Eleventh century - Definition and Overview

(10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries)

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages.

Events

• 1000 (cca), Vikings, led by Leif Eirikson, establish small settlements at and around Vinland in North America
• 1054, the Great Schism, in which the Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern Orthodox churches separated from each other. Similar schisms in the past had been later repaired, but this one continues after nearly 1000 years.
• 1060, Norman conquest of Sicily
• 1065, independence of the Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal under the rule of Garcia
• 1066, Norman conquest of England
• 1076, Ghana Empire began break-up after capital (Kumbi) sacked
• 1086, compilation of the Domesday Book
• 1094, El Cid, the great Spanish hero, conquers the Moorish city of Valencia
• 1099, First Crusade captures Jerusalem
• King Anawrahta of Myanmar made a pilgrimage to Ceylon, returning to convert his country to Theravada Buddhism.
• The Tuareg migrate to the Aïr region.
• Kanem-Bornu expands southward into modern Nigeria.
• The first of seven Hausa city-states are founded in Nigeria.
• The Hodh region of Mauritania becomes desert.

Significant people

• Canute
• William the Conqueror
• Macbeth
• Alp Arslan
• Pope Saint Gregory VII (Hildebrand)
• St Robert, founder of the Cistercians

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• Invention of military rockets by the Chinese
• The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu is one of the first novels in Japanese

Decades and years