Culture & Society in the 13th century

104 sourced entries, 1200 CE to 1299 CE, oldest first. Also see Culture & Society across every century or everything else in the 13th century.

• 1200November 22 – During a tour of the Midlands, John receives homage from William the Lion, king of Scotland, at Lincoln. William is looking to move into the areas of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland. John on the other hand ensures that these areas are controlled by English nobles he can trust.source
• 1201July 11 – Llywelyn the Great pays homage to John, King of England after Llywelyn has added Eifionydd and Llŷn to his kingdom of Gwynedd in north Wales.source
• 1204Valdemar II of Denmark is recognized as king in Norway.source
• 1206Sugar, an import from the Muslim world, is mentioned for the first time in a royal English account. Almonds, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg are also imported for royal banquets.source
• 1207November – Leeds, a market town in West Yorkshire, receives its first charter (approximate date).source
• 1208November 11 – Otto IV is elected by the German nobles as king of Germany at Frankfurt. He is engaged to Beatrice and travels to Milan where he receives the Iron Crown and the title of King of Italy, which continues until the end of World War I in 1918.source
• 1209In England, an exodus of scholars from Oxford leads to foundation of the University of Cambridge.source
• 1210November 21 – Eric X is crowned – which is the first known coronation of a Swedish king. He strengthens his relationship with his brother-in-law, King Valdemar II of Denmark ("the Conqueror"). Shortly after, Valdemar conquers Danzig (modern-day Gdańsk) on the Baltic coast, and Eastern Pomerania from the Slavonic Wends.source
• 1214November 20 – A group of English nobles, after finding a copy of the Charter of Liberties, swear an oath at the altar of Bury St Edmunds, to force King John to acknowledge their rights.source
• 12151215–1216 – The Macy Jug, from Iran, is made. It is now kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.source
• 1218August – King Alfonso IX of León grants a royal charter to the University of Salamanca.source
• 1218Minamoto no Sanetomo becomes Udaijin ("Minister of the Right"), the third-highest post of the Japanese imperial court.source
• 1221June 21 – 10-year-old Joan of England, eldest daughter of the late King John, marries the 21-year-old King Alexander II of Scotland at York Minster.source
• 1221July 29 – The 9-year-old Go-Horikawa ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Japan. He is a grandson of the late Emperor Takakura and a nephew of the exiled Go-Toba.source
• 1222December 15 – The Golden Bull of 1222 is issued in Hungary, limiting the power of the monarchy over the nobility.source
• 1222Approximate date – The Royal Standard of Scotland is adopted.source
• 1222Traditional date – The University of Padua is founded in Italy, by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.source
• 1223February 2 – Ireland enjoys its first dry day in almost five months, as rains that had started on September 14 halt by the celebration of the Purification of St. Mary, as noted by The Annals of Loch Se.source
• 1223April 14 – On the island of Sri Lanka, King Chodaganga Deva lands at Trincomalee on the Tamil New Year's Day (the 1st of Chittirai of Shaka era year 1145) and makes a large donation to fund the Hindu Koneswaram Temple. The event is commemorated in an inscription in the Sanskrit language in the temple.source
• 1224April 23 – William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, one of the enforcers of the Magna Carta, marries Eleanor of England, Countess of Leicester, the nine-year-old daughter of the late King John of England and sister of King Henry III, in order to strengthen the Marshal family's connection with the House of Plantagenet.source
• 1225May 25 – At his royal palace in Bergen, King Haakon IV of Norway marries Margaret Skulesdatter, daughter of Haakon's rival for the throne, Skule Bårdsson.source
• 1225November 9 – Frederick II marries the 14-year-old Queen Yolande, heiress to the kingdom of Jerusalem, and adds the Crusader States to his dominions.source
• 1225November 29 – The 12-year-old Henry VII, by order of his father Frederick II, marries Margaret of Austria, daughter of Duke Leopold VI the Glorious.source
• 1225December 31 – Lý Chiêu Hoàng, the only empress regnant in the history of Vietnam, marries Trần Thái Tông, making him the first ruler of the Trần dynasty.source
• 1226May 14 – At the age of 11, Queen Isabella (Zabel), daughter of the dead King Leo, is formally crowned as the Queen of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, in a ceremony at the Armenian capital, Sis.source
• 1228The city of Tournai emits its first recorded life annuity, thus confirming a trend of consolidation of public debts started ten years earlier, in Reims.source
