1460

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political events

England's deranged Henry VI is taken prisoner again July 18 at the Battle of Northampton, 66 miles from London (see 1455). The 18-year-old Rouen-born Edward, earl of March, leads an army of 7,000 Yorkists, wearing white roses, against 5,000 royal Lancastrians, wearing red roses, under the command of the duke of Buckingham. Lord Edmund Grey treacherously allows the Yorkists to penetrate Buckingham's entrenchments, Buckingham is killed along with most of the Lancastrian nobility, and the royalists are routed. William of Waynfleet resigns as English lord chancellor but is not harmed. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd duke of York and father of the earl of March, asserts his hereditary claim to the throne, marches on London, and is assured by the lords that he will succeed to the throne upon Henry's death.

Scotland's James II is killed August 3 when a cannon bursts while he is besieging Roxburgh Castle in a show of sympathy for the Lancastrian cause. He is nominally succeeded by his son, 9, who will reign until 1488 as James III, but his widow, Mary of Guelders, continues to reign as queen (see 1461).

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd duke of York, is killed at age 49 December 30 at Wakefield in the West Riding, where 10,000 men raised in the north by Henry VI's wife, Margaret of Anjou, defeat his 8,000-man army. The duke's oldest son, Edmund, is also killed, along with 2,000 other Yorkists, and the earl of Salisbury is murdered after being taken prisoner. Southern England rallies behind Richard's younger son Edward, earl of March, who inherits his father's title (see Battle of Towton, 1461).

Lan Na forces capture Siam's capital city of Sawankhalok, forcing the Siamese king Trailok to move his seat of government to Phitsanulok in order that he may direct his military efforts from a more forward position.

The Vietnamese emperor Le Thanh Ton ascends the throne to begin a brilliant reign that will continue until his death in 1497 (see 1428). He will divide his empire into 13 "circuits" (provinces), each subdivided into prefectures (phu), districts (huyen), and departments (chau), all ruled by a central bureaucracy whose officials will be selected on merit, with Confucian civil service examinations given every 3 years (see 1371).

human rights, social justice

A Portuguese squadron returns from the west coast of Africa with a cargo of slaves.

exploration, colonization

The Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator (Henrique o Navegador) dies deeply in debt at Vila do Infante, near Sagres, November 13 at age 66, having provided the wherewithal (in large part through the papally sponsored Order of Christ) for voyages of discovery among the Madeira Islands and along the west coast of Africa.

education

Humanist scholar Guarino da Verona dies at Ferrara December 14 at age 86 (or possibly 90). Guarino's son Battista based his 1459 book on his father's educational ideals and techniques; he takes over the school at Ferrara and will continue it until his own death in 1513.

art

Painting: The Seven Sacraments altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden.

music

Composer Gilles Binchois dies near Mons September 20 at age 60 (approximate).

architecture, real estate

Venice completes its arsenal. Almost a town within a town, the heart of the republic's naval power includes a large shipyard for building the vessels that provide Venice with her wealth and power.

Mantua's Church of San Sebastian is completed to designs by Leon Battista Alberti.

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