On This Day: January 28th

Execution of Agnes Sampson, accused of witchcraft in Edinburgh.

Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.

The Edict of Torda prohibits the persecution of individuals on religious grounds in John Sigismund Zápolya's Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.

Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father's death.

The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.

King Charles VI of France is nearly killed when several other dancers' costumes catch fire during a masquerade ball in Paris.

Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is lifted after he humbles himself before Pope Gregory VII at Canossa in Italy.

Robert de Comines, appointed Earl of Northumbria by William the Conqueror, rides into Durham, England, where he is defeated and killed by rebels. This incident leads to the Harrying of the North.

The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.

On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.