January–March •
January 15– The
Compacts of Basel are ratified by the
Council of Basel in
Switzerland, as the Roman Catholic Church ends its campaign against the
Hussites. Among other things, the Church authorizes Hussite priests to administer
sacramental wine to their congregations as part of the
Communion during the
Eucharist before
Easter without declaring the same to be
heresy, but stops short of allowing the Communion wafer. •
January 17 –
Battle of Hällaskogen, Sweden: Rebels from the cities of
Arboga,
Köping, and
Örebro, led by
Erik Puke, defeat the troops sent by King
Charles VIII of Sweden. Puke is captured a few weeks later, and beheaded on February 13. •
January 21– The
English Parliament, summoned in the name of King Henry VI on October 29, assembles at Westminster. The House of Commons elects the ailing
John Tyrrell as its Speaker. •
February 13– In France, English troops led by the
Earl of Shrewsbury capture the town of
Pontoise, less than from
Paris, and threaten the royal capital before being forced to abandon their position. •
February 21–
King James I of
Scotland is assassinated in an attempted coup d'état led by his uncle and former ally,
Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl. The night before, the King and his wife,
Catherine Douglas had stopped at
Blackfriars monastery in
Perth. Queen Catherine is injured while barring the door with her arm in order to allow the King to escape, and King James is found in the early hours of the morning and stabbed to death while trying to escape. •
March 11– The nova Scorpii AD 1437 is first observed, and is seen by Korean astronomers at
Seoul. It remains visible until March 25. •
March 24– In Italy,
Tomaso di Campofregoso, the
Doge of the
Republic of Genoa is forced to step down in favor of his brother,
Battista di Campofregoso, however, changes his mind later in the day and Tomaso is re-installed as the doge. •
March 25 – In a ceremony in
Holyrood Abbey, six-year old Prince James is crowned as
James II of Scotland by
Pope Eugene IV. For the security of the crown, the capital of
Scotland is moved from
Dunfermline to
Edinburgh. •
March 26 – In Scotland,
Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, at one time the
heir presumptive to the Scottish throne until the birth of James II, is brutally executed for the assassination of King James I. A red hot iron crown placed upon his head, after which he is cut into pieces while still alive and his heart was taken out, after which his body is thrown into a fire. •
March 27 – The regents for King Henry VI give
royal assent to the legislation passed by the English Parliament, including the
Marshalsea Act; the Exportation of Corn Act (excusing licensing fees of small amounts of grain, at less than 6 shillings, 8 pence for wheat or 3 shillings for barley); and the Guilds and Fraternities Act.
April–June •
April 2 – A
bubonic plague epidemic strikes the independent city of
Ragusa (modern-day Dubrovnik in
Croatia), capital of the
Republic of Ragusa, and a group of 10 patricians reject the chance to flee, staying to govern the city. Within 15 days, nine of the ten are dead, and only Marin Simunov Rastic survives. The progress of the plague, which lasts for more than two months, is chronicled by an Italian-born resident, Opis Diversis. •
April 23 –
Malmö, at this time in
Denmark, receives its current
coat of arms. •
April 23 –
Pope Eugene IV issues the papal bull
Dominatur Dominus, further to safeguard the rights of the
Guanches, the natives of the Portuguese-controlled Canary Islands. •
May 1 – In
Bohemia,
Sion Castle near
Kutná Hora in the modern-day Czech Republic is
besieged by royal forces sent by the Emperor
Sigismund of Luxembourg and commanded by his
Hofmeister,
Hynce Ptáček of Pirkštejn. The siege, defended by the Taborite Hussite
Jan Roháč of Dubá, lasts for four months before succeeding. •
May 18 (Full moon of
Nayon 799 M.E.) – In Burma, King
Mohnyin Thado of
Ava announces that, effective March 30, 1438, the year will be recalibrated after
799 M.E. to will become
2 M.E., as part of the recommendations of his astrologers. •
May 21 – During a visit by
Phillip III of Burgundy, who still controls parts of France while his war against King Charles VI continues, rebels in the city of
Bruges take over and lynch his representative, Marshal
Jean de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, while Philip himself narrowly escapes capture. •
June 6 – A peasant army gathers at Babolna during the
Transylvanian peasant revolt against King Sigismund of Hungary and defeat the Hungarian Governor, Ladislaus Csaki. •
June 24 – On the feast day of St. John the Baptist, the plague in Ragusa is declared at an end. •
August 22– Portugal's disastrous Tangier expedition to attack Morocco begins as
Prince Henry the Navigator and more than 6,000 troops (3,000 knights, 2,000 infantry, 1,000 archers) sail from the port of
Belém toward Africa and the Portuguese colony of
Ceuta. They arrive at Ceuta five days later. •
September 20– • Led by
Prince Henry the Navigator, a poorly-prepared Portuguese
attempt to conquer the city of
Tangier in the
Marinid Sultanate in
Morocco begins. Although the Portuguese have more than 6,000 troops, they reach the walled city and find that their scaling ladders are too short to reach the top, and their artillery is too weak to damage the walls. Henry had previously been crowned in
1429 at Westminster at the age of seven. •
November 12 – King
Charles VII of France and his son
Prince Louis ride into
Paris for the first time in 17 years after the royal family had fled from the invasion by the Duke of Burgundy in
1420. •
November 13 – England's Privy Council votes to confirm the independent authority of King Henry. •
December 6 – King Henry VI reaches the age of majority on his 16th birthday and is deemed ready to rule the Kingdom of England in his own right. •
December 9 –
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, dies, and is succeeded by
Frederick III.
Date unknown •
Sandside Chase in the north of Scotland:
Clan Mackay defeat the
Clan Gunn of
Caithness. • The
Kazan Khanate is established. •
Ulugh Beg's
Zij-i Sultani star catalogue is published. == Births ==