1120
Chaco Canyon depopulation
In the Four Corners region of North America, the great houses of Chaco Canyon - including Pueblo Bonito, whose rooms numbered in the hundreds - began to be abandoned as drought intensified. Populations scattered to outlying settlements, and the political network that had radiated from Chaco dissolved. The roads and signal stations that had connected Chaco to communities across the Colorado Plateau fell silent, ending an era of centralized power.
Council of Nablus
Baldwin II convened the lay and clerical lords of his Crusader kingdom and issued twenty-five canons: penalties for sodomy, adultery, and sexual relations with Muslims, along with a formal endorsement of the fledgling Templar order. It was the Latin East's first written law code, and its provisions reveal a frontier society obsessed with maintaining boundaries between conquerors and conquered in a land where daily coexistence made those boundaries porous.
Premonstratensian order founded
Norbert of Xanten, a reformed German nobleman, planted a community of white-robed canons in a lonely valley he called Premontre. Unlike the Cistercians, his men were priests first and would go out into the world to preach. The order spread across northern Europe within a decade, establishing some six hundred houses by the end of the century, particularly in the frontier dioceses of Germany and eastern Europe.
William of Malmesbury finishes Gesta Regum
The English monk and librarian completed the major portion of his Gesta Regum Anglorum, the best Latin narrative history of English kings since Bede. His even-handed treatment of conqueror and conquered would shape English historical writing for two centuries. William drew on a remarkable range of sources, interviewing travelers, reading charters, and visiting libraries across England to produce a history that remains indispensable to modern scholars.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1120?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1120. The most significant is Chaco Canyon depopulation: In the Four Corners region of North America, the great houses of Chaco Canyon - including Pueblo Bonito, whose rooms numbered in the hundreds - began…
What era was 1120 part of?
1120 falls within the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). Crusades, cathedrals, and the slow waking of Europe.
Which regions saw notable events in 1120?
The curated events from 1120 span North America, Middle East and Europe.