The Second Millenium

[Vince53]

Welcome to 1428!

One year after suffering a masive defeat, The Vietnamese hero Le Loi defeats the Chinese rulers and sets Vietnam free again. He graciously allows the captured Chinese soldiers to return home unharmed.

English forces begin their siege of Orleans, the last remaining major French city. Located at a river junction, Orleans was holding back the English from central France. The English had failed to cross the main bridge into Orleans, and their commander had been killed. Unable to make a frontal assault over any of the smaller bridges, the English settle down for a lengthy siege, building forts all around the city in case the defenders try to break through to allow food supplies to get in.

"Obsidian Serpent" becomes ruler of Mexico (a small city-state). He rapidly conquers a few neighbor;, and three city-states, including Mexico, voluntarily unite to form the Aztec Empire. Mexico continues to exist as an administrative district, but will not re-emerge until the Spanish conquest.

Ten year old Go-Hanazono begins his peaceful thirty-six year reign as Emperor of Japan. While much of the power was held by retired Emperors and the Shogun, the Emperor rules calmly and well.

 

[Vince53]

I hope you like the year 1429, because we will be here for a while.


The Battle of the Herrings. With an encircled English supply train in their grasp, a Scotch-French army bungles their attack, and the English win. France desperately needed the fish for the starving city of Orleans.

It doesn't look good for France. The English and their Burgundian allies control all of northern France, parts of southwestern France, and the city of Paris. The last major French city is Orleans, and the English have it surrounded, and Orleans can't hold out much longer.

And then an illiterate 17 year old girl shows up...

After informing the local French commander about the defeat in the Battle of the Herrings the very day it happens, Joan convinces him to have her escorted to the Dauphin. The Dauphin stands in the crowd while an impersonator tries to deceive Joan, but Joan goes straight to the Dauphin with her claim that God had sent her to put him on the Throne of France.

In my opinión, which could be wrong, Joan had the gift of prophecy. Prophecy is NOT the ability to predict the future; it is the ability to speak God's Word, although it might include predictions of the future. During her brief career, Joan will repeaedly demonstrate that God was telling her what to say.

 

[Vince53]

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[Vince53]

We return to 1429 and the Siege of Orleans.

A bewildered French Court sends Joan to Catholic authorities, who declare her to be a genuine Catholic, even though they can't explain her voices.

As the figurehead leader of a supply train, Joan sent the English siege commanders the message "Begone, or I will make you go." Fearing overwhelming English armies if they took the northern route to Orleans, the real leaders of the supply train deceived her and circled to the south. Two hundred French boats sailed downriver to get the supplies, and according to the story, the wind reversed after the supplies, Joan, and 200 soldiers were onboard, allowing the convoy to return safely to Orleans.

Wildly contradictory stories indicate that a desperate French leadership allowed her to attend some war councils without making her a real leader, but she kept inspiring groups of military to follow her as she led them from one victory to another.

 

[Vince53]

The Lifting of the Siege of Orleans.

The English forces surrounding Orleans had a problem: in order to keep out food, they had to stretch their lines around the large city, giving the French a chance to hurl a large force at one area, defeat the outnumbered English, and then retreat to the city to do it again. And so the English build a series of small forts around the city, so the defenders could hold off a French attack long enough for re-enforcements to arrive.

Joan led small forces in rapid attacks on these outposts. She came up with a brilliant strategy: mass all the French cannon at the front gate of the English fort, blow down the gate, charge inside, and capture the fort before English re-enforcements could arrive. Enthusiastic civilian volunteers rapidly threw up bridges and tore down others, enabling the French to move faster than the English could respond.

Seven days after her arrival, Joan had captured all but one English fort. Sorting through wildly contradictory accounts, this is what I THINK happened:

Leading the charge, Joan is shot in the shoulder by an English crossbowman and carried off the field. From their angle, the English though she had been shot in the neck. As the jubilant English celebrated, a ghastly pale Joan led another charge and captured the fort.

