This Month in History: January’s Defining Moments • Page 3

1259 CE, January 1

Michael VIII Palaiologos was proclaimed co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire on January 1, 1259 through a coup, becoming the senior co-ruler to the young John IV Laskaris. He later became the sole emperor in 1261 after overthrowing and blinding John IV.

1265 CE, January 20

Simon de Montfort summons the first English Parliament on January 20, 1265 to include knights from counties and burgesses (representatives from towns) alongside nobles and clergy. The action was a way to consolidate power after capturing King Henry III, and his heir, Prince Edward, at the Battle of Lewes.

1276 CE, January 21

Pope Innocent V becomes the head of the Catholic Church on January 21, 1276. A Dominican Pope, born Pierre de Tarentaise. He only ruled for 5 months, dying on June 22, 1276. He was later beatified in 1898

1297 CE, January 8

François Grimaldi, known as "Malizia" (the Cunning), captures the fortress of Monaco on January 8, 1297, by gaining entry by deception disguised as a Franciscan monk and establishing the Grimaldi family's rule.

1299 CE, January

Scottish forces under William Wallace achieve victory against English troops at the Battle of Scone Moor.

1299 CE, January

The city of Pamplona in Spain becomes a part of the Kingdom of Navarre.

1299 CE, January

Serbian King Stefan Milutin conquers the city of Skopje from the Byzantine Empire.

1299 CE, January

The Mamluks capture the city of Jaffa, ending Crusader control in the Holy Land.

1301 CE, January 27

Andrew III of Hungary dies, leading to succession disputes and internal conflicts in Hungary.

1302 CE, January 27

Dante Alighieri is accused of corruption in political office, like others from the White Guelphs political party. who supported independence for the city-state and were not aligned with the Pope.

1308 CE, January 25

King Edward II of England and Isabella of France are married on January 25, 1308, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. The marriage was arranged years earlier by Edward I and Philip IV of France to secure peace between England and France.

1320 CE, January 20

King Władysław I of Poland was crowned on January 20, 1320 at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, a significant event that officially reestablished the Kingdom ending the period of feudal fragmentation.

1327 CE, January 20

Edward II of England is formally deposed on January 20, 1327, becoming the first English King to be deposed. He was imprisoned at Berkeley Castle, where he is believed to have been murdered on September 21, 1327.

1327 CE, January 29

Edward III becomes King of England at the age of 14, after the forced abdication of his father, Edward II. He was coronated on February 1, 1327 at Westminster Abbey. His mother, Isabella of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, ruled as regents in young Edward's name until Edward III asserted his own power by staging a coup on October 19, 1330 and taking full control of the government.

1338, c, January 13

King Edward III secures significant loans from foreign bankers, primarily from the Florentine banking houses of the Bardi and Peruzzi, to finance and cover the costs of the conflict with France, which would become the Hundred Years' War.

1340 CE, January 26

Edward III of England proclaims himself King of France in Ghent, on January 26, 1340, escalating the Hundred Years' War. Edward III had previously claimed the throne in 1337 after the confiscation of his French lands, however his 1340 public declaration initiated the formal phase of the Hundred Years' War.

1343 CE, January 19

The Truce of Malestroit is signed on January 19, 1343, between King Edward III of England and King Philip VI of France, in the chapel de la Madeleine; temporarily halting hostilities.

1347, c. May 15

Henry, Duke of Lancaster, arrives in Calais c. May 15, 1347 to aid King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.He arrived during the prolonged siege to bring supplies and reinforcements, playing a key role in holding the English position against French attempts to relieve the city.

1347 CE, January 26

Pope Clement VI, acting on a request from his friend, King Charles IV of Bohemia, issues a papal bull on January 26, 1347, granting the privileges for the establishment of a university in Prague. The university was officially founded by Charles IV on April 7, 1348.

1356 CE, January 10

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the first part of the "Golden Bull" of 1356, on January 10, 1356. The Bull formalized the electoral college that selected the King of the Romans, who would later become Holy Roman Emperor.