Year 1120 (MCXX) — overview and notable events
1120 (MCXX) was a leap year of the Julian calendar. Key events include the White Ship disaster and legal developments in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem; the year sits in the High Middle Ages.
1120 (Roman numeral: MCXX) was a leap year that, in the conventions of its time, began on a Thursday according to the Julian calendar. For a visual layout of its months one may consult the full calendar. Contemporary chronology used the Julian system, whose leap years fell every fourth year by adding an extra day to February; the Julian era continued to serve Europe and many neighboring regions until gradual reform in later centuries led to the Gregorian calendar.
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Context and numbering
The year is part of the 12th century and the second decade of that century, an era often labeled the High Middle Ages in western historiography. Written records of 1120 are patchy and regionally focused: European chronicles, papal correspondence, crusader documents and Chinese and Islamic sources all offer differing levels of detail about political, military and ecclesiastical affairs.
Major events
- White Ship disaster: On 25 November 1120 a well-known maritime catastrophe occurred when a vessel carrying many members of the English royal household sank in the English Channel. The death of William Adelin, the only legitimate son and heir of King Henry I of England, created a dynastic crisis that ultimately contributed to a prolonged succession conflict in England in the following decades.
- Kingdom of Jerusalem: In the Latin East, rulers and churchmen codified rules and discipline for the crusader state; in early 1120 authorities in Jerusalem promulgated ordinances that addressed both civil and ecclesiastical matters, helping to shape the legal framework of the kingdom.
- Broader trends: 1120 falls within a period of consolidation for many medieval polities: monastic and ecclesiastical reform movements continued, new military orders had recently emerged, and cross-continental trade and diplomatic contact were expanding.
Consequences and significance
The most immediate consequence of 1120 was the instability that followed the English royal succession after the loss of the heir. That instability fed into a contest for the crown later in the reign of Henry I and into the civil wars of mid-century. Legal and administrative acts produced in places like the Kingdom of Jerusalem illustrate how rulers attempted to impose order in frontier societies shaped by crusading, settlement and interaction with neighboring polities.
For further reference on the year itself and its calendar classification see 1120 and general information about the Julian calendar.
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AlegsaOnline.com Year 1120 (MCXX) — overview and notable events Leandro Alegsa
URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/111035