The next day, the remaining English forces gathered in a field for a last great battle. They held superior weaponry, armor, artillery, and training. Joan stomped out, accompanied by nobody except God, without a helmet on, and shouted "I have a message from God for the King of England! Turn around and go back to England, or I will bury you in this field! I will wait here for your answer."

The English leaders ordered a retreat, and the legendary Joan of Arc had lifted the Siege of Orleans in only eight days. One source lists it as the 18th most decisive battle in history, and another lists it as the 9th.

 

[Vince53]

Good Heavens, we're still in 1429!

Having lifted the Siege of Orleans, Joan now leads French forces in the Loire Valley Campaign. It takes her six weeks, but she captures every English stronghold. A victorious French nation then crowns the Dauphin as Charles VII, King of France.

And now, having achieved her goal of putting Charles on the Throne, Joan falls apart. She is defeated at Paris and defeated by a minor local ruler.

The idea that "France" is one nation is only a few centuries old. France consisted of several kingdoms, some of them ruled by England. Charles can now accomplish many of his goals through diplomacy, intermarriages, and inheritances, and he wants Joan to go away. Prolonging the war is a risky move for the suffering people of France.

 

[Vince53]

Finally! It is now the year 1430! And for Joan of Arc, it is a year of disaster.

The Hussites were Catholics who wanted to clean up Church corruption, as well as sieze land and wealth for themselves. They were opposed by Catholics who suppported the corruption because they wanted to protect their own wealth. Joan sends a message to the Hussites, threatening to kill them if they don't return to the authority of the Catholic Church. This put Joan (and God) on the side of the corrupt Church.

Defeated in battle, Joan is captured by the Burgundians, who sell her to the English, and now she is under the control of the corrupt Catholic Church.

Sometime after Joan's capture, a 10,000 man Hussite army invades Hungary, and a combined army of Catholics marches out to stop them. But with the Hussites surrounded, some Catholic forces hold back because their leaders are jealous of other leaders, and the Hussites win. The battle is still a disaster: 8,00 Hussites and 6,000 Catholics are killed.

 

[graciesings]

Edits

Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, a banker and one of the wealthiest men in Florence, died in 1429. The "Medici dynasty" was handed to his oldest son, Cosimo de Medici Cosimo is known for his patronage of the arts, commissioning great renaissance artists like Donatello and the architect Brunelleschi. He also became one of the richest men around, with a fortune around 30 million US dollars.

I really shouldn't nitpick, but I disagree with your statement that the Hussites were Catholic. They were actually heretics, but you're right that that doesn't make them Protestant. I know a lot of people think the Hussites were Protestant, but they didn't believe some major protestant doctrines.
I'll try not to be picky about theology though.

God bless,
Grace

 

[Vince53]

Welcome to 1431!

Eugene IV begins his sixteen year reign as Pope. He was elected quickly when he promised the other cardinals that half of all Church revenues would be given to them, and that he would consult the cardinals on all important matters. One of his major problems was the strong belief (after a period of three simultaneous Popes) that a Church Council could over rule a Pope. He dissolved one Church Council which refused to dissolve and ordered him to appear before them. The Holy Roman Emperor worked out a compromise in which Pope Eugene acknowledged that the Council was legitimate while not accepting its authority.

The Papal States were invaded and Pope Eugene had to flee, and then civil wars broke out in Rome. Later, order was restored and he returned in triumph. Eugene worked hard at reconciliation. He actually achieved a brief re-union with the Othodox Church and some smaller groups, and he made peace with various political rivals.
With Portugal actively practicing the African slave trade, the Portuguese were seizing newly-converted Blacks as slaves. The Pope excommunicated anyone who did so, but permitted the enslavement of non-Christian Blacks.

Personally honest, he refused to give appointments to unqualified family members. He supported education and charity to the poor, and lived a simple life while on the Papal Throne.

