The central Song court remains politically divided and focused upon its internal affairs until alarming new events to the north in the Liao state finally come to its attention.

The Jurchen, a subject tribe within the Liao empire, have rebelled against the Liao and formed their own state, the Jin Dynasty.

The Song official Tong Guan (1054–1126) advises Emperor Huizong (1100–1125) to form an alliance with the Jurchens, and their joint military campaign topples and completely conquers the Liao Dynasty by 1125.

However, …

…the Jurchens, observing the poor performance and military weakness of the Song army, immediately break the alliance with the Song, launching an invasion into Song territory north of the Hwang He in 1125.

Scholars and farmers demonstrate around Kaifeng for the restoration of a military official, Li Gang, from January through March.

Small conflicts erupt between the protesters and the government.

The rule of the young Hungarian king, Stephen II, had become increasingly unpopular among his barons, because he did not want to marry and preferred living with his concubines.

Finally, in 1120, his barons had obliged him to marry Cristiana, a daughter of Prince Robert I of Capua.

Prince Yaroslav of Volhynia, who had been dethroned by his subjects, had come to Stephen's court in 1123, seeking assistance to recover his principality from his rebellious subjects.

Stephen, taking advantage of the absence of the Venetian fleet, had reoccupied Dalmatia in 1124, but the territory is lost again in the next year.

Azaz, the scene of a humiliating defeat of the Emperor Romanos III in August 1030, had soon after been captured by the imperial forces under Niketas of Mistheia.

Joscelin I of Edessa had captured the city from the atabeg of Aleppo in 1118.

The Crusaders under Roger of Salerno had been severely defeated at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis the following year, and King Baldwin II of Jerusalem had been captured while patrolling in Edessa in 1123.

Released in 1124, Baldwin had almost immediately laid siege to Aleppo on October 8, 1124, capturing the the attention of il-Bursuqi, the Seljuq atabeg of Mosul.

Il-Bursuqi marches south to relieve the siege of Aleppo, which is nearing the point of surrender in January 1125 after a three-month siege.

Baldwin cautiously withdraws without a fight.

Il-Bursuqi now besieges the town of Azaz, to the north of Aleppo in territory belonging to the County of Edessa.

Baldwin II, Joscelin I, and Pons of Tripoli, with a force of eleven hundred knights from their respective territories (including knights from Antioch, where Baldwin is regent), as well as two thousand other foot soldiers, meet il-Bursuqi outside Azaz, where the atabeg has gathered his much larger force.

Baldwin pretends to retreat, thereby drawing the Seljuqs away from Azaz into the open where they are surrounded.

After a long and bloody battle, the Seljuqs are defeated and their camp captured by Baldwin, who takes enough loot to ransom the prisoners taken by the Seljuqs (including the future Joscelin II of Edessa).

Apart from relieving Azaz, this victory allows the Crusaders to regain much of the influence they had lost after their defeat at Ager Sanguinis in 1119.

Fiesole, no less powerful than Florence in the valley below, has been an independent town for several centuries, and many wars have arisen between the two cities; Fiesole had been sacked by the Florentines in 1010 and again 1025 before it is conquered by Florence this year; its leading families obliged to take up their residence in Florence.

Dante reflects this rivalry in his Divine Comedy by referring to "the beasts of Fiesole."

(Inferno XV.73).

Charles the Good: Count of Flanders and the Road to Martyrdom (1119–1127 CE)

Charles the Good, the only son of King Canute IV of Denmark (Saint Canute) and Adela of Flanders, was born in Odense, Denmark but spent most of his life in Flanders, far from his father's kingdom.

After his father’s assassination in Odense Cathedral in 1086, his mother fled to Flanders, taking the young Charles with her, while leaving behind his twin sisters, Ingeborg and Cecilia.

Raised at the comital court of his grandfather Robert I and his uncle Robert II, Charles became a trusted nobleman in Flanders.

Rise to Power and Marriage Alliance (1111–1119)

• When Count Robert II died in 1111, Charles’s cousin Baldwin VII became count.
• Charles became a close advisor to Baldwin, who arranged his marriage around 1118 to Margaret of Clermont, the heiress of the Count of Amiens.
• Baldwin, who had been wounded in battle while fighting for King Louis VI of France, designated Charles as his successor before dying on July 17, 1119.

Thus, Charles became Count of Flanders, a position of great power and responsibility in northern France.

The Great Famine of 1125 and the Expulsion of the Jews

In 1125, a severe famine struck Flanders, creating economic and social instability. As ruler, Charles took active measures to provide relief:

• He distributed bread to the poor, reinforcing his reputation as a just and charitable leader.
• He intervened in grain markets, preventing grain from being hoarded and sold at excessively high prices.
• However, he also blamed the Jewish community for the famine, leading to their expulsion from Flanders—a decision likely influenced by economic pressures and growing anti-Jewish sentiment in medieval Europe.

