Directory

856 CE

King Æthelwulf of Wessex marries the 12- or 13-year-old Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, at Verberie (Northern France). She is crowned queen and anointed by Hincmar, archbishop of Reims. The marriage is a diplomatic alliance between Wessex and the West Frankish Kingdom. (approximate date) – An earthquake in Corinth, Greece kills an estimated 45,000 people. Another earthquake strikes Damghan (modern-day Iran), killing an estimated 200,000 people.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • King Charles the Bald cedes the county of Maine to Erispoe, ruler (duke) of Brittany—this in return for an alliance against the Vikings.source

Conflict & Security

  • Winter – Æthelwulf returns to Wessex to face a revolt by his eldest son Æthelbald, who usurps the throne. Æthelwulf agrees to give up the western part of his kingdom, in order to avoid a civil war. He keeps control over Sussex, Surrey, Essex and Kent, over which Prince Æthelberht has presided.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • King Ordoño I of Asturias is said to have begun the repopulation of the town of León in the northwest of Spain (approximate date).source

Religion & Belief

  • March 15 – Emperor Michael III overthrows the regency of his mother Theodora. He appoints his uncle Bardas as the de facto regent and co-ruler of the Byzantine Empire.source
  • October 1 – King Æthelwulf of Wessex marries the 12- or 13-year-old Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, at Verberie (Northern France). She is crowned queen and anointed by Hincmar, archbishop of Reims. The marriage is a diplomatic alliance between Wessex and the West Frankish Kingdom.source

Climate & Environment

  • November (approximate date) – An earthquake in Corinth, Greece kills an estimated 45,000 people.source
  • December 3 – Another earthquake strikes the Abbasid Caliphate (modern-day Tunisia), also killing an estimated 45,000 people.source
  • December 22 – Another earthquake strikes Damghan (modern-day Iran), killing an estimated 200,000 people.source

Births

  • October 24 – Li Keyong, Shatuo governor (jiedushi) (d. 908)source
  • Li Maozhen, Chinese warlord and king (d. 924)source

Deaths

  • January 7 – Aldric, bishop of Le Manssource
  • February 4 – Rabanus Maurus, archbishop of Mainzsource
  • August 6 – Fujiwara no Nagara, Japanese statesman (b. 802)source
  • August 16 – Theutbald I, bishop of Langressource
  • Florinus of Remüs, Frankish priest and martyrsource
  • Guerin, Frankish nobleman (or 845)source
  • Godfrid Haraldsson, Viking chieftain (approximate date)source
  • Ilyas ibn Asad, Muslim emir (approximate date)source
  • Muhammad I Abu 'l-Abbas, Muslim emirsource