 

[graciesings]

You're planning to do 1431 in two days, right?

 

[Vince53]

We return to 1431, and the infamous trial of Joan of Arc.

In violation of Catholic, English, and French law, Joan faced a panel of English Catholic judges who were already against her. Her request that French Catholic judges be allowed to participate was rejected.

Using high-level language that the illiterate teen-ager didn't understand, they tricked her into waiving her right to appeal to the Pope.

They produced a lengthy document repudiating everything she had claimed. After repeatedly refusing to sign it, Joan was convinced that she would commit a mortal sin if she didn't sign. (She had learned how to sign her name).

But the judges kept finding themselves bewildered by Joan's brilliant answers to difficult theology questions. So they came up with a clever strategy: they would ask her a question that had no correct answer. No matter what Joan replied, she would be wrong.

And so they asked her...

 

[Vince53]

We are still in 1431.

On two occasions, Jesus's opponents asked Him an impossible question. With no correct answer possible, whatever Jesus replied would be wrong. But in both cases, Jesus gave the correct answer.
Unnerved by Joan's brilliant answers to difficult theological questions, her Catholic judges decided to ask Joan an impossible question. They certainly did not realize the Spiritual Power that was behind Joan's words: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? Jeremiah 32:27
The Catholic Church teaches that you cannot know for sure that you are going to Heaven. So they decided to ask her "Do you know whether or not you are in God's grace?"
If Joan replied that she was not, then of course she was going to Hell. If she replied "Yes," she would go to Hell for the sin of presumption. If she replied that she didn't know, she would go to Hell because she claimed that she was speaking for God. The University of Paris (which was Catholic) had already declared the question unanswerable, and Catholic scholars had agreed that there was no correct answer. Joan, being illiterate, knew nothing of any of this, and so, whatever answer she gave would be wrong.
Jesus promised those who were arrested for His Name's sake "for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist." Luke 21:15
So they asked Joan if she were in God's grace right now, and without hesitation she replied:
"If I am not, may He put me there; and if I am, may He keep me there."

 

[Vince53]

We are still in 1431

Perhaps prison life was too hard, perhaps she feared being raped, and perhaps she was forced to do it; in prison, Joan of Arc resumes wearing men's clothes (Where did she get them?) and is burned at the stake as a relapsed heretic.

England's Henry VI is crowned King of France. With England still holding large areas of France, Henry's influence there was weak. He was a sincere, pious weakling who was occasionally insane, and during his reign various regents, and even his own wife, actually ruled England.

Once again, the Ottoman Empire breaks through Byzantine defenses and pillages the the Peloponnese Península.This large area of Greece would be an island if not for a narrow strip of land connecting it to the mainland.

After 629 years, the mighty Khmer Empire of Southeast Asia is conquered by Siam (modern Thailand).

"Coyote Who Fasts" becomes King of Texcoco in modern Mexico. A brilliant scholar, he assembles a group of "wise men" who bring in a Golden Age of literature and art. Later historians consider Texcoco "The Athens of the West" as a result.

Count Drácula is born. Yes, he really did exist.

 

[Vince53]

Welcome to 1432!

Albania begins a thirty-year war against their Ottoman conquerors. Albania finally wins its independence, sends its army on a victory tour, and is immediately invaded by the Ottoman Empire, ending their Independence.

Taking advantage of England and France's war with each other, Philip the Good, leader of the Burgundians, rapidly seizes three small, independent states. Holland later re-emerges as a nation, while the other two disappear forever.

 

[Vince53]

1433

It's a major political error, but China disbands its navy. A gigantic Chinese fleet had explored much of the unknown world, but had failed to find new lands for China to conquer. Now, European nations will become the dominant naval powers in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Talk about a busy man. Sigismund of Luxemburg is King of Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Bohemia, and Germany. So they decide to crown him Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, which includes much of his territory. But the Holy Roman Empire is separating into various kingdoms and city-states, and many parts of his Empire only give him lip service.

