1274

Events

May 7 - Second Council of Lyon: Pope Gregory X convenes a council at Lyon, after Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos gives assurances that the Orthodox Church is prepared to reunite with Rome. The council agrees to a settlement between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church over several key issues – Orthodox acceptance of papal primacy and the acceptance of the Nicene Creed with the Filioque clause. Gregory approves a tithe to support efforts to liberate the Holy Land from Muslims, and reaches apparent resolution of the schism, which ultimately proves unsuccessful. All but four mendicant orders of friars are suppressed. Catholic teaching on Purgatory is defined for the first time.
November - The Imperial Diet at Nuremberg orders that all crown estates seized since the death of Emperor Frederick II, [Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II] be restored to King Rudolf I. Almost all European rulers agree, with the exception of Ottokar II, king of Bohemia, who has benefited greatly by conquering or otherwise coming into possession of many of those lands.

August 2 - Edward I of England finally returns from the Holy Land to be crowned king of England on August 19 at Westminster Abbey two years after his father King Henry III's death.
September 21 - Walter de Merton, English chancellor and regent, retires from royal service, in favour of Robert Burnell, who becomes a strong ally of the Edwardian regime.
The first main survey of the Hundred Rolls, an English census seen as a follow-up to the Domesday Book, is begun; it lasts until 1275.

Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq, Marinid ruler, enters peacefully into Ceuta, putting an end to some 40 years of the city's independence.

November 4-19 - Battle of Bun'ei: Forces of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China invade Japan. After conquering the Japanese settlements on Tsushima and Iki islands, Kublai Khan's fleet moves on to Japan and lands at Hakata Bay. Their landing is not unopposed: an old sea wall runs along much of the bay, and behind it are stationed the warriors of Hōjō Tokimune. The Japanese open combat with whistling arrows, designed to unnerve and intimidate their foes. The Mongols use bombs against the Japanese forces and manage to break through at a few places, burning down the nearby town of Hakata. The invaders are eventually repelled, and after inflicting heavy losses on the Japanese, a withdrawal is ordered. Credited to a great typhoon – called a kamikaze, or divine wind – the Mongol fleet is dashed on the rocks and destroyed. Some sources suggest that 200 warships are lost. Of the 30,000 strong invasion force, some 13,000 does not return.
Nichiren, Japanese priest and philosopher, enters exile on Mount Minobu. He leads a widespread movement of followers in Kantō and Sado mainly through his prolific letter-writing.

Bonvesin da la Riva, Italian poet, writes the didactic-allegoric poem Liber di Tre Scricciur. The text is in the Western Lombard language. The poem is one of the first great literary works in Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Italy]. It tells about Hell, the Passion of Jesus and Paradise; the plot later prefigures Dante Alighieri in his Divine Comedy .
May 1 - In Florence, the 9-year-old Dante first sees the 8-year-old Beatrice, his lifelong muse. She appears later as one of his guides in the Divine Comedy, Paradiso and Purgatorio.

Pope Gregory X decrees that conclaves should be used for papal elections, reforming the electoral process which had taken over 3 years to elect him.
Gregory X obtains the region of Romagna from Rudolf I, in exchange for acknowledging him as Holy Roman Emperor. With this important acquisition, the Papal States become the second-largest power block in Italy after the Kingdom of Sicily.