Our World

As mentioned in the about section many of the ideas shaping Lunaria stem from the European Late Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the fictional, mythological, and fantasy worlds. A bit of alternate history as well

In this section we explore the many facets we have come to call the Middle Ages.

What is daily life like?
What do people eat?
What kind of houses do they live in?
What do they wear?
What do they do for entertainment?
What kind of literature do they enjoy?

The medieval world has to begin with an understanding of how multifaceted it is and also needs to recognize the diverse range of cultures, institutions, and belief systems that are encompassed under the descriptor medieval.

Most scholars define the Middle Ages as lasting roughly 1000 years from about 500 CE to 1500 CE.

Scholars broadly divide the period into three periods.

Early Middle Ages from approximately 500 to 1000
High Middle Ages from approximately 1000 to 1300
Late Middle Ages from approximately 1300 to 1500

The modern period of history is often considered to have begun with the Renaissance, one of the rare periods of genius in the world’s history. The Renaissance began in Italy during the 14th century and reached its height in the 15th. In the 16th and 17th centuries it spread to the rest of Europe. The word renaissance means “rebirth.” It refers to the rediscovery by scholars (called humanists) of the classical writings—those of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In fact, however, the Renaissance was a period of discovery in many fields—of new scientific laws, new forms of art and literature, new religious and political ideas, and new lands.

Renaissance c.1400 - c.1600

The Lunarian Kingdom

House/Dynasty: House of Rīċen

Queen BellaMara

Royal Court

Nobles - Peerage

At any given time the royal court is packed with Lunaria's gentry discussing business, introducing candidates for courting, and serving the crown. They make their home wherever the Queen does. Unlike ambassadors who are primarily focused on inter-realm negotiations, noblemen and women have their own agendas to further their families and ambitions.

Courtiers

Courtiers are different from nobles in that they are people whose talents or ambition have brought them to court. Many thousands of individuals comprise the court. The courtiers include the monarch's retinue, household, nobility, gentry, clergy, those with court appointments, bodyguard, and also includes emissaries from other kingdoms, visitors to the court, foreign princesses/princes, and foreign nobility.

Ambassadors

Individuals from other kingdoms are vital. They communicate their kingdom's desires, intents, and goals, as well as bring insider news.

Resident Military Commanders

Military commanders are not likely to be regular fixtures at court, as they’re needed with their forces. But the highest ranking among them are going to be in nearly constant contact with the monarch (or the monarch’s representative, as is sometimes the case) and that will often necessitate being physically present at court.

Guests

Whether from outside or inside the realm, the royal court is ALWAYS going to have guests, and as a well-established court Lunaria has the provisions for housing and caring for a large number.

A person’s station and/or possible value to the crown might determine wherein a castle they are housed. Their perspective could be useful in defining the court as a whole.

Semi-Permanent Guests

People who aren't typically at court, and while their stay might be lengthy, it is established that it will not be permanent. Examples of these kinds of people might be individuals appointed to oversee long term prospects, or the adult children of foreign nobles who have been sent to another realm to be educated.

Gentry

Politically powerful positions likely to be jostled over a great deal. Sometimes these people are lifelong companions and sometimes they are placed strategically close to the monarch for certain goals but regardless of how they came to be there, they are likely to share in the fine things, wealth, and danger that surrounds the monarch.

Sponsored Artists

Sponsored artists are labeled courtiers. Lunaria sponsors literary individuals (including poets, dramatists, storytellers, and so on), visual artists (sculptures, etc.), graphic artists (painters, drawers, etc), decorative artists (furniture designers, mosaic, etc.), performing artists (dancers, musicians, dramatic performers, etc), music (as composition), and architects (including interior)

Guards

The court is likely to have several levels of protective personnel, all the way from those hired by the royal household to keep the general peace and elite bodyguards. Everybody who’s anybody is going to have one or two.

Service Staff/Servants

Vital to the functioning of a royal castle and court. The staff hold roles such as cooks, head cooks, librarians, messengers, laundresses, seamstresses, housekeeping, tasters, ushers, grooms, heralds, and gardeners. Lunaria does not condone slaves.

