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Contents: political eventshuman rights, social justice medicine religion education food and drink |
Scotland's first Stuart king Robert II dies at Dundonald Castle, Ayrshire, April 19 at age 74, having sired six sons and seven daughters by his two successive wives, to say nothing of at least eight illegitimate sons. His legitimized son John, 50, earl of Carnick, administered the kingdom from 1384 to 1388 (when John's younger brother Robert, earl of Fife, took over); John changes his baptismal name and will reign until 1424 as Robert III, continuing the Stuart dynasty but too weak to rule with any vigor (his brother Robert, now 49, has effectively ruled the country since 1388, will become 1st duke of Albany in 1398, and will be Scotland's de facto ruler until his death in 1420; see 1399).
The horse of Castile's Juan I falls while he is riding in a fantasia with some of his light horsemen at Alcalá de Henares October 9 and he dies at age 32 after an 11-year reign in which his claims to the Portuguese throne have been thwarted. He is succeeded by his delicate 11-year-old son, who has married John of Gaunt's daughter Catherine and will reign until 1406 as Enrique III.
The Byzantine emperor John V Palaeologus is deposed briefly by his grandson, who assumes power as John VII Palaeologus but is himself soon desposed as John V is restored to the throne by his second son, Manuel.
The grand prince of Muscovy Basil (Vasily) I marries the grand duke of Lithuania's daughter Sophia and thereby restores cordial relations with the grand duke, who has contested Basil's efforts to expand westward (see 1389). The two agree to make the Ugra River the border between their respective states.
Paris authorities arrest "witch" Jehenna de Brigue, 34, on charges brought by her neighbor, Jean de Ruilly, who has come to her for medical assistance (see 1324). She has allegedly performed a ritual to protect him from witchcraft, reportedly allowing two toads to suck from her breasts, and he has apparently been cured of whatever ailed him. Jehenna claims that she is not a witch but is acquainted with a witch named Marion, who has taught her some charms (see 1391).
Sugar reaches Sweden for the first time but remains a costly novelty, useful for covering up the taste of medical preparations made from herbs, entrails, and various odious ingredients but not much used otherwise (see Denmark, 1324).
Britain's Parliament enacts a Statute of Provisioners, taking a dim view of ecclesiastical offices appointed by the pope. William Courtenay, archbishop of Canterbury, condemns the statute as a restraint upon apostolic power.
Venetian-born French widow Christine de Pisan, 25, begins intensive studies in history, science, and poetry. Her husband of 10 years, a courtier who has encouraged her to continue her education (she has called him a man "whom no other could surpass in kindness, peacefulness, loyalty, and true love"), has died at age 35, leaving her the sole support of her mother, three children, and a niece. She will gain some fame in the next few years with her poetry, her biography of France's Charles V, her book on etiquette for women, books on pacificism and the arts of government and war, criticisms of misogynist literature, and biblical commentary: "There Adam slept, and God formed the body of woman from one of his ribs, signifying that she should stand at his side as a companion and never lie at his feet like a slave, and also that he should love her as his own flesh . . . I don't know if you have already noted this: she was created in the image of God. How can any mouth dare to slander the vessel which bears such a noble imprint? . . . God created the soul and placed wholly similar souls, equally good and noble, in the feminine and masculine bodies" (see 1405).
The Forme of Cury is a manuscript containing recipes of dishes prepared for England's Richard II and his barons. Possibly intended as a guide for the steward who superintends the king's illiterate cooks and to help him keep track of the costly spices used (notably saffron), the manuscript includes recipes for macaroni adopted from the Italians, and for hash, but many of the recipes are merely rude instructions, such as, "Take chickens and ram them together, serve them broken"; "Take rabbits and smite them to pieces; seethe them in grease."
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