1032

Pope Benedict IX (r. 1032–1044)

EventsEdit

Spring – Emperor Romanos III (Argyros) sends a Byzantine expeditionary army under General Michael Protospatharios, which includes Western auxiliaries and elite troops of Asia Minor, to reinforce the Byzantine position in Calabria (Southern Italy).

September 6 – King Rudolph III dies without any heirs. He bequeaths his entire dominions to Emperor Conrad II (the Elder), dispatching to him the Holy Lance and ring of St. Maurice, symbols of Burgundian investiture.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Odo II, count of Champagne, invades Burgundy and seizes most of the kingdom for himself.<ref name=":1">C.W. Previté-Orton, The Early History of the House of Savoy, (Cambridge University Press, 1912), p. 30.</ref> With the assistance of Humbert I of Savoy, Queen-dowager Ermengarde (Rudolph III's widow) flees to the safety of Zürich.
Winter – Conrad II marches with his army into Champagne and devastates the land – forcing Odo II to sue for peace and swear to abandon Burgundy. The bishops prevent Conrad from seizing control of Burgundy.<ref name=":1" />
The first mention is made of Kursk, Russia, in the hagiography of Theodosius, who becomes a monk at the Kiev Caves Monastery (approximate date).

October – Pope John XIX dies after an 8-year pontificate at Rome. He is succeeded by his nephew Benedict IX as the 145th pope of the Catholic Church, while (probably) still in his teens.<ref name=":2">Kelly, J.N.D., and Walsh, Michael. "John XIX." in A Dictionary of Popes, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press, 2015. eISBN 9780191795459</ref>