Court Culture

Aristocratic households are political, artistic, intellectual, and cultural centers. The later Middle Ages witnessed an expansion and elaboration of the structure of courts. By the fourteenth century, the court is divided between the Hall and the Chamber. The Hall consists of the service side of the household which includes the Hall, kitchen, and other service spaces. The Chamber is a more private space focusing on the bedroom of the Lady/Lord. The Chamber replaces the Hall as the center of power. The household is managed by the Lady/Lord Steward while the Chamber falls under the control of the Lady/Lord Chamberlain. The Chamberlain is primarily responsible for direct private service to the Queen as well as staging public ceremonies. A twofold structure called the domus providencie (the Hall) and the domus magnificencie (the Chamber).

The palace is divided into two spaces. The guards control access to the palace. This outer space is the domus providencie. The usher controls direct access to the inner sanctum, the space of the Queen. This is the domus magnificencie. The room with the canopied throne is the chambre à parer or the chambre de parement. It is here that the Queen attends to affairs of state and receives delegations and ambassadors. The hierarchization of the court structure is directly reflected in the colors and materials of clothing used by the different ranks of nobility and royal office holders.

Court culture of the late Middle Ages is dominated by what is characterized as the "politics of intimacy" where direct access to royals is a sign of social and political status. The goal of any courtier is to have "sight of the royal face." To be appointed to the staff of the chamber of the Queen is a sign of great privilege and assured high status. To be a member of the chamber of the Queen is considered to be a member of her familia. At one time the term familiaris was exclusively reserved for members of the nobility, but by the thirteenth century the term is applied to commoners as well including bankers, physicians, merchants, lawyers, and servants in the household. In the fourteenth century we see the development of a new position at court: valet de chambre. This refers to the salaried employees in the hierarchy of court servants. Court singers, musicians, goldsmiths, silversmiths, embroiderers, sculptors, and painters are included in the lists of valets de chambre. As a valet de chambre one swears an oath to serve, receive a regular salary, be given robes fitting to one's station, sometimes be provided housing, and frequently have special status. Perhaps the most important benefit of being a valet de chambre is having access to the ruler.

When the royal family travels, they are accompanied by a retinue (entourage) of nobles, healers, poets, historians, musicians, and servants.

Government & Offices of State

The curia regis is the centre of government, and the court of law. The Queen’s Council is purely an advisory body.

Curia (plural Curiae)

In European medieval history, a court, or group of persons who attended a ruler at any given time for social, political, or judicial purposes. Its composition and functions varied considerably from time to time and from country to country during a period when executive, legislative, and judicial functions were not as distinct as they were later to become. In general, the curia took care of the ruler’s personal needs (chamberlains, stewards, butlers), directed the affairs of government (chancellors, treasurers, secretaries, military leaders), or simply provided the ruler with companionship. The ruler and curia made policy decisions either ordinary or major (as on war, treaties, finances, church relations) and, under a powerful ruler—a king, duke, or count—often became active as a court of law. Indeed, curiae became so loaded down with judicial work that the work gradually came to be delegated to special groups of judges, such as the Court of King’s Bench in England or the Parlement in France; such judicial courts in medieval times were at first considered instruments of the curia, however, not independent bodies. The curia similarly turned over the growing burden of financial affairs to such bodies as the English Exchequer and the French Curia in Compotis (“Curia of Accounts”), which too remained instruments of the curia.

The evolution of the medieval curia is well illustrated in England’s Curia, also known as the Curia Regis, or Aula Regis (“King’s Court”). It was introduced at the time of the Norman Conquest (1066) and lasted to about the end of the 13th century. The Curia Regis was the germ from which the higher courts of law, the Privy Council, and the Cabinet were to spring. It was, at first, the general council of the king, or the commune concilium (i.e., the feudal assembly of the tenants-in-chief); but it assumed a more definite character during the reign of Henry I (1100–35), when its members, fewer in number, were the officials of the royal household and other friends and attendants of the king. It assisted the king in his judicial work, its authority being as undefined as his own.

