1457

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political events

László Hunyadi is arrested at Buda by order of the Hungarian governor and beheaded March 16 (see 1456). Ladislas V of Hungary (Ladislav I of Bohemia) has sworn not to harm László and flees to Prague to escape the ensuing storm of criticism. The young king prepares to marry Magdalena, daughter of France's Charles VII, but he dies suddenly of leukemia at Prague November 23 at age 17 (it is widely believed that he has been poisoned by his political enemies), and will be succeeded in Hungary by the late János Hunyadi's second son, Matthias Corvinus (see 1458).

The Moldavian soldier Stefan, 22, secures his principality's throne with help from Walachia's Vlad Dracula. He will rule as governor (hospodar) until his death in 1504, resisting Hungarians and the Ottoman Turks (see 1467).

Venice's doge Francesco Foscari comes under fire from political enemies who blame him for the city-state's loss of eastern territories to the Ottoman Turks and loss of trade with the East, they accuse him of having murdered Admiral Pietro Loredan, his son is banished on suspicion of treason, the Council of Ten formally demands his resignation October 23, and he is found dead on the morning of November 1 at age 84 (approximate) after 34 years in power.

Sweden's farmers rebel at the excessive taxes levied by Karl (Charles) VIII (Knut Knutsson), who has allowed his troops to pillage Scania (see 1452). The country's nobility drive Karl out of the country in a revolt inspired by the Church, he takes refuged in Gdansk, the 8-year-old duke Adolf dies, the gentry of Schleswig-Holstein crowns Denmark's Kristian I of Oldenburg king of Sweden, and he promises that Denmark and Sweden will remain united forever, but the nobility pays no taxes and the economic ills of the duchies will force the impoverished Kristian to incur large loans and increase the levies on estates that do pay taxes (see 1464).

China's seventh Ming dynasty emperor Jing Tai (Ching-t'ai) falls mortally ill, and partly because he has designated his own son rather than his nephew as his heir apparent his brother Ying Zong (Cheng t'ung) receives support from a group of palace eunuchs, deposes the dying Jingtai, has Jingtai's defense minister Yu Qian (Yü Ch'ien) executed as a traitor at Beijing (Peking), and regains the throne that he lost when he was captured by the Mongols in 1449. Ying will reign until 1464.

communications, media

A Psalter published on the Gutenberg press August 14 by printer Johann Fust and his son-in-law Peter Schöfer employs red-ink printing and ornamental two-color initials obtained by using two wood blocks that fit inside each other and can be separately inked, an idea that will be credited to Johann Gutenberg (see 1455). Fust and Schöfer will produce a Benedictine Psalter in 1459 and go on to produce other works.

art

Painting: Madonna with Saints Francis and Jerome by Petrus Christus; The Rout of San Romano by Paolo Uccello. Andrea del Castagno loses his wife to plague August 8 and dies of plague himself at Florence 11 days later at age 34.

The tomb of Orlando de' Medici is completed by architect-sculptor Bernardo Rossellino in Florence's Church of Santissimi Annunziata.

The sculptor Donatello moves to Florence at age 71 after years of working at Rome, Naples, Padua, and Siena.

sports

Scotland's Parliament forbids "futeball and golfe" because their popularity threatens the sport of archery which must be encouraged for reasons of national defense. The ban will continue until 1491 (see curling, 1465; cricket, 1477).

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