August – King William II of Sicily ("the Good") lands in Epirus with a Siculo-Norman expeditionary force of 200 ships and 80,000 men (including 5,000 knights) and marches as far as the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki, which he takes and pillages, massacring some 7,000 Greek citizens.[1]
Saladin agrees to a 4-year truce due to severe drought and famine which has struck Palestine. The treaty is signed by Count Raymond of Tripoli and important nobles from Jerusalem. Commerce is renewed between the Crusader States and their Muslim neighbors. A flow of corn from the east saves the Crusaders and the population from starvation.[4]
British Isles
April 25 – John's first expedition to Ireland: King Henry II of England knights his son and heir, the 18-year-old Prince John, newly created Lord of Ireland, and sends him to Ireland, accompanied by 300 knights and a team of administrators to enforce English control. Landing at Waterford, he treats the local Irish rulers with contempt, making fun of their unfashionable long beards. Also failing to make allies amongst the Anglo-Norman settlers, the English army is unable to subdue the Irish fighters in unfamiliar conditions and the expedition soon becomes a complete disaster. In December, John returns to England in defeat. Nonetheless, Henry gets him named 'King of Ireland' by Pope Urban III and procures a golden crown with peacock feathers.[5]
July – Treaty of Boves: King Philip II of France signs a treaty to ensure his authority over his vassals, with Amiénois, Artois and other places in northern France passing to him. Philip is given the nickname "Augustus" by the monk Rigord for augmenting French lands.[7]
Evidence is first uncovered that Henry II of England is using the safes of the Temple Church in London (consecrated February 10), under the guard of the Knights Templar, to store part of his treasure.[10]
^Baldwin, John W. (1991). The Government of Philip Augustus: Foundations of French Royal Power in the Middle Ages, p. 3. University of California Press. ISBN0520073916.
^Williams, Hywell (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History, p. 128. ISBN0-304-35730-8.
^Picard, Christophe (1997). La mer et les musulmans d'Occident VIIIe-XIIIe siècle. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
^Ferris, Eleanor (1902). "The Financial Relations of the Knights Templars to the English Crown". The American Historical Review. 8 (1): 1–17. doi:10.2307/1832571. JSTOR1832571.
