EVENTS
553: Pope Vigilius ratifies verdicts of Council of
Constantinople
Vigilius
had opposed the council
altogether and remained in sanctuary from May 552 to December.
However, in February he yielded and formally ratified the 14
anathemas. Yet the Western church, which had taken the edicts of the
Council of Chalcedon
seriously, could not accept the verdicts, and no compromise between
East and West was ever truly reached.
WHO DIED
1447: Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey was the fourth son of King
Henry IV and a strong supporter of humanism,
patronizing English and Italian artists, writers and philosophers,
for which he was known as "Good Duke Humphrey." Unfortunately, his
political acumen was not as good. Although he served his brother,
Henry V, in a series of
campaigns in the Hundred
Year's War, after Henry died and he was named temporary regent
for the infant Henry VI,
he soon began a feud with Chancellor Henry Beaufort that lasted for
more than twenty years. The feud ended with the arrest of Gloucester
and his subsequent death from, most likely, natural causes five days
later, but the poor timing of his demise led to a rumor that he had
been murdered, which was used as a rallying point in later
uprisings.
1554: Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk
Ambition was the driving force and the downfall of Henry
Grey, who used his daughter Lady
Jane as a pawn in a deadly political game. Though he survived his
ill-contrived plan to place Jane on the throne, he was subsequently
arrested for his part in the Wyat rebellion, and was beheaded.
1602: Agostino Carraci
A painter and fresco artist, Agostino
Carraci also produced some fine engravings.
