Latest News!
What's New! This website has undergang a major update with additional information and last but not least many updated and new photos. |
Dukes of Burgundy 1433 - 1482
  Philps I "the Good" 1396-1467, Duke 1433-1467 Philip "the Good"
PHILIP THE GOOD (1396-1467), Duke of Burgundy, son of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and Margaret of Bavaria, was born at Dijon on the 13th of June 1396, and succeeded his father on the 10th of September 1419. The natural outcome of the assassination of John the Fearless (q.v.) was to drive his successor to the English side. In 1419 Philip signed with Henry V. of England the treaty of Arras, by which he recognized Henry as regent and future heir of the kingdom of France, and in 1420 gave his adherence to the treaty of Troyes.
Early in December 1420 Philip entered Paris with the king of England, and subsequently took part in the defeat of the French at Mons-enVimeu. By a treaty concluded by Philip at Amiens in April 1423 with the Dukes of Brittany and Bedford, John, Duke of Bedford, married Philip's sister Anne, and Arthur of Brittany, earl of Richmond, became the husband of Philip's sister Margaret. A few years later discord arose among the allies. When the Duke of Bedford besieged Orleans the inhabitants offered to surrender, but to the Duke of Burgundy; whereupon Bedford retorted that "he did not beat the bushes for others to take the birds." When this speech reached Philip's ears he withdrew his troops in dudgeon, and concluded a truce with France (1429).
Bedford, however, succeeded in conciliating him by promises and presents, and in 1430 Philip took part in the campaign against Compiegne. But another conflict arose between the Duke of Burgundy and the English. Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut, the divorced wife of the Duke of Brabant and the heiress of Holland and Zeeland, had married the Duke of Gloucester, who attempted to take forcible possession of his wife's territories. Philip, however, himself claimed Brabant as having been bequeathed to him by his cousin Philip, the late Duke, with the result that the Burgundians repulsed the troops of the Duke of Gloucester, and Jacqueline was forced to recognize the Duke of Burgundy as her lieutenant and heir.
Moreover, the duchess of Bedford had died in 1433. Charles VII., who in spite of the efforts of the cardinal of Ste-Croix and the conferences held by him at Auxerre and Semur had hitherto refused to return to France, finally decided to take part in the conferences which were opened at St Vaast d'Arras on the 6th of August 1435, and to which the whole of Christendom attached very high importance, all the princes of Europe and the pope and the council of Basel being represented.
Philip consented to a reconciliation with the king of France, and agreed to recognize him as his legitimate sovereign on condition that he should not be required to pay him homage during his lifetime. Charles, on his part, solemnly, craved pardon for the murder of John the Fearless through the mouth of the dean of the church in Paris, and handed over to the Duke the Counties of Macon, Auxerre, Bar-sur-Seine and Ponthieu, and the towns on and near the Somme (Roye, Montdidier, Peronne), reserving the option of redeeming the Somme towns for 400,000 gold crowns.
Philip proved a faithful ally of the king, aiding him in re-entering Paris and preparing an expedition against Calais, which, however, failed through the ill-will of his Flemish subjects (1436). In 1440 he paid the ransom of Charles of Orleans (the son of his father's old enemy), who had been a prisoner in England since the battle of Agincourt; received him with great honour at Gravelines; and married him to Mary of Cleves, upon whom he bestowed a handsome dowry. In 1442 Philip entered into a conspiracy to give the Duke of Orleans a larger share in the affairs of the kingdom.
To Rene of Anjou, the Duke of Lorraine, he showed himself less generous, setting up another claimant to the duchy of Lorraine in the person of Anthony of Vaudemont, and taking Rene prisoner in 1431; it was not until 1436 that he consented definitively to release Rene on condition that he should abandon several strong places and pay an enormous ransom. In 1445, at the conferences of Chalons-surMarne, the duchess of Burgundy renounced these claims in her husband's name in order to assure the execution of the treaty of Arras. Philip was frequently disturbed by the insubordination of the Flemish communes. He had to quell seditions at Liege (1430), Ghent (1432) and Antwerp (1435). In 1438 he was driven with the duchess out of Bruges by the revolted citizens, a revolt which he repressed with great severity.
In 1448 the citizens of Ghent rose in rebellion, but, disappointed of French support, they were defeated at Ruppelmonde and in 1453 were overwhelmed at the battle of Gavre, where they left 20,000 dead on the field. At a banquet shortly afterwards Philip vowed that he would lead a crusade against the Turks, who had seized Constantinople, and the knights of his court swore to follow his example.' The expedition, however, did not take place, and was but a pretext for levying subsidies and for knightly entertainments.
