Olivier de Clisson and the Battle of…

The Hanseatic League, again supported by Sweden, Mecklenburg, and Holstein, and now also joined by some dissident Danish nobles, attacks Denmark’s King Waldemar IV in 1367 while he is occupied battling domestic civil strife.

Waldemar places his privy council in charge and abruptly goes to Germany, where he succeeds in persuading Brunswick, Bradenburg, and Pomerania to attack the coalition forces from the rear.

Bohemian reformer Jan Milic relinquishes his position as canon of Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague to embrace—and preach—the poverty and simplicity that had characterized the early church.

Not much is known of Milíč's early life.

He was born in Kroměříž, Moravia (part of the Bohemian Crown).

The date of his birth is not known.

He was in holy orders in 1350.

From 1358 to 1360 he served as registrar and from 1360 to 1362 as corrector at the Imperial Chancery of Charles IV, whom he accompanied into Germany several times.

In October 1362, he had received a canonry in the cathedral of Prague along with the dignity of archdeacon.

In December 136, he resigned all his appointments so that he might become a preacher pure and simple; he addresses scholars in Latin, and (an innovation) the laity in their native Czech, or in German, which he has learned for the purpose.

He is conspicuous for his apostolic poverty and soon rouses the enmity of the mendicant friars.

The success of his labors makes itself apparent in the way in which he transforms the ill-famed Benátky ("Venice") street in Prague Old Town quarter into a benevolent institution, Nový Jeruzalém ("New Jerusalem").

As he views the evils inside and outside the church in the light of Scripture, the conviction grows in his mind that the "abomination of desolation" is now seen in the temple of God, and that antichrist has come, and in 1367 he goes to Rome (where Pope Urban V is expected from Avignon) to expound these views.

He affixes to the gate of St. Peter's a placard announcing his sermon, but before he can deliver it, is thrown into prison by the Inquisition.

Urban, however, on his arrival, orders his release, whereupon he returns to Prague.

Bohemia-Moravia, under King Charles, I, who as Charles IV is also German emperor, extends into Germanic territory with its annexation of Lower Lusatia in 1367.

The castle of Lubin in the March of Lusatia was first mentioned in an 1150 register of Nienburg Abbey and had received town privileges according to Magdeburg law by 1220.

From 1301 the town in the center of the Spreewald floodplain was in the possession of the monks of Dobrilugk Abbey, who sold it to Duke Rudolph I of Saxe-Wittenberg in 1329.

After several conflicts with the Wittelsbach margraves of Brandenburg, the March of Lustia is finally acquired in 1367 by the Emperor, who incorporates Lübben into the Kingdom of Bohemia.

Peter of Castile's forces are pitched against those of his half-brother Henry of Trastámara in the civil war of succession in Castile,.

The English crown supports Peter and the French, Henry.

French forces are led by Bertrand du Guesclin, a Breton, who had risen from relatively humble beginnings to prominence as one of France's war leaders.

Charles V has provided a force of twelve thousand, with du Guesclin at their head, to support Trastámara in his invasion of Castile.

Peter appeals to England and Aquitaine's Black Prince for help, but none is forthcoming, forcing Peter into exile in Aquitaine.

The Black Prince had previously agreed to support Peter's claims, but concerns over the terms of the treaty of Brétigny had led him to assist Peter as a representative of Aquitaine, rather than England.

He then leads an Anglo-Gascon army into Castille.

Jean III de Grailly, after his release from imprisonment in 1365, had defected to the French side and had been made lord of Nemours by Charles V of France.

However, he had soon reestablished his loyalty to the English, and in 1367 he goes to Spain with the Black Prince, fighting on April 3 at the Battle of Nájera.

Here he again faces Bertrand du Guesclin, but this time it is du Guesclin who is captured, and the Captal is put in charge of the prisoner.

After Trastámara's army is defeated at the Battle of Nájera, Peter is restored to power.

The Accession of Ferdinand I of Portugal (1367)

On January 18, 1367, Ferdinand I, the 22-year-old son of the murdered King Peter I, ascended to the Portuguese throne. Known as "Ferdinand the Handsome" (Fernando o Formoso), his reign would be marked by dynastic struggles, military conflicts with Castile, and economic reforms.

