In the early 1300's, "The Renaissance" begins in Italy, a great cultural movement encompassing the arts.

1301 - Osman defeats Byzantines at Baphaion. Andrew III of Hungary, last of the Arpads, dead.

1302 - Anglo-Scot. truce. First meeting of Fr. States General.

1303 - First medical reference to spectacles (later known as corrective lenses, eye glasses) Pope Boniface VIII quarrels with Philip IV of France and dies a prisoner in the Vatican.

1305 - Edward I standardizes the yard and the acre. Wenceslas II, King of Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary, dead.

1306 - Philip IV expels the Jews from France. Robert Bruce crowned King of Scots, defeated by the English. Wenceslas III, last of the Premysilds, dead.

1307 - Edward I dead, succeeded by Edward II.

1308 - King Philip IV builds one of the earilest indoor tennis courts, in Paris. Coronation of Edward II. Albert I murdered; Henry VII, Count of Luxembourg, is elected Ger. King.

1310 - Edward II is forced to appoint Lords Ordainers for better ruling of England.

1312 - The Canary Islands rediscovered by Genoa. Henry VII of Luxembourg crowned Emperor in Rome.

1313 - Henry VII dead. Germany's Berthold Schwartz invents gunpowder.

1314 - Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, burned at the stake in Paris for heresy. Philip IV of France dead, succeeded by his three sons: Louis X, Philip V, Charles IV. Double election of Frederick of Austria and Louis of Bavaria. Papal vacancy for more than two years.

1315 - Lyons silk industry developed by Italian immigrants. Leopold of Austria defeated at Morgarten; Swiss League renewed.

1316 - Edward Bruce crowned King of Ireland. Muberak, last of the Khilji rulers of Delhi.

1317 - Salic Law: excludes women from succession to throne, adopted in France.

1318 - Edward Bruce killed. Truce between Swiss League and Hapsburgs.

1320 - Gharzi Khan, Sultan of Delhi. Vladistay I Lokletek, King of Poland.

1321 - Dante Alighieri, Latinist poet, completes The Divine Comedy (DDC), since 1306. Later called "The Epitome", it was deemed as the supreme expression of the Middle Ages. The whole poem purports to a vision of 3 realms of the Catholic afterlife: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. So vivid was the DDC that it was adopted by the Catholic Church, as fact.

1322 - The pope forbids the use of counterpoint in church music. Frederick of Austria defeated and taken prisoner by Louis of Bavaria.

1324 - Marco Polo, Venetian traveler, dead.

1325 - The Aztecs found their capital, Mexico-Tenochtitlan, which later becomes Mexico City.

1326 - Earliest picture of a gun. Osman I, ruler of Turkey, dead. Isabella, wife of Edward II, and her lover Roger Mortimer, capture the King of England.

1327 - The great fire of Munich. Edward II, deposed by Parliament and murdered at Berkeley Castle, is succeeded by Edward III.

1328 - The saw mill invented. Ivan I, Grand Duke of Russia, makes Moscow his capital. Louis IV of Bavaria crowned Emperor in Rome. Charles IV dead, succeeded by Philip VI.

1329 - David II, King of Scots. Bavaria and the Palatinate separated (Compact of Pavia).

1330 - Frederick of Austria dead, during Treaty of Hagenau. The Hapsburgs recognize Louis IV of Bavaria as Emperor.

1331 - First record of weaving in England (York). Civil war in Japan against Hojo regents.

1332 - Bubonic plague originates in India; transmitted by fleas and vermin. First record of Parliament divided into two Houses. Edward Ballol, crowned King of Scots, recognizes Edward III as Overlord.

1335 - Louis IV invests the Hapsburgs with Carinthia.

1337 - William Merlee of Oxford attempts first scientific weather forecasts. Edward III assumes title: King of France, claiming Fr. crown. Beginning of the "Hundred Years' War."

1338 - The French burn Portsmouth. Alliance of Louis IV and Edward III.

1339 - Venice conquers Treviso; gains first mainland possession.

1340 - English defeat French off Sluys; French occupy Guienne.

1342 - Louis of Bavaria marries Margaret of Tirol (the "Ugly Duchess") and acquires Tirol and Carinthia.

1344 - Philip VI invests his son Philip with the new dukedom of Orleans.

1345 - Bankruptcy of the great Florentine banking houses of Bardi and Peruzzi.

1346 - The French defeated at Crecy.

1347 - The Black Death: Bubonic plague is transmitted to Europe from Asia, through vermin (rats), devastating Europe. Calais surrenders to Edward III. Cola di Rienzi rules Rome. Louis IV dead, succeeded by Charles IV of Luxembourg.

1348 - The "false Valdemar' gains rule of Brandenburg before being exposed as swindler. Edward III founds the Order of the Garter.

1349 - Persecution of Jews in Germany. Black Death kills a third of England.

1350 - "The Shogun" of Japan prohibits the drinking of tea. Lute playing popular in Europe. Cambrai becomes center of French music. Philip VI of France dead, succeeded by John II. Edward III begins to rebuild Windsor Castle. Treaty of Bautzen. Cola di Rienzi imprisoned in Prague.

1351 - Between 1347 and 1351, approx. 75 million people die of the Black Death; 2/3 the population of Europe are dead. Firoz Shah becomes Sultan of Delhi. Zurich joins Swiss League. Tennis becomes an outdoor game in England.

1352 - Arab geographer, Ibn Battula, explores Sahara desert. Rienzi extradited to Rome. Glarus and Zug join Swiss League (Bern follows in 1353).

1353 - Rupert I elector palatine.