About the same time, the Curia undertook financial duties and in this way was the parent of the Court of Exchequer (curia regis ad scaccarium). The members were called “justices,” and in the king’s absence the justiciar presided over the court. A further step was taken by Henry II. In 1178 he appointed five Curia members to form a special court of justice, which became known as the Court of Common Pleas. Initially, this court’s justices, like the other members of the Curia, followed the king’s court from place to place, but Magna Carta (1215) provided for the court’s establishment in one place, and it thus became a stationary judicial body. The Court of King’s (or Queen’s) Bench also developed out of the Curia Regis. This court continued to move about with the monarch until the 14th century, at which time it too lost its close connections with the king and simply became one of the superior courts of common law. The Court of Chancery was also an offshoot of the Curia Regis. About the time of Edward I (reigned 1272–1307), the executive and advising duties of the Curia Regis came to be handled by a select group, the king’s secret council, which later came to be called the Privy Council. From the Privy Council there later developed the Cabinet.

In England the common-law courts became firmly established as the principal organs of royal justice by the 14th century.

The Household

The Royal Households are the collective departments that support members of the Rīċen Royal Family. Many members of the Royal Family who undertake public duties have separate households. They vary considerably in size, from the large Royal Household that supports the Sovereign to the household of the Dukes with fewer members.

In addition to the royal officials and support staff, the Sovereign's own household incorporates representatives of other estates of the Realm, including the Government and Military. Government whips, defense chiefs, several clerics, scientists, musicians, poets, and artists hold honorary positions within the Royal Household.

The Household as a centre of politics and patronage employing thousands of people. Such a small government (compared to modern times) is therefore severely restricted in it what it can do and relies on nobility and gentry of the country to rule. For any scions of the peerage, court is where to find influence, power and patronage; for artists, musicians, scholars it is the source of commissions and a future. The court is a public meeting place and centre of power.

The purpose of the royal household is to provide for all of the monarch’s needs. This means their personal needs, medieval court, but also their needs as the head and seat of government. The setting is critical – magnificence, display and ceremony is an integral part of the monarchy, it is expected and necessary.

The magnificence of the Queen's household is reflected on who is a member of the household.

The two main divisions; the domus providencie is the practical – linen, food, transport, the hunt. There are nearly 300 people working under the Steward of the Household. The domus regie magnificencie is the front of house – the business of government, and the public face of the Queen – required therefore to display the magnificence of the monarch.

Members of the Royal Family have links with hundreds of charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organizations. Some are well known, while others may be smaller bodies working in a very specialist area or on a local basis only.

Roles in the Royal Household

Many of the roles are obscure, especially below stairs. Here’s a brief glossary. See Professions section for complete list.

Acatry: Responsible for storing meat and fish
Almonry: Distribution of alms *Nothing to do with almonds
Chaundry: Candles
Cofferer: Treasurer. In the royal household, they are essentially the operational boss
Ewery: Storage of ewers (should have guessed that), linen and towels
Harbinger: Finds and provides lodgings
Henchman: From old English hengst, for stallion. A groom who accompanied ladies, lords, and great men and women in processions.
Knight Marshal: Maintaining order at the Queen’s court.
Larder: storage of meat, probably bacon
Master of the Jewel House: keeper of the monarch’s private treasury
Pantry: Storage of bread
Scullery: care of plates, dishes and utensils
Sewers: Attendants at meals who organized seating and serving of guests

See the Glossary & RP Terminology for additional definitions.

Medieval Cuisine

So what were the main staple foods in medieval cookery? Well, there appear to have been five main staples in the medieval diet. These were: bread, fish, meat, pottage, ale, and milk. However, the type of bread and ale, for example, was quite different to the bread and ale that we consume in today’s world.

It might sound surprising but medieval people drank far more ale back in 13th century Europe than they do today. This was primarily because they needed a reliable drink to accompany every meal. Water in medieval times was often contaminated. Ale was also a key ingredient in some bread recipes, especially white bread and barley bread.

Aristocratic estates provided the wealthy with freshly killed meat and river fish, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. Cooked dishes were heavily flavored with valuable spices such as caraway, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger and pepper.

