1397

Year 1397 was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events

* February 10 - John Beaufort becomes Earl of Somerset.
* July 20 - Queen Margaret forms the Kalmar Union, uniting the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway (with Iceland and Greenland) and Sweden (including Finland).
* September 29 - John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon is created Duke of Exeter by his half-brother Richard II of England.
* The Ottomans capture the Vidin Empire, the only remaining independent Bulgarian state. Emperor Ivan Sratsimir of Vidin is taken prisoner and later disappears.
**Constantine II becomes Emperor of Vidin after his father's imprisonment.
* Richard II of England attempts to reassert authority over his kingdom by arresting members of a group of powerful barons known as the Lords Appellant.
* Temur Qutlugh is crowned as the Khan of Golden Horde with the help of general Edigu. Although, Edigu continues to hold the real power.
* Thomas Arundel succeeds William Courtenay as Archbishop of Canterbury.
* Richard Whittington (aka Dick Whittington) is elected Lord Mayor of London.
* Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is founded in north-west Russia.
* Sretensky Monastery is founded in Moscow.
**Thomas Holland, 3rd Earl of Kent, John's brother, is created Duke of Surrey by King Richard.

Births

* February 21 - Isabella of Portugal (d. 1471)
* May 6 - Sejong the Great of Joseon, ruler of Korea (b. 1450)
* June 29 - King John II of Aragon (d. 1479)
* August 10 - Albert II of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1439)
* November 15 - Pope Nicholas V (d. 1455)
* Chimalpopoca, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlán (d. 1427)
* Tlacaelel, Aztec nobleman (d. 1487)
* Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Italian mathematician (d. 1482)
* Paolo Uccello, Florentine painter (d. 1475)

Deaths

* January 11 - Skirgaila, former Grand Duke of Lithuania
* February 18 - Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy (b. 1340)
* June 3 - William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English military leader (b. 1328)
* June 16 - Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, French soldier (b. 1358)
* September 2 - Francesco Landini, Italian composer
* September 15 - Adam Easton, Catholic cardinal
* September 21 - Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, English military leader (executed) (b. 1346)
*"date unknown" - Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent (b. 1350)