The tide of the reconquista had arrived…

French architect Matthias of Arras is summoned in 1344 to Prague from the papal court of Avignon by Charles IV to lead works on the newly founded Saint Vitus Cathedral.

He begins the structure in the Rayonnant style.

Akindynos and his supporters gain a brief victory at the third synod held on November 4, 1344, which excommunicates Palamas and one of his disciples, Isidore Buchiras.

Palamas and Buchiras recant.

The crown of Cilicia (Lesser Armenia), on the death, without heir, of Levon V (or IV), had passed to Guy de Lusignan, the eldest son of Hayton II's sister Zabel and her husband Amaury (Almaric) de Lusignan of Cyprus.

He is assassinated by the barons in 1344 for doctrinal reasons, and the next king, Constantine IV, is elected from their own ranks.

The trade between Anatolia and the West had diminished in importance when Constantinople became the seat of Roman government in the fourth century and Smyrna had declined.

The Seljuk commander Tzachas had seized Smyrna in 1084 and used it as a base for naval raids, but the city was recovered by the general John Doukas.

The city was several times ravaged by the Turks, and had become quite ruinous when the Nicaean emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes rebuilt it about 1222.

Ibn Batuta had found Smyrna still in great part a ruin when the homonymous chieftain of the Beylik of Aydın had conquered it about 1330 and made his son Umur governor.

It has become the port of the emirate.

Piracy in the Aegean threatens the commercial welfare of the Venetians; with their support, Pope Clement VI in 1344 succeeds in reorganizing the maritime league whose operations had been prevented by the war between France and England.

Genoa, the Hospitallers, and King Hugh IV of Cyprus contribute contingents and on October 28, 1344, the crusaders seize Smyrna, ending that city’s piratical raids in the eastern Mediterranean and confiding it to the care of the Hospitallers.

Establishing themselves in the town but failing to conquer the citadel, the Hospitallers will hold Smyrna until 1402.

Levi Ben Gershon had produced his most important mathematical work in 1342, dealing with trigonometry.

He reveals himself as an independent and critical follower of the Ptolemaic tradition in his most important astronomical work, in which he devised an instrument for measuring the angular separation between any two astronomical bodies, the Jacob's staff.

This instrument, of square cross section, is also known as the fore staff (and later as the cross staff).

The navigator holds the instrument against his cheek bone, moving a cross piece along the staff until the ends of the cross bar seem to touch the horizon and the Sun or a star simultaneously.

Each side of the staff features a different scale of degrees; four cross pieces of different lengths accompany the instrument.

Levi dies at fifty-six on April 20, 1344.

When, in 1344, Peter IV of Aragon annexes the Kingdom of Majorca, Perpignan once more becomes part of the County of Barcelona.

The Catholic Church is also drawn by the news of the Canary Islands.

In 1344, the Castilian-French noble Luis de la Cerda (Count of Clermont and Admiral of France), serving as a French ambassador to the papal court in Avignon, submits a proposal to Pope Clement VI, offering the Church the more palatable vision of conquering the islands and converting the native Canarians to Christianity.

In November 1344, Pope Clement VI issues the bull Tu devonitis sinceritas granting the Canary islands in perpetuity to Luis de la Cerda and bestowing upon him the title of sovereign "Prince of Fortuna".

Jeanne de Clisson: The Lioness of Brittany and Her Black Fleet (1343–1356)

Following the execution of her husband, Olivier IV de Clisson, and her campaign of vengeance against the French monarchy, Jeanne de Clisson turned to piracy, launching a relentless war at sea against France. With the backing of King Edward III of England and Breton sympathizers, she assembled a fleet of three warships, painted blackwith blood-red sails, earning her the legendary moniker "The Lioness of Brittany."

The Black Fleet and Jeanne’s War on the French

• Outfitting three warships, including her flagship, My Revenge, Jeanne took to the English Channel, hunting down French ships with ruthless efficiency.
• Each time she and her crew intercepted a French vessel, they would slaughter the entire crew, leaving only a few survivors to spread the tale—a psychological tactic meant to terrorize the French navy and merchant fleets.
• Her merciless attacks soon made her one of the most feared figures at sea, and she became a symbol of Breton resistance against French rule.

