Stefan Nemanja becomes grand zupan (clan leader) of the Serbian state of Raska under the suzerainty of Constantinople in 1168-69.

Fontainebleau: A Royal Residence by 1169 CE

By 1169, Fontainebleau, located forty miles (sixty-four kilometers) southeast of Paris on the left bank of the Seine, had become a residence of the French kings. Its primary appeal was the surrounding forest, which provided excellent hunting grounds, a favored pastime of medieval monarchs.

Early Use as a Royal Hunting Lodge

• Fontainebleau’s dense woodlands made it an ideal retreat for Capetian kings, who frequently indulged in hunting as both recreation and military training.
• The earliest recorded reference to the site as a royal residence dates to 1169, during the reign of Louis VII, though it was likely used before this time.

The Foundations of a Future Palace

• While Fontainebleau was initially a modest hunting lodge, its proximity to Paris ensured it would play a growing role in royal affairs.
• It would later be expanded and transformed into a grand château, particularly under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties, becoming one of the most important royal residences of France.

Legacy

• Fontainebleau’s history as a royal retreat began in the 12th century, but it would go on to serve as a key residence for French monarchs, including Francis I, Henry IV, and Napoleon Bonaparte.
• Over the centuries, it would be greatly enlarged and remodeled, evolving into the magnificent Château de Fontainebleau known today.
• The hunting traditions established in the 12th century continued for centuries, reinforcing Fontainebleau’s status as a royal retreat and cultural landmark.

By 1169, Fontainebleau was already entwined with the French monarchy, a status it would maintain for centuries to come.

The 1169 Treaty of Montmirail: Henry II’s Succession Plan and Anglo-French Diplomacy

By the late 1160s, Henry II sought to formalize the succession of his vast Angevin Empire. As his sons came of age, Henry decided to divide his territories among them, ensuring that each would inherit a portion of his domains upon his death. However, since much of his empire lay within France, Henry needed the approval of King Louis VII to secure his sons’ future inheritances.

This led to peace talks between Henry and Louis in January 1169 at Montmirail, which resulted in a formal agreement between the two rival monarchs.

Henry II’s Succession Plan

Henry II’s empire stretched from Scotland to the Pyrenees, making the question of inheritance a major concern. His plan divided his realms among his three eldest sons:

• Henry the Young King → To receive England and Normandy, the heart of the Anglo-Norman realm.
• Richard (later Richard the Lionheart) → To inherit the Duchy of Aquitaine, a vast territory in southwestern France through his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
• Geoffrey → To be given Brittany, solidifying Angevin control over the region.

This division was intended to prevent disputes among his sons but would ultimately lead to bitter conflicts in the future.

The Treaty of Montmirail (January 1169): Key Agreements

1. Henry’s Sons Pay Homage to Louis VII

   • To formalize their future claims, Henry II’s sons were required to swear fealty to King Louis VII for their future lands in France.
   • This reaffirmed Capetian overlordship over Henry’s French territories, despite the growing power of the Angevins.

2. Betrothal of Richard and Alys of France

   • As part of the peace agreement, Richard (aged 11) was betrothed to Alys (aged 9), Countess of the Vexin, daughter of Louis VII.
   • Alys’s dowry included the Vexin, a strategic buffer region between Normandy and the Capetian royal domain.

Significance and Consequences

• Short-Term Peace – The treaty brought temporary stability to the tense Anglo-French relationship.
• Political Recognition of Henry’s Sons – By performing homage to Louis, Henry’s heirs were acknowledged as legitimate future rulers of their respective territories.
• Tensions Within the Angevin Family – Henry’s succession plan, instead of preventing disputes, eventually provoked conflict among his sons, leading to rebellions in the following decades.

While the Treaty of Montmirail successfully outlined the future of the Angevin Empire, it also set the stage for further power struggles, both within the Plantagenet dynasty and between England and France.

An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of around 7 strikes the eastern coast of Sicily on February 4, 1169, causing an estimated fifteen thousand deaths and severely damaging the towns of Catania, ...

…Lentini and …

...Modica.

Matthew of Ajello, from prison, had organized the rebellion in Palermo and, seeing his opportunity, strikes.

The chancellor-archbishop is forced to take refuge in the campanile, where he holds out until offered terms.

In return for his safety, he agrees to embark at once for the Holy Land.

He is deposed as archbishop and Walter of the Mill is elected to replace him.

Gilbert of Gravina and his family are forced to do the same and they all leave for the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Stephen, arriving in Jerusalem the summer of 1169, will soon fall ill and die.

There is some delay when the imperial fleet and the army finally arrive in Egypt in 1169.

Inadequate provisions and seasonal rains force both armies to retreat again, each side blaming the other.

In any case, the venture fails, and Shirkuh enters Cairo, subjugating Egypt and thus presenting a broad and competent Muslim front against the crusaders.

Shirkuh has Shawar executed and is named the new vizier, but his reign lasts only two months.

Already an obese man, he dies on May 23 of "indigestion".

His nephew, Saladin, now Nur ad-Din's deputy is left to overcome the remaining opposition and master Egypt.

He is at the age of thirty-one appointed both commander of the Syrian troops in Egypt and vizier of the Fatimid caliphate.

His relatively quick rise to power must be attributed not only to the clannish nepotism of his Kurdish family but also to his own emerging talents.

As vizier of Egypt, he receives the title malik, “king”, although he is generally known as the sultan.

Saladin, although himself an orthodox Muslim, initially does not proclaim the Sunni faith amid a people still devoted to the tenets and practice of the Shi'a sect, but he will soon find himself able to do so; and thus the spiritual supremacy of the Abbasids will again prevail, not only in Syria, but throughout Egypt and all its dependencies.

Fitz-Stephen, on returning to Wales, had helped Diarmait Mac Murchada to organize a mercenary army of Norman and Welsh soldiers, including Richard de Clare, second Earl of Pembroke, alias Strongbow.

The first Norman knight to land in Ireland had been Richard fitz Godbert de Roche in 1167, but it is not until May 1, 1169, that Robert leads the vanguard of Diarmait Mac Murchada's Cambro-Norman auxiliaries to Ireland, thereby precipitating the Norman invasion of Ireland.

The main invasion party lands near Bannow strand, County Wexford with a force of thirty knights, sixty man-at-arms and three hundred archers.

The next day, Maurice de Prendergast lands at the same bay with ten knights and sixty archers.

This force merges with about five hundred soldiers commanded by Diarmait.

In return for capturing Wexford, MacMurrough grants Fitz-Stephen a share in two cantreds, Bargy and Forth which comprises all the land between Bannow and the town of Wexford.

The cantreds are to be held jointly with Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan, his half-brother.

The Siege of Wexford lasts only two days.

The first attack is repulsed at the loss of eighteen Normans and three defenders.

These are believed to have been the only deaths during the siege.

Fitz-Stephen then orders his men to burn all the ships in the town's harbor.

The next morning, the attack on Wexford begins again.

Shortly afterward, the defenders send envoys to Diarmait.

The defenders agree to surrender and renew their allegiance to Diarmait.

It is claimed that they were persuaded to surrender by two bishops who were in the town at the time.

He is accompanied at the siege by Robert de Barry, the eldest son of his half-sister Angharad de Windsor. (Nest then, is the mother of Robert, Maurice and Angharad.)

Within a short time, Leinster has been conquered, and the Viking-established towns of Wexford, …

…Waterford and …