Other commonly used ingredients included cane sugar, almonds, and dried fruits such as dates, figs or raisins. The wealthy treasured these goods, which were imported from overseas, and were hugely expensive. Indeed, there was a department at the royal court called the 'spicery', which was entirely devoted to spices. Spicy sauces were popular, and entire professional careers were dedicated to sauce-making.

All fruit and vegetables were cooked – it was believed that raw fruit and vegetables caused disease.

Banqueting tables at grand feasts were decked with spectacular dishes – providing the perfect opportunity for nobles to show off their wealth. Everyday jellies, pies, fritters and stews were accompanied by magnificent animals such as peacocks, seals, porpoises, and even whales. Jellies and custards were dyed with vivid natural colorings – sandalwood for red, saffron for a fiery yellow, and boiled blood for black. But the most visually alluring pieces at the table were sugar sculptures known as sotiltees (or subtleties). These sculptures came in all sorts of curious forms – castles, ships, famous philosophers, or scenes from fables. Sotiltees were also known as 'warners', as they were served at the beginning of a banquet to 'warn' (or notify) the guests of the approaching dinner. Unlike today, meals were not separated into savory main courses and sweet desserts. Instead, many dishes were laid out together. Special courtesy books, which were popular at the time, instructed diners not to fart, scratch flea bites, or pick their noses.

Unless you served in a large household, it was difficult to obtain fresh meat or fish (although fish was available to those living by the sea). Most people ate preserved foods that had been salted or pickled soon after slaughter or harvest: bacon, pickled herring, preserved fruits, for instance. The poor often kept pigs, which, unlike cows and sheep, were able to live contentedly in a forest, fending for themselves.

Peasants tended to keep cows, so their diets consisted largely of dairy produce such as buttermilk, cheese, or curds and whey.

Rich and poor alike ate a dish called pottage, a thick soup containing meat, vegetables, or bran. The more luxurious pottage was called 'mortrew', and a pottage containing cereal was a 'frumenty'. Bread was the staple for all classes, although the quality and price varied depending on the type of grain used. Some people even used bread as plates: 'trenches' were thick slices of bread, slightly hollowed out, and served bearing food at meal times.

Music & Entertainment

Music was an essential part of civic and courtly life in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The rich interchange of ideas in Europe, as well as political and economic events in the period 1400–1600 led to major changes in styles of composing, methods of disseminating music, new musical genres, and the development of musical instruments.

Stringed Instruments

Although the Roman style harp existed into the Middle Ages, the oldest medieval instrument might be considered the harp, imported from Ireland and Britain before the ninth century. The vielle, or fiedel, was the principal bowed instrument and typically had five strings. It is the precursor of the viol and the modern violin. The organistrum began its career in the tenth century as a three-stringed vielle that was played by a revolving wheel that was turned by a crank. A large and cumbersome instrument, the early organistrum required two players but by the thirteenth century, it had evolved into a smaller form from which the hurdy-gurdy descended. The psaltery, a type of zither, is played by plucking or striking the strings. The lute was brought into Spain by the Arabs as early as the ninth century, but it was not widely used until the Renaissance.

Dulcimer
Gamba
Harp
Hurdy-Gurdy
Lute
Lyre
Psaltery
Rebec
Vihuela

Wind and Reed Instruments

Flutes were common instruments throughout the Middle Ages and were of two main types, the recorder and the transverse flute. Shawms were reed instruments similar to the modern oboe. While the nobility enjoyed the sound of trumpets, the bagpipe and its variants were the instrument of the common folk.

Bagpipe
Bladder Pipe
Cornamuse
Gemshorn
Shawm

Percussion Instruments

Drums came into popular usage during the twelfth century, principally to beat time for singing and dancing.

Pipe and Tabor
Percussion

Medieval Organs

Cathedrals had massive organs that frequently required two people to play. In addition to these massive cathedral organs, two smaller types existed. The portative (from Latin 'portatum,' carried) organ was small enough to carry but was often supported by a strap around the player's neck. The left hand worked the bellows while the right hand played the keys for a single row of pipes. The positive (from Latin 'positum,' placed) organ had to be placed on a table to be played and required an assistant to work the bellows.