• 1229March 18 – Frederick II crowns himself as King of Jerusalem in an impromptu ceremony in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After the ceremony, he proceeds to the palace of the Hospitallers – where he holds a council to discuss the defense of Jerusalem. Frederick orders the Tower of David and the Gate of St. Stephen are to be repaired at once and he hands over the royal residence attached to the Tower of David to the Teutonic Order.source
• 1229The University of Toulouse is founded in France. Raymond VII is forced to finance the teaching of theology.source
• 1230The Carmina Burana poetry and song collection is created (approximate date).source
• 1231The University of Cambridge is recognised by a writ of authority over its townspeople from Henry III.source
• 1235Probable date – Lancaster Royal Grammar School is founded in the north of England.source
• 1235A Chinese text of this year records that Hangzhou City, the capital of the Song dynasty, has various social clubs that include a West Lake Poetry Club, the Buddhist Tea Society, the Physical Fitness Club, the Anglers' Club, the Occult Club, the Young Girls' Chorus, the Exotic Foods Club, the Plants and Fruits Club, the Antique Collectors' Club, the Horse-Lovers' Club, and the Refined Music Society.source
• 1236June – The 16-year-old Alexander Nevsky is elected by the Novgorodians as prince (knyaz) of Novgorod, beseeching the young noble to take charge of the city's military affairs.source
• 1236July – At a diet (princely convention) in Piacenza, Emperor Frederick II proclaims his wish to recover all Italy for the Holy Roman Empire.source
• 1237At the urging of King Louis IX of France, Thomas II marries Joanna, widow of Ferdinand of Flanders, and daughter of the late Latin Emperor Baldwin I. Thomas becomes count of Flanders (or Jure uxoris).source
• 1239June 17 or June 18 – Edward I ("Longshanks"), first son of King Henry III of England and Queen Eleanor of Provence, is born at the Palace of Westminster. Henry names him after Edward the Confessor and chooses Simon de Montfort as his godfather.source
• 1240October 10 – Richard of Cornwall, brother of King Henry III of England, arrives at Acre for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. His pilgrimage has the approval of Emperor Frederick II, who is married to his younger sister, Isabella of England, and gives him the task to make arrangements with the Military Orders. On his arrival, Richard travels to Ascalon, where he is met by ambassadors from As-Salih Ayyub. As a negotiator, he is successful in the release of prisoners captured in the Battle at Gaza (1239), and he also assists with the building of the citadel in Ascalon.source
• 1241The University of Valladolid is founded in Spain.source
• 1243Spring – Henry III bestows the custody of Kenilworth Castle to Simon de Montfort. Simon's wife Eleanor, Henry's sister, already owned Odiham Castle (or King John's Castle) so Simon has two of the strongest fortresses in England under his control.source
• 1248August 12 – King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") leaves Paris together with his wife, Queen Margaret of Provence, and her sister Beatrice of Provence. Two of Louis' brothers, Charles of Anjou and Robert of Artois, are also present. He is followed by his cousins, Hugh IV of Burgundy and Peter Mauclerc, both are veterans of the Barons' Crusade.source
• 1249Spring – University College, the first college at Oxford, is founded with money from the estate of William of Durham.source
• 1250Vincent of Beauvais completes his proto-encyclopedic work Speculum Maius ("Greater mirror").source
• 1251April 21 – City of Launggyet in Arakan (modern-day Burma) is founded according to some sources.source
• 1251December 26 – King Alexander III of Scotland marries Margaret, daughter of King Henry III of England, precipitating a power struggle between the two monarchs.source
• 1251The carving of the Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of Buddhist scriptures recorded on some 81,000 wooden blocks, is completed.source
• 1252The classic Japanese text Jikkunsho is completed.source
• 1253July 6 – Mindaugas and his wife Morta are crowned as king and queen of Lithuania, ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects.source
• 1253Innocent IV offers the crown of Sicily, which he controls, to Richard of Cornwall and Charles of Anjou, both of whom refuse, and later to the 8-year-old Edmund, son of Henry III of England.source
• 1253The upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, the earliest important structure of Italian Gothic architecture, is completed in Assisi.source
• 1253Henry III meets with the nobles and church leaders to reaffirm the validity of Magna Carta in exchange for taxation.source
• 1253Kublai Khan introduces the baisha xiyue song and dance suite to the music of Yunnan.source
• 1254The Japanese classic text Kokon Chomonjū is completed during the Kamakura Period under the reign of the 11-year-old Emperor Go-Fukakusa.source
