Directory

1378 CE

The Ciompi Revolt becomes violent in the Republic of Florence as a group of 64 discontented wool carders, led by Salvestro de' Medici, briefly take over the government of Florence and place Michele di Lando in the executive office. Gian Galeazzo Visconti succeeds his father, Galeazzo II Visconti, as ruler of Milan. Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, dies in Prague. He is succeeded by his son, Wenceslaus, as King of Bohemia, but the office of Holy Roman Emperor falls into abeyance, until Charles's son Sigismund is crowned in 1433.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 13 – Balša II succeeds his brother, Durađ I, as ruler of Lower Zeta in what is now Montenegro.source
  • September 3 – As regent for the 11-year-old King Richard II of England, his mother Joan of Kent summons the English Parliament, directing the members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords to assemble at Gloucester on October 20.source
  • October 22 – Sir James Pickering is elected as Speaker of the English House of Commons.source
  • Tai Bian succeeds Zhao Bing Fa as King of Mong Mao (modern-day northern Myanmar).source

Conflict & Security

  • April 16 – Mujahid Shah, ruler of the Bahmani Sultanate in what is now the Karnataka state in southern India, is assassinated by his uncle, Da'ud Shah, while traveling between Adoni and Kulbarga. Da'ud and three accomplices enter Mujahid's tent and stab him to death, after which Da'ud declares himself to be the new Sultan of Bahmani.source
  • May 21 – After only five weeks as Sultan of Bahmani in India, Da'ud Shah is assassinated while praying in the grand mosque at the capital, Kalaburagi. Da'ud Shah is succeeded by one of his nephews, Mahmud Shah.source
  • May 30 – The War of Chioggia begins on the Italian peninsula between the navies of the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa, with a surprise attack on 11 Genoese galleys at Capo d'Anzio by a 10-galley fleet led by Venetian Admiral Vettor Pisani. Venice captures five of the Genoese ships and takes their crews as prisoners of war, including the Genoese admiral, Luigi de' Fieschi.source
  • June 17 – In the wake of the recent defeat of the Genoese Navy at the battle of Capo d'Anzio, Domenico di Campofregoso, Doge of the Republic of Genoa, is removed from office by the Genoese Senate and replaced by Nicolò Guarco.source
  • July 21 – The Ciompi Revolt becomes violent in the Republic of Florence as a group of 64 discontented wool carders, led by Salvestro de' Medici, briefly take over the government of Florence and place Michele di Lando in the executive office.source
  • August 4 – Gian Galeazzo Visconti succeeds his father, Galeazzo II Visconti, as ruler of Milan.source
  • August 11 – Battle of the Vozha River: Prince Dmitri Ivanovich of Moscow resists a small invasion by the Mongol Blue Horde under Mamai.source
  • Tokhtamysh dethrones Temur-Malik to become Khan of the White Horde.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Uthman Beg establishes the Aq Qoyunlu (Turkomans of the White Sheep) dynasty at Diyarbakır, in modern-day southeast Turkey.source

Religion & Belief

  • April 18 – The coronation of Pope Urban VI takes place in Rome on Easter Sunday.source
  • September 20 – Unhappy with Pope Urban's critical attitude towards them, the majority of the cardinals meet at Fondi, elect Clement VII as antipope, and establish a rival papal court at Avignon. This split within the Catholic Church becomes known as the Western Schism, also known as the Great Schism. France, Aragon, Castile and León, Cyprus, Burgundy, Savoy, Naples and Scotland choose to recognise Antipope Clement VII. Denmark, England, Flanders, the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, northern Italy, Ireland, Norway, Poland and Sweden continue to recognise Pope Urban VI.source
  • October 31 – The coronation of Count Onorato Caetani as the antipope Clement VII takes place in Italy at Fondi at the cathedral of San Pietro adjacent to the Caetani palace. Clement operates as a rival leader of the Roman Catholic Church for about a year before he and his cardinals relocate to Avignon.source
  • November 16 – The English Parliament concludes its session after four weeks, and royal assent is given to new laws passed during the session, including the Scandalum Magnatum Act 1378, prescribing penalties for "telling slanderous lies of the great men of the realm", the Pope Urban VI Act 1378source
  • December 16 – The antipope Clement VII declares nine clerics to be added as cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, joining those already allied with him as part of the Avignon Obedience against the cardinals of Pope Urban VI. Among the new "pseudo-cardinals", assigned to secure allegiance to the Antipope Clement from other European nations are Niccolò Brancaccio, Nicolas de Saint-Saturnin, Pierre Raimundi de Barrière Mirepoix, and Giacomo d'Itri.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • The Raseborg Castle is mentioned for the first time in documents, but its actual date of foundation is unknown.source

