1189 CE

In English law, 1189 – specifically the beginning of the reign of Richard I – is considered the end of time immemorial.

In the 1180s, the 12th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • February 18 – Emperor Xiaozong abdicates in favour of his son Guangzong as ruler of the Song dynasty. Xiaozong becomes a Taishang Huang ("Retired Emperor") and remains as the de facto ruler of China.source
  • December 5 – King William I ("the Lion") of Scotland gives Richard I 10,000 marks to buy his kingdom's independence. This overturns the Treaty of Falaise which William had to sign when he was captured in 1174.source
  • Reconquista: King Sancho I of Portugal ("the Populator") turns his attention towards the Moorish small kingdoms (called taifas) and begins a campaign in the south of his kingdom. With the help of crusader forces he conquers the town of Silves. He orders the fortification of the city, builds a castle and styles himself "King of Silves".source
  • Winter – John awards land to Bertram de Verdun, a Norman nobleman, and grants Dundalk its charter with town privileges; it becomes a strategic Anglo-Norman stronghold in Ireland.source
  • Royal charter was granted to DundalkIrelandsource
  • Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster was appointed Viceroy of IrelandIrelandsource

Conflict & Security

  • May 11 – Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) sets out from Regensburg, at the head of a German expeditionary force (some 15,000 men, including 4,000 knights). He has ensured that his lands are safe while he is away on crusade and leaves his son Henry VI in charge of the country. After leaving Germany, Frederick's army is increased by a contingent of 2,000 men led by Prince Géza, younger brother of King Béla III of Hungary. On July 27, he arrives at Niš and is welcomed by Stefan Nemanja, Grand Prince of Serbia. In order to ease his passage, Frederick makes diplomatic contacts with Hungary, the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum.source
  • May – Saladin has reconquered the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem except for Tyre. The castles of Montréal and Kerak are captured by Muslim forces. In the north, Saladin has regained the Principality of Antioch except for Antioch and the castle of Al-Qusayr in Syria.source
  • August 28 – Siege of Acre: King Guy of Lusignan moves from Tyre, where Conrad of Montferrat refuses to hand over the city. Guy and his crusader army (some 7,000 men, including 400 knights) besiege Acre. He makes camp outside, to wait for more reinforcements.source
  • August – Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos denies any crusader access and begins to hinder the German forces who try to cross his frontier. Frederick I progresses with force, by capturing Philippopolis and defeats a Byzantine army (some 3,000 men) that attempts to recapture the city. The Germans are delayed for six months in Thrace.source
  • September 3 – Richard I is crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey. During the coronation, a number of notable Jews are expelled from the banquet and rumours spread that Richard has ordered a massacre of the Jews. This causes an actual massacre of the Jews in London; among those killed is Jacob of Orléans, a respected French Jewish scholar.source
  • September – Guy of Lusignan receives reinforcements of some 12,000 men from Denmark, Germany, England, France, and Flanders. He encircles Acre with a double line of fortified positions. On September 15, Saladin launches a failed attack on Guy's camp.source
  • October 4 – Guy of Lusignan leads the crusader forces to launch a full-on assault on Saladin's camp. With heavy casualties on both sides, neither force gains the upperhand. On October 26, Saladin moves his camp from Acre to Mount Carmel (modern Israel).source
  • October 30 – An Egyptian fleet (some 50 ships) breaks through the crusader blockade at Acre and reinforces the port-city with some 10,000 men, as well as food and weapons.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • December – An Egyptian fleet reopens communications with Acre. The rest of the winter passes without major incidents, but the supply situation is poor in the besieged city.source
  • December – Richard I sets sail with a crusader army from Dover Castle to France. To ensure he has the allegiance of his brother John, Richard approves of his marriage to their cousin Isabella of Gloucester.source
  • Frederick I grants Hamburg the status of a free imperial city and tax-free access (or free-trade zone) up the Lower Elbe into the North Sea. He also grants the right to fish, to cut trees and the freedom of military service.source

Religion & Belief

  • Tancred, Count of Lecce is elected by Norman officials as new King of Sicily instead of the designated heiress Constance and is supported by Matthew d'Ajello and Pope Clement III.Italysource

Culture & Society

  • August 29 – Ban Kulin, Bosnian ruler, writes the Charter of Ban Kulin, which becomes a symbolic "birth certificate" of Bosnian language and statehood.source
  • August – William Marshal marries the 17-year-old Isabel de Clare (daughter of Richard de Clare). Through this marriage, he becomes 1st Earl of Pembroke, acquiring huge estates in England, Normandy, Wales and Ireland.source
  • Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) writes the Expugnatio Hibernica about Henry II’s invasion of Ireland.Irelandsource

Births

  • Pietro Pettinaio, Italian comb-maker and saint (died 1289)source
  • Skule Bårdsson, Norwegian nobleman (died 1240)source
  • Ferdinand of Castile, Spanish prince (infante) (died 1211)source
  • Al-Mansur Nasir al-Din Muhammad, Ayyubid sultan (died 1217)source
  • Sukaphaa, founder of the Ahom kingdom in Assam (died 1268)source
  • Peter Nolasco, French religious leader (died 1256)source
  • Archambaud VIII ("the Great"), Bourbon nobleman (died 1242)source

Deaths

  • January 1 – Henry of Marcy, French cardinal-bishop (born 1136)source
  • January 20 – Shizong (or Wulu), Chinese emperor (born 1123)source
  • February 4 – Gilbert of Sempringham, English priest (born 1085)source
  • March 4 – Humbert III ("the Blessed"), count of Savoy (born 1136)source
  • March 25 – Frederick, duke of Bohemia (House of Přemyslid)source
  • June 15 – Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Japanese general (born 1159)source
  • June 26 – Folmar of Karden, German archbishop (born 1135)source
  • June 28 – Matilda of England, duchess of Saxony (born 1156)source
  • July 6 – King Henry II of England ("Curtmantle") dies at the Château de Chinon, near Tours, after doing homage to Philip II (Augustus), and surrendering the territories around Issoudun in the Centre-Val de Loire. He ends the hostilities against Philip, by agreeing to the peace terms and pays him 20,000 marks in tribute. Henry is succeeded by his son, Richard I ("the Lionheart"), as ruler of England and his remaining territories in France.source
  • July 6 – Henry II, king of England (born 1133)source
  • August 20 or 21 – Geoffrey Ridel, English bishop and Lord Chancellorsource
  • October 4 – Gerard de Ridefort, Flemish Grand Master (born 1140)source
  • November 11 – William II ("the Good"), king of Sicily (born 1153)source
  • November 11 – King William II of Sicily ("the Good"), having made peace with Emperor Isaac II and abandoned Thessalonika and other conquests, dies childless at Palermo. The Sicilian nobles elect Tancred of Lecce (illegitimate son of Roger II) as the new ruler of Sicily, instead of Princess Constance and her husband Henry VI, to avoid German rule.source
  • 18 November – King William II of SicilyItalysource
  • King Conchobar Maenmaige Ua Conchobair of Connacht was assassinated.Irelandsource