Piracy and Raids on Normandy

• Jeanne’s vendetta extended beyond the Channel—she reportedly led raids on coastal villages in Normandy, pillaging towns and putting them to sword and fire.
• These coastal assaults further demonstrated that she was not merely a pirate, but a privateer acting in revenge and defiance of the French Crown.

Thirteen Years of Relentless Piracy (1343–1356)

• For over a decade, Jeanne de Clisson continued to terrorize French waters, operating as a privateer for the English, disrupting French naval operations and trade routes.
• Her legend grew, as she became one of the most feared and infamous female pirates in history, though her campaign was driven by personal vengeance rather than pure profit.

Legacy of the Lioness of Brittany

• Jeanne’s Black Fleet helped weaken French naval control during the early phases of the Hundred Years' War, indirectly aiding England’s war effort.
• Her unrelenting pursuit of vengeance against the French monarchy cemented her as one of the most extraordinary figures in medieval history.
• Despite her piratical reputation, Jeanne is remembered as a Breton patriot, an avenger, and one of the few women in history to wage a personal naval war against a kingdom.

For thirteen years, the Black Fleet of Jeanne de Clisson haunted the Channel, making her one of the most feared privateers of the Middle Ages, leaving an indelible mark on French and Breton history.

John, Duke of Normandy: Early Life, Marriage, and Norman Political Struggles (1332–1344)

John, later King John II of France (r. 1350–1364), was born into a highly contested political landscape. His father, Philip VI, had unexpectedly ascended the French throne in 1328, following the disputed exclusion of female claimants from the Capetian succession. To consolidate power and secure alliances against potential rival claimants, Philip sought to quickly arrange John’s marriage and grant him a powerful territorial position.

Marriage and the French-Bohemian Alliance (1332)

• At age nine, John was formally declared heir to the throne following Philip VI’s coronation.
• A marriage to Eleanor of England (sister of King Edward III) was initially considered but later abandoned in favor of an alliance with Bohemia.
• John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, was invited to Fontainebleau, where he and Philip VI negotiated a treaty with both military and political clauses:
  • Bohemia would provide 400 infantrymen to France in the event of war.
  • France would support Bohemia’s aspirations in Lombardy.
  • Bohemia would not contest the Lombard crown if the Bohemian king obtained it.

Marriage to Bonne of Bohemia (1332)

• Philip VI selected Bonne of Bohemia as John’s bride due to her age (16, closer to childbearing age) and her significant dowry of 120,000 florins.
• John was officially granted overlordship of Normandy, Anjou, and Maine upon coming of age on April 26, 1332.
• The wedding was celebrated on July 28, 1332, at Notre-Dame in Melun, with over 6,000 guests in attendance.
• The festivities continued for two months, culminating in John’s knighting ceremony at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, attended by:
  • King John of Bohemia
  • King Philip III of Navarre
  • The Dukes of Burgundy, Lorraine, and Brabant

Challenges in Normandy: English Influence and Feudal Conflicts

Upon becoming Duke of Normandy in 1332, John immediately faced challenges:

• Normandy’s nobility had deep ties to England, as many landowners held estates across the Channel and depended more on maritime trade with England than on the Seine River economy linked to Paris.
• The nobility was divided into two powerful rival factions:
  • The Counts of Tancarville
  • The Counts of Harcourt
• These interdependent noble clans had long sought to secure and maintain charters that granted Normandy a degree of autonomy, making it difficult for the French crown to impose direct authority.

The 1341 Norman Crisis and Harcourt’s Revolt

• In 1341, tensions erupted again when Geoffroy d’Harcourt raised troops against the king, rallying nobles opposed to royal interference.
• The rebels demanded that Geoffroy be made Duke of Normandy, believing this would secure the duchy’s autonomy.
• Philip VI intervened, ordering the bailiffs of Bayeux and Cotentin to quell the uprising.
• Royal troops stormed Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, forcing Geoffroy into exile in Brabant.
• Three of Geoffroy’s companions were executed in Paris on April 3, 1344, sending a clear warning to other rebellious Norman nobles.

