1422
Henry V Dies of Dysentery
The conqueror of France, thirty-five years old, wasted away at Vincennes from the same bloody flux that killed half his army. He left an infant son and an unfinished war. His embalmers struggled with a corpse so emaciated the gold funeral mask barely fit. His death at the height of English power ensured the dual monarchy would be governed by regents, fatally undermining its momentum.
Hagia Sophia Damaged in Earthquake
A major earthquake struck Constantinople, damaging the eastern half of Hagia Sophia and collapsing portions of its ancient supporting buttresses, requiring extensive and expensive repairs the imperial treasury could barely fund. The cathedral that had stood since Justinian's day in the sixth century was aging alongside the empire that had built it, both structures crumbling at their foundations. Within three decades, Ottoman masons rather than Byzantine ones would be maintaining its walls.
Charles VI of France Dies
The mad king who had thought himself made of glass finally shattered in Paris, leaving his kingdom split between English-occupied north and Dauphinist south. His obsequies were paid for by the English regent. Crowds in Paris wept. For the first time in forty years, no one was trying to murder him.
Infant Henry VI Becomes King
Nine months old, the heir of both Henry V and Charles VI inherited the English and French thrones in dual right. Regents governed; the king grew up surrounded by theologians rather than swordsmen. Inherited dual monarchy was the war's paradoxical outcome, and it doomed itself within a generation. The infant was paraded through London in his mother's arms, a symbol of continuity masking the weakness of the Lancastrian state.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1422?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1422. The most significant is Henry V Dies of Dysentery: The conqueror of France, thirty-five years old, wasted away at Vincennes from the same bloody flux that killed half his army.
What era was 1422 part of?
1422 falls within the Late Middle Ages (1301-1500). Plague, papal schism, and the seeds of nation-states.
Which regions saw notable events in 1422?
The curated events from 1422 span Europe and Middle East.