Year 1240 ( MCCXL) was a

leap year starting on Sunday A leap year starting on Sunday is any year with 366 days (i.e. it includes 29 February) that begins on Sunday, 1 January, and ends on Monday, 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are AG. The most recent year of such kind was 2012, and the next ...

of the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

Events

By place

Europe

May 24 Events Pre-1600 * 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom. * 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. * 1276 – Magnus ...

– Duke Skule Bårdsson, claimant to the Norwegian throne, is defeated by King Haakon IV (the Old) and his supporters. He seeks refuge in Elgeseter Priory in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, and Haakon burns down the monastery, in which Skule is burned alive. Haakon becomes the undisputed ruler; this ends the civil war era in Norway, after 110 years. * July 15 – Battle of the Neva: A Swedish army under Bishop Thomas sails up the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

in their longboats. They proceed into the Neva River with the aim of seizing control over

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

and from there, striking at the city of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

. Prince

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

rallies his '' druzhina'' comparable to the 'household' of western European countries, and decisively routs the Swedish forces, saving the Novgorod Republic from a full-scale enemy invasion from the North. As a result, Alexander wins his first military victory at the age of 19 and receives the title of Nevsky. * August – Siege of Faenza: Frederick II lays siege to the town of Faenza during the war of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Meanwhile, Frederick makes an alliance with

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

to support his campaign against the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. * Winter – Alexander Nevsky quarrels with the Kievan nobles ('' boyars'') and merchants of Novgorod, probably about peaceful trade with the westerners. He is banished, along with his mother, wife, and his ''druzhina'' to take up residence in the region around

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, a minor town on the western border of the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal. *

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

: King Sancho II (the Pious) conquers the city of Ayamonte from the Almoravids, securing the Portuguese position in

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

Africa

* Summer – As-Salih Ayyub becomes ruler of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, after deposing his half-brother Al-Adil II. Meanwhile, other members of the

Ayyubid Dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

are conspiring to depose him and replace him with his uncle, As-Salih Ismail. During his reign, As-Salih begins buying large numbers of Kipchak slaves, to form an elite core in the Egyptian army, known as Mamluks.

Levant

* October 10 – Richard of Cornwall, brother of King Henry III, arrives at

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

for a pilgrimage to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. 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 at Gaza (see 1239), and he also assists with the building of the citadel in Ascalon.

Mongol Empire

* Winter – The Mongols under Batu Khan cross the frozen Dnieper River and lay siege to the city of Kiev. On December 6, the walls are rendered rubble by Chinese catapults and the Mongols pour into the city. Brutal hand-to-hand street fighting occurs, the Kievans are eventually forced to fall back to the central parts of the city. Many people take refuge in the Church of the Blessed Virgin. As scores of terrified Kievans climb onto the Church's upper balcony to shield themselves from Mongol arrows, their collective weight strains its infrastructure, causing the roof to collapse and crush countless citizens under its weight. Of a total population of 50,000, all but 2,000 are massacred.Perfecky, George (1973). ''The Hypatian Codex'', pp. 43–49. Munich, Germany: Wilhelm Fink Publishing House.

By topic

Religion

* June 12 – The Disputation of Paris begins at the court of King Louis IX (the Saint), where four

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

s defend the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

against Nicholas Donin's accusations of

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

. * Pope

Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the P ...

authorizes a

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

against Novgorod, hoping that the

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

will be too preoccupied dealing with the raiding Mongols to the east to defend.