In 1459 Philip sent an embassy under the Duke of Cleves into Italy to take part in the conferences preparatory to a fresh expedition against the Turks, but this enterprise likewise fell to the ground. In 1456 the Duke of Burgundy had given an asylum to the Dauphin Louis (afterwards Louis XI.), who had quarrelled with his father and had been forced to leave France. The "fox who would rob his host's hen-roost," as the old king called Louis, repaid his protector by attempting to sow discord in the ducal family of Burgundy, and then retired to the castle of Genappe in Brabant. At Charles VII.'s death, however, Philip was one of the first to recognize the new king, and accompanied him to Paris.
During the journey Louis won over the seigneurs of Croy, the principal counsellors of the Duke of Burgundy, and persuaded Philip to allow him to redeem the Somme towns for the sum stipulated in the treaty of Arras. This proceeding infuriated Philip's son Charles, Count of Charolais, who prevailed upon his father to break his pledge and declare war on the king of France. On the 12th of April 1465 Philip handed over to his son the entire administration of his 1 This was the singular vow known as "the vow of the pheasant," from the fact that Philip placed his hand solemnly on a pheasant, which had been brought to him by his herald, and vowed that he would fight the Turks and challenge their sultan to single combat. estates. The old Duke died at Bruges on the 15th of June 1467, and was buried at Dijon.
Philip was a great lover of pomp and luxury and a friend of letters, being the patron of Georges Chastelain, Olivier de la Marche and Antoine de la Salle, and the founder of the collection of MSS. known as the "Bibliotheque de Bourgogne" (now at Brussels), and also of the university of Dole (1421).(1421). He administered his estates wisely; promoted commerce and industry, particularly in Flanders; and left his son a welllined treasury. He was thrice married: in 1409 to Michelle (d. 1422), daughter of Charles VI. of France; in 1424 to Bonne of Artois (d. 1425); and in 1429 to Isabel (d. 1472), daughter of John I., king of Portugal.
On the occasion of his third marriage Philip founded the order of the Golden Fleece. He was succeeded by Charles, afterwards known as Charles the Bold, his only surviving son by Isabel. He had several illegitimate children, among them being Corneille, called the Grand Bastard, who was killed in 1452 at the battle of Ruppelmonde.
His father was John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (1371-1419) Philip "the Good", Duke of Burgundy, craftily seized; and thereby in 1433 the Duchess Jacoba of Bavaria was compelled to cede her rights over the Counties of Holland and Hainaut. Consequently at her death in 1436, as she left no accession children, Philip succeeded to the full and undisputed of the possession of her lands.
He had already acquired by inheritance, purchase or force almost all the other Lowland states; and now, with the extinction of the Dynasty of the Bavarian line of Counts, Holland ceased to have an independent existence and became an outlying province of the growing Burgundian power. During the years that followed the accession to the sovereignty of Duke Philip "the Good", Holland plays but an insignificant part.
It was governed by a Stadtholder , and but small respect was shown for its chartered rights and privileges. The quarrels between the Hook and Cod factions still continued, but the outbreaks of civil strife were quickly repressed by the strong hand of Philip. Holland during this time contented Flourish herself with growing material prosperity. Her log state herring fishery, rendered more valuable by the curing of process discovered or introduced by Benkelszoon, Holland. brought her increasing wealth, and her fishermen were already laying the foundations of her future maritime greatness. It was in the days of Duke Philip that Lorenz Koster of Haarlem contributed his share to the discovery of printing.
He succeeded his father as Duke of Nurgundy in 1419, in 1430 Brabant and Limburg, in 1433 Holland and Hainaut, in 1435 Auxerre and Maçon and in 1451 Luxemburg. He was married with Isabella of Portugal (1397-1471, daughter of King John I of Portugal.
He appointed Stadtholder s as representatives of all Provinces and founded the "Staten Generaal" in Brussels He can be seen as the preparer of the later states Belgium and The Netherlands. Charles I "the Bold" 1433-1467, Duke 1467-1477 Charles I "the Bold"
CHARLES, called THE Bold (1433-1477), Duke of Burgundy, son of Philip the Good of Burgundy and Isabella of Portugal, was born at Dijon on the 10th of November 1433. In his father's lifetime he bore the title of Count of Charolais. He was brought up under the direction of the seigneur d'Auxy, and early showed great application to studyand