1356

Year 1356 (MCCCLVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

January–December

 * January 20 – Edward Balliol surrenders his title as King of Scotland, to Edward III of England.
 * ca. February – Burnt Candlemas: Edward III of England burns down every town and village in Lothian, Scotland.
 * June 17 – The city of Lwów is granted Magdeburg rights by Casimir III of Poland. The advantages of the rights were not only economic, but also political.
 * September 19 – Hundred Years' War – Battle of Poitiers: The English, commanded by Edward, the Black Prince, defeat the French. The greatly outnumbered English forces not only rout the French, but capture the French king John II of France and his youngest son, the future Philip II of Burgundy.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * December 25 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, promulgates the Golden Bull, a constitution for his empire.

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.
 * Ghazan II replaces Anushirwan as ruler of the Ilkhanate in Persia.
 * Zhu Yuanzhang, one of the leaders in the Red Turban Rebellion, captures the city of Nanjing from the 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.
 * The majority of the Great Pyramid of Giza's limestone casing stones are removed by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Hasan, to build 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 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)