Devils torture the damned in Hell (Abbey of Moissac, about 1050 AD) The Seljuks destabilize Europe's neighbors In 1071 AD, the Byzantine Empire lost most of Anatolia (modern Turkey) to the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert. About the same time, the Abbasids lost control of pieces of the Islamic Empire as well. The Seljuks took over the East, and [...]
Nave of the Abbaye aux Dames in Caen (about 1050 AD) About 1050 AD, William the Conqueror married Matilda of Flanders. They were both rich Normans, and there weren't that many rich Normans yet at this time. So William and Matilda were distantly related to each other. The Pope had said that people who were related shouldn't get married, even [...]
Westminster Abbey western facade (front) Westminster Abbey is a large church in the Gothic style in London, England. Edward the Confessor built an abbey here in 1050 AD, in the Romanesque style. (An abbey is a place for monks or nuns to live and pray) William the Conqueror was crowned in the Abbey. And since his time all English kings and queens have also been crowned [...]
White Tower of the Tower of London (built in the 1060s AD) After William conquered England in 1066 AD, he needed a castle to live in when he was in London. He needed a castle that would protect London from invaders. But it had to also be a castle that would protect him, William, from angry English people. They [...]
Outer walls of Caen castle, Normandy, France This is the castle that William the Conqueror built before he left to conquer England, to defend his own territory in Normandy, in France. William built this castle around 1050 AD. That's about the same time as he built the Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames. The [...]
The Romanesque Abbaye aux Hommes, in Caen (about 1050 AD) Vikings settle in Caen Caen is a port town in north-western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. When the Vikings invaded France in the 700s AD, eventually they forced the French king to give them the area around Caen (KAHN) to live in. There they got to be known [...]
Caen - Abbaye aux Dames What is the Abbaye aux Dames? Matilda of Flanders ordered her architects to build this Christian church about 1050 AD in her capital at Caen. (Find out why.) The Abbaye aux Dames is a great example of the Romanesque style of medieval European architecture. Who's Matilda of Flanders? What's the Romanesque style? All our medieval [...]
Al-Azhar Mosque, Cairo (Egypt, 900s AD) Fatimids built new mosques As soon as the Fatimid dynasty took over ruling Egypt, in 908 AD, the new rulers of Egypt needed to show how important and strong they were. Who were the Fatimids? Medieval African Architecture All our Islamic Empire articles All our Early Africa articles Al-Azhar [...]
