Burmese forces from Ava under King Minhkaung’s son, Crown Prince Minrekyawswa, invade the Pegu-controlled kingdom of Arakan in 1410 and depose the puppet ruler installed by King Razadarit, but suffer defeat by the Mons in the Irrawaddy River delta area.

Smolensk, although spared the ravages of the Mongol armies in 1240, had paid tribute to the Golden Horde, gradually becoming a pawn in the long struggle between Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

The last sovereign monarch of Smolensk was Yury of Smolensk; during his reign the city was taken by Vytautas the Great of Lithuania on three occasions: in 1395, 1404, and 1408.

After the city's incorporation into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, some of Smolensk's boyars (e.g., the Sapiehas) move to Vilnius; descendants of the ruling princes (e.g., the Tatishchevs, Kropotkins, Mussorgskys, Vyazemskys) flee to Moscow.

With tens of thousands of people living here, Smolensk is probably the largest city in fifteenth-century Lithuania.

Three Smolensk regiments prove decisive during the Battle of Grunwald against the Teutonic Knights.

The Ottoman Interregnum continues into its second decade, as the sons of the late Sultan Bayezid fight for control of the empire.

Musa has the support of Wallachians and Serbs and Süleyman has the support of Constantinople, but the Serbs change sides and Musa is defeated in the Battle of Kosmidion on June 15, 1410.

Suleyman is a weak prince, however, and to the dismay of his partisans, he begins living in extravagance.

Taj-ud-Din Firuz collects a tribute payment and marries the daughter of the king of Vijayanagar under the peace made in 1410 between the kingdoms of Bahmani and Vijayanagar.

The situation in Dalmatia had been settled in 1408 by a truce with King Sigismund of Hungary.

At its expiry, Venice immediately invades the Patriarchate of Aquileia, and subjects Traù, …

…Split, …

…Durazzo and other Dalmatian cities.

The difficulties of Hungary allow the Republic to consolidate its Adriatic dominions.

The Aragonese capture Oristano, capital of the Giudicato di Arborea in Sardinia.

William III of Narbonne, having returned to Sardinia in spring 1410, reorganizes his territories with his capital at Sassari.

With the help of Nicolò Doria, he recaptures Longosardo on August 9, and tries unsuccessfully to retake Oristano and …

…Alghero.

Claus de Werve: Successor to Claus Sluter and Master of Burgundian Sculpture (1396–1410)

Claus de Werve (c. 1380–1439) was a Flemish sculptor who succeeded his uncle, Claus Sluter, as chief sculptor at the Burgundian court in Dijon. Having assisted Sluter from 1396, he played a crucial role in completing the mourners on the tomb of Philip the Bold, a masterpiece of Late Gothic sculpture.

I. Early Career and Training under Claus Sluter (1396–1406)

• In 1396, Claus de Werve joined his uncle, Claus Sluter, at the Burgundian court in Dijon, working on ducal commissions.
• He became a key collaborator on Sluter’s sculptural projects, particularly the Tomb of Philip the Bold, which featured deeply expressive mourning figures.
• Sluter’s style emphasized monumentality, naturalistic detail, and emotional depth, elements that Claus de Werve inherited and further developed.

II. Chief Sculptor to the Burgundian Court (1406–1410)

• Upon Claus Sluter’s death in 1406, Claus de Werve was appointed chief sculptor at the Burgundian court.
• His primary task was to complete the unfinished Tomb of Philip the Bold, a commission that had been:
  • Begun by Jean de Marville.
  • Expanded and enriched by Claus Sluter.
  • Finalized by Claus de Werve, who completed the mourners and decorative elements in 1410.

III. The Tomb of Philip the Bold: A Masterpiece of Late Gothic Art

• The tomb features a series of 40 mourners, carved in exquisite detail, each expressing sorrow in different poses.
• These figures, draped in deeply carved, flowing robes, are considered among the finest Gothic sculptures of their time.
• Claus de Werve’s completion of the tomb preserved Sluter’s monumental realism, ensuring the continuation of Burgundian artistic excellence.

IV. Legacy and Influence

• Claus de Werve maintained the sculptural tradition of naturalism and emotional expressiveness, influencing later Burgundian and Flemish artists.
• His work on ducal commissions solidified Burgundy’s reputation as a leading artistic center in medieval Europe.
• The Tomb of Philip the Bold, now housed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, remains one of the most celebrated funerary monuments of the Late Middle Ages.

By completing the Tomb of Philip the Bold in 1410, Claus de Werve carried forward his uncle’s artistic legacy, securing his place as one of the foremost sculptors of the Burgundian court and a key figure in the development of Late Gothic sculpture.