• 1255The town of Banská Bystrica (located in central Slovakia) is granted municipal privileges by King Béla IV of Hungary.source
• 1255A survey of royal privileges is conducted, which is included in the Hundred Rolls, a census seen as a follow-up to the Domesday Book (completed in 1086). The Hundred Rolls is later completed with two larger surveys, in 1274/75 and 1279/80.source
• 1257Louis IX of France ("the Saint") confirms the foundation by his chaplain Robert de Sorbon of the College of Sorbonne in Paris, giving a formal college (and still-common name) to the already existing University of Paris.source
• 1259The famous frescoes of the Boyana Church in Bulgaria are completed (the church and its murals are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site).source
• 1260Jacobus de Voragine compiles his work, the Golden Legend, a late medieval best-seller.source
• 1261August 29 – Urban IV offers the crown of Sicily to Charles of Anjou, youngest son of King Louis VIII of France, hoping to strengthen his position.source
• 1261Early – Following disputes, northern academics from the University of Cambridge in England set up a University of Northampton by royal charter but it is suppressed by the Crown in 1265.source
• 1262Adam de la Halle, French trouvère and musician, writes the first operetta, Le Jeu de la Feuillee.source
• 1263Presumed date – Balliol College is established in the University of Oxford (England) by John I de Balliol on its modern-day site.source
• 1264September 14 – Walter de Merton formally completes the foundation of the House of Scholars of Merton (later Merton College, Oxford), to provide education in Malden and the University of Oxford.source
• 1265India, Delhi: Ghiyas-Ud-Din-Balban comes to the throne and introduces Sijdah.source
• 1267The leadership of Vienna forces Jews to wear the Pileum cornutum, a cone-shaped head dress, in addition to the yellow badges Jews are already forced to wear.source
• 1268Nicola Pisano completes the famous octagonal Gothic-style pulpit, at the Duomo di Siena.source
• 1268The carnival in Venice is first recorded.source
• 1270September 1 – King Stephen V of Hungary writes his walk to the antiquum castellum near Miholjanec, where the Sword of Attila has been recently discovered.source
• 1270Construction of the Old New Synagogue in Prague is completed.source
• 1272The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers and Curriers are granted rights to regulate the leather trade in the City of London. The Fishmongers Company receive its first Royal Charter.source
• 1273December – Followers of Persian poet and mystic Rumi establish the Mevlevi Order ("whirling dervishes") in the city of Konya (approximate date).source
• 1274May 1 – In Florence, the 9-year-old Dante first sees the 8-year-old Beatrice, his lifelong muse. She appears later as one of his guides in the Divine Comedy, Paradiso and Purgatorio.source
• 1274The first main survey of the Hundred Rolls, an English census seen as a follow-up to the Domesday Book (completed in 1086), is begun; it lasts until 1275.source
• 1275July 22 – Magnus deposes Valdemar and is elected new king of Sweden at the Stones of Mora.source
• 1275Jean de Meun completes the French allegorical work of fiction, Roman de la Rose, with a second section (the first section was written by Guillaume de Lorris in 1230).source
• 1275Spring – King Edward I of England ("Longshanks") demands a meeting with Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales, at Chester to pay homage, but Llywelyn refuses. In an attempt to stir up internal problems, Llywelyn seeks to marry 23-year-old Eleanor de Montfort, daughter of Simon de Montfort, but she is captured by English pirates (employed by Edward) on the journey from France to meet Llywelyn. She is held prisoner at Windsor Castle and used as a bargaining chip over the coming years in Edward's attempts to subjugate Llywelyn and Wales.source
• 1275The first main survey of the Hundred Rolls, an English census seen as a follow-up to the Domesday Book completed in 1086, is finished; it began in 1274.source
• 1276June 15 – Remnants of the Chinese Song court in Fuzhou province conduct the coronation ceremony for Prince Zhao Shi to become Emperor Emperor Duanzong (until 1278).source
• 1276Merton College, Oxford, is first recorded as having a collection of books, making its Library the world's oldest in continuous daily use.source
• 1279The Royal Mint is moved into the Tower of London. Mints outside London are reduced, with only a few local and episcopal mints continuing to operate.source
• 1280September 27 – King Magnus Ladulås of Sweden founds a Swedish nobility by enacting a law accepting a contribution of a cavalry member in lieu of ordinary tax payments.source
