January–March •
January 6 – At the age of one year and nine months,
Bianca Maria Sforza, the daughter of the
Duke of Milan,
Galeazzo Maria Sforza, is
betrothed to the 9-year-old,
Duke of Savoy,
Philibert I, as part of an alliance between the two independent Italian duchies. •
February 7 – The Hungarian town of
Varad is attacked by an Ottoman Empire army of 7,000 cavalry, commanded by General
Mihaloğlu Ali Bey, and its inhabitants are taken prisoner. •
February 21 – The
Treaty of Ófalu is signed between the
Kingdom of Poland and the
Kingdom of Hungary. •
February 28 – The
Treaty of Utrecht puts an end to the
Anglo-Hanseatic War, restoring the status quo that had existed before the war, with the
Kingdom of England and the states of the
Hanseatic League agreeing to respect each other's trading rights. •
March 19 – The
Senate of the
Republic of Venice enacts the
Venetian Patent Statute, one of the earliest
patent systems in the world. New and inventive devices, once put into practice, have to be communicated to the Republic to obtain the right to prevent others from using them. This is considered the first modern patent system.
April–June •
April 24 – The members of the Hungarian nobility ratify the treaty with Poland after King Matthias had given his assent on February 27. •
May 9 – The first
war crimes trial in recorded history begins in
Breisach am Rhein in
Upper Alsace as the
Burgundian general
Peter von Hagenbach is put on trial for allowing his troops to murder and rape civilians during the
Burgundian Wars. The trial is held before a panel of 28 judges drawn from Breibach and surrounding Alsatian towns, and is conducted outside before a large crowd. During the trial, Hagenbach becomes the first known person to raise the "
superior orders defense", stating that he was simply following orders made his commanders. After deliberating for a few hours, the judges unanimously find Hagenbach guilty and sentenced to death. At the end of his one-day trial, Hagenbach is decapitated. •
May 28 – The English royal title of
Duke of York is created by
King Edward IV for his second-born son,
Prince Richard. Thereafter, the title of Duke of York is reserved for the second son of the English monarch, while the title of
Prince of Wales is reserved for the first-born son. •
June 15 – Venetian captain general
Triadan Gritti, with six armed galleys to protect the Albanian coast, destroys Ottoman forces attempting to take over the Albanian kingdom, and forces the others to retreat.
July–September •
July 25 – By signing the
Treaty of London,
Charles the Bold of Burgundy agrees to support
Edward IV of England's planned invasion of France. •
August 8 – The
siege of Shkodra by the Ottoman Empire ends when the city is freed by a combined army of 25,000 troops from the
Republic of Venice commanded by
Antonio Loredan, supplemented by the
Principality of Zeta and
Albanian resistance forces. Nearly all of the 8,000 Ottoman troops commanded by
Hadım Suleiman Pasha are killed. •
August 15 – In the city of
Modica on the island of
Sicily, a massacre is carried out in the Jewish neighborhood of Cartellone, and 360 Jews are killed in what is later referred to as the "Massacre of the Assumption". •
August 26 –
James III, the one-year old
de jure King of Cyprus, dies 20 days after his first birthday, apparently from
malaria. His mother,
Catherine Cornaro, who had been serving as regent since her son's birth, becomes the ruling queen of Cyprus. •
September 21 –
Ernest I becomes the new monarch of the independent
Principality of Anhalt-Dessau upon the death of his father
George I, who had ruled for 69 years.
October–December •
October 14 –
King Ferdinand of Naples sends his son,
Prince Frederick, to
Burgundy in hopes of an alliance between the Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Burgundy to be secured by Frederick's marriage to
Mary of Burgundy, daughter of the Duke, Charles the Bold. The proposal is rejected by Burgundy. •
October 26 – In a peace treaty between
King Edward IV of England and
King James III of Scotland, an agreement is reached for the
betrothal and eventual marriage of King Edward's daughter
Cecily to King James' eldest son and future King of Scotland,
James, Duke of Rothsay. •
November 2 – An alliance pact is signed between the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Florence. •
December 12 – Upon the death of
Henry IV of Castile, a civil war ensues between his designated successor
Isabella I of Castile, and her niece
Juana, who is supported by her husband,
Afonso V of Portugal. Isabella wins the civil war after a lengthy struggle, when her husband, the newly crowned
Ferdinand II of Aragon, comes to her aid. •
December 14 –
Pietro Mocenigo is elected as the new
Doge of the
Republic of Venice 13 days after the death of the Doge
Nicolò Marcello. •
December 26 – The betrothal of the son of King James III of Scotland and King Edward IV of England is formalized by proxy. After King Edward dies, the planned marriage is called off by the new monarch,
Richard III.
Date unknown •
Marsilio Ficino completes his book
Theologia Platonica (Platonic Theology). •
Axayacatl defeats the
Matlatzinca of the
Toluca Valley. == Births ==