1231 CE

Pope Gregory IX issues Parens scientiarum. The bull assures the independence and self-governance of the University of Paris. Ögedei Khan orders the invasion of Korea. A Mongol army crosses the Yalu River and quickly secures the surrender of the border town of Uiju. The Mongols are joined by Hong Pok-wŏn, a Goryeo general, who takes their side with his subordinates numbering some 1500 families. Spring – Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent becomes a powerful lord in the Welsh Marches, controlling the castles at Cardigan and Carmarthen. He begins to threaten the local Welsh leaders, Llywelyn the Great launches a campaign against Norman lordship in Wales.

In the 1230s, the 13th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • August 13 – King Henry III orders the sheriffs of Hampshire, Dorsetshire and Wiltshire to give Simon de Montfort the possession of the lands of his father, Simon de Montfort the elder.source
  • December – Henry III ends his Welsh campaign and makes peace with Llywelyn the Great.source
  • Emperor Frederick II promulgates the Constitutions of Melfi (Liber Augustalis), a collection of laws for Sicily, as well as the Edict of Salerno, regulating the exercise of medicine and separating the professions of physician and apothecary, and requiring medical schools to practice dissection.source

Conflict & Security

  • August – Ögedei Khan orders the invasion of Korea. A Mongol army crosses the Yalu River and quickly secures the surrender of the border town of Uiju. The Mongols are joined by Hong Pok-wŏn, a Goryeo general, who takes their side with his subordinates numbering some 1500 families.source
  • War of the Lombards: Richard Filangieri sails for Beirut, where the town is handed over to him. He occupies Sidon and Tyre – while other Lombard forces appear before Acre. At Acre, Filangieri summons a meeting of the High Court and shows letters from Frederick II appointing him as ambassador (baili).source
  • Siege of Kuju: Mongol forces besiege the city of Kuju. They deploy assault teams who man siege towers and scale ladders. Despite the fact the Goryeo army is heavily outnumbered, the garrison refuses to surrender.source
  • Castillian forces under King Ferdinand III ("the Saint") re-conquer the city of Quesada.source
  • Spring – Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent becomes a powerful lord in the Welsh Marches, controlling the castles at Cardigan and Carmarthen. He begins to threaten the local Welsh leaders, Llywelyn the Great launches a campaign against Norman lordship in Wales.source
  • Battle of Jerez: Ferdinand III defeats Emir Ibn Hud of the Taifa of Murcia.source
  • Autumn – Frederick II appoints Marshal Richard Filangieri as his imperial legate, and sends an expeditionary army of mostly Lombards for the defense of Jerusalem. He gathers some 600 knights, 100 "sergeants-at-arms", 700 armed infantrymen, and 3,000 marines. The army is supported by 32 war-galleys.source

Religion & Belief

  • April 13 – Pope Gregory IX issues Parens scientiarum. The bull assures the independence and self-governance of the University of Paris.source
  • Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, negotiates a 3-year truce between England and France.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • April 9 – A huge fire breaks out at night in the southeast of Hangzhou during the Song dynasty. Fighting the flames is difficult due to limited visibility. When the fires are extinguished, it is discovered that an entire district of the city (some 10,000 houses) has been consumed by the flames.source

Culture & Society

  • The University of Cambridge is recognised by a writ of authority over its townspeople from Henry III.source

Births

  • March 17 – Shijō (Mitsuhito), emperor of Japan (died 1242)source
  • Roger Mortimer, English nobleman and knight (died 1282)source
  • John of Burgundy, French nobleman and knight (died 1268)source
  • Philip of Castile, Spanish prince and archbishop (died 1274)source
  • John de Warenne, English nobleman and knight (died 1304)source
  • Yolanda of Vianden, Luxembourgish prioress (died 1283)source
  • James Salomoni, Italian Dominican priest and prior (died 1314)source
  • Guo Shoujing, Chinese astronomer and engineer (died 1316)source
  • Tommaso degli Stefani, Italian painter and artist (died 1310)source

Deaths