1399
Henry Bolingbroke deposes Richard II
Returning from exile to claim his ducal inheritance, Henry of Lancaster found the kingdom slipping from Richard II's grip. Within two months Richard had surrendered, abdicated in the Tower, and watched parliament confirm Henry as king. The Lancastrian usurpation set the stage for a century of dynastic war that would culminate in the Wars of the Roses.
Timur returns to Samarkand after Indian campaign
The Tamerlane rode back from Delhi with eighty captured elephants and convoys of skilled Indian artisans, including stonemasons who would labor on the Bibi-Khanym mosque, the largest in the Islamic world. His Indian loot funded the most ambitious building program in Central Asian history. Samarkand glittered while northern India starved.
Timur Attacks Delhi Sultanate
The Timurid conquest of Delhi left the city in smoking ruins and the Tughluq sultanate in theoretical existence only. The political vacuum opened space for Afghan and Rajput powers across north India through the early fifteenth century.
Chaucer writes 'Complaint to His Purse'
An aging Geoffrey Chaucer addressed a witty begging poem to his empty purse and, by extension, to the new king Henry IV who had inherited his pension obligations from Richard II. Henry confirmed the annuity. The greatest Middle English poet would die within a year, the Canterbury Tales unfinished but immortal.