1348 CE

Edward III of England creates the first English order of chivalry, the Most Noble Order of the Garter. A papal bull is issued by Pope Clement VI, protecting Jews against popular aggression during the Black Death pandemic. The anti-royalist Union of Valencia attacks the Jews of Murviedro because they are serfs of the King of Valencia and thus "royalists".

In the 1340s, the 14th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • July and August – Fulk de la Freigne, custodian of the lands of the James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormonde, restores Nenagh to its citizens, compels the Irish to repair property they destroyed, and "with a large fine and a heavy ransom of cattle and the deliverance of hostages, he forces the Irish to return to their original state and due submission (that everyone had thought impossible)."Irelandsource
  • November 18 – Emperor Kōmyō of Japan abdicates the throne in favour of his son Emperor Sukō, making them the second and third of the Northern Court (Ashikaga Pretenders).source
  • The Pskov Republic gains independence from the Novgorod Republic with the treaty of Bolotovo.source

Conflict & Security

  • February 2 – Battle of Strėva: the Teutonic Order secure a victory over the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Sources tell of a blow to Lithuanian leadership, one that the Teutonic Order could not fully make use of due to the Black Death.source
  • August – the Black Death reaches the ports of Drogheda and Dalkey.Irelandsource
  • November 1 – The anti-royalist Union of Valencia attacks the Jews of Murviedro because they are serfs of the King of Valencia and thus "royalists".source
  • Estimation: Hangzhou in Mongolian China becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Cairo, capital of Mamluk Egypt.source
  • Hundred Years' War (1337–1360): The effects of the Black Death cause a de facto truce to be observed between England and France until 1355.source
  • Stefan the Mighty, Emperor of Serbia, conquers Thessaly and Epirus.source
  • Warfare occurs in Connacht between Fergal MacDermott and Ruaidhri mac Cathal mac Andrew. MacDermott's fortress is destroyed, as is Ruaidhri's at Ballymote, "both stone structure and wooden house, and they took what was there of hostages with them, including the son of Ua Ruairc, and they went themselves safe to their houses."Irelandsource

Religion & Belief

  • April 7 – Charles University in Prague, founded the previous year by papal bull, is granted privileges by Charles I, King of Bohemia, in a golden bull.source
  • July 6 – A papal bull is issued by Pope Clement VI, protecting Jews against popular aggression during the Black Death pandemic.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • April 23 – Edward III of England creates the first English order of chivalry, the Most Noble Order of the Garter.source

Health & Medicine

  • September and October – people from all walks of life, and from all over Ireland, make a pilgrimage to St.Moling's Well. "Some came from feelings of devotion, others (the majority) from fear of the plague that then prevailed beyond measure."Irelandsource
  • By June 24 – The Black Death pandemic reaches England, having probably been brought across the English Channel by fleas on rats aboard a ship from Gascony to the south coast port of Melcombe (modern-day Weymouth, Dorset); by November it will have reached London and by 1350 will have killed one third to a half of its population.source
  • The Black Death pandemic spreads to central and western Europe and to Cairo.source
  • The Clan MacFeorais, alias de Berminghams of Dunmore, are banished by Edmond Burke, leading the head of the family to seek aid from Aedh mac Tairdelbach Ó Conchobhair, King of Connacht.Irelandsource

Crime & Justice

  • 28 March – Domhnall Ó Ceinnéidigh is captured and imprisoned by the Purcells.Irelandsource
  • 2 June – Domhnall Ó Ceinnéidigh and the son of Brian Ó Briain are "judged, hanged and drawn at the tails of horses" at Thurles.Irelandsource

Climate & Environment

  • January 25 – The 6.9-magnitude 1348 Friuli earthquake centered in Northern Italy is felt across Europe. Contemporary minds link the quake with the Black Death, fueling fears that the Biblical Apocalypse has arrived.source

Culture & Society

  • January – Gonville Hall, the forerunner of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, England, is founded.source

Births

  • April 11 – Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (died 1385)source
  • John Fitzalan, 1st Lord Arundel (died 1379)source
  • Alice Perrers, politically active English royal mistress and courtier (died 1400)source

Deaths

  • February 2 – Narimantas, Christian Lithuanian prince of Pinsk (Battle of Strėva)source
  • 17 March – "Hugo de Calce, papal clerk, collector and gatherer of the tax in Dublin, was killed."Irelandsource
  • 12 May – David de Barry, son of Lord de Barry.Irelandsource
  • 3 June – Domhnall Mac Murchada and Muircheartach Cáemánach are murdered by members of their clan.Irelandsource
  • June 9 – Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Sienese painter (Black Death) (born 1290)source
  • June 13 – Don Juan Manuel, prince of Villena, Spanish writer (born 1282)source
  • July 1 – Joan of England, princess (Black Death) (born 1333/34)source
  • 12 August – Gilla-na-naem Ua Cianain, abbot of Lis-gabhail.Irelandsource
  • August 20 – Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke, English noble (born 1319)source
  • August 23 – John de Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury (born c.1275)source
  • October 2 – Alice de Lacy, 4th Countess of Lincoln, English noblewoman (born 1281)source
  • Giovanni Villani, chronicler of Florence (Black Death) (born c. 1276)source
  • Laura de Noves, French countess, presumed beloved of Petrarch (born 1310)source
  • Pietro Lorenzetti, Sienese painter (Black Death) (born 1280)source
  • Umur of Aydın, Emir (killed in action) (born c.1309)source