1333
Go-Daigo overthrows the Kamakura bakufu
Imperial loyalists led by Nitta Yoshisada stormed Kamakura while Ashikaga Takauji turned coat in Kyoto, burning the Rokuhara headquarters of the Hojo deputies. The Hojo regents committed mass suicide in their burning headquarters. Emperor Go-Daigo returned from exile and proclaimed direct imperial rule, the Kenmu Restoration. It would last barely three years before the warrior class reasserted control.
Halidon Hill: longbow against Scottish schiltron
Edward III's archers, posted on a slope outside Berwick, shredded the Scottish relief column under Sir Archibald Douglas. It was a rehearsal for Crécy, demonstrating how devastating massed longbow fire could be against infantry advancing uphill. The English would use the same tactical formula for the next century: dismounted men-at-arms anchoring flanks of longbowmen on rising ground.
Queen Philippa imports Flemish weavers to Norwich
Edward III's queen convinced skilled Flemish wool weavers to settle in East Anglia under royal protection, offering them favorable terms and exemptions from local guild restrictions. The move seeded an English cloth industry that would displace Flemish imports within two generations. Raw wool exports would fall, finished cloth exports would rise, and English commercial politics would never be the same.
Guido Riccio fresco in Siena
Simone Martini painted Guido Riccio da Fogliano on horseback against the bleached siena hills in a commemorative mural in the Palazzo Pubblico. The condottiere rides alone across the landscape in a diamond-patterned surcoat, his fortified camps spread behind him. The image became the first great secular equestrian portrait of post-classical Europe, celebrating a military captain rather than a saint or ruler.
Want 1333 in context? Print the whole 14th century as a one-sheet timeline chart.
Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1333?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1333. The most significant is Go-Daigo overthrows the Kamakura bakufu: Imperial loyalists led by Nitta Yoshisada stormed Kamakura while Ashikaga Takauji turned coat in Kyoto, burning the Rokuhara headquarters of the Hojo deputies.
What era was 1333 part of?
1333 falls within the Late Middle Ages (1301-1500). Plague, papal schism, and the seeds of nation-states.
Which regions saw notable events in 1333?
The curated events from 1333 span East Asia and Europe.