James IV of Scotland dies at Flodden, in the disastrous defeat of his army by the English

On the death of his father at Flodden, the one-year-old James V becomes king of Scotland

Louis XII is succeeded on the French throne by his cousin and son-in-law, Francis I

The king of France, Francis I, wins a dramatic victory at Marignano and captures Milan

The death of Ferdinand II results in Spain becoming part of the Habsburg empire, under the rule of Charles V (as Charles I of Spain)

Catherine of Aragon gives birth to a daughter, Mary, who becomes the only one of her six children to live beyond infancy

The original ghetto is established as a district to which the Jews of Venice are confined

Ariosto, in Orlando Furioso, tells of Roland's madness when he is abandoned by the pagan princess Angelica

Erasmus publishes an influential edition of the New Testament in its original Greek

Leonardo da Vinci moves to France, on the invitation of Francis I

The local sale of indulgences by Johann Tetzel outrages a friar teaching in Wittenberg, Martin Luther

Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg

Philipp Melanchthon joins the Wittenberg university to teach Greek and inspires Luther to translate the New Testament

Ferdinand Magellan and a small fleet depart from Seville, attempting to sail round the world

Charles V borrows 852,000 florins, mainly from the Fuggers, to bribe the seven imperial electors

The German painter Hans Holbein the Younger establishes his own studio in Basel

Luther's writings are burnt in Rome by order of the pope

The English and French kings, Henry VIII and Francis I, feast and parley on the Field of Cloth of Gold

Eighty distinguished Swedish citizens are executed together on the main square, in what becomes known as the Stockholm Bloodbath

Mannerism develops in Italy in the work of the painters Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino

Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther after he has refused to recant

Luther travels to the German city of Worms to present his case to an imperial diet

Luther bears witness to a Protestant conscience, stating at Worms: 'Here I stand, I can not do otherwise.'

The Turkish sultan, Suleiman I, marches into the kingdom of Hungary and captures Belgrade

Ignatius of Loyola, recovering from a wound received as a soldier at Pamplona, is inspired by reading the lives of the saints