1420s

Events

1420

January–December

• March – The Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Mosque in Didymoteicho is inaugurated.
• May 21 – Treaty of Troyes: With the Burgundian faction dominant in France, King Charles VI of France acknowledges Henry V of England as his heir, and as virtual ruler of most of France.
• May 25 – Henry the Navigator is appointed Grand Master of the Military Order of Christ.
• June 2 – Catherine of Valois marries King Henry V of England.
• June 7 – Troops of the Republic of Venice capture Udine after a long siege, ending the independence of the Patriarchal State of Friuli, run by the Patriarch of Aquileia.
• August 7 – Construction of the dome of Florence Cathedral is started, after Filippo Brunelleschi wins the commission for his "double shell" design.
• August 31 – a 9.4 M_S-strong earthquake shakes Chile's Atacama Region causing tsunamis in Chile as well as Hawaii and Japan.
• October 22 – Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh, an envoy of the embassy sent by the Timurid ruler of Persia, Mirza Shahrukh (r. 1404–1447), to the Ming Dynasty of China during the reign of the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424), records his sight and travel over a large floating pontoon bridge at Lanzhou (constructed earlier in 1372) as he crosses the Yellow River on this day. He writes that it was: "...composed of twenty three boats, of great excellence and strength attached together by a long chain of iron as thick as a man's thigh, and this was moored on each side to an iron post as thick as a man's waist extending a distance of ten cubits on the land and planted firmly in the ground, the boats being fastened to this chain by means of big hooks. There were placed big wooden planks over the boats so firmly and evenly that all the animals were made to pass over it without difficulty."
• October 28 – Beijing is officially designated the capital of the Ming Dynasty, during the same year that the Forbidden City, the seat of government, is completed.
• November 1 – Hussite Wars – Battle of Vyšehrad: Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, fails and is ejected from Bohemia.

Date unknown

• Henry V of England commences construction of the ship Grace Dieu.
• Tang Saier starts a rebellion against the emperor of China, and takes two cities with her rebel army, before she is defeated.
• Construction begins on the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China, while the palace complex of the Forbidden City is completed. In this year the Yongle Emperor confers the title "Beijing" ("Northern Capital") for the Ming Dynasty's new capital city, replacing Nanjing.
• Radu II Praznaglava, supported by the Ottomans, and Dan II, with Hungarian help, start a seven-years-long struggle for the throne of Wallachia, after Mihail I is killed in a battle. The throne of Wallachia will switch from one to another about four times until 1427, when Radu II dies.
• Alexandru cel Bun defends Moldavia against the first incursion by the Ottomans, at Cetatea Albă.

1421

January–December

• February 2 – Yongle Emperor, third emperor of the Ming dynasty, shifts the Ming capital from Nanjing to Beijing.
• March 3 – Zheng He receives an imperial order from the Yongle Emperor to begin the Ming treasure voyages, carrying imperial letters, silk products and other gifts to various rulers of countries around the Indian Ocean.
• March 21 – Battle of Baugé: A small French force surprises and defeats a smaller English force under Thomas, Duke of Clarence, a brother of Henry V of England, in Normandy.
• May 26 – Mehmed I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his son, Murad II.
• November 17–19 – St. Elizabeth's flood: The coastal area near Dordrecht in the Netherlands is flooded, due to the extremely high tide of the North Sea; 72 villages are drowned, killing about 10,000 people, and the course of the Meuse is changed.

Date unknown

• John III of Dampierre, Marquis of Namur, sells his estates to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.
• The first patent is issued by the Republic of Florence.
• Portuguese sailors sent by Henry the Navigator cross Cape Non, going as far as Cape Bojador.
• Traditional date – Larabanga Mosque is founded, in modern-day northern Ghana.

1422

January–December

• January 10 – Hussite Wars – Battle of Německý Brod: The Hussites defeat an army of Royalist Crusaders.
• March 21–May 2 – Hundred Years' War – Siege of Meaux: Meaux surrenders to the English.
• June 10–September – The Ottoman sultan Murad II besieges Constantinople; the siege is broken off as a result of the rebellion of Küçük Mustafa.
• August 22 – Use of the Spanish era dating system in the Kingdom of Portugal ceases.
• September 1 – Henry VI becomes King of England, aged nine months.
• September 27 – The Teutonic Knights sign the Treaty of Melno with the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, after the brief Gollub War. The Prussian–Lithuanian border established by the treaty remains unchanged, until World War I.
• October 21 – With the death of King Charles VI of France, Henry VI of England is proclaimed King of France in Paris, while his maternal uncle, the Dauphin, Charles, is proclaimed King Charles VII of France in Bourges.

