← Fame through time1100-1199
The 12th century
Whose working lives fell in the 12th century. Books are measured from 1800 and readers from 2015, so for this period we can say who lived then, not who was talked about then.
Lived then
The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 12th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Henry II of England12 decades - 2
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor20 decades - 3
Bernard of Clairvaux19 decades - 4
Eleanor of Aquitaine19 decades - 5
Stephen, King of England0 decades - 6
Peter Abelard20 decades - 7
Louis VII of France5 decades - 8
Chrétien de Troyes21 decades - 9
Louis VI of France0 decades - 10
Guy of Lusignannot measured- - 11
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou13 decades - 12
Marie de Francenot measured- - 13
Fulk, King of Jerusalemnot measured- - 14
Eleanor of England1 decades - 15
Adela of Normandy0 decades - 16
William IX, Duke of Aquitainenot measured- - 17
Adèle of Champagne7 decades - 18
Suger22 decades - 19
Héloïse16 decades - 20
Pope Callixtus II0 decades - 21
Marie of France, Countess of Champagnenot measured- - 22
William X, Duke of Aquitainenot measured- - 23
Adelaide of Maurienne22 decades - 24
Peter II of Courtenay0 decades - 25
Aimery of Cyprus0 decades - 26
Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundynot measured- - 27
Léonin0 decades - 28
Henry II, Count of Champagnenot measured- - 29
Joscelin I, Count of Edessanot measured- - 30Alice of France6 decades
- 31
Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucesternot measured- - 32
Arnaud Amalric4 decades - 33
Bohemond III of Antioch0 decades - 34
Bertran de Born8 decades - 35
Robert I, Count of Dreux0 decades - 36
Peter I of Courtenaynot measured- - 37
Sibylla of Anjou0 decades - 38
Bernard de Ventadour0 decades - 39
Arnaut Daniel7 decades - 40
Alphonse Jourdain17 decades - 41
Philip of Francenot measured- - 42
Theobald V, Count of Blois0 decades - 43
Raymond V, Count of Toulouse1 decades - 44
Peter the Venerable19 decades - 45
John of Matha22 decades - 46
Robert II, Count of Dreux0 decades - 47
Margaret of Blois0 decades - 48
Constance, duchess of Brittany3 decades - 49
André de Montbard1 decades - 50
Hugh, Count of Champagne0 decades - 51
Bernard de Tremelay0 decades - 52
Hugh II of Jaffa0 decades - 53
Everard des Barres0 decades - 54
Saint Drogo0 decades - 55
Matthias I, Duke of Lorrainenot measured- - 56
Simon I, Duke of Lorraine5 decades - 57
Bertrand I, Count of Toulouse0 decades - 58
Margaret of Francenot measured- - 59
Marcabru6 decades - 60
Felix of Valois21 decades - 61
Hugh IX of Lusignan0 decades - 62
Gregory VIII22 decades - 63
Godfrey II, Count of Louvainnot measured- - 64
Elisabeth, Countess of Vermandois0 decades - 65
Eleanor, Countess of Vermandois0 decades - 66
Raymond du Puy de Provence11 decades - 67Matthew of Alsace2 decades
- 68Constance of France, Countess of Toulouse1 decades
- 69Theobald I, Count of Bar0 decades
- 70
Rabbeinu Tam21 decades - 71
Philip of Milly0 decades - 72
Amalric of Bena0 decades - 73
Bertrand de Blanchefort0 decades - 74
Peter of Bruys21 decades - 75
Isaac the Blind20 decades - 76Abraham ben David of Posquièresnot measured-
- 77
Gislebertusnot measured- - 78
Ermengarde of Anjou0 decades - 79
Thomas, Lord of Coucy18 decades - 80
Bénézet of Avignon0 decades - 81
William of Champlitte0 decades - 82
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicesternot measured- - 83
Robert of Torigni3 decades - 84
Guillaume aux Blanches Mains1 decades - 85Samuel ibn Tibbon1 decades
- 86
Gilbert de La Porrée0 decades - 87William of Champeaux15 decades
- 88
Guiraut de Bornelh0 decades - 89
Ralph II, Count of Vermandois0 decades - 90
William of Donjeon3 decades - 91
James of Avesnesnot measured- - 92
Folquet de Marseille0 decades - 93Bernard Silvestris0 decades
- 94Simon III de Montfort0 decades
- 95William, Count of Mortain0 decades
- 96
William of Maleval0 decades - 97
Rotrou III, Count of Perchenot measured- - 98
William II, Count of Nevers0 decades - 99Rigordnot measured-
- 100
Pagan the Butler0 decades
How to read these rankings
- Attention, not reputation. A place on these lists reflects the attention a person still draws in the public record. It is not a judgement on the life.
- Fame in print. The curves show how often a name appeared in the books of each decade from 1800 to 2019, drawn from the Google Books Ngram corpus.
- Gaps are left as gaps. Where the record is too thin to be fair, we would rather show nothing than guess.