Births

* May 2 – Du Zong (or Zhao Qi), Chinese emperor (d. 1274) * September 29 –

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, queen of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

(d. 1275) * Abraham Abulafia, Moorish Jewish philosopher (d. 1292) * Afonso Mendes de Melo, Portuguese nobleman (d. 1280) * Agostino Novello, Italian priest and prior general (d. 1309) * Albert II (the Degenerate), German nobleman (d. 1314) * Andrea dei Conti, Italian nobleman and priest (d. 1302) * Arnaldus de Villa Nova, Spanish physician (d. 1311) * Balian of Ibelin, Cypriot nobleman and knight (d. 1302) * Beka I Jaqeli, Georgian prince ('' mtavari'') (d. 1306) * Benedict XI, pope of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

(d. 1304) * Conrad I, German nobleman and

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

(d. 1304) * Conrad of Lichtenberg, German bishop (d. 1299) * Daumantas of Pskov, Lithuanian prince (d. 1299) * Frederick III, German nobleman and knight (d. 1302) * Giovanni Pelingotto, Italian hermit and monk (d. 1304) * Henry VI, count of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

Arlon Arlon (; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. With a population of just over 28,000, it ...

(d. 1288) * Jean d'Eppe, French nobleman and knight (d. 1293) * Magnus III (Birgersson), king of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(d. 1290) * Peter III, king of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

(d. 1285) * Siger of Brabant, French philosopher (d. 1284) * Simon VI, English nobleman and knight (d. 1271) * Simone Ballachi, Italian monk and friar (d. 1319)

Deaths

January 23 Events Pre-1600 * 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. * 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. * 1229 ...

– Albert of Pisa, Italian

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar *

February 24 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. * 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. ...

– Egidia de Lacy, Norman noblewoman *

March 6 Events Pre-1600 * 12 BCE – The Roman emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor. * 845 – The 42 Martyrs of Amorium are killed after refusing to convert to Islam. * 1204 &ndas ...

– Sylvester of Assisi, Italian priest (b. 1175) * April 11 –

Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (, – 11 April 1240), also known as Llywelyn the Great (, ; ), was a medieval Welsh ruler. He succeeded his uncle, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, as King of Gwynedd in 1195. By a combination of war and diplomacy, he dominate ...

, king of

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

– Skule Bårdsson, Norwegian nobleman * May 27 – William de Warenne, English nobleman * July 22 – John de Lacy, English nobleman (b. 1192) * July 24 – Conrad of Thuringia, German Grand Master *

August 14 Events Pre-1600 * 74 BC – A group of officials, led by the Western Han minister Huo Guang, present articles of impeachment against the new emperor, Liu He, to the imperial regent, Empress Dowager Shangguan. * 29 BC – Octavian ...

– Ludmilla of Bohemia, duchess of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

August 31 Events Pre-1600 * 1056 – After a sudden illness a few days previously, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies childless, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty. * 1057 – Abdication of Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas after just one ye ...

–

Raymond Nonnatus Raymond Nonnatus, Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, O. de M. (, , , ), (1204 – 31 August 1240) is a saint from Catalonia in Spain. His nickname (, "not born") refers to his birth by Caesarean section, his mother having died while givin ...

, Spanish cardinal * October 13 – Malik Altunia, Indian governor and ruler * November 16 ** Edmund of Abingdon, English archbishop (b. 1174) ** Ibn Arabi, Andalusian philosopher and poet (b. 1165) * December 6 – Constance, queen of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

(b. 1180) * Alan of Beccles, English clergyman and secretary (b. 1195) * Alexander of Villedieu, French teacher and poet (b. 1175) * Anastasia of Greater Poland, Polish noblewoman (b. 1164) * Branca of Portugal, Portuguese princess ('' infanta'') (b. 1198) * Caesarius of Heisterbach, German hagiographer (b. 1180) * Conrad of Lichtenau, German nobleman and chronicler * Fujiwara no Hideyoshi, Japanese '' waka'' poet (b. 1184) * Germanus II (Nauplius), patriarch of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

* Guilhabert de Castres, French bishop and theologian * Hartmann I, German nobleman and knight (b. 1160) * Hōjō Tokifusa, Japanese nobleman and regent (b. 1175) * John FitzRobert, English nobleman and knight (b. 1190) * Tbeli Abuserisdze, Georgian scholar and writer (b. 1190) * Thomas Moulton, English nobleman and knight

References

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