1354 - The mechanical clock at Strasbourg Cathedral. Rienzi murdered in Rome after another attempt to establish tyranny. Turks take Gallipoli.

1355 - Scots defeat English at Nesbit. Charles IV of Luxembourg crowned Emperor in Rome. Stephen Dushan of Serbia dead. "The Marino Faller" executed in Venice. St.Mary's Church, Nuremberg, begun.

1356 - "The black Prince" defeats French at Poitiers, John II and his son Philip taken prisoner. Charles IV issues "Golden Bull", settling election of German Kings.

1357 - Revolution in Paris against the Dauphin, led by Marcel, Robert le Coq.

1358 - The Hapsburgs, twice defeated at Zurich, sign treaty with Swiss League.

1359 - Treaty of London restores French possessions once held by Henry II of England to Engl. crown.

1360 - The first francs are coined in France. Development of the clavichord and cembalo. Treaty of Calais between Edward III and Philip of Burgundy.

1361 - Black Death reappears in England.

1362 - Dinitri IV Donskoi, Grand Duke of Moscow.

1363 - Rudolf IV of Austria obtains Tirol. Tumur the Lame (Tamerialne) begins conquest of Asia.

1364 - The Aztecs in Mexico build their capital, Tenochtitlan. Revolts in Crete against Venetian rule. John II of France dead, succeeded by Charles V. Pact of succession between Hapsburg and Luxembourg Dynasties signed at Moravia.

1365 - Charles V crowned King of Burgundy at Arles.

1366 - Adrianople made Turk. capital. Eng. Parliament refuses to pay feudal dues to the pope. The Fuggers come as weavers to Augsburg.

1368 - Restoration of the Great Wall of China. The Mongolian Empire in China (Yuan Dynasty) of Genghis Khan and his line ends; Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) comes into power. Timur ascends throne of Samarkand.

1369 - Venice repels Hungarian invasion. Building of the Bastille, Paris.

1370 - Steel crossbow used as weapon of war. The Black Prince sacks Limoges. Casimir III of Poland dead, succeeded by Louis of Hungary.

1371 - Robert II, King of Scots: accession of the House of Stewart. English defeat Flemings at Bourgneuf.

1372 - French defeat English, take Poitiers, Angouleme, and La Rochelle. Owen-ap-Thomas, self-styled Prince of Wales, aided by French, captures Guernsey.

1373 - Tunnage and poundage imposed on merchants in England. John of Gaunt invades France from Calais to Bordeaux. Charles IV gains Brandenburg from the Wittelsbachs.

1375 - Truce of Bruges between England and France, The Mamelukes take Sis; end of Armenian independence.

1376 - The Black Prince dead. Wenceslas crowned King of the Romans.

1377 - Playing cards displace dice in Germany. Edward III dead, succeeded by his grandson, Richard II.

1378 - Renewal of Anglo-French War. Charles IV of Luxembourg dead, succeeded by Wenceslas IV. "The Great Schism" begins in the Roman Catholic Church.

1379 - Treaty of Neuberg: Albert III and Leopold III divide Hapsburg territories between them.

1380 - Charles V of France dead, succeeded by Charles VI, "the Mad". Dinitri IV of Moscow defeats remaining Mongols at Kulikov. Timur begins his 35 successful campaigns to Persia, Georgia, Russia, Egypt, etc.

1381 - "Peasants' Revolt" in England under Wat Tyler. Venice wins the "Hundred Years War" vs. Genoa. Anglos and French make truce for 6 years.

1382 - Turks capture Sofia. Leopold III of Austria acquires Trieste.

1384 - Anglo-Scot War renewed. Jadviga, daughter of King Louis I, crowned King of Poland. Incorporation of Fishmongers' Company, London.

1385 - Anglo-French treaty is broken, war renewed.

1386 - Leopold III of Austria killed by the Swiss at Gempach. Grand Prince Jagiello of Lithuania marries Jadviga, becomes Viadislav II, King of Poland.

1387 - Sigismund of Brandenburg becomes King of Hungary. Chaucer writes "Canterbury Tales".

1388 - Scots defeat English in the "Battle of Chevy Chase".

1389 - Truce between England, Scotland and France. Baiazet I, Emir of the Turks.

1390 - Robert III, King of Scots. Byzantines lose last possessions in Asia Minor to Turks.

1392 - Foreigners forbidden to retail goods in England. Charles VI goes mad; his brother Louis succeeds him as Duke of Orleans. Succession dispute in Japan: the Ashikagas become "Shoguns of Muromachl".

1393 - Baiazet subdues Bulgaria. King Wenceslas has St.John of Nepomuk murdered in Prague.

1394 - Richard 11 starts on expedition to Ireland. Wenceslas taken prisoner by his cousin, Jobst of Moravia.

1395 - Irish rulers do homage to Richard II, receive amnesty.

1396 - Richard II of England marries Isabella of France; Anglo-French truce extended to 28 years. Baiazet defeats Christian army at Nicopolls. Manuel Chrysoloras opens Greek classes in Florence: revival of Greek lit. in Italy.

1397 - Union of Kalmar between Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.

1398 - Timur conquers Delhi.

1399 - Richard II deposed: Henry of Lancaster succeeds him as Henry IV.

1400 - Caravel ships begin to come into use by Spaniards and Portuguese (til the 16th Century). Henry IV suppresses rebellion of the Barons. Richard II murdered. Wenceslas deposed and succeeded by Rupert III of the Palatinate. Ascent of the Medici in Florence. Development of Middle, Upper Mississippi phases of Mound-builders, N.America. Renaissance period grows. Alchemy becomes more and more a field for swindlers.