Clavichord
Harpsichord
Organetto

Instruments were often grouped into "high" and "low," according to loudness. The low instruments included the harp, vielle, lute, Psaltery, portative organ, transverse flute, and recorder. The shawm, cornett, slide trumpet, and sackbut were considered high instruments. Percussion instruments such as kettledrums, bells, and cymbals were common in all kinds of ensembles. The earliest keyboard instruments of the clavichord and harpsichord type were invented in the fourteenth century but were not commonly used until the fifteenth century.

Musica Antiqua

In addition to music, medieval people had a variety of gaming activities to occupy their leisure time. Perhaps the oldest and simplest game of luck was dice. Board games such as Nine Men’s Morris, Fox and Geese, and the Welsh game Gwyddbwyll, many of which seem to be some variation on checkers or backgammon, were popular throughout the medieval world. By far, however, the most popular board game of the medieval world was chess, which originated in the Arab world.

Backgammon
Checkers
Chess
Dice
Fox & Geese
Go
Gwyddbwyll
Nine Men’s Morris
Royal Game of Ur

Different Types of Medieval Sports
There were many different types of Medieval Sports. The majority of which were designed to increase skills and fitness. The Medieval sports included the following:

Archery - Archery contests were especially popular
Bowls
Colf - the ancestor of Golf
Falconry
Gameball - a simple football game
Hammer-throwing
Hurling or Shinty - a similar game to hockey
Horseshoes - throwing horseshoes at a target
Jousting at Tournaments
Quarter-staff contests
Skittles - an ancestor of modern ten-pin bowling
Stoolball - an ancestor of Cricket

Renaissance Sports

Archery
Falconry
Fencing
Football
Lawn Bowling
Running
Swimming
Swordplay
Tennis

Gaming

Sports

Educational Institutions

Before Charlemagne’s reign, higher education was mostly limited to the clergy and a select few members of the ruling class, as the only sort of curriculum was translating and examining holy texts. These kinds of schools were referred to as cathedral schools. There were also palace schools, which educated the young men of the ruling class on military and court tactics. These palace schools also hired chaplains to teach the young nobles about theology and language.

The change came about with Charlemagne, who understood that the only way to keep his empire flourishing was through education. He started with the palace schools, where he expanded the curriculum to include the liberal arts. His right-hand man at instituting these sweeping reforms was Alcuin, who was an expect at all thing’s liberal arts: The Trivium (grammar, rhetoric, dialectic) and the Quadrivium (music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy). He became the head of the palace school at Aachen, in present-day Germany, in 782. Countless other palace schools followed Alcuin’s example, creating a real educational change by the start of the eighth century. Charlemagne instituted several enactments in the late 700s to continue furthering education in his kingdom. One in particular, referred to as the “Charter of Modern Thought”, instructed members of the clergy to teach not only religious matters, but also “letters” in order to perfect the clergy’s writing skills and interpretation of scripture. Another significant figure in the establishment of European universities was Pope Gregory VII, who mandated the creation of cathedral schools to educate the clergy. These institutions eventually evolved into universities as we know them today.

Some of the first universities sprung up in Italy, specifically in Salerno and Bologna, and were known more as scholastic guilds than institutions of higher education. Scholars point out that these schools were not officially “founded”, but instead grew and evolved over time. One of the first of these universities was in Salerno, which focused on medicine. The university in Bologna, which is still running today, had a more expansive curriculum, but was primarily a school of law. It was not until the end of the twelfth century that these and other European schools became more than educational centers for local students and instead attracted scholars from all over the world. As the universities grew in influence, they naturally attracted a high number of international scholars and students willing to learn. The areas around these universities became more prosperous and cultural, growing with their schools. In many cases universities ran grammar schools in the towns they were located in to educate the local children. These grammar schools did not have an extensive curriculum, focusing mostly on Latin, and were established as preparation for the more rigorous universities.

