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The Holy Roman Emperor Rupert dies at Landskron near Oppenheim May 18 at age 58. One faction of the Frankfurt assembly votes October 10 to elect Jobst, margrave of Moravia and Brandenburg, now 58, as the new German king, while another faction favors his half brother Sigismund of Luxembourg, now 42, a brother of the deposed emperor Wenceslas of Bohemia and reigning king (since 1387) of Hungary. Jobst prevails (but see 1411).
Aragon's Martin I dies at Barcelona May 31 at age 53 after a 15-year reign in which he has also ruled since last year as Martin V of Sicily. Having no surviving offspring, his death leaves the succession in doubt both in Aragon and in Sicily (see 1412).
The Battle of Tannenberg (Grünfelde, or Grünwald) July 15 gives a huge army of Poles and Lithuanians, numbering perhaps 10,000, a decisive victory over the Teutonic Knights, who may number barely half that many (see Plowce, 1331). Vytautus the Great of Lithuania concluded a treaty early last year with Poland's Wladyslaw II for a combined attack on the Teutonic Order. Their army has crossed the Prussian frontier June 24, the order's Grand Master is killed in battle along with at least 200 of his fellow knights, but Polish knight Zbigniew Oleshinski, 20, saves the life of Wladyslaw II. Although the victors are unable to exploit their triumph, the Knights suffer a reverse from which they will not recover. The Polish-Lithuanian victory ends German supremacy in the Baltic region.
Louis II (le Bon), 3rd duc de Bourbon, dies August 19 at age 73.
Greenland's last colonists leave (see 1262). Substantial climate changes have occurred in the region, with each year colder than the last, and not even the relatively temperate southwest coast can any longer sustain Europeans.
A translation into Latin of the Guide to Geography (Geographike hyphegesis) by the 2nd century Greek astronomer-mathematician-geographer Ptolemy of Alexandria revives the notion that the world is round (see 145; exploration [Columbus], 1474).
The antipope Alexander V dies at Bologna sometime before dawn May 4, possibly the victim of poisoning. Dead at age 70 (approximate), he is succeeded by the Neapolitan cardinal Baldassare Cossa, a onetime pirate who is elected May 17 at Bologna and begins a 5-year reign as the antipope John XXIII, although Gregory XII remains on the papal throne at Rome and Benedict XIII on the papal throne at Avignon.
Prague's Bishop Zbynek burns 200 volumes of "heretical" writings, including works by Jan Hus, in the courtyard of his palace and then bans Hus from the city (see 1409; 1411).
French chronicler-poet-courtier Jean Froissart dies in obscurity at Chimay at age 73 (age and year approximate), having written a history of Western Europe from the early 14th century to 1400 that was not always accurate but gave a brilliant portrayal of contemporary society.
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