Overview

The year 1422 (MCDXXII) was a common year that began on a Thursday in the Julian calendar. It falls in the early 15th century during a period of dynastic conflict, territorial rivalry and political realignment across Europe. The year is best remembered for high‑profile royal deaths that altered claims to thrones and intensified ongoing wars.

Calendar and chronological context

1422 was dated according to the Julian system then in general use in Christian Europe. In that system the year had 365 days and leap years occurred every fourth year; the pattern of weekdays and dates thus differs from the modern Gregorian calendar. For contemporary and historical reference see Julian calendar and general chronological tables at chronology resources.

Major events and political consequences

Two of the most consequential events of 1422 were the deaths of King Henry V of England and King Charles VI of France. Henry V died in August; his infant son, Henry VI, immediately succeeded to the English crown. Charles VI died in October. Because of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes — which had arranged for Henry V to marry Charles VI's daughter and be recognized by some parties as heir to the French crown — these deaths produced overlapping and contested claims. On the one hand the Anglo‑Burgundian alliance proclaimed the young Henry VI as King of England and, by treaty, as King of France; on the other hand the Dauphin, Charles (later called Charles VII), was accepted by many French loyalists as the legitimate monarch. The result was continued fighting in the latter stages of the Hundred Years' War and a prolonged period of competing governments within France.

Wider European and global setting

Beyond England and France, 1422 sits within several broader developments: the consolidation of the Ming dynasty under the Yongle Emperor in China, shifting power in the eastern Mediterranean as the Ottoman state continued to assert itself under Sultan Murad II, and the religious and social unrest in Central Europe that had produced the Hussite movement in Bohemia. These larger trends framed local conflicts and dynastic politics throughout the decade.

Notable figures

  • Henry V of England — warrior‑king whose early victories in France reshaped Anglo‑French relations; his death in 1422 left an infant heir.
  • Henry VI of England — born the previous year, he inherited the English crown as an infant and claims to the French throne through the Treaty of Troyes complicated his reign.
  • Charles VI of France — his long and troubled reign ended in 1422; the question of his succession deepened France's political crisis.

Significance and longer term effects

The simultaneous deaths of two major monarchs in 1422 heightened instability and redirected the course of the Hundred Years' War. Political control in many French provinces was contested for years, and the importance of local alliances—particularly that of Burgundy—became decisive. Over subsequent decades these divisions influenced military campaigns, legitimacy claims and the eventual restoration of royal authority in France under Charles VII.

For concise background and further reading on events and chronology of the 1420s, see summary of the 1420s, comparative timelines at European chronology, diplomatic studies such as those discussing the Treaty of Troyes at Troyes treaty analysis, and broader medieval context via late medieval Europe, Ming China and Ottoman history.