Science & Discovery

  • November 10 – The first observation of Halley's Comet from Earth is made, based on an estimate from orbital calculations.source

Crime & Justice

  • Ottoman Turks capture the town of Ihtiman in west Bulgaria.source
  • Sa'im al-Dahr is hanged for blowing the nose off the Great Sphinx of Giza.source

Culture & Society

  • January 6 – At the Great Hall of the Conciergerie in Paris, King Charles V of France hosts the Banquet of the Three Kings with his uncle, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and the Emperor's son, Wenzel the Idle, King of the Romans as his guests (along with 800 German and French knights), to celebrate the friendship between the nations. The banquet, held on the day of the Feast of the Epiphany, has three courses, with 10 dishes in each course.source
  • May 26 – Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür succeeds his father, Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara, as ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty in Mongolia.source

Births

  • January 23 – Louis III, Elector Palatine (d. 1436)source
  • May 27 – Zhu Quan, Chinese military commander, historian and playwright (d. 1448)source
  • August 16 – Hongxi Emperor of China (d. 1425)source
  • October 24 – David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to throne of Scotland (d. 1402)source
  • December 31 – Pope Callixtus III (d. 1458)source
  • Joan II, Countess of Auvergne, French vassal (d. 1424)source
  • John Hardyng, English chronicler (d. 1465)source
  • Narasimha Saraswati - Indian Guru and Saintsource
  • Lorenzo Ghiberti, Italian sculptor and metal-worker (d. 1455)source
  • Vittorino da Feltre, Italian humanist (d. 1446)source

Deaths

  • January 14 – King Richard II opens the Irish Parliament for the first time since the death of his father, King Edward III, a year earlier.source
  • February 6 – King Charles V of France is widowed when his queen consort, Joanna dies at age 40, two days after giving birth to their last child, Catherine. Against medical advice, Queen Joanna had taken a hot bath in order to induce labor.source
  • February 6 – Joanna of Bourbon, queen consort of Charles V of France (b. 1338)source
  • February 12 – Alexius, Metropolitan of Kiev and spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1354, dies of old age and his designated successor, Cyprian, Metropolitan of Lithuania, attempts to become the new leader. However, Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow denies Cyprian permission and appoints Pimen as successor to Alexius.source
  • March 27 – Pope Gregory XI (b. c. 1329)source
  • March 27 – Pope Gregory XI dies at the Vatican in Rome after a little more than seven years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and shortly after moving the church leadership back to Rome from the French city of Avignon. Officials of Rome begin a campaign of intimidation to prevent the Roman Catholic cardinals, a majority of whom are French, from electing a French cardinal as Gregory's successor.source
  • July – Owain Lawgoch, titular Prince of Wales and mercenary – assassinated (b. c. 1330)source
  • August 4 – Galeazzo II Visconti, Lord of Milan (b. c. 1320)source
  • November 29 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1316)source
  • November 29 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, dies in Prague. He is succeeded by his son, Wenceslaus, as King of Bohemia, but the office of Holy Roman Emperor falls into abeyance, until Charles's son Sigismund is crowned in 1433.source
  • November 30 – Andrew Stratford, English verderer and landownersource