Undated

• Ottoman forces overrun the last domains of Constantine II of Bulgaria, who dies in exile at the Serbian court, ending the Bulgarian Empire.
• On the Italian Peninsula, Venice has a population of 84,000, of which 200 men rule the city, while Florence has a population of 40,000, of which 600 men rule the city.

1423

January–March

• January 6 – The Electorate of Saxony merges with the Margravate of Meissen and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg.
• February 11 – Hundred Years War: The island of Tombelaine, off of the coast of France, is taken by English forces in order to be used as a base to attack Mont Saint-Michel.
• March 7 – After failing to defeat Hushang Shah in a siege of Salangpur, the Gujarat Sultan Ahmad Shah Iis attacked by Hushang's army while on his way back to Ahmedabad. He wins the battle and resumes his trip home.

April–June

• April 13 – Hundred Years' War:.The Treaty of Amiens is signed as a mutual defense treaty between the Duchy of Burgundy, the Duchy of Brittany and the Kingdom of England.
• April 15 – Francesco Foscari is elected the new Doge of the Republic of Venice after the death of Tommaso Mocenigo. He will serve as the Venetian Republic's executive for 34 years before being forced to abdicate a few days before his death in 1457.
• April 27 – Hussite Wars – Battle of Hořice: The Taborites decisively beat the Utraquists.
• April 28 – Ashikaga Yoshimochi abdicates as shogun of Japan and is succeeded by his son, Ashikaga Yoshikazu.
• May 18 – The Treaty of Melno signed on September 27 to end the Gollub War between the State of the Teutonic Order (on the Baltic Sea, with a capital at Marienburg) and the alliance of Poland and Lithuania, is ratified by all three parties.
• May 22 – Byzantine–Ottoman Wars: After a two-day battle, Turakhan Beg, Ottoman governor of Thessaly, breaks through the Hexamilion wall, and ravages the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece.
• May 23 – The Sultan of Gujarat, Ahmad Shah I is finally able to return home to reassume the throne.
• June 10 – Gil Sánchez Muñoz y Carbón, a Spanish Roman Catholic bishop, is elected by bishops in Avignon as the third "antipope", succeeding the late Antipope Benedict XIII. , who had died on May 23 after a reign of more than 20 years. Sánchez Muñoz takes the name of Antipope Clement VIII as the Avignon clergy disagree with Pope Martin V of Rome.

July–September

• July 10 – Pope Martin V gives his approval of the Treaty of Melno.
• July 31 – Hundred Years' War – Battle of Cravant: The French army is defeated at Cravant, on the banks of the River Yonne near Auxerre, by the English and their Burgundian allies.
• August – The Yongle Emperor launches his fourth campaign against the Northern Yuan.
• August 2 – Ataullah Muhammad Shah I begins a 50-year reign as the Sultan of Kedah in what is now Malaysia, following the death of his father, Sulaiman Shah I, who had reigned for 50 years after becoming Sultan in 1373.
• August 12 – The Treaty of Sveti Srdj ends the Second Scutari War, waged between the Serbian Despotate and the Venetian Republic, over Scutari, and other former possessions of Zeta, captured by the Venetians.
• September 26 – Hundred Years' War: The Battle of La Brossinière is fought in France near Bourgon in what is now the Mayenne département. The English force of 2,800 men, under the command of Sir John De la Pole, is crushed by the armies of France, Anjou and Maine, and the English suffer more than 1,400 deaths.

October–December

• October 20 – The Second Parliament of King Henry VI of England assembles after having been summoned on September 1. The House of Commons, led by John Russell, will consider laws until its adjournment on February 28.
• December 15 – After a two-year expedition to Byzantium, Giovanni Aurispa arrives in Venice with largest and finest collection of Greek language texts up to that time, including 238 ancient manuscripts.
• December 24 – Hussite Wars: In what is now the Czech Republic, General Sigismund Korybut, commander of the Hussite Army, withdraws his troops from Prague on the orders of Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland.

Date unknown

• The three independent boroughs of Pamplona are united into a single town by royal decree, after centuries of feuds.
• Dan II of Wallachia, with Hungarian help, wins two battles against the Ottomans.