Conflict with the Erembald Family and the Assassination Plot

• The influential Erembald family, particularly Bertulf FitzErembald, the provost of the Church of St. Donatian in Bruges, was heavily involved in the grain trade.
• Encouraged by his advisors, Charles attempted to reduce the Erembalds to the status of serfs, stripping them of their privileges and influence.
• This move provoked a dangerous conspiracy, as Bertulf FitzErembald organized a plot to assassinate Charles and his advisors.

This conspiracy would culminate in one of the most infamous political murders of medieval Flanders, leading to Charles the Good’s assassination in 1127 and the subsequent violent power struggle for control of Flanders.

The Assassination of Charles the Good and the Succession Crisis in Flanders (March 2, 1127 CE)

On the morning of March 2, 1127, Count Charles the Good of Flanders was brutally assassinated inside the Church of St. Donatian in Bruges by a group of knights loyal to the Erembald family. As he knelt in prayer, his attackers hacked him to death with broadswords, committing a sacrilegious murder that sent shockwaves throughout Flanders and beyond.

Public Outrage and the Martyrdom of Charles the Good

• Charles, already respected for his piety and acts of charity, was immediately regarded as a martyr and saintby the people.
• His murder provoked massive public outrage, uniting both nobles and commoners against the Erembald conspirators.
• Although Charles was not formally beatified until 1882, his reputation as a just and holy ruler ensured that his memory lived on as that of a martyr.

The Brutal Fate of the Erembalds

• In the days following Charles's murder, the people of Bruges and Ghent rose up in fury.
• The Erembald family and their accomplices were hunted down, arrested, and subjected to gruesome tortures before being executed.
• This violent purge marked the end of the Erembald faction’s influence in Flanders.

The Succession Crisis: King Louis VI Intervenes

• With Charles dead and no direct heir, Flanders fell into political chaos as different factions vied for control.
• King Louis VI of France, who had supported the noble uprising against the Erembalds, seized the opportunity to assert his authority over the county.
• Louis used his influence to install his own favored candidate, William Clito, the son of Robert Curthose and grandson of William the Conqueror, as the next Count of Flanders.

However, William Clito’s rule would face immediate resistance, as many Flemish nobles rejected Capetian interference, leading to a new period of instability and war in Flanders.

The assassination of Charles the Good not only shattered political stability in Flanders but also reshaped the balance of power in northern France, as the Capetians sought to expand their influence at the expense of the Flemish nobility.

Peter Abelard and the Founding of the Paraclete (1125 CE)

In 1125, Peter Abelard, the renowned philosopher and theologian, established a convent near Troyes called the Paraclete, which would later become one of the most famous centers of learning and religious life for women in medieval Europe.

This foundation marked a significant turning point in Abelard’s personal and intellectual journey, as it became the home of his former lover, Héloïse, who would serve as prioress and later abbess, gaining widespread fame as an educator and spiritual leader.

The Origins of the Paraclete

• Abelard had originally founded the Paraclete as a hermitage and school for his students after he was forced to leave the abbey of Saint-Denis due to conflicts with the monks there.
• The site near Troyes, in the Champagne region, became a refuge for contemplative study and theological inquiry.
• However, in 1125, Abelard left the Paraclete and was appointed abbot of Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuis, a position he would later regret due to the lawlessness of the monks there.

Héloïse Becomes Prioress and the Paraclete Flourishes

• Before departing, Abelard entrusted the Paraclete to Héloïse, who had already become a nun after their tragic separation years earlier.
• Héloïse accepted the leadership of the convent, bringing with her a community of Benedictine nuns.
• Under her guidance, the Paraclete became a renowned center of learning, where Héloïse, herself an exceptionally educated woman, taught Latin, theology, and philosophy to the nuns.
• She gained widespread admiration for her wisdom, piety, and eloquence, attracting students and correspondents from across Europe.

The Paraclete’s Lasting Influence

• The convent flourished under Héloïse’s leadership, becoming a sanctuary for women dedicated to both scholarship and religious devotion.
• The famous correspondence between Héloïse and Abelard, written in the years that followed, cemented their intellectual legacy, making their love story one of the most celebrated in medieval history.
• The Paraclete remained a respected institution for centuries, remembered as a symbol of Héloïse’s resilience and Abelard’s legacy as a scholar and reformer.

By founding the Paraclete, Abelard not only secured a place of learning and reflection but also reconnected with Héloïse, whose intellectual and spiritual influence would endure far beyond their lifetimes.

The imperial chancellor, the Archbishop of Mainz, views Lothair of Saxony is as a perfect replacement candidate when Henry V dies in 1125.

As an extensive landowner, Lothair brings power to the table, but he is old (slightly over fifty years of age) and has no male issue, potentially making him malleable for the nobility.

He is therefore elected king of Germany after a contentious power struggle with Frederick II, Duke of Swabia, head of the Hohenstaufen.

His election is notable in that it marks a departure from the concept of hereditary succession.

Somewhat naive concerning the complex power struggle between the papacy and the empire, Lothair also consents to several symbolic acts that will subsequently be interpreted by Rome as signaling acceptance of papal confirmation of his position.

A campaign undertaken in the same year against Bohemia ends in defeat.

Among those imprisoned by the Bohemians is Albert of Ascania, future Margrave of Brandenburg.