• 1282June 26 – King Denis of Portugal ("the Poet King") marries the 11-year-old Elizabeth of Aragon, daughter of Peter III, in Trancoso. Elizabeth receives the towns of Óbidos, Abrantes and Porto de Mós as part of her dowry. Denis, known for his poetry, writes several poems and books, with topics of administration and hunting. During his reign, Lisbon becomes one of Europe's centers of art and culture.source
• 1282Peter III of Aragon obtains the support of Nasrid Granada preparing for the incoming Aragonese Crusade, led by Philip "the Fair" of France.source
• 1282Daniel of Moscow, youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, is mentioned during this year as an independent Prince of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. This Duchy will be a vassal state of the Golden Horde until 1471, later evolving into the Tsardom of Russia.source
• 1282Hertford College is founded, at the University of Oxford.source
• 1283Ramon Llull, Spanish theologian, writes Blanquerna, the first major work of literature written in Catalan, and perhaps the first European novel.source
• 1284May 18 – Jönköping in Sweden is granted town privileges by King Magnus Ladulås.source
• 1286January 6 – The 17-year-old Philip IV (the Fair) is crowned king of France at Reims. He settles the Aragonese conflict, and intensifies his predecessors' efforts to reform and rationalize the administration of the realm. Philip persists in reforms, which strengthen the monarchy's position in Europe. The gabelle – a tax on salt in the form of a state monopoly – will become immensely unpopular and grossly unequal, but persist until 1790.source
• 1286June – King Edward I (Longshanks) and Queen Eleanor of Castile travel to France. There they pay homage to Philip IV (the Fair) and attend to other matters. Edward travels around in the duchy of Gascony and orders the rebuilding of fortifications in the region (between 1286 and 1289).source
• 1286August 15 – Henry II is crowned king of Jerusalem at Tyre. After the ceremony, he returns to Acre for the festivities. A few weeks later, Henry returns to Cyprus and appoints his uncle Philip of Ibelin as regent (bailiff).source
• 1287September – Rabban Bar Sauma arrives in Paris, and is received in an audience by King Philip IV (the Fair). He spends one month at the royal court, during his stay, Philip himself escorts him around the Sainte-Chapelle (or Holy Chapel) to see the collection of Passion relics by late King Louis IX (the Saint). Philip gives Bar Sauma many presents and sends one of his noblemen, Gobert de Helleville, to return with him to Mongol lands. In response, he attempts to form a military alliance with France and England.source
• 1288March–April – Rabban Bar Sauma, Chinese Nestorian monk and diplomat, arrives at Rome and is received by Nicholas IV, who gives him communion on Palm Sunday.source
• 1288The oldest surviving bell, in the clocks atop the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, is built.source
• 1289Summer – King Edward I (Longshanks) proposes a marriage between his infant son, Edward of Caernarfon, and the 6-year-old Margaret (Maid of Norway).source
• 1290March 1 – The University of Coimbra is founded in Lisbon by Denis I ("the Poet King"). He decrees that Portuguese is the official language of Portugal, replacing classical Latin in that capacity.source
• 1290December – Edward I travels with the body of Queen Eleanor from Lincoln to London. Remembering his wife, Edward erects a series of crosses at each location that the body rests overnight. These are known as the twelve Eleanor crosses.source
• 1291June 13 – Guardians and the Scottish nobles recognise Edward I as overlord of Scotland, agreeing that the kingdom will be handed over to him until a rightful heir has been found.source
• 1291King Andrew III of Hungary ("the Venetian") gives royal town privileges to Bratislava, modern-day capital of Slovakia.source
• 1293May 20 – King Sancho IV of Castile creates a Studium General in Alcalá de Henares, forerunner to the modern Complutense University of Madrid.source
• 1293Dante Alighieri completes the book of verse La Vita Nuova.source
• 1296October 21 – The formal coronation of Alauddin Khalji as Sultan of Delhi takes place, and he takes the regnal name Muhammad Shah I.source
• 1297April 14 – King Edward I of England makes an appeal outside Westminster Hall for support for the war against France. He apologizes for the high tax demands he has previously levied. Edward asks the Barons (some 1,500 knights) to swear allegiance to his 12-year-old son, Prince Edward of Caernarfon. Aware of the dangers of the opposition to his power, Edward appears before a large crowd and receives total loyalty.source
• 1298August 1 – The "ideal city" of Marciac in southern France is founded by King Philip IV ("the Fair") and his Seneschal Guichard de Marzé (or Marciac).source
• 1299September 8 – Edward I of England ("Longshanks") marries the 19-year-old Margaret of France, the half-sister of King Philip IV ("the Fair").source
• 1299Southampton Old Bowling Green is established in Southampton. It is the oldest surviving bowling green.source