Conclusion: A Future King in a Kingdom at War

• John’s marriage in 1332 secured a strong diplomatic alliance with Bohemia, while his elevation as Duke of Normandy placed him at the center of French-English tensions.
• His Norman vassals’ close ties to England and their resistance to French royal authority foreshadowed greater instability as the Hundred Years’ War escalated.
• The Harcourt Revolt (1341–1344) reflected the ongoing struggle between the monarchy and local feudal lords, which John would later face as King of France (1350–1364).

By 1344, John had already witnessed firsthand the challenges of governance, war, and shifting alliances, experiences that would shape his tumultuous reign as king in the years to come.

Windsor Castle, originally designed to protect Norman dominance around the outskirts of London, and to oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, Windsor Castle, had been built as a motte and bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound.

Gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a prolonged siege during the First Barons' War at the start of the thirteenth century.

Henry III had built a luxurious royal palace within the castle during the middle of the century, and Edward III goes further, rebuilding the palace to produce an even grander set of buildings in what would become "the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England".

Edward III was born at Windsor Castle and uses it extensively throughout his reign.

The king  in 1344 announces the foundation of the new Order of the Round Table at the castle.

Edward begins to construct a new building in the castle to host this order, but it is never finished.

Chroniclers describe it as a round building, two hundred feet (sixty-one meters) across, and it is probably in the center of the Upper Ward.

Shortly afterwards, Edward abandons he new order for reasons that remain unclear, and instead establishes the Order of the Garter, again with Windsor Castle as its headquarters, complete with the attendant Poor Knights of Windsor.

The year is usually presumed to be 1348, however, the Complete Peerage, under "The Founders of the Order of the Garter", states the order was first instituted on April 23, 1344, listing each founding member as knighted in this year.

The list includes Sir Sanchet D'Abrichecourt, who died on October20,  1345.

Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed.

As part of this process Edward decides to rebuild Windsor Castle, in particular Henry III's palace, in an attempt to construct a castle that will be symbolic of royal power and chivalry.

Eward is influenced both by the military successes of his grandfather, Edward I, and by the decline of royal authority under his father, Edward II, and aims to produce an innovative architecture.

Edward places William of Wykeham in overall charge of the rebuilding and design of the new castle and while work is ongoing Edward stayed in temporary accommodation in the Round Tower.

Edward's core design will last through the Tudor period, during which Henry VIII and Elizabeth I will make increasing use of the castle as a royal court and center for diplomatic entertainment.

The Siege of Quimper and the Massacre of May 1344

In early March 1344, Charles of Blois, the French-backed claimant to Brittany, launched a siege against Quimper, aiming to cut off English communication between Brest and Vannes. The fall of Quimper on May 1, 1344, resulted in a brutal massacre, characteristic of medieval warfare, with thousands of civilians slaughtered.

The Siege and the Fall of Quimper (March–May 1344)

• Charles of Blois, with French and Breton troops, laid siege to Quimper, an important Montfortist stronghold.
• The city’s defenses collapsed on May 1, falling to French and Bloisian forces by assault.
• As was common in medieval siege warfare, the fall of a city taken by storm meant widespread civilian slaughter:
  • Between 1,400 and 2,000 noncombatants were killed.
  • Homes and churches were looted and burned.

Fate of the Captured Soldiers

• English prisoners were held for ransom, following the chivalric customs of war.
• Breton and Norman captives, however, were treated as traitors to the French Crown:
  • They were sent to Paris under orders from Philip VI.
  • There, they were executed for treason, signaling Philip’s determination to crush the Montfortist causeand prevent further Breton defiance.

Impact and Consequences

• The fall of Quimper secured French control over much of western Brittany, further isolating Montfortist-held Brest.
• The massacre of civilians and execution of Montfortist prisoners in Paris deepened the hatred between rival Breton factions, ensuring that the conflict would remain bitter and long-lasting.
• The war continued, with English reinforcements expected to intervene, preventing a final French victory in Brittany.

The siege and massacre at Quimper in 1344 was one of the most brutal episodes in the Breton War of Succession, reinforcing the total war mentality of the time and entrenching animosity between the rival factions.