1441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 1450
Contents: political eventsart food and drink |
Alfonso I of Naples enters that city February 24 and moves his court to Naples (see 1442). He will reign from there until his death in 1458, reuniting Naples and Sicily as he embellishes the Castel Nuovo of 1279 with magnificent sculpture and makes Naples the center of a Mediterranean Aragonese empire.
Venice's doge Francesco Foscari resumes war with Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan, after 10 years of peace. Hostilities will continue until 1454 (but see 1447).
France's Charles VII makes Agnès Sorel his official mistress (maitresse-en-titre) and she becomes first woman to have that title (see 1437). Said to rule the king, "La belle Agnès" begins a pattern that will be followed by a number of women in centuries to come as France produces cleverly influential women and complaisant male rulers.
Christian forces take Sofia and Nish from the Ottoman Turks. The 19-year-old king Wladyslaw III Warnenczyk of Poland (Ladislas V of Hungary), the Transylvanian governor János Hunyadi, and the Serbian despot George Brankovich lead the attack, but the Ottoman sultan Murad stops the Christians in a Balkan pass at the Battle of Zlatica (Izladi).
Albania's governor George Castrioti (Skanderbeg), 38, declares himself a Christian and proclaims independence from the Turks November 28 while Murad is preoccupied by the Hungarians and Serbs (see 1444).
Painting: Madonna with Violets by Stefan Lochner.
John Stafford celebrates his installation as Archbishop of Canterbury with a feast that includes pheasant, heron, swan, crane, curlew, partridge, plover, rails, quails, and three different venison dishes.
1441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 1450
