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The Battle of Agincourt October 25 ends in defeat for the French at the hands of English archers, the lowest caste in the military hierarchy. Torrential rains have delayed Henry V in his march from Harfleur to Calais; his 6,000 archers, 1,000 men-at-arms, and a few thousand foot soldiers encounter a French force of 25,000 under the command of Charles d'Albret, the constable of France, whose knights have not learned the lessons of Crécy and Poitiers (see 1346; 1356). Henry's archers plant long pointed stakes in their midst at Agincourt, the French cavalry is impaled or trapped in the mud wearing heavy armor, Henry orders that prisoners be killed since he does not have enough men both to guard prisoners and attack the foe, and the slaughter ends only when the French withdraw. The constable of France, Charles d'Albret, dies in battle at Agincourt along with three dukes, five counts, 90 barons, and 5,000 knights of noble birth. Some 1,000 prisoners are taken including Duc Charles d'Orléans, 24, who will not be ransomed until 1440. English casualties number only 13 men-at-arms (including the duke of York) and 100 or so foot soldiers. France's nobility is shattered, the feudal system discredited, and Normandy lies open to reconquest by the English (see 1416).
Portuguese forces take the Moroccan port of Ceuta. Having spread rumors that he has another destination in mind, Portugal's Joao I has sailed in July, finds the city unprepared, and appoints his third son, Henrique, 21, governor (see 1418).
News that Jan Hus has been savaged in violation of his imperial safe conduct produces a surge of Bohemian nationalism combined with demands for religious reform that will split the Holy Roman Empire (see 1419).
Greek scholar Manuel Chrysolaras dies April 15 at age 61 (approximate) while en route to the Council of Constance as the chosen representative of the Greek Orthodox Church. He leaves behind a Latin translation of Plato's Republic, a comparison of old and new Rome (Syncrisis), some letters, and his Greek grammar Erotemata (Questions), based on the question-and-answer (Socratic) method of teaching.
The Ecclesiastical Council of Constance unanimously condemns the writings of John Wycliffe May 5 and demands that Jan Hus recant his "heresy" in public. Hus has been incarcerated for nearly eight months; he refuses the Council's demands and is burned at the stake as a heretic July 6 at age 45, although he considers himself a faithful Catholic to the end (see politics, 1419).
The aged Pope Gregory XII is deposed July 4 after an 8½-year reign in which the schism in the Western Church has been virtually ended (see 1417). The antipope John XXIII is also deposed, and the papal throne at Rome will remain vacant until 1417.
Painting: The Very Rich Book of Hours of the Duke of Berry prepared for Jean de France, 1st duc de Berry, 75, has illustrations by Belgian painter Pol Limburg and his brothers Hermann and Jan.
Sculpture: St. John the Evangelist by Donatello.
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