1424

January–March

• January 23 – William Cheyne becomes the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, replacing the late William Hankford.
• February 1 – While negotiating his release from captivity, King James of Scotland is allowed to be married to Joan Beaufort in London, with a ceremony taking place at Southwark Cathedral.
• February 12 – The coronation of Sophia of Halshany, wife of Władysław II Jagiełło, as Queen consort of Poland takes place at the Kraków Cathedral.
• February 14 – Wars in Lombardy: The Army of the Florentine Republic, led by Captain Pandolfo III Malatesta, storms the city of Romagna.
• March 28 – King James I of Scotland is released after having been held captive in England for 18 years. James is freed after putting his royal seal on a ransom treaty of £40,000, secured by Scottish hostages taking his place, as agreed at Durham in England.

April–June

• April 5 – King James returns to Scotland for the first time since 1406, after being escorted to the border along with his wife Joan Beaufort, Queen consort, by English and Scottish nobles.
• May 21 – The coronation of James I as King of Scotland takes place at Scone Abbey in the Scottish town of Scone. After the ceremony King James performs his first knighthood ceremony, honoring 18 prominent nobles.
• June 2 – Battle of L'Aquila: Jacopo Caldora and Micheletto Attendolo, for the Kingdom of Naples, defeat Braccio da Montone, for Alfonso V of Aragon.

July –September

• July 28 – The Army of the Duchy of Milan, led by the Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, defeats the Republic of Florence Army, led by Carlo I Malatesta, in the Battle of Zagonara.
• August 17 – Battle of Verneuil: An English force under John, Duke of Bedford defeats a larger French army under the Duke of Alençon, John Stewart, and Earl Archibald of Douglas. Alençon is captured and Douglas killed.
• September 7 – Prince Zhu Gaochi of China becomes the Emperor Renzong of the Ming dynasty, beginning the Hongxi era, after the August 12 death of his father, the Yongle Emperor.
• September 13 – After the signing of a treaty between the different factions in the Hussite Wars, the Bohemian campaign is completed in what is now the Czech Republic.
• September 23 – The Hussites, led by Jan Žižka, begin marching towards North Moravia to suppress the ongoing rebellion there.

October –December

• October 11 – Prokop the Great takes command of the Hussites after the death of Jan Žižka from the plague.
• November 1 – Zhu Zhanji is designated as the Crown Prince of Ming dynasty China by his father, the Emperor Renzong. The Emperor dies eight months later and Zhu Zhanji becomes the Emperor Xuanzong on June 27, 1425.
• November – The Bourges astronomical clock, designed by Jean Fusoris, is installed in the Bourges Cathedral as a gift to the town from King Charles VII.
• December 10 – Radu II Chelul becomes the Prince of Wallachia (now in Romania) for the third time, taking over from Dan II after an Ottoman invasion.

Date unknown

• Dalmatia: Aliota Capenna, lord of Lesina (nowadays Hvar), offers his realm to the Republic of Venice (also said to have occurred in 1409 and 1421).

1425

• November 9 – Kale Kye-Taung Nyo becomes King of Ava by having his lover, Queen Shin Bo-Me, assassinate his 8-year-old nephew, King Min Hla.
• December 9 – The Old University of Leuven, Belgium is founded.
• Date unknown
  • The Maltese people rise up against Don Gonsalvo Monroy, count of Malta. The insurgents repel an attempt by the Viceroy of Sicily to bring the island to order. The Maltese do not submit to Catalan-Aragonese rule, until the Magna Charta Libertatis, granting them their new rights, is delivered to them.
  • Beijing, capital of China, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Nanjing (estimated date).
  • By this year, paper currency in China is worth only 0.025% to 0.014% of its original value in the 14th century; this, and the counterfeiting of copper coin currency, will lead to a dramatic shift to using silver as the common medium of exchange in China.
  • Sharafuddin Ali Yazdi's critical history of Persia, Zafar Nama, is completed under the auspices of Mirza Ibrahim Sultan, grandson of Timur.

1426

• March 6 – Battle of St. James (near Avranches): An English army under John, Duke of Bedford, defeats the French under Arthur de Richemont, forcing the Duke of Brittany to recognize English suzerainty.
• c. May 15–16 – Kale Kye-Taung Nyo, ruler of the Kingdom of Ava, flees his capital. He is succeeded by Mohnyin Thado, who receives Thinkhaya III of Toungoo.
• June 16 – Hussite Wars – Battle of Usti nad Labem: The Hussites decisively beat the crusading armies in the Fourth Anti-Hussite Crusade.
• July 7 – Battle of Khirokitia: King Janus of Cyprus is defeated and captured by the Mamluks and brought to Egypt, where he is ransomed after ten months.
• Date unknown
  • Castello Orsini-Odescalchi is built in Bracciano, Italy by the Orsini family.
  • Eunuch-dominated secret police start to control the palace guards and imperial workshops, infiltrate the civil service, and head all foreign missions in China.

