Taejo leads the Yi family, aided by…

The third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu, successfully controls the military aspirations of his subordinates and ends the schism within the imperial house.

He oversees the unification of Japan’s Southern and Northern Courts in 1392, persuading the ruler of the southern court, who holds the legal imperial regalia, to abdicate in favor of the northern emperor.

The deposed emperor receives a generous annuity and recognition as a former emperor.

Yoshinutsu will die in 1394 after reigning twenty-six years.

Yi dethrones King Gongyang in his fourth year of rule, exiles him to Wonju (where he and his family will be secretly murdered), and ascends the throne.

The Goryeo Dynasty has come to an end after four hundred and seventy-five years of rule.

One of the most widely repeated episodes that occurs in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Goryeo is in 1392, when Taejo's fifth son, Yi Bang-won (later King Taejong), throws a party for the renowned scholar, poet and statesman Jeong Mong-ju, who refuses to be won over by Yi despite their numerous correspondences in the form of archaic poems, and continues to be a faithful supporter the old dynasty, and a leading figure in the opposition to Yi's claim to the throne.

Jeong is revered throughout Goryeo, even by Yi Bang-won himself, but he is seen to be an obstacle and as such, in the eyes of supporter of the new dynasty, has to be removed.

After the party, on his way home, Jeong is murdered by five men on the Seonjuk Bridge in Kaeseong.

This bridge will become a national monument of North Korea, and a brown spot on one of the stones is said to be a bloodstain of his that turns red when it rains.

Small domains scattered on Okinawa Island have unified during the fourteenth century into three principalities: Hokuzan (Northern Mountain), Chūzan (Central Mountain) and Nanzan (Southern Mountain).

Hokuzan, which constitutes much of the northern half of the island, is the largest in terms of land area and military strength, but is economically the weakest of the three.

Chūzan lies in the center of the island, and is economically the strongest.

Nanzan constitutes the southern portion of the island.

Its political capital at Shuri, Nanzan is adjacent to the major port of Naha and Kume-mura, the center of traditional Chinese education.

Many Chinese move to Ryukyu to serve the government or to engage in business during this period.

At the request of the Ryukyuan King, the Ming Chinese send thirty-six Chinese families from Fujian to manage oceanic dealings in the kingdom in 1392 during the Hongwu emperor's reign.

Many Ryukyuan officials will descend from these Chinese immigrants, being born in China or having Chinese grandfathers They assist the Ryukyuans in advancing their technology and diplomatic relations.

The emerging Muscovite state annexes Nizhny Novgorod in 1392 and begins developing the city into a major commercial center because of its favorable location on important waterways.

The Lithuanians, whose conquest of the southern lands of Kievan Rus' in the 1350s and 60s has brought them into direct conflict with the region’s suzerains, the formerly invincible Golden Horde, have pushed them back to the east.

By 1392, Lithuanian territory extends as far as the Black Sea along the shoreline west of the mouth of the Dnepr (Dnipr, or Dnieper) River.

Forty-two-year-old Vytautas wins recognition from Polish king Wladyslaw II (or V) in 1392 as Lithuania's grand duke, nominally subordinate to Wladyslaw.

The Ottoman Empire has started to invade Bosnia again and in 1392 King Stephen Dabiša dispatches Hrvoje Vukčić, who decisively defeats the Ottomans.

Skopje, under the political stability of the Nemanjić rule, had slowly spread outside the walls of the fortress towards Gazi Baba hill.

Churches, monasteries and markets had been built and tradesmen from Venice and Dubrovnik had opened shops.

The town greatly benefits from its location on the roads between Europe, Middle-East and Africa.

In the fourteenth century, Skopje has become such an important city that king Stephen Dušan had made it the capital of the Serbian kingdom and in 1346 was crowned "Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks" here.

After his death, the Serbian Empire had collapsed into many small principalities which are unable to defend themselves against the Turks.

Skopje had first been inherited by the Lordship of Prilep and was later taken by Vuk Branković in the wake of the Battle of Maritsa (1371) before becoming part of the Ottoman Empire in 1392.

The city of Durrazzo had passed into the hands of the Albanian family of Thopias in 1355 when the Serbian King (Tsar) Dušan died.

Louis of Évreux, Duke of Durazzo, who had gained the rights on the Kingdom of Albania from his second wife, had attacked and conquered the city in 1376 with the help of the Navarrese Company, but Karl Topia in 1383 had reasserted mastery of the city.

The Republic of Venice regains control in 1392 and retains the city, known as Durazzo in these years, as part of the Albania Veneta (Venetian Albania).

Eustache Deschamps and L'Art de Dictier (1392): A Foundational Work in French Poetic Theory

At age 46 in 1392, Eustache Deschamps completed L'Art de dictier et de faire ballades et chants royaux, one of the first critical treatises on French poetry, setting rules of versification that shaped medieval and early Renaissance French literature.

A prolific poet, Deschamps authored as many as 1,175 ballades, along with numerous rondeaux, often dealing with contemporary politics and war. He is sometimes credited with inventing the ballade form, although this remains debated.

Deschamps’ Poetic Style and Satirical Themes

• Political Satire and War Poetry

  • His works are deeply satirical, frequently attacking:
    • The English, whom he viewed as plunderers of France.
    • Wealthy oppressors of the poor.
    • Corrupt officials and clergy.
  • His outspoken criticism may have cost him his position as Bailli of Senlis, demonstrating the danger of his sharp wit in political circles.

• Antifeminist Themes: Le Miroir de Mariage

  • His one long poem, Le Miroir de Mariage (12,103 lines), is a satirical attack on women and marriage.
  • The poem influenced Geoffrey Chaucer, who borrowed themes from Deschamps’ work in his own poetry, particularly in The Canterbury Tales.

His Praise of Geoffrey Chaucer

• Despite his anti-English sentiment, Deschamps admired Geoffrey Chaucer.
• He composed Ballade No. 285 (probably written after 1380) in Chaucer’s honor, praising him as a:
  • Philosopher
  • Translator
  • Ethicist
  • Poet
• This ballade is one of the earliest recorded acknowledgments of Chaucer by a contemporary poet.

Legacy and Influence

• L'Art de dictier established formal structures for French verse, reinforcing the ballade and chant royal as dominant forms.
• His satirical and political poetry influenced later French poets of the late medieval and Renaissance periods.
• His recognition of Chaucer highlights early cross-cultural literary exchange between France and England.

Eustache Deschamps' 1392 treatise helped define French poetic traditions, while his ballades and satirical works captured the political and social turbulence of 14th-century France.