As a ruler, Sigismund succeeded in everything except Crusades. He was soundly pounded by the Turks and defeated in the Hussite Wars. When he could unite the Catholic and Byzantine kingdoms, he led them into military disaster.

Edward I begins his five year reign as King of Portugal. He seizes various African cities until beaten by Morocco and forced to hand some of them back. He finances the explorations of his brother, Prince Henry the Navigator, allowing future European expansión into the Atlantic.

 

[Vince53]

1434

Having spent most of his life imprisoned by older brothers, Zera Yacob begins his 34 year reign as one of Ethiopia's greatest Emperors. Surrounded by hostile neighbors and internal strife, he quickly establishes diplomatic relations with Europe. Poorly-skilled in dealing with people, he protects Ethiopia by defeating Moslem enemies and stabilizing the government. In his later years he became convinced that his family and others were plotting aganst him, but he usually had them beaten rather than executed.
Surprisingly, he calmly settled disputes in the Ethiopian Church and becamse an ally of the Egyptian Coptic Church. He treated his Moslem subjects fairly and persuaded neighboring Moslem nations to lessen their mistreatment of Christians.

Sweden overthrows its King, but he remains King of Norway and Denmark.

Portuguese sailors bring the first African slaves to Lisbon.

In China, a fourteen year drought begins.
About thirty miles east of Prague, Czechoslavakia, a Catholic and a Hussite army face off. Pretending to retreat, the Catholics trick the Hussites into leaving their fortified positions to pursue, and the Hussites suffer a defeat that virtually ends the Hussite Wars.

 

[Vince53]

1435 is a bad year for England.

Burgundy turns against England and signs an alliance with France, allying them, along with Scotland, against England. Over time, France will steadily reclaim territory held by England.

Portuguese navigators continue southward along Africa's west coast. They had a lot of difficulty getting past a certain point, although today, no one can figure out why.

Aragon, a Catholic kingdom in modern Spain, had sent a fleet to capture an Italian seaport. Two Italian city-states send a tiny fleet packed with soldiers and defeat the Aragonese fleet, capturing many of their nobles.

 

[Vince53]

1436 is another bad year for England, as France recaptures Paris in the Hundred Years War.

A few months after re-instating him, Sweden overthrows their King. His succesor is soon assassinated, and the King returns for the third time.

China begins shifting from grain to silver as the chief means of paying taxes.

 

[Vince53]

1437

In an unsuccessful attack on Tangiers, Morocco uses riflemen and various-sized artillery. Gunpowder weapons are emerging as technologically superior to bow-powered weapons.

The King of Scotland is assassinated, and six year old James II begins his 43 year reign as King. Very popular among his subjects, he ruled well. He personally assassinated his chief rival, thus preventing civil war. He formed a strong alliance with the Burgundians and with Flanders and strengthened the Scotch military with imported cannon. Unfortunately, he blew himself up while firing a cannon at an English castle in Scotland, but the castle was captured a few days later.

Moslem astonomers publish the Zīj-i Sultānī. This star table is so accurate that it defines the tilt of the earth's axis correctly and also determines the exact length of a year.

 

[Vince53]

1438

French King Charles VII (whom Joan of Arc had gotten crowned) declares the Catholic Church in France to be administratively independent of the Pope. A French Church Council, superior to the Pope, would be held every ten years, and the Pope could no longer appoint French bishops.

Albert the Magnanimous becomes King of Hungary and of Germany. He already ruled Austria and Croatia. He is most famous for his persecution of Jews, seizing their property, exiling them, torturing them, burning almost 100 at the stake, and destroying Jewish communities. Before that, he had been a Catholic leader in the Hussite Wars.

In South America, Pachacuti becomes ruler of the Incas. He turns his small kingdom into the mighty Inca Empire before his death.

Fearing that too much silver will damage the economy, China bans silver mining. But illegal silver mining beomes so profitable that the mining continues.