January 15– In France, the Estates General, a consultative assembly of 855 delegates (285 apiece) representing the three economic classes — the First Estate (clergy), Second Estate (nobility) and— for the first time, the Third Estate (commoners, including peasants) is convened for the first time since 1468. The convening of the Estates General of 1484 at Tours has been ordered by Anne of France, the mother of and regent for the 13-year-old King Charles VIII since the death of King Louis XI, with the goal of designating the regent during Charles's minority. Although King Louis had designated Anne and her husband, Pierre de Beaujeu, to serve as regents, Louis, Duke of Orleans, the second cousin of the late King, seeks approval from the Estates General for the regency. The session of the Estates General becomes a call for reform of the laws of France.
January 23– King Richard III of England assembles his first, and only Parliament, opening a 29-day session.
February 5– The Great Bell of Dhammazedi, at 293.4 metric tons (323 U.S. tons) the largest bell ever created, is cast from bronze at Dagon in the Hanthawaddy kingdom (now Yangon in Myanmar) by order of King Dhammazedi. The casting comes despite advice from the royal astrologer that the date is inappropriate, and the bell is noted for its unpleasant tone. The bell will be stolen from the Shwedagon Pagoda in 1608 by Arakan mercenaries commanded by the Portuguese warlord Filipe de Brito e Nicote, but skin, into the Bago and Yangon Rivers while it is being transported on de Brito's ship.
February 9– At the Estates General, the nobleman Philippe Pot, representative of the Second Estate, delivers a famous speech calling upon reforms in the structure of government of France. His speech is successful in persuading the Estates to endorse the continuing regency of Anne and Pierre Beaujeu, but also leads to numerous recommendations for reform and alarms the royal government.
February 20– At the close of the English Parliament session, King Richard III gives royal assent to Titulus Regius ("under which title all the reasons to prove the King [Richard III] to be the true and undoubted heir to the crown, are set forth at larg... and ratified, and his brother [Edward IV]'s children [Edward V and Richard, Duke of York] made bastards," retroactive to January 23.
February 22–Pope John XIII of Alexandria begins a reign of 40 years as the partiarch of the Coptic Christian Church, filling a vacancy of five months since the death of Pope John XII.
February 24– King James III of Scotland gives royal assent to numerous acts passed by the Scottish Parliament, including the Defence of the Realm Act 1483 (summoning the members of the nobility to come defend Scotland); the Duke of Albany Act, an arrest warrant for all person who made treasonable assistance to the King's rebellious brother, Alexander, Duke of Albany; and the two Barratry Acts, prohibiting "the having of mone furth of the Realme" (the exportation of money out of the realm) to the Court of Rome.
The first cuirassier units (kyrissers) are formed in Austria.
The King of Portugal appoints a commission of mathematicians to perfect tables, to help seamen find their latitude.
Maximilian I, Duke of Burgundy, orders foreign merchants to leave Bruges. Most merchants move to Antwerp, greatly contributing to its growth as an international trading center.
↑Gyula Rázsó, Die Feldzüge des Königs Matthias Corvinus in Niederösterreich 1477–1490 (The Campaigns of King Matthias Corvinus in Lower Austria 1477–1490), Militärhistorische Schriftenreihe (Military History Series), Volume 24) (Vienna: Österreichischer Bundesverlag, 1982) ISBN 3-215-01666-4
↑Woodacre, Elena (2013). The Queens Regnant of Navarre; Succession, Politics and Partnership. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
↑Corio, Bernardino (1856). Storia di Milano[History of Milan]. Vol.2. Milan: Francesco Colombo. pp.405–407.
↑Sun, Laichen (2009). "Chinese-style Firearems in Dai Viet (Vietnam) The Archeological Evidence". Asia Research Institute Working Paper Series. 11: 22–23.
