Directory

1308 CE

King Denis of Portugal, "the Poet King", grants Póvoa de Varzim a charter, the Foral, giving royal lands to 54 families, who found a municipality known as Póvoa around Praça Velha. (Tokuji 3, 15th day of the 8th month of Tokuji 3) Prince Morikuni becomes the ninth, and last, shogun of the Kamakura bakufu. After the fall of the fortress of Siwana in India, Prince Sital Deva is ambushed while trying to flee to safety at Jalor. The soldiers decapitate Sital and present his head as a trophy to the Delhi Sultan, Alauddin.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • March 8 – King Denis of Portugal, "the Poet King", grants Póvoa de Varzim a charter, the Foral, giving royal lands to 54 families, who found a municipality known as Póvoa around Praça Velha.source
  • October 20 – The English Parliament begins its fourth session of the reign of King Edward II and meets at Westminster.source
  • December 19 – Treaty of Alcalá de Henares: King Ferdinand IV of Castile and King James II of Aragon sign an alliance in the Monastery of Santa María de Huerta. Ferdinand agrees to join James in making war by sea and by land against Granada. He also promises to give up one-sixth of Granada to Aragon, and grants him the Province of Almería.source

Conflict & Security

  • May 1 – King Albrecht I of Germany, ruler of the Regnum Teutonicorum and King of the Romans within the Holy Roman Empire, is assassinated at Windisch in Switzerland by his nephew, John of Swabia, the day after the two had an argument at a banquet in Winterthur.source
  • May 23 – Battle of Inverurie: Scottish forces led by King Robert the Bruce defeat the rival Scots under John Comyn at Oldmeldrum. During the battle, Robert repulses a surprise attack on his camp, and counter-attacks the Scots of Clan Comyn. John flees to seek refuge at the English court and is well received by Edward II, who appoints him as Lord Warden of the Marches. Meanwhile, Robert orders his forces to burn the farms, houses and strongholds associated with Clan Cumming in north-east Scotland. The Earldom of Buchan will never again rise for Clan Cumming.source
  • July 2 – Alauddin Khalji, Sultan of Delhi sets off from the Indian city of Delhi toward the Fort of Siwana (now in the Rajasthan state) to begin the siege of Siwana, which is completed in September.source
  • August 15 – The Knights Hospitaller complete the conquest of the Greek island of Rhodes after four years.source
  • August 31 – (Tokuji 3, 15th day of the 8th month of Tokuji 3) Prince Morikuni becomes the ninth, and last, shogun of the Kamakura bakufu.source
  • September – Siege of Siwana: Delhi forces under Alauddin Khalji capture the Siwana fortress after a two-month siege. During the siege, Alauddin defiles the main water tank of Siwana (by a traitor) with cows' blood.source
  • November 10 – After the fall of the fortress of Siwana in India, Prince Sital Deva is ambushed while trying to flee to safety at Jalor. The soldiers decapitate Sital and present his head as a trophy to the Delhi Sultan, Alauddin.source
  • Summer – Battle of the Pass of Brander: Scottish forces under King Robert the Bruce defeat the rival Scots of the Clan MacDougall, kinsmen of John Comyn the Red . During the battle, Robert orders to bypass the Pass of Brander. He sends James Douglas the Black) with a party of archers to take up positions above the pass to avoid an ambush. Robert breaks through the MacDougalls blockade and defeats them at the Bridge of Awe. The MacDougalls are chased westwards across the River Awe to Dunstaffnage. The Lord of Argyll surrenders and does homage to Robert.source
  • The harrying of Buchan takes places as Scottish forces under Edward Bruce devastate the lands of John Comyn, and his supporters following the victory at Inverurie. Meanwhile, Robert the Bruce takes Aberdeen, conquers Galloway and threatens northern Scotland.source
  • Summer – Delhi forces led by Malik Kafur invade the Yadava Kingdom under King Ramachandra, who shelters the fugitive Vaghela king Karna. Ramachandra sues for peace and acknowledges Delhi's overlordship.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • June 25 – Piers Gaveston is exiled for the second time by the Parliament, due to possible corruption and exploited personal gains. As compensation for the loss of the Earldom of Cornwall, which is another condition of his exile, Gaveston is granted land worth 3,000 marks annually in Gascony. Further to this, he is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland – so that a certain amount of honour can be maintained despite the humiliation of the exile. Gaveston is also threatened with ex-communication by Pope Clement V. Edward II accompanies him to Bristol, from where he sets sail for Ireland.source

