Sigismund to Nicolaas Zannekin

Continued from previous post.

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (14 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411.  In 1396 Sigismund led Christian allies in the last large-scale crusade of the Middle Ages against the Ottoman Empire, and was defeated in the Battle of Nicopolis by forces led by Bayezid I.

Bayezid I (nicknamed "the Thunderbolt"; 1354 – March 8, 1403) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1389 to 1402. A Commando Battalion in the Pakistan Army is named Yaldaram Battalion after him.  In the Battle of Ankara, on 20 July 1402, Bayezid was captured by Timur and the Ottoman army was overpowered.

Timur (8 April 1336 – 18 February 1405), historically known as Tamerlane, was a Turk who conquered West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty. Timur is regarded as a military genius and a tactician whose prowess made him one of the world’s great conquerors.  In 1402, after his victory over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Ankara, Timur sent Johannes de Galonifontibus as ambassador to European courts to announce his victory. Timur proposed treaties to facilitate commercial exchanges between European powers and his realm.

Johannes de Galonifontibus was a Dominican monk who was nominated Bishop of Nakhchivān in Persia in March 1377, was made Archbishop of Sultaniya in 1378.  As Timur's ambassador in Europe, Johannes arrived in Paris on 15 June 1403 with an offer of an offensive and defensive alliance with Charles VI, as well as the development of commercial relations.

Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), called the Beloved and the Mad, was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392 when his friend and advisor, Olivier de Clisson, was the victim of an attempted murder, led to quarrels among the French royal family. The neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy exploited the situation, and by the end of his reign much of France was under foreign occupation.

Olivier de Clisson (1336 – 23 April 1407), nicknamed "The Butcher", was a Breton soldier, the son of the Olivier de Clisson who was put to death in 1343 on the suspicion of having wished to give up Nantes to the English. In 1370, he joined Bertrand du Guesclin, who had lately become constable of France, and followed him in campaigns against the English, including the Siege of Brest in 1373.

Bertrand du Guesclin (c. 1320 – 13 July 1380), known as the Eagle of Brittany or the Black Dog of Brocéliande, was a Breton knight and French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was Constable of France from 1370 to his death. Well known for his Fabian strategy, he took part in six pitched battles and won the four in which he held command. Du Guesclin was knighted in 1354 while serving Arnoul d'Audrehem, after countering a raid by Hugh Calveley on the Castle of Montmuran.
 

Arnoul d'Audrehem (c. 1305 – 1370) was a French soldier and held an important place in the military history of France, first as captain in Angoulême, and in June 1351, in succession to the lord of Beaujeu, as marshal of France. Between 1332 and 1342 he went three times to Scotland to aid King David Bruce in his wars.

David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death. Following the victory of English forces at the Battle of Halidon Hill in July 1333, David and his Queen were sent for safety into France, reaching Boulogne on 14 May 1334, and being received very graciously by King Philip VI of France.

Philip VI (1293 – 22 August 1350), known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death as a member of the Capetian dynasty. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328. On 23 August, 1328, Philip fought and won the Battle of Cassel against Nicolaas Zannekin, a wealthy farmer from Lampernisse who was the leader of a band of Flemish independence rebels.

Nicolaas Zannekin (died 23 August 1328), was a Flemish peasant leader, best known for his role in the Peasant revolt in Flanders 1323-1328. During the early 14th century AD, Zannekin served as leader of the revolt in coastal Flanders against the oppressive tax policy of the Count of Flanders Louis of Nevers.


Continued in the next post.