1356

• January 20 – Edward Balliol surrenders his title as King of Scotland, to Edward III of England.^[1]
• ca. February – Burnt Candlemas: Edward III of England burns down every town and village in Lothian, Scotland.
• Casimir III of Poland. The advantages of the rights were not only economic, but also political.^[2]
• Philip II of Burgundy.^[3]
• October 17 – Erik XII proclaims himself king of Sweden, in opposition to his father, King Magnus IV. Thus begins a civil war in Sweden between father and son, which will last until Erik's death in 1359.^[4]
• October 18 (St Luke's Day) – The Basel earthquake affects northern Switzerland, with a maximum MSK intensity of IX–X (Destructive–Devastating), leaving around 1,000 dead. It is the most damaging intraplate earthquake known to have occurred in central Europe.^[5]
• December 25 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, promulgates the Golden Bull, a constitution for his empire.^[6]

Date unknown

• The Hanseatic League, a trading alliance between many cities in northern Europe, first meets.
• Sweden's first guild privileges (for tailors) are issued in Stockholm.^[7]
• Ghazan II replaces
  Persia
  .
• Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in China; from then on it becomes his base of power, and the capital of a new dynasty he would establish in 1368, the Ming dynasty.^[8]
• The majority of the
  fortresses and mosques in the nearby city of Cairo, leaving the first of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
  in the step-stone condition in which it remains into modern times.
• The Castelvecchio Bridge in Verona is probably completed this year; its main span of 48.7 m (160 ft) is the world's longest arch at this time.

Births

• July 29 – Martin of Aragon (d. 1410)
• date unknown
  • Ingegerd Knutsdotter, Swedish abbess (d. 1412)
  • Robert IV of Artois, Count of Eu (d. 1387)

Deaths

• June 23 – Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut (b. 1311)
• September 19 (killed at the Battle of Poitiers):
  • Peter I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1311)
  • Walter VI, Count of Brienne, Constable of France (b. 1304)
• date unknown
  • Harihara I, founder of the Vijayanagara Empire
  • Zheng Yunduan, Chinese poet (b. c. 1327)

Footnotes