Religion & Belief

  • February 25 – Edward II is crowned at Westminster Abbey under the guidance of Henry Woodlock, bishop of Winchester. During the ceremony, Piers Gaveston is given the honour of carrying the crown. At the banquet that followed, Edward spends more time with Gaveston than with his wife Isabella of France. Isabella's family, who have travelled with her from France, leave to report back to Philip IV of Edward's favouritism for Gaveston over Isabella. As part of the coronation, Edward swears an oath to uphold "the rightful laws and customs which the community of the realm shall have chosen".source
  • June 28 – After 138 members of the Knights Templar were convicted of heresy on October 19, 1307, a trial is held for 54 Templars who testify before Pope Clement V, with most confessing to at least one charge.source
  • August 11 – Pope Clement V grants the Knights Hospitaller permission to begin the Crusade of the Poor.source
  • August 12 – Pope Clement V publishes the papal bull Faciens Misericordiam ("The granting of forgiveness"), absolving the Knights Templar from charges of heresy and declaring that the Roman Catholic Church, rather than any individual nation, will be in charge of future charges against the Knights. On the same day, he issues the bull Regnans in coelis, summoning what will become the Council of Vienne in 1311.source
  • August 20 – The Chinon Parchment is written by French Cardinal Berengar Fredol the Elder, summarizing the results of the investigations of Fredol and the two other Cardinals of their disposition of the Knights Templar charges. The parchment is then put in the Vatican Apostolic Archive and will remain undiscovered for almost seven centuries before being rediscovered by Barbara Frale.source
  • November 27 – Henry VII Count of Luxemburg, is elected the new Holy Roman Emperor at Frankfurt. The election comes with the support of his brother Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier, who wins over most of the electors, in exchange for some substantial concessions. The only elector who does not support Henry of Luxemburg is Henry of Bohemia.source
  • December – King Władysław I Łokietek of Poland imprisons Jan Muskata, Bishop of Kraków. In response, Polish and German citizens revolt against his rule in Kraków (as in all Poland's cities at this time). Władysław in a delicate position responds with force and arrests the revolt's leaders. He ties them to horses and drags them through the city streets.source

Crime & Justice

  • Sultan Mesud II, Seljuk vassal of the Mongol Ilkhanate, is murdered after a 5-year reign. During his rule, he exercises no real authority and becomes the last ruler. Ending the Sultanate of Rum after 230 years.source

Culture & Society

  • November 22 – The coronation of the Emperor Hanazono of Japan takes place at Edo.source
  • November 27 – On the same day, Hungarian nobles formally elect the 20-year-old Charles Robert of Salerno as King of Hungary and Croatia in the Hungarian city of Pest (now part of Budapest). He becomes Charles I, but his rule remains nominal in most parts of the realm after he is crowned.source
  • King Philip IV of France purchases Hôtel de Nesle in Paris and builds one of the earliest indoor tennis courts there.source
  • Dante Alighieri begins work on his Divine Comedy, comprising Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is one of the most influential works of the European Middle Ages (approximate date).source

Births

  • August 12 – Moriyoshi, Japanese nobleman and prince (d. 1335)source
  • Longchenpa, Tibetan Buddhist scholar-yogi and writer (d. 1364)source
  • Joan III of Burgundy, French noblewoman and princess (d. 1347)source
  • Gaston II, French nobleman and knight (House of Foix) (d. 1343)source
  • Andrea Orcagna, Italian painter, sculptor and architect (d. 1368)source
  • Joguk (or "Borjigin Jintong"), queen consort of Goryeo (d. 1325)source

Deaths

  • February 1 – Herman I the Tall Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel (and co-ruler of Brandenburg with Otto IV), dies and is succeeded as Margrave by his son John V.source
  • March 18 – Yuri I of Galicia, king of Ruthenia (House of Rurik)source
  • March 18 – Brothers Andrei Rurik and Lev II Rurik become the co-monarchs of Ruthenia (now part of Ukraine and Poland, with a capital at Lviv), upon the death of their father, King Yuri I of Galicia. The two brothers will reign until their deaths in 1323 at the Battle of Berestia against Mongol invaders.source
  • April 5 – Ivan Kőszegi, Hungarian nobleman and palatine (b. 1245)source
  • April 15 – Abu Hammu I becomes the new ruler of the Kingdom of Tlemcen after the death of his brother, Sultan Abu Zayyan I.source
  • July 30 – Chungnyeol, Korean ruler (House of Wang) (b. 1236)source
  • July 30 – Chungseon of Goryeo becomes the King of Korea for the second time, after the death of his father, King Chungnyeol of Korea. Chungseon had ruled for a few months in 1298 during the illness of his father.source
  • August 12 – Edmund Stafford, English nobleman and Peeragesource
  • August 18 – Clare of Montefalco, Italian nun and abbess (b. 1268)source
  • September 10 – (Tokuji 3, 25th day of the 8th month) At the age of 11, Hanazono becomes the 95th Emperor of Japan upon the death of his cousin, the Emperor Go-Nijō. Emperor Hanazono will rule until 1348.source
  • October 5 – Guy II de la Roche, Duchy of Athens, dies at the age of 28, bringing an end to the de la Roche dynasty. He is succeeded by his cousin, Walter V, Count of Brienne.source
  • November 8 – John Duns Scotus, Scottish priest and philosophersource
  • December 16 – Tran Anh Tong becomes the new Emperor of Dai Viet (corresponding to northern Vietnam) upon the death of his father, Tran Nhan Tong.source
  • December 21 – Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (Henry the Child), German nobleman (b. 1244)source