1337
Year 1337 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
- March 16 - Edward, [the Black Prince] establishes the Duchy of Cornwall, becoming the first English Duke.
- May 24 - Philip VI of France confiscates Gascony from English control.
- August - Second War of Scottish Independence: English forces relieve Stirling Castle, ending Edward III of England's last campaign in Scotland.
- October - Hundred Years' War: Edward III of England formally rejects Philip VI's claim to the French throne, initiating hostilities between France and England.
- November - Battle of Cadzand: English troops raid the Flemish island of Cadzand.
Date unknown
- Bisham Priory is founded in England.
- The Scaligeri Family loses control of Padua; Alberto della Scala, patron of the music of the Trecento, moves to Verona.
- Petrarch, "father" of Renaissance humanism, first visits Rome to wander its mysterious ruins, with an eye for aesthetics as well as for history, exciting a renewed interest in Classical civilisation.
- The Sofia Psalter is produced in Bulgaria.
- The Despotate of Epirus is conquered by the Byzantine Empire.
- The famine in China, which had lasted since 1332 and killed 6,000,000, comes to an end.
Births
- February 25 - Wenceslaus I, [Duke of Luxembourg], Czech Duke of Luxembourg
- date unknown
- * Louis II, Duke of Bourbon
- * Jean Froissart, historian and courtier from Hainaut
- * Bianca of Savoy, lady consort of Milan
- * Chŏng Mong-ju, Goryeo diplomat and poet
- * Robert III of Scotland, second monarch from the House of Stewart to rule Scotland
Deaths
- January 8 - Giotto di Bondone, Italian painter
- June 7 - William I, Count of Hainaut
- June 15 - Angelo da Clareno, Italian Franciscan and leader of a group of Fraticelli
- June 25 - Frederick III of Sicily
- June 30 - Eleanor de Clare, politically active English noble
- date unknown
- * Changshi, khan of the Chagatai Khanate
- * William Frangipani, Latin Archbishop of Patras
- * Musa I of Mali, ruler of the Malian Empire
- * Prince Narinaga, Japanese Shōgun