1380
Battle of Kulikovo halts Mongol overlordship of Russia
Dmitry of Moscow led a coalition of Russian princes against Mamai's Tatar host on a meadow above the Don. After a disputed cavalry charge from a hidden Russian reserve, the Mongols broke and fled. Dmitry would be remembered as Donskoi, the hero of the Don. The Golden Horde's grip on Russia began its long century-long unraveling.
Charles V of France dies
The bookish king who had patiently rebuilt French royal power and reclaimed most of Aquitaine died at forty-two, worn down by a mysterious wasting illness. His son Charles VI was twelve. Within twelve years the new king would have his first attack of madness. The recovery his father engineered would unravel before the century ended.
Du Guesclin dies besieging Châteauneuf-de-Randon
The Breton constable of France, who had carved back English-held France piece by piece, fell ill during a siege in the Languedoc and died. The garrison commander, who had agreed to surrender to him personally, came out and laid the keys on his coffin. France lost its most successful commander.
Cennino Cennini learns his craft
In Florence the painter Cennino Cennini, a grand-pupil of Giotto through the workshop of Agnolo Gaddi, began his apprenticeship grinding pigments and preparing panels. He would later write Il Libro dell'Arte, a practical treatise on pigments, brushes, gold leaf, and panel preparation that documents the transition from medieval to early Renaissance workshop practice.