1427

January–December

• January – Spring – Radu II of Wallachia resumes the throne for the fourth time, but a seven-year struggle for it ends when he is defeated in battle, and probably killed, by Dan II, who resumes the throne for a fifth term.
• April – The House of Balsic's rule of Montenegro comes to an end with the death of Balša III.
• August 4 – Hussite Wars – Battle of Tachov: The Hussites decisively beat the crusader armies, ending the Fourth Anti-Hussite Crusade.
• August 17 – The first band of Gypsies visits Paris, according to an account of the citizens of Paris.
• October 13 – Lincoln College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, is founded by the Bishop of Lincoln.

Date unknown

• Gabriel V is elected Patriarch of the Coptic Church for the second time.
• Minrekyansa becomes King of Ava (ancient Burma).
• The Conflict of Druimnacour occurs in Sutherland, Scotland.
• The first witch hunts begin, in Switzerland.
• The Celestine Order is established in France.
• The Celebration of Sant Jordi (Saint George) begins in Catalonia (he will later become its patron saint).
• Bremen is expelled from the Hanseatic League.
• Diogo de Silves, Portuguese navigator, discovers seven islands of the Azores archipelago.
• Battle of the Echinades: A Byzantine fleet defeats the fleet of Carlo I Tocco.
• Itzcoatl becomes the 4th Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, after his nephew Chimalpopoca is killed by the Maxtla, at Azcapotzalco.
• Bhaktapur Royal Palace (in Nepal) is built by King Yaksa Malla.

1428

January–December

• February 2 – 1428 Catalonia earthquake. The earthquake takes place during Candlemas, striking the region of Catalonia, especially Roussillon, with an epicentre near Camprodon. The earthquake is one of a series of related seismic events that shake Catalonia in a single year. Beginning on 23 February 1427, tremors are felt in March, April, 15 May at Olot.
• May – Joan of Arc makes her first attempt to reach the Armagnac court at Chinon in support of Charles VII of France but is rebuffed.
• June 3 – Dan II leads an army against the Ottomans at Golubac Fortress, obtaining a treaty that will allow him a semi-peaceful rule in Wallachia, until 1432.
• August 7 – The Valais witch trials begin in Swiss Savoy.
• August 30 – Emperor Go-Hanazono accedes to the throne of Japan.
• October 12 – English forces under Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, besiege Orléans. Jean de Dunois, the Bastard of Orléans, commands the defenders.
• October 24 – Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, is mortally wounded in an unsuccessful assault on Orléans. He is succeeded in command by William de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk.

Date unknown

• The Aztec Empire is formed by the triple alliance of the Aztec city-states Tenochtitlán, Texcoco and Tlacopán and defeats Azcapotzalco to win control of the Valley of Mexico. Itzcóatl becomes 1st emperor.
• A serious fire occurs at Baynard's Castle in the City of London, England.
• Lam Sơn uprising: Lê Lợi, founder of the Lê dynasty in Vietnam, liberates Annam (the territory occupied by Ming dynasty China in 1407) and restores the kingdom as Đại Việt.

1429

January–December

• February 12 – Battle of Rouvray (or "of the Herrings"): English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy, which is carrying rations (food) to the army of William de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk at Orléans, from attack by the Comte de Clermont and John Stewart.
• April 29 – Siege of Orléans: Joan of Arc enters Orléans with a relief expedition.
• May 7 – The Tourelles, the last English siege fortification at Orléans, falls. Joan of Arc becomes the hero of the battle by returning, wounded, to lead the final charge.
• May 8 – The English, weakened by disease and lack of supplies, depart Orléans.
• June 18 – Battle of Patay: French forces under Joan of Arc smash the English forces under Lord Talbot and Sir John Fastolf, forcing the withdrawal of the English from the Loire Valley.
• July 17 – Charles VII of France is crowned in Rheims.
• September – The Hafsid Saracens attempt to capture Malta, but are repelled by its defenders.
• September 8 – Joan of Arc leads an unsuccessful attack on Paris, and is wounded.
• November 4 – Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Joan of Arc liberates Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.
• November 24 – Joan of Arc besieges La Charité.

Date unknown

• Fire destroys Turku.
• A series of seven customs offices and barriers are installed along the Grand Canal of China, during the reign of the Ming Dynasty's Yongle Emperor.
• Andreyas Succeeds Yeshaq I as Emperor of Ethiopia