Father Ralph was born on one of the Channel Islands off the northwest coast of France

Historical
1337: England, France - Hundred Years War begins when French king Philip VI contests the English claim to Normandy and other northern provinces while at the same time, English king Edward III contests the legitimacy of Philip based on the fact that his mother was the daughter of Philip IV and demands the crown of France
1340: England, France - Battle Of Crecy, British forces under command Edward III defeat a French army commanded by Philip VI, It is the first use of cannon and small arms in a Eropean battle
1340: England, France - Battle of Sluis (off the coast of Flanders), the English navy destroys the French navy giving the English naval supremacy in the English Channel
1346: England, France - Edward III of England defeats Philip VI of France at Crecy en Ponthieu, English longbowmen so far eclipse Genoese crossbowmen that the long bow replaces the cross bow as an Instrument of war
1347-1353: Europe - The Black Death (aka. bubonic plague) spreads throughout Europe, It is the worse natural disaster in European history, an estimated 19 to 35 million die, the plague is spread by rats Infested by Infected fleas, the plague originated in the East and ships carrying Infected vermin came to the Island of Sicily then spread northward, a bizarre effect of the plague was the large-scale outbreak of anti-semitism from the belief that the Jews caused the plague
1348: Poland - Casimir III the King of Poland starts the University Of Kracow
1353: Switzerland - Switzerland is established as a unified country
1356: England, France - Battle in Poitiers, the French defeat Black Prince of Wales Edward, the French king, John II, and his son, Philip the Bold of Burgundy, are taken prisoners at Poitiers, John is brought to England which results in civil chaos in France
1360: England, France - Treaty of Calias, England and France sign a treaty on October 24th, John II of France is ransomed and Edward III renounces his claim to the French throne
1364: Uzbekistan - Timur (Tamerlane) captures Samarkand (Uzbekistan)
1368: China - Chu Yuan-chang, a Han Chinese peasant and former Buddhist monk who had become a rebel army leader, emerged as successor to Kublai Khan, founding the Ming dynasty, with a capital at Nanking
1369: Netherlands - Amsterdam joins Hanseatic League
1371: Turkey, Bulgaria - Serbs defeated by Ottoman Turks at Maritsa River (Bulgaria)
1372-1375: England, France - Hundred Years War resumes when the French fleet defeats the British fleet off La Rochelle y France, the French are helped by a powerful fleet from Castile, the Truce of Bruges is signed on June 27, 1375 limiting British presence in France to Calia, Brest, Bordeaux and Bayonne
1381: England - The Peasants Revolt led by Wat Tyler create anarchy throughout England burning a number of public buildings and beheading the archbishop of Canterbury, King Richard puts down the riot and Tyler is killed
1381: Italy - War of Chioggia, Venetian fleet under Vittoria Pisano defeat the Genoans, It begins the golden age of Venice
1384: Uzbekistan - Timur captures Herat, Sistan, Rayy, and Il-Khanid (the capital of Sultaniyeh)
1385: Portugal - Battle of Aljubarrota (central Portugal), Portugese under King John I defeat the Crown of Castile under King John I and his allies, the victory makes Portugal an Independent country