1328

1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330

political events

The German king Ludwig IV of Bavaria is crowned Holy Roman Emperor January 17 at Rome after forcing the surrender of Pisa. The Roman nobleman Sciarra Colonna places the crown on Ludwig's head and the emperor replies to attacks by Pope John XXII by proclaiming the deposition of the pope and undertaking an expedition against the pope's ally, Robert of Naples.

France's Charles IV dies at Vincennes February 1 at age 33, and his death without an heir ends the direct line of Capetian kings descended from Charlemagne. An assembly of French barons confirms the Salic law that "no woman nor her son may succeed to the monarchy" and Charles the Fair is succeeded by a 35-year-old cousin who will reign until 1350 as Philippe VI, establishing the Valois dynasty that will rule until 1589. Philippe regards the monarchy not as an obligation but merely as a possession and leaves the country's administration to a royal bureaucracy.

Scottish independence gains formal recognition in a final treaty signed at Northampton between England's young Edward III and Robert I, who is now disfigured with leprosy (see papal recognition, 1323). The treaty is ratified by the marriage July 17 of Robert's 4-year-old son David to Edward's sister Joanna.

The Gonzaga family that will rule Mantua until 1708 takes power in August as Ludovico Gonazaga, 62, displaces his brother-in-law Rinaldo Bonacolsi as lord of Mantua. Formerly known as the Corradi family, the Gonzagas have adopted the name of the village and castle of Gonzaga, located between Mantua and Reggio, and acquired vast feudal estates in the region (see 1335).

The Byzantine co-emperor Andronicus III Palaeologus forces his grandfather and co-emperor Andronicus II to abdicate in May after a 46-year reign and enter a monastery, leaving the younger Andronicus, now 31, as sole ruler (see 1325; 1341).

science

"De proportionibus velocitatum in motibus" by Oxford mathematician-theologian Thomas of Bradwardine, 38, posits the erroneous notion that an arithmetic increase in velocity corresponds with a geometric increase in the original ratio of force to resistance, an idea that will persist in European theories of mechanics for nearly a century.

religion

An assembly of priests and laymen at Rome elects the Franciscan monk Pietro Rainalducci (or Rainallucci) as antipope in May to contest the power of Pope John XXII at Avignon, who has excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV the Bavarian. "On the Origins of Powers and Jurisdictions" ("De origine potestatum et iurisdictionum") by the 58-year-old Dominican philosopher and theologian Durand of Saint-Pourçain, bishop of Meaux, supports the cause of Pope John in his dispute with France's Philippe VI; the antipope Nicholas V finds little support and will be excommunicated next year (see 1330).

Franciscan missionary Giovanni da Montecorvino, archbishop of Khanbelig (Beijing [Peking]) and patriarch of the Orient, dies at Khanbelig at age 81 (approximate), having baptized many people in northern and eastern China.

everyday life

Wedding ceremonies among the common people of Europe are typically held in June because that is when people take their annual baths and are sewn into new clothes that are intended to last until the following June. The purpose of bridal bouquets is more to perfume the air than to look pretty.

food and drink

Members of London's Pepperers Guild are officially registered as grosariae (see 1312; Grocers Company, 1429).

population

The population of Paris reaches an estimated 220,000, making it Europe's largest city by far.

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