The Legacy He Inherited

• Ferdinand I succeeded his father, Peter I (r. 1357–1367), whose reign had been defined by strict justice, revenge for Inês de Castro’s murder, and administrative centralization.
• His rule came at a time of growing tensions between Portugal and Castile, particularly regarding succession disputes and territorial ambitions.
• The kingdom was in a relatively strong position, thanks to Peter I’s stable governance and Portugal’s continued economic growth.

Challenges Ahead

• Ferdinand's reign would soon be dominated by the Fernandine Wars (1369–1382) against Castile, as he claimed the Castilian throne upon the death of King Peter of Castile in 1369.
• His foreign policies and multiple unsuccessful wars with Castile would weaken Portugal's stability and deplete its resources.
• His controversial marriage to Leonor Teles, a politically ambitious noblewoman, led to internal discontent and noble opposition.
• Despite his military failures, Ferdinand introduced important economic reforms, including measures to regulate trade, protect Portuguese merchants, and develop the navy.

A Controversial and Turbulent Reign

Ferdinand I’s rule, lasting until 1383, would prove to be one of the most unstable periods in Portuguese history, leading directly to the 1383–1385 crisis, which threatened the kingdom’s independence and ultimately resulted in the rise of the House of Avis.

The count moves his court early in January 1367 across the gulf to Sozopolis, where the emperor finally arrives on January 28, without having stopped at Kaliakra.

The citizens of Emona had rebelled late in January or early in February.

On March 15, probably after the emperor had left for Constantinople, having promised to defray the cost of Amadeus's expedition to Bulgaria in return for receiving the cities he had conquered, the count had gone to Nesebar to oversee final preparations for his departure, including the ransom of all his men who by then were still held captive in Bulgarian prisons.

All had been accomplished by April 9 and the crusaders were back in Constantinople, where, after some stage management by Amaadeus, John V finally agrees to pay fifteen thousand florins of the costs of the Bulgarian expedition, although ultimately only about ten thousand will ever be received.

Amadeus still intends to wage war against the Turk, but his means to do so has decreased since the capture of Gallipoli.

Nevertheless, on May 14 he takes the Turkish castle of Eneacossia on the northern shore of the Marmora, which the Greek historian John Kantakouzenos informs us was the "fortress near Rhegium", modern Küçükçekmece.

One of the Savoyard soldiers is rewarded for planting the Savoyard banner atop the tower during the fray.

In that same month Amadeus has to rush north to defend Sozopolis from a Turkish assault.

On or near May 24, his men set fire to the Turkish fortress called Caloneyro, probably represented by the Byzantine ruins at Büyükçekmece.

Throughout April and May the prime concern of the crusade is paying off the shipowners and raising funds for the return voyage.

The remainder of Amadeus's time in Constantinople is taken up with negotiations for healing the East–West Schism, ultimately to prove fruitless.

And although he had established Paul, Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, at Gelibolu and not at Constantinople in deference to the Greeks, Paul returns to Italy with the crusade, which debarks from Constantinople on June 9, 1367.

The count of Savoy travels aboard a new galley his man Giovanni di Conte had purchased at Pera.

The Savoyard fleet reaches Tenedos by June 16.

The fleet is stopped from June 20 to 22 at Chalcis, where Amadeus pays four gold perperi to two minstrels of Roger de Llúria, vicar-general of the Duchy of Athens, who had come bringing their master's greetings and stayed to entertain for the evening.

At Chalcis many leave the crusade to go to Cyprus and fight under King Peter I, who seems to promise more opportunities for fighting real infidels (and less fighting schismatic brothers in the faith).

The returning crusaders make stops at Methoni (Modon) and Glarentza (Clarencia), arriving at Corfu on 10 July.

A week later they stopped at Dubrovnik and on July 29 they land in Venice.

News of their victories has preceded them.

Amadeus remains at the palace of the Carraresi in Venice for five weeks: paying off debts, making gifts of thanksgiving to churches, taking out more loans (8,872 ducats from Bartholomeo Michaelis and 10,346 from Federigo Cornaro).

He then makes a brief visit to Treviso on August 23–26 for some festivities, the meaning of which is unclear.