Directory

1484 CE

At the close of the English Parliament session, King Richard III gives royal assent to Titulus Regius. William Caxton, the first printer of books in English, prints his translation of Aesop's Fables in London. The "White Elephant War", which had started in 1479 with the invasion of the Kingdom of Lan Xang (now Laos) by the Dai Viet Empire (now northern Vietnam) with the Vietnamese withdrawing their troops and failing to conquer the Laotians.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 23 – King Richard III of England assembles his first, and only Parliament, opening a 29-day session.source
  • February 20 – At the close of the English Parliament session, King Richard III gives royal assent to Titulus Regiussource
  • March 22 – The kingdoms of France and Scotland renew the Auld Alliance, with the Lord of Aubigny signing on behalf of France.source
  • August 7 – The Treaty of Bagnolo is signed, ending the War of Ferrara fought in Italy between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Ferrara after two years. Ferrara loses most of its territories which Venice had conquered north of the River Po, while Ferrara's Duke Ercole I d'Este regains his territories in Ariano nel Polesine, Corbola, Adria, Melara, Castelnovo Bariano and Ficarolo.source
  • September 21 – Treaty of Nottingham: A three-year truce between the kingdoms of England and Scotland is signed.source
  • November 23 – Louis, Duke of Orleans a contender for the French throne, signs a treaty with François II, Duke of Brittany, with an agreement for the marriage of the Duke's 7-year-old daughter, Anne of Brittany to Louis, with a goal of Louis having control of Brittany and of France. The proposed marriage, however, is contingent upon the annulment of Louis' existing marriage to Joan of France, Duchess of Berry.source

Conflict & Security

  • February 24 – King James III of Scotland gives royal assent to numerous acts passed by the Scottish Parliament, including the Defence of the Realm Act 1483 (summoning the members of the nobility to come defend Scotland); the Duke of Albany Act, an arrest warrant for all person who made treasonable assistance to the King's rebellious brother, Alexander, Duke of Albany; and the two Barratry Acts, prohibiting "the having of mone furth of the Realme" (the exportation of money out of the realm) to the Court of Rome.source
  • May 11 – The Kingdom of Hungary defeats the army of the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Leitzersdorf.source
  • July 22 – Battle of Lochmaben Fair: A 500-man raiding party led by Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, is defeated by forces loyal to Albany's brother James III of Scotland; Douglas is captured.source
  • October 31 – The "White Elephant War", which had started in 1479 with the invasion of the Kingdom of Lan Xang (now Laos) by the Dai Viet Empire (now northern Vietnam) with the Vietnamese withdrawing their troops and failing to conquer the Laotians.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • July 6 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River.source
  • Maximilian I, Duke of Burgundy, orders foreign merchants to leave Bruges. Most merchants move to Antwerp, greatly contributing to its growth as an international trading center.source
  • The King of Portugal appoints a commission of mathematicians to perfect tables, to help seamen find their latitude.source

Religion & Belief

  • March 26 – William Caxton, the first printer of books in English, prints his translation of Aesop's Fables in London.source
  • April 19 – Muhammad Shah Mir becomes the new Sultan of Kashmir in India, succeeding Hasan Khan.source
  • June 22 – The first known book printed by a woman, Anna Rügerin, is an edition of Eike of Repgow's compendium of customary law, the Sachsenspiegel, produced in Augsburg.source
  • December 5 – Pope Innocent VIII issues the Papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus, giving the Inquisition a mission to hunt heretics and witches in Germany, led by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • The first cuirassier units (kyrissers) are formed in Austria.source
  • The first sugar mill becomes operational in the Gran Canaria.source

Culture & Society

  • February 5 – The Great Bell of Dhammazedi, at 293.4 metric tons (323 U.S. tons) the largest bell ever created, is cast from bronze at Dagon in the Hanthawaddy kingdom (now Yangon in Myanmar) by order of King Dhammazedi. The casting comes despite advice from the royal astrologer that the date is inappropriate, and the bell is noted for its unpleasant tone. The bell will be stolen from the Shwedagon Pagoda in 1608 by Arakan mercenaries commanded by the Portuguese warlord Filipe de Brito e Nicote, but skin, into the Bago and Yangon Rivers while it is being transported on de Brito's ship.source
  • February 9 – At the Estates General, the nobleman Philippe Pot, representative of the Second Estate, delivers a famous speech calling upon reforms in the structure of government of France. His speech is successful in persuading the Estates to endorse the continuing regency of Anne and Pierre Beaujeu, but also leads to numerous recommendations for reform and alarms the royal government.source
  • May 30 – The coronation of the 13-year-old son of the late Louis XI, Charles the Affable, as King of France takes place at Reims.source
  • June 14 – Joanes III is proclaimed by his fiancée, Queen Katalina, to be her co-ruler of the Kingdom of Navarre at Pamplona, now part of the Basque region of Spain.source

Births

  • January 1 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss religious reformer (d. 1531)source
  • January 17 – George Spalatin, German religious reformer (d. 1545)source
  • February 21 – Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (1499–1535) (d. 1535)source
  • March 4 – George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1543)source
  • April 12 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect (d. 1546)source
  • April 12 – Maharana Sangram Singh, Rana of Mewar (d. 1528)source
  • April 23 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian humanist scholar (d. 1558)source
  • June 25 – Bartholomeus V. Welser, German banker (d. 1561)source
  • July 11 – Ottaviano de' Medici, Italian politician (d. 1546)source
  • November 29 – Joachim Vadian, Swiss humanist and reformer (d. 1551)source
  • December 13 – Paul Speratus, German Lutheran (d. 1551)source
  • date unknown – Purandara Dasa, Indian composer and saint (d. 1564)source
  • date unknown – Luisa de Medrano, Spanish scholar (d. 1527)source
  • date unknown – Hosokawa Takakuni, Japanese military commander (d. 1531)source

Deaths

  • February 22 – Pope John XIII of Alexandria begins a reign of 40 years as the partiarch of the Coptic Christian Church, filling a vacancy of five months since the death of Pope John XII.source
  • March 4 – Saint Casimir, Prince of Poland (b. 1458)source
  • March 5 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (b. 1443)source
  • April 9 – Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales (b. c. 1473)source
  • May 1 – Adalbert of Saxony, Administrator of Mainz (1482–1484) (b. 1467)source
  • July 11 – Mino da Fiesole, Italian sculptor (b. c. 1429)source
  • July 14 – Federico I Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua (1478–1484) (b. 1441)source
  • August 12 – Pope Sixtus IV (b. 1414)source
  • August 20 – Ippolita Maria Sforza, Italian noble (b. 1446)source
  • August 29 – Giovanni Battista Cybo, Bishop of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, is elected to succeed the late Pope Sixtus IV (who died on August 12) as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and takes the regnal name of Pope Innocent VIII as, the 213th pope.source
  • October 2 – Isabel of Cambridge, Countess of Essex (b. 1409)source
  • December – Premislav of Tost, Silesian ruler (b. 1425)source
  • William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness (b. 1410)source
  • Aşıkpaşazade, Ottoman historian (b. 1400)source