The Turks take Janina in 1431.

A protracted naval battle at Stralsund on the Baltic leaves Sweden’s fleet in near-total destruction, weakening Erik’s position in the Kalmar War with the Hanseatic League and Holstein, to which Danish-occupied Flensburg surrenders in 1431.

The Ottomans have reinstalled themselves as masters of Anatolia, reincorporating Ankara in 1431, as well as taking Albania from the Venetians.

Shah Rukh had returned and occupied Tabriz, installing the Kara Koyunlu prince Abu Sa’id as his vassal, in 1429.

However, Qara Iskander reoccupies Tabriz two years later and has Abu Sa’id executed.

Several Jewish communities, after ritual murder charges are leveled against them in 1431, are destroyed in southern Germany: Ravensburg, …

…Überlingen and …

…Lindau.

War breaks out again between Milan and Venice, and Carmagnola leads Venetian forces into battle in Cremona, where, at Soncino on the Po River, they meet defeat on June 6, 1431, at the hands of Milanese troops under Sforza.

Quercia had accepted another major commission in 1425: the design of the round-arched Porta Magna of the Basilica of San Petronio, the main church of Bologna.

It will keep him busy for a good deal of the last thirteen years of his life and is considered his masterwork.

Each side of the door is flanked, first by a colonette with a spirally wound decoration, then nine busts of prophets and at the end five scenes from the Old Testament, carved into somewhat lower relief.

In the Creation of Adam, he uses the same arrangement as in the Fonte Gaia (in Siena), but in reverse order.

Michelangelo, who will visit Bologna in 1494, will concede that his Genesis in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican is based on these reliefs.

The architrave above the door contains five reliefs with representations from the New Testament.

The lunette contains three freestanding statues Virgin and Child, Saint Petronius (with a model of Bologna in his right hand) and Saint Ambrose (carved by another sculptor Domenico Aimo in 1510).

Originally this third statue was to represent the papal legate Cardinal Louis Aleman, who had commissioned Quercia in 1425, but this intention had been quickly abandoned after the cardinal was evicted from Bologna.

Quercia relies heavily on the artists of his Bolognese workshop, such as Cino di Bartolo, for assistance in this project.

The first stone of construction of the Basilica had been laid June 7, 1390, when the town council entrusted Antonio di Vincenzo with raising a Gothic cathedral.

In order to make room for this monumental construction, the adjacent Curia of Sancti Ambrosii had been demolished, together with the majority of one of the city’s burgs, including at least eight churches and towers.

Works will last for several centuries: after the completion of the first version of the facade, in 1393 the first pair of side chapels were begun.

The series will be completed only in 1479.

The facing of the main facade remains unfinished: many architects (notably Baldassarre Peruzzi, Vignola, Andrea Palladio and Alberto Alberti) will be commissioned to propose solutions for it, but a definitive one will never be found.

Joan of Arc’s Imprisonment, Trial, and Execution in Rouen (1430–1431)

After her transfer to English custody, Joan of Arc was taken to Rouen, the English headquarters in France, where she remained imprisoned for several months. The Armagnacs made multiple attempts to rescue her, launching military campaigns toward Rouen in the winter of 1430–31, March 1431, and May 1431, but all were repelled by English forces.

Charles VII, unable to intervene directly, reportedly threatened reprisals against captured Burgundians and English soldiers for Joan’s treatment. However, these threats failed to prevent her trial and execution.

Joan’s English captors, unwilling to execute her directly for political reasons, turned her over to a church court in Rouen, where she was charged with heresy and witchcraft. After months of interrogation and psychological pressure, she was tricked into a confession, then retracted it, leading to her condemnation as a relapsed heretic.

On May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, marking the tragic end of her extraordinary journey.

I. Joan’s Imprisonment and Armagnac Rescue Attempts

• Joan was imprisoned in Rouen, the English stronghold in France, where she was held in harsh conditions.
• The Armagnacs launched multiple campaigns to rescue her, all of which were repulsed by English forces:
  • Winter of 1430–31 – An initial attempt to march toward Rouen failed.
  • March 1431 – A second effort was beaten back before reaching the city.
  • Late May 1431 – A final attempt occurred shortly before her execution, but it too was unsuccessful.
• Historian Pierre Champion cites contemporary sources stating that Charles VII threatened vengeance on captured Burgundians and English troops, as well as English women, in retaliation for Joan’s treatment.

II. Joan’s Trial: A Politically Motivated Inquisition

• The English sought Joan’s execution but feared direct responsibility, so they handed her over to a church court in Rouen.
• Bishop Pierre Cauchon, an English partisan, led the trial, ensuring a rigged process.
• The charges against Joan included heresy and witchcraft, particularly regarding her visions and refusal to submit to church authority.
• After months of relentless questioning, Joan was tricked into a confession, which she soon retracted.

III. Joan’s Condemnation and Execution (May 30, 1431)

• Branded as a relapsed heretic, Joan was sentenced to death.
• On May 30, 1431, she was burned at the stake in Rouen’s Old Market Square.
• Her execution was intended to discredit Charles VII, but instead, it made Joan a martyr for France.

IV. Consequences: Joan Becomes a Martyr

• Her execution strengthened French resolve, and within 20 years, English control in France collapsed.
• Joan’s trial was overturned posthumously in 1456, when Charles VII ordered a retrial that exonerated her.
• She was canonized as a saint in 1920, confirming her enduring legacy as a symbol of courage, faith, and patriotism.

Joan of Arc’s imprisonment, trial, and execution in Rouen (1430–1431) marked one of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in history, but her martyrdom only strengthened the French cause, ultimately contributing to the English downfall in the Hundred Years’ War.

The Founding of the University of Poitiers (1431): A Center for Higher Learning in France

In 1431, Pope Eugene IV officially founded the University of Poitiers, and King Charles VII granted its charter, establishing it as a major institution of higher learning in France. The university was initially composed of five faculties, focusing on both religious and secular disciplines:

• Theology
• Canon Law
• Civil Law
• Medicine
• Arts

The University of Poitiers was modeled after the University of Paris, reinforcing France’s intellectual traditionwhile serving as a key academic and legal center.

I. The Historical Context and Significance

• Founded during the latter years of the Hundred Years’ War, the university helped strengthen Charles VII’s efforts to consolidate his rule.
• Poitiers had already been a center of legal and theological study, making it an ideal location for a new university.
• The university played a role in educating scholars, jurists, and clergy, who would later shape French governance and religious doctrine.

II. The Influence of the University of Poitiers

• Over time, the university became a leading institution in legal and theological education, producing distinguished alumni such as:
  • René Descartes (philosopher and mathematician).
  • François Rabelais (Renaissance writer and physician).
• Its legal faculty helped shape French jurisprudence, while its theological faculty played a role in church affairs.

III. Legacy and Modern Status

• The University of Poitiers remains one of France’s oldest universities, continuing its tradition of academic excellence.
• Today, it is a major research institution, maintaining a strong reputation in law, sciences, and humanities.

The founding of the University of Poitiers in 1431 marked an important milestone in French education, reinforcing the intellectual and legal foundations of the kingdom while cementing Poitiers as a center of learning.