005 – Prince Rainier III of Monaco dies at age 81. He had been sick for some time, and suffered from multiple illnesses. He came to the throne in 1949 after the death of his father, Louis II. He famously married American movie star, Grace Kelly in 1956 and they had three children, including the current ruler, Albert II. But more than that, he expanded Monaco’s economy from more than just gambling revenues, which were 95% of the country’s revenue at his accession, and less than 5% at his death.

Have an awesome day!!

March 31st

01 Monday Apr 2013

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Events:
1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches a sermon which inspires Louis VII of France and his wife, Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, to join on the Second Crusade. The Crusade would be a massive failure.

1492 – The Alhambra decree is issued in the Spanish country of Castile ordering 150,000 Jewish residents to convert to Christianity to be expelled.

Birthdays:
1360 – Philippa of Lancaster is born in England to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Duchess Blanche, and thus was a granddaughter of Edward III of England. Her brother would later become Henry IV of England. She would later marry John I of Portugal and have six surviving children with him who would include King Edward of Portugal and the famous Henry the Navigator. She was widely loved in Portugal as a symbol of everything a good Queen and woman should be.

1519 – The future Henry II of France is born to Francis I and Queen Claude of France. He became King 1547 and married the infamous Catherine de Medici. He would die suddenly at 40 after an injury jousting. This would leave his wife to act as regent for his teenaged son, Francis II. Two of his other sons would also become kings as Charles IX and Henry III.

1718 – Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain is born in Madrid to King Phillip V and Elizabeth Farnese. She was of the Spanish Bourbons and related to French King Louis XIV. In 1750, she would marry Joseph I of Portugal, and serve as Queen consort until his death in 1777. She would also be regent for her husband during his last illness, then act as an advisor when her daughter, Maria, became Queen of Portugal.

1723 – Frederick V of Denmark and Norway is born in Copenhagen. He would succeed his father, Christian VI at age 23 in 1746. He kept Denmark out of wars during his reign, and was also an active Freemason, and set up the first Lodge in Norway.

Deaths:
1547 – King Francis I of France died at age 52. He was known as a warrior or knight king, because he was personally involved in fighting with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Henry VIII of England. He is also credited with being a major influence in the French Renaissance, and was even a patron of Leonardo DaVinci. He also sponsored exploration of the New World. He was also the first European monarch to form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire, and even sent an ambassador to Morocco.

1621 – Phillip III of Spain dies at 42 in Madrid. History has not been kind to Phillip, who has been described as a “miserable monarch” and a weak king who left governing to his ministers. He was also King during the Thirty Years War. Among his children he can number Phillip IV of Spain, a Holy Roman Empress, and a Queen consort of France.

1671 – Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and Albany died in London at age 34 of probable breast cancer. She was the first wife of the future James II and VII, before his accession. Later, her daughters with James would become both Queen Mary II and Queen Anne of the United Kingdom.

Have a great day!!

March 26th

26 Tuesday Mar 2013

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Events:

1027 – Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. He had been elected as King of the Romans or King of the Germans in 1024. He would rule until 1039.

Birthdays:

1031 – A boy is born to King Duncan I of Alba. He is called Malcolm and would rule the same northern part of Scotland. When he became King exactly is unknown, but he was king by 1058 and would rule until 1093. The struggles he and his father had to keep control of their kingdom was dramatized by William Shakespeare in MacBeth.

1868 – The future King Fuad I of Egypt is born in Cairo. He was the first Egyptian monarch to call himself King, as they were called Sultan before. He became Sultan in 1917, but when the United Kingdom ended its protectorate status over Egypt, be started using the title King. He would rule until 1936 and had gone back and forth with Parliament over the constitution of Egypt.

1871 – Prince Kalanianaʻole is born in Hawaii. He was the son of a Chieftan, but would be adopted in the royal Kamehameha house. He was 24 when the Hawaiian monarchs were overthrown, and after a period of exile, would come back and serve as a U.S. Congressman.

1876 – Prince William of Albania is born today in Germany. He would be offered rule of Albania when it became independent in 1913. However in late 1914, he would have to leave the country as civil war broke out around him. The monarchy was officially abolished in 1925. He would live out his days in his native Germany.

2005 – In not so dead royals, a daughter is born to Prince Friso and Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, named Emma Luana. She is a granddaughter of former Queen Beatrix and niece of current King Willem-Alexander, but because of her father’s marriage without Parliamentary approval, she is not in line for the Dutch throne. She is however, in line for the British throne, albeit over 800 spots from the crown.

Deaths:

1130 – King Sigurd I of Norway dies in Oslo at about age 40. He was the son of Magnus III and became king after his father’s death in 1103. In 1107, he led a Norwegian Crusade to the Holy Land, which was a success for the king. His reign is considered to be one of the “Golden Age” of Norway.

1212 – Sancho I of Portugal dies at age 57 in Coimbra. Sancho was only the second King of the Portuguese kingdom, and is known as “the Populator” for his founding of towns and settlements with immigrants to the new country. He had been King since 1185, and among his children there are a King of Portugal, a Queen consort of Leon, a Queen consort of Castile, and a Queen consort of Denmark.

Have a great day!