1050
Year 1050 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
- Hedeby in Jutland is sacked by King Harald Hardrada of Norway, during the course of a conflict with Sweyn II of Denmark.
- King Anund Jacob dies after a 28-year reign. He is succeeded by his elder half-brother Emund the Old as king of Sweden.
- Macbeth, [King of Scotland], makes a pilgrimage to Rome.
Africa
- Aoudaghost, an important Berber trading center and rival of Koumbi Saleh, is captured by the Ghana Empire.
By topic
Religion
- King Edward the Confessor unites the English dioceses of Devon and Cornwall. He moves the see from Crediton to Exeter and gives the order to build a cathedral. Leofric becomes the first bishop of Exeter.
- The brewery of Weltenburg Abbey is first mentioned, thus making it one of the oldest still operating breweries in the world.
Births
- November 11 - Henry IV, [Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV], Holy Roman Emperor
- Amadeus II, count of Savoy
- Berthold II, duke of Swabia
- Bertrand of Comminges, French bishop
- Frederick I, duke of Swabia
- Leopold II, margrave of Austria
- Lhachen Gyalpo, king of Ladakh
- Liutold of Eppenstein, German nobleman
- Li Tang, Chinese landscape painter
- Lope Íñiguez, lord of Biscay
- Michael VII Doukas, Byzantine emperor
- Muhammad al-Baghdadi, Arab mathematician
- Muirchertach Ua Briain, king of Munster
- Olaf I, king of Denmark
- Olaf III, king of Norway
- Osbern of Canterbury, English hagiographer
- Peter the Hermit, French priest
- Sophia of Hungary, duchess of Saxony
- Sviatopolk II, Grand Prince of Kiev
- Vidyakara, Indian Buddhist scholar
Deaths
- February 10 - Anna, Grand Princess of Kiev
- October 29 - Eadsige, archbishop of Canterbury
- Alferius, Italian abbot and saint
- Anund Jacob, king of Sweden
- Casilda of Toledo, Spanish saint
- Constantine Arianites, Byzantine general
- Einar Thambarskelfir, Norwegian nobleman
- Herleva, Norman noblewoman
- Hugh of Langres, French bishop and theologian
- Humphrey de Vieilles, Norman nobleman
- Michael Dokeianos, Byzantine general
- Suryavarman I, king of the Khmer Empire
- Wifred II, count of Cerdanya and Berga
- Zoë, empress of the Byzantine Empire