1257 Explained
Year 1257 (MCCLVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
- January 13 - At the first recorded meeting of the college of the seven Electors of the Holy Roman Empire, the 48-year-old Richard of Cornwall (the brother of King Henry III of England) is elected King of the Romans. He is crowned at Aachen, on May 17. His candidacy is opposed by King Alfonso X (the Wise), Pope Alexander IV and King Louis IX (the Saint) favour Alfonso, but both are ultimately convinced by Richard's sister-in-law, Queen Eleanor of Provence, to support Richard.[1]
- Spring - The Epirote–Nicaean conflict begins between the Despotate of Epirus and the Empire of Nicaea. Despot Michael II Komnenos Doukas revolts and defeats the Nicaean army under George Akropolites. The Epirote and Serbian forces join their attacks against Michael, who sends his forces into Macedonia and marches on to Thessalonica. In response, Michael is attacked – on the west coast of Epirus – by Manfred of Sicily. Manfred first occupies the major Ionian Islands, including Corfu. Then he lands on the Albanian coast and takes Durazzo, Berat, Valona and their environs.[2]
- The pagan Karelians start a destructive expedition to Sweden in which King Valdemar requests Alexander IV to declare a crusade against them. This leads to the Third Swedish Crusade to Finland (see 1293).
British Isles
- Battle of Cadfan: An English expeditionary army under Stephen Bauzan is ambushed and defeated by Welsh forces. The English are decimated by devastating guerilla attacks and the Welsh capture the English supply train. Stephen Bauzan is killed along with some 1,000–3,000 of his men. The remaining English flee the battle, Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd is said to have been present at the battle, collecting spoils from the fallen English army. According to sources, it is one of the greatest victories of a Welsh army in the field against a much more powerful English force.[3]
- King Henry III orders the production of a twenty pence, English coin of pure gold. Unfortunately, the bullion value of the coins is about 20% higher than the nominal face value, leading to poor circulation, as coins are melted down by individuals for their gold content.
- Henry III relents to the demands of his son Edward (the Lord Edward) for assistance to fight the Welsh (see 1256). He joins him on a campaign to retake the territories lost to the Welsh forces led by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.
- Battle of Creadran Cille: Norman invading forces under Maurice FitzGerald are driven out by Gofraid O'Donnell in northern Connacht. Later, FitzGerald is killed in personal combat by O'Donnell, on May 20.[4]
Levant
Mongol Empire
Asia
- March - The Japanese Kōgen era ends and the Shōka era begins during the reign of the 14-year-old Emperor Go-Fukakusa (until 1259).
By topic
City and Towns
Education
Literature
- Matthew Paris, English monk and chronicler, personally interviews Henry III for an entire week while compiling his major work of English history, Chronica Majora.
Natural Disaster
Births
- March 24 - Yolanda I, French noblewoman (d. 1314)
- August 15 - Muhammad III, ruler of Granada (d. 1314)
- October 14 - Przemysł II, king of Poland (d. 1296)
- Agnes of Brandenburg, queen of Denmark (d. 1304)
- Beatrice of Burgundy, French noblewoman (d. 1310)
- Frederick I (the Brave), German nobleman (d. 1323)
- Malise III of Strathearn, Scottish nobleman (d. 1312)
- Parsoma (the Naked), Egyptian Coptic hermit (d. 1317)
- Philip III of Falkenstein, count of Münzenberg (d. 1322)
- Robert de Vere, English nobleman and knight (d. 1331)
- William Russell, English nobleman and knight (d. 1311)
Deaths
- April 10 - Izz al-Din Aybak, ruler of the Mamluk Sultanate
- April 26 - Euphemia de Walliers, English nun and abbess
- May 3 - Katherine of England, English princess (b. 1253)
- May 5 - Haakon the Young, junior king of Norway (b. 1232)
- May 17 - Choe Hang, Korean general and dictator (b. 1209)
- May 20 - Maurice FitzGerald, Norman nobleman and knight
- June 4 - Przemysł I, Polish nobleman and co-ruler (b. 1221)
- June 8 - Simon of Elmham, English prior and bishop-elect
- August 15 - Hyacinth of Poland, Polish missionary (b. 1185)
- December 24 - John of Avesnes, count of Hainaut (b. 1218)
- December 26 - Richard Blund (or Blundy), English bishop
- Lanfranc Cigala (or Cicala), Genoese nobleman and knight
- Maria of Antioch-Armenia, Outremer noblewoman (b. 1215)
- Matilda I, countess of Nevers, Auxerre and Tonnerre (b. 1188)
- Mohammad Baba as-Samasi, Abbasid Sufi leader (b. 1195)
- Roger Weseham, English bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
- Sartaq Khan (or Sartak), Mongol ruler of the Golden Horde
- Stephen Bauzan, English nobleman, seneschal and knight
- Valdemar III (Abelsøn), Danish prince and heir apparent
- Willikin of the Weald, English warrior and guerrilla leader
- Yuan Haowen, Chinese politician, poet and writer (b. 1190)
Notes and References
- Hywel Williams (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History, p. 143. .
- Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, pp. 160–161. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. .
- Web site: Welsh Battlefields . 2009-04-13 .
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). O'Donnell – Encyclopædia Britannica, pp. 6–8. Vol 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- [Steven Runciman]
- Rossabi, Morris (2009). Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times, pp. 24–27. University of California Press. .
- Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol III: Kingdom of Acre, p. 252. .
- Web site: La fondation de la Sorbonne au Moyen Âge par le théologien Robert de Sorbon. La Chancellerie des Universités de Paris. 2021-03-04.
- News: Mystery 13th Century eruption traced to Lombok, Indonesia. Jonathan. Amos. BBC News. BBC. 2013-09-30. 2013-09-30.
- News: Mass grave in London reveals how volcano caused global catastrophe. Dalya. Alberge. 2012-08-04. The Guardian. London.