King Charles V of France creates the first franc coin, a new currency for France.
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What Happened in January?
Tragic deaths, ravaged cities, and great acts of heroism. Discover what happened this month in history and the defining moments that shaped the world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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King Peter I of Portugal dies on January 18, 1367 and is succeeded by his son Ferdinand I of Portugal.
The Ming Dynasty officially begins in China on January 23, 1368 with the ascension of Zhu Yuanzhang as the Hongwu Emperor; marking the end of the Yuan dynasty and the beginning of a new era of Chinese rule.
c.1377, January 7
John Wycliffe presents his views on church reform to Parliament in England, c. January 7, 1377
Pope Gregory XI moves the Papal See back to Rome from Avignon, on January 17, 1377 ending the Avignon Papacy; a nearly 70 year period where popes resided in France under French influence.
The move back to Rome was prompted by pleas from St. Catherine of Siena, but his return immediately led to the Western Schism after his death.Gregory XI was the last French pope and the final of the Avignon Popes. He died on March 27, 1378 shortly after returning the papal court from Avignon. The disputes over his successor led to the election of rival popes an Italian pope (Urban VI) and an Antipope (Clement VII); marking the start of the Western Schism which lasted from 1378 to 1417.
King Richard II of England marries Anne of Bohemia on January 20, 1382 at Westminster Abbey. Anne was the daughter of the Emperor Charles IV of Bohemia; the marriage helped form an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire against France. Anne was crowned Queen on January 22.
They were both only 15 when they marry but the union developed into a deep, affectionate bond. Anne died from the plague in 1394, leading to Richards profound grief at her early death, which led him to demolish Sheen Manor where she died.
John Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, and Thomas Holland, Duke of Surrey, are executed around January 7, 1400 for their involvement in a plot against King Henry IV of England.
King Henry IV, wary of anything that could weaken the crown, signed the Act Against Multipliers into law in an effort to protect the authority of the government by preventing the debasement of currency.
The Act forbade the transmutation of base metals into gold or silver, which one might then use to create counterfeit coins. Later, although the law was meant to outlaw the process, the government charged alchemists expensive licenses to practice. The act remained in effect until it was repealed in 1689. More
The Medici Bank in Florence suffers a financial crisis, leading to its restructuring. The restructuring helped consolidate power and wealth setting the stage for the bank's heyday under Giovanni's son, Cosimo de' Medici, who took over management in 1429 and expanded the model into a vast, powerful financial network across Europe.
The trial of Joan of Arc began in Rouen, France, on January 9, 1431, before an ecclesiastical court presided over by Bishop Pierre Cauchon. The trial was conducted by an English-backed church tribunal on charges of heresy, which included wearing men's clothes and acting on what the court claimed were demonic visions.
The trial concluded with Joan being burned at the stake on May 30, 1431. The verdict was later overturned in 1456 after a reinvestigation found the original trial was "tainted by deceit and procedural errors".
Pope Eugenius IV grants the privileges of the University of Leuven in Belgium.
The Council of Ferrara - Florence is convened in Italy and opens on January 8, 1438. It was the continuation of the Council of Basel, which Pope Eugenius IV transferred to Ferrara, then Florence. It was aimed at reunifying the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church after the separation which began with the Great Schism of 1054.
A papal bull, Laetentur Caeli, was issued on July 6, 1439 declaring the union of the two churches, however it was short lived and eventually rejected by most of the Orthodox bishops and clergy back in the East, and the reunification ultimately failed due to significant opposition.
Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, dies suddenly on January 6. 1448 at Helsingborg, Sweden, at the age of 31, leading to the end of his reign and his burial in Roskilde Cathedral, with his widow Queen Dorothea marrying his successor, Christian I.
Sultan Murad II of the Ottoman Empire abdicates the throne in favor of his son, Mehmed II.
The Yorkists led by 18-year old Edward, Earl of March, defeat the Lancastrians, at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross on February 2, 1461, during the English Wars of the Roses. The Lancastrian leader, Owen Tudor. was captured and executed. The victory helped Edward claim the throne as King Edward IV.
Edward IV, was proclaimed King of England on March 4, 1461, following his father's death, and formally crowned on June 28, 1461, at Westminster Abbey.
Completion of the Trondheim Cathedral in Norway after several decades of construction.
Charles the Bold of Burgundy marries Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV of England, solidifying an alliance.
The Second Peace of Thorn is signed, ending the Thirteen Years' War between the Teutonic Order and Poland.
The Battle of Nancy takes place, resulting in the death of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, at the hands of the Swiss.
Battle of Vaslui between the Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great and the Ottoman Empire concludes with a decisive victory for Stephen the Great against a larger Ottoman army led by Hadım Suleiman Pasha.