Year 1242 (MCCXLII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
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By place
Europe
- Spring – Prince Alexander Nevsky is joined by his brother Andrey II (Yaroslavich) at Novgorod, supported with his elite druzhina (or 'household') from Suzdal. They head southwest across the frozen marshes, which cover much of the land between Novgorod and Pskov. On March 5, Alexander retakes the city almost without a struggle, before the larger Crusader garrison in nearby Izborsk can intervene.
- April РA Russian force led by Alexander Nevsky crosses the frontier between Novgorod and Livonian Crusader territory, to raid into Catholic Estonia. After that, Alexander breaks his army off into contingents to ravage the countryside. He is forced to turn back, when a local Crusader force under Bishop Hermann von Buxh̦vden defeats Alexander's advance guard at Mooste bridge south of Tartu.
- April 5 – Battle of Lake Peipus (or Battle on the Ice): Russian forces led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by a Crusader army (some 2,600 men), including German Teutonic Knights. The opposing armies meet upon the frozen surface of Lake Peipus. The outnumbered Teutonic Knights are defeated on the slippery surface, by Alexander's elite druzhina and the Novgorod forces.
- May 28 – Avignonet massacre: A group of Cathars, with the probable connivance of Count Raymond VII of Toulouse, murder the inquisitor William Arnaud and eleven of his companions.
- July 21–22 – Battle of Taillebourg: French forces (some 25,000 men) under King Louis IX (the Saint) defeat King Henry III at the bridge over the Charente River near Taillebourg. After the battle, Louis continues to pursue the English troops, capturing many prisoners. Henry retreats with the remnants of his army to Bordeaux, where he spends the winter.
- Summer – Alexander Nevsky sends envoys to Batu Khan, preemptively capitulating before the Mongols even though they have not reached Novgorod, and accepts his rule as Mongol overlord.
- November 16 РKing B̩la IV issues the Golden Bull to the inhabitants of Gradec (modern-day Zagreb) and Samobor in Croatia. By this golden bull, B̩la proclaimes Gradec a royal free city.
- Siegfried III, archbishop of Mainz, conquers Wiesbaden (a free imperial city) and orders the city's destruction, during the war of Emperor Frederick II against the Papal States.
- King Sancho II (the Pious) conquers the cities of Tavira, Alvor and Paderne, in his continuing expansion against the Muslims, known as the Reconquista.
Mongol Empire
England
- May – Isabella of Angoulême, mother of Henry III, persuades him to mount an expedition to retake Poitou. On May 20, Henry arrives at Royan and joins the rebelling French nobles â forming an army (some 30,000 men). Louis IX exchanges letters with Henry to resolve the conflict, but the dispute escalates further.
Africa
Middle East
Asia
By topic
Religion
Science
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Births
- January 27 – Margaret of Hungary, Hungarian nun (d. 1270)
- March 17 – Maud de Prendergast, Irish noblewoman (d. 1272)
- June 25 – Beatrice of England, English princess (d. 1275)
- July 24 – Christina von Stommeln, German mystic (d. 1312)
- December 15 – Munetaka, Japanese shogun (d. 1274)
- Al-Ashraf Umar II, Arab ruler and astronomer (d. 1296)
- Beatrice of Castile, queen consort of Portugal (d. 1303)
- Beatrice of Navarre, duchess of Burgundy (d. 1295)
- George Pachymeres, Byzantine historian (d. 1310)
- HÃ
ÂjÃ
 Tokimura, Japanese nobleman (rensho) (d. 1305)
- Patrick IV (de Dunbar), Scottish nobleman (d. 1308)
- Stephen I KotromaniÃÂ, Bosnian nobleman (d. 1314)
- Theobald Butler, Norman chief governor of Ireland (d. 1285)
- Theodoric of Landsberg, German nobleman (d. 1285)
- William I, German nobleman and archbishop (d. 1308)
- William de Leybourne, English nobleman (d. 1310)
Deaths
- February 10
- ShijÃ
 (or Mitsuhito), emperor of Japan (b. 1231)
- Verdiana, Italian noblewoman and saint (b. 1182)
- February 12 – Henry VII, king of Germany (b. 1211)
- March 26 – William de Forz, English nobleman (b. 1190)
- March 28 – Theoderich von Wied, German archbishop
- April 22 – Abubakar ibn Gussom, Arab poet (b. 1168)
- May 13 – Gerard of Villamagna, Italian hermit (b. 1174)
- May 15 – Muiz ud din Bahram, Indian ruler (b. 1212)
- June 26 – Thomas de Beaumont, English nobleman
- July 1 – Chagatai Khan, son of Genghis Khan (b. 1183)
- July 14 – HÃ
ÂjÃ
 Yasutoki, Japanese regent (b. 1183)
- October 7 – Juntoku, emperor of Japan (b. 1197)
- November 12 – Jocelin of Wells, English bishop
- November 20 – Narchat, Moksha queen (b. 1216)
- December 2 – Al-Mustansir, Abbasid caliph (b. 1192)
- December 9 – Richard le Gras, English abbot and bishop
- December 26 – Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster, Norman nobleman (b. 1176)
- Aimeric de Belenoi, French cleric, troubadour and writer
- Archambaud VIII of Bourbon ("the Great"), French nobleman (b. 1189)
- Ceslaus, Polish nobleman, jurist and missionary (b. 1184)
- Da'ud Abu al-Fadl, Ayyubid Jewish physician (b. 1161)
- Enguerrand III, Lord of Coucy, French nobleman and knight (b. 1182)
- Muhammad Aufi, Persian historian and writer (b. 1171)
- Nuño Sánchez, Spanish nobleman and knight (b. 1185)
- Ogasawara Nagakiyo, Japanese samurai (b. 1162)
- Richard de Morins, English archdeacon and jurist
- Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught, Norman nobleman (b. 1194)
- Sasaki Yoshikiyo, Japanese nobleman (b. 1161)
References