University of Salerno (8th century)
University of Bologna (1088)
University of Paris (1150)
University of Oxford (1167)
University of Modena (1175)
University of Palencia (1208)
University of Cambridge (1209)
University of Salamanca (1218)
University of Montpellier (1220)
University of Padua (1222)
University of Toulouse (1229)
University of Orleans (1235)
University of Siena (1240)
University of Valladolid (1241)
University of Northampton (1261), University of Coimbra (1288)
University of Pisa (1343)
Charles University in Prague (1348)
Jagiellonian University (1364)
University of Vienna (1365)
Heidelberg University (1386)
University of St Andrews (1413) - begun as private corporations of teachers and their pupils

Those who obtained the degree of baccalarius - a precondition for going on to higher faculties like law or theology – had to study for 2 to 3 years. Becoming a Master of Arts took a further 2 or 3 years of study in one of the higher faculties (combined with the obligation to teach younger colleagues).

Curriculum of Medieval Universities
Like today’s higher education institutes, the medieval university trained young students for a future job; however, unlike the schools of today, the ultimate career that awaited students after graduation was with the church. This fact had a significant effect on the curriculum taught at the medieval university.

The main curriculum focused on seven academic subjects that would offer a young student a “liberal arts” education and prepare them for a life working as a cleric.

The seven areas of study could be broken down into the “Trivium” and the “Quadrivium”, and consisted of the following:

The Trivium (Lower Division)

Grammar: Unlike the study of grammar today, which focuses on the construction of speech, the medieval study of grammar was concerned with how words create meaning. The goal of studying grammar was to be able to be an effective master of language as well as able to understand the subtleties of language. (csupomona.edu)

Rhetoric: This field of study was an exploration of persuasion, particularly in written communication. The arrangement of words and the presentation of information was at the heart of a good persuasive argument. (csupomona.edu)

Logic: (or Dialectic) : the basis for learning and teaching the principle of logic is founded upon the theory that debate is an integral component of the learning process. In the medieval universities, it was common for both students and masters to participate in debates. (csupomona.edu)

The Quadrivium (Higher Division)

Arithmetic: this field was concerned with the philosophy of numbers rather than the basics of computation. Ratios and relationships were more important than sums and products. (csupomona.edu)

Astronomy: the study of astronomy in a medieval university focused on Plato’s model of the universe, and focused on the relationships between planets and their movements in space. (csupomona.edu)

Geometry: in medieval times, the study of geometry was deeply connected to theories of the divine. It was believed that God constructed the universe using geometric principles, and studying geometry was a way of better understanding God’s creation.

Music: In the late Medieval period, a style called Ars Nova (or "new art") fully embraced polyphonic music while simultaneously eschewing the rhythmic modes that limited prior Medieval music. Pioneered in France by the theorist Philippe de Vitry, Ars Nova would lead directly into the Renaissance music that defined the fifteenth century. It popularized the chanson, a style of polyphonic vocal music that incorporated poetry.

Academic Degrees

Art, Law, Medicine, or Theology

Bologna and the Rise of Medieval Universities

Historical Kingdoms

Historical Kingdoms During the Late Middle Ages

England

House/Dynasty: House of Tudor

Henry VII (r. 1485-1509)

1485 marked the last Plantagenet King, Richard III, ousted by his distant cousin Henry Tudor. The origins of the Tudors can be traced to the 13th century, but the family’s dynastic fortunes were established by Owen Tudor (c. 1400–61), a Welsh adventurer who took service with Kings Henry V and Henry VI and fought on the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses; he was beheaded after the Yorkist victory at Mortimer’s Cross (1461). Owen had married Henry V’s Lancastrian widow, Catherine of Valois; and their eldest son, Edmund (c. 1430–56), was created Earl of Richmond by Henry VI and married Margaret Beaufort, the Lady Margaret, who, as great-granddaughter of Edward III’s son John of Gaunt, held a distant claim to the throne, as a Lancastrian. Their only child, Henry Tudor, was born after Edmund’s death. In 1485 Henry led an invasion against the Yorkist king Richard III and defeated him at Bosworth Field. As Henry VII, he claimed the throne by just title of inheritance and by the judgment of God given in battle, and he cemented his claim by marrying Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV and heiress of the House of York. The Tudor rose symbolized the union by representing the red rose of the Lancastrians superimposed upon the white rose of the Yorkists.

House/Dynasty: House of Tudor

Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547)

Henry VIII, (born June 28, 1491, Greenwich, near London, England—died January 28, 1547, London), king of England (1509–47) who presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. His six wives were, successively, Catherine of Aragon (the mother of the future queen Mary I), Anne Boleyn (the mother of the future queen Elizabeth I), Jane Seymour (the mother of Henry’s successor, Edward VI), Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr.

France

House/Dynasty: Valois Dynasty

Charles VIII (reigned 1470 - 1498)

The only son of Louis XI and Charlotte of Savoy, Charles showed no aptitude for government at the time of his accession: he was in poor health and of poor intelligence. Though he was legally of age, the government in the first years of his reign was in the hands of a regency comprising his sister Anne and her husband Pierre de Bourbon, seigneur de Beaujeu. After his marriage to Anne of Brittany in 1491, however, Charles was persuaded by his favorite, Étienne de Vesc, to free himself from the Beaujeus. By his Breton marriage Charles forfeited rights to Artois and the Franche-Comté that he had acquired by his engagement to Margaret of Austria, and he also agreed in the Treaty of Étaples (1492) to pay heavy compensation to King Henry VII of England for the abandonment of English interests in Brittany. Furthermore, in 1493, by the Treaty of Barcelona, he ceded Roussillon and Cerdagne back to Aragon.

After the Hundred Years' War, Charles VIII signed three treaties with Henry VII of England, Maximilian I of Habsburg, and Ferdinand II of Aragon respectively at Étaples (1492), Senlis (1493) and in Barcelona (1493). These three treaties cleared the way for France to undertake the long Italian Wars (1494–1559), which marked the beginning of early modern France. French efforts to gain dominance resulted only in the increased power of the Habsburg house.

Japan

House/Imperial Family: Yamato

Emperor: Go-Tsuchimikado (1442-1500)

Emperor Fusahito Go-Tsuchimikado,

the 103rd Emperor, reigned in the Muromachi period and overlapping Sengoku Period.

During the medieval era, Japanese feudal leaders struggled to achieve independence from each other and dominion over all of Japan. While the country was nominally unified under the Emperor in Kyōto, actual unification of the entire country was an elusive, usually an impossible goal, a temporary achievement at best.

Muromachi Shogunate Period (1338 to 1573)

Named for a district in Kyōto, where the first Ashikaga shogun, Takauji, established his administrative headquarters.

Sengoku (“Warring States”) Period (1467 - 1567)

Although the wars and confusion of the age were not finally ended until the creation of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603. The name is drawn from a similar period of civil war in China. It saw the breakdown of central authority, and an extended period of wars between hundreds of local, independent strongmen. The end saw the emergence of new methods of authority which were finally able to achieve a moderate degree of political centralization (there still remained 250 local rulers, the daimyo) and, to everyone’s relief and satisfaction, peace.

Shōgun/Military Dictator

Ashikaga Yoshizumi (reigned 1494 to 1508)

Ashikaga Yoshizumi ruled during the Muromachi period named for a district in Kyōto, where the first Ashikaga shōgun, Takauji, established his administrative headquarters. Although the Ashikaga shōgun removed the few remaining powers of the imperial court, they were unable to assert effective control over provincial samurai. Thus the period was one of accelerating decentralization with the shoguns no more powerful than their vassals on whose goodwill the shoguns increasingly relied. The dependence of the shogun on his retainers was demonstrated during the Onin War (1467-77) which left the shogun in control of little more than Kyōto city. Culturally, the Ashikaga were famous for their patronage of the arts and some of the most impressive Japanese art derives from this period.

Sengoku Period (1467 - 1600)
The Ōnin War breaks out to determine who would succeed the ruling shogun. The daimyos take sides as the shogun lost all control. During this time, the Daimyos ruled hundreds of independent states throughout Japan, consisting of other Daimyos, rebellious peasants, and Buddhist warrior monks. Each independent state raised their own armies.