istoryworld
Events relating to europe
Chancellor Nicolas Rolin, of Burgundy, commissions an altarpiece from Jan van Eyck
Rogier van der Weyden, the third in the extraordinary trio of Flemish artists of the 1430s, is appointed painter to the city of Brussels
Perspective fascinates Italian Renaissance painters after the publication of Alberti's treatise on the subject, De Pictura
Charles VII enters Paris, marking conclusively the end of the French civil war
On the death of his father, James I, James II becomes king of Scotland
The French clergy pass a resolution at Bourges, limiting the power of the papacy within France, which is adopted by the king as a 'pragmatic sanction'
Florence acquires first-hand experience of Greek culture when Greek Orthodox priests join in a debate on theology, in particular the question of Filioque
Portuguese settlers are sent to the unoccupied islands of the Azores
Naples is captured by Alfonso V, breaking the link with France and uniting Sicily and Naples as an Aragonese kingdom
Skanderbeg, Albania's national hero, begins his long campaign of successes against the Turks
The Dominican convent of San Marco, in Florence, is provided with a serenely beautiful series of frescoes by Fra Angelico and his assistants
The Hungarian general Janos Hunyadi takes Sofia from the Turks and in the next few months liberates most of Bulgaria, Serbia and Albania
A Turkish army routs the Hungarians at Varna on the Black Sea, beginning a process which brings the Turks to the gates of Belgrade by 1456
Portugal claims ownership of the region of Guinea, subsequently the centre of their slave trade on the west African coast
Piero della Francesca paints masterpieces in his small home town of San Sepolcro
The Swedish Riksdag includes peasants as a fourth estate, alongside clergy, nobles and burghers
The caravel, a sailing ship developed in the Mediterranean and used down the west coast of Africa, is adapted by the Portuguese for Atlantic use
The French bring two small cannon on to the battlefield at Formigny, where they have a significant effect in achieving the French victory
Christian boys, trained as slaves in the personal service of the Turkish sultan, acquire considerable power as the elite corps of janissaries
Francesco Sforza, a soldier of fortune, wins power in Milan
Paolo Uccello is interested in the laws of perspective, in works such as The Battle of San Romano
Étienne Chevalier commissions from Jean Fouquet a series of illustrations for his Book of Hours
The Turks terrify Constantinople by lobbing vast stones at the city from a 19-ton bombard of cast iron
Constantinople falls to a 21-year-old Muslim conqueror, Mehmed II, bringing the Ottoman Turks their capital city
The Christian emperor Constantine XI dies in the fighting in Constantinople, as the Greek Byzantine empire yields to that of the Ottoman Turks
