1316
John XXII elected pope at Avignon
After a two-year conclave locked in Lyon, a wizened seventy-two-year-old canon lawyer emerged as John XXII, defying those who expected a younger, more pliable pontiff. He would reign eighteen years, quarrel bitterly with Franciscan radicals over apostolic poverty, centralize church finance into an Avignon machine, and declare the mystical Beatific Vision a matter still to be debated.
Emperor Buyantu Khan reforms the Yuan
The fourth Yuan emperor, a rare Confucian among the Mongol princes, revived the civil service examinations in China after a seventy-year lapse. Only a trickle of Han scholars could actually compete with Mongols and Semu for posts, but the symbolic concession eased some of the tension stiffening the empire. It was the dynasty's most significant attempt to win Chinese hearts through traditional governance.
Mansa Musa's brother Kanku Musa raids Fouta Djallon
As Mali consolidated its imperial reach, the royal armies conducted raiding expeditions into the gold-rich upper Senegal and Niger headwaters, capturing slaves for Saharan trade and tightening tributary relationships with Mandinka and Fulani chieftains. These campaigns secured the gold sources of Bure and Bambuk that underwrote the empire's wealth. The gold that fed Musa's legendary hajj came from these frontier wars.
Louis X of France dies after cold drink
The Quarrelsome King collapsed after playing a strenuous game of jeu de paume and downing cold wine in a Vincennes cellar. He was twenty-six. His sudden death may have been caused by pleurisy or pneumonia aggravated by exertion. He left a pregnant widow; the baby born posthumously was a boy who died in five days. French succession convulsions began in earnest.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1316?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1316. The most significant is John XXII elected pope at Avignon: After a two-year conclave locked in Lyon, a wizened seventy-two-year-old canon lawyer emerged as John XXII, defying those who expected a younger, more pliable…
What era was 1316 part of?
1316 falls within the Late Middle Ages (1301-1500). Plague, papal schism, and the seeds of nation-states.
Which regions saw notable events in 1316?
The curated events from 1316 span Europe, East Asia and Africa.