1284
Year 1284 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
- Aragonese Crusade: The first French armies under King Philip III and his 14-year-old son Charles of Valois enter Roussillon. They include 16,000 cavalry, 17,000 crossbowmen, and 100,000 infantry, along with 100 ships in south French ports. Though they have the support of James II, ruler of Majorca, the local populace rises against them. Elne is valiantly defended by Aragonese troops, but the French occupy the city, and burn the cathedral, while the population is massacred.
- April 4 - King Alfonso X of Castile falls ill and dies after a 32-year reign at Seville. He is succeeded by his 25-year-old son Sancho IV who becomes ruler of Castile and León. Meanwhile, his nephew, Alfonso de la Cerda, challenges his right to the Castilian throne. Pope Martin IV excommunicates Sancho, places an interdict on his kingdom and refuses to acknowledge the marriage to his cousin, Queen María de Molina.
- June 5 - Battle of the Gulf of Naples: An Aragonese-Sicilian fleet led by Admiral Roger of Lauria surrounds and defeats the Neapolitan ships in the Gulf of Naples. King Charles II of Naples is captured during the battle; disorganized, the remnants of the Neapolitan fleet flee back to Naples.
- August 5-6 - Battle of Meloria: A Genoese fleet led by Admiral Oberto Doria defeats the Pisan ships in the Ligurian Sea. This marks the decline of the maritime power of Pisa in the Mediterranean.
- King Rudolf I imposes a trade embargo on Norway, due to the latter pillaging a German ship. The embargo cuts off vital supplies of grain, flour, vegetables and beer, causing a general famine in Norway.
- The events giving rise to the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin take place in Lower Saxony.
British Isles
- March 3 - Statute of Rhuddlan: King Edward I of England brings Wales under direct rule after the Welsh Wars. He appoints sheriffs and bailiffs for the northern territories while the southern areas are left under the control of the Marcher Lords. English law is introduced in criminal cases, though the Welsh are allowed to maintain their customary laws in some cases of property disputes. He arranges a Round Table at Nefyn in Wales and promises the Welsh that he will provide them with a Prince of Wales. On April 25, his son, the future Edward II of England, is born at Caernarfon Castle in Wales.
Africa
- Hafsid forces under Abu Hafs Umar bin Yahya reconquer Tunis and reinstall the Hafsid dynasty as the dominating power in Ifriqiya. This ends the Bedouin rebellion started in 1283.
- King Peter III of Aragon takes advantage of the weakness of the Hafsid dynasty and raids the island of Djerba. Aragonese forces massacre the population and occupy the island.
By topic
Art and culture
- Construction of Beauvais Cathedral is interrupted by a partial collapse of the choir; the event unnerves French masons working in the Gothic style.
- Jean de Meun, French poet and writer, translates Vegetius' 4th century military treatise De Re Militari from Latin into French.
Cities and towns
- May 18 - Jönköping in Sweden is granted town privileges by King Magnus Ladulås.
Education
- Peterhouse, oldest collegiate foundation of the University of Cambridge in England, is established by Bishop Hugh de Balsham.
Health
- The Al-Mansuri bimaristan is completed in Cairo.
Markets
- The Republic of Venice begins coining the ducat, a gold coin that is to become the standard of European coinage, for the following 600 years.