1377 marks a year in the late Middle Ages with political shifts and administrative developments that helped shape events in the following decades. It is commonly cited for the return of the papal court to Rome, dynastic change in England, and the fiscal measures that contributed to social tensions across England and its territories.

Major political events

  • Papal return: In 1377 Pope Gregory XI moved the papal residence back from Avignon to Rome, ending the period often called the Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) and setting the scene for the crisis of the late 1370s.
  • England: The long reign of Edward III ended in 1377; he was succeeded by his grandson Richard II, a child-king whose minority politics and taxation policies would later provoke unrest.
  • Fiscal policy: The English government raised a national poll tax to fund warfare and royal expenses. The tax records and its administration in 1377–1379 are important for later social history and were a prelude to the larger disturbances of 1381.

Across Europe and the wider medieval world, 1377 sits amid ongoing conflicts, dynastic struggles, and the gradual recovery from mid-14th-century crises such as the Black Death. Regional rulers negotiated with emerging powers—Ottoman expansion in the eastern Mediterranean and changing Italian politics were part of the broader background.

Cultural and administrative notes

Contemporary record-keeping improved in parts of Europe during this period: tax registers, court rolls and civic accounts from the 1370s are valuable sources for historians studying demography, economy and local governance. Literary and intellectual life continued to adapt to patronage networks; notable writers and officials were active though many individual careers span years rather than a single calendar date.

Number and notation

As an integer, 1377 is composite: its prime factorization equals 3^4 × 17 (81 × 17 = 1377). In Roman numerals it is written MCCCLXXVII. In chronology, references to “1377” normally mean 1377 CE (AD 1377) under the Julian calendar system used in medieval Europe.

Significance: 1377 is less a moment of sudden change than a hinge year—political transitions, renewed papal presence in Rome, and fiscal measures of this period all contributed to crises and realignments that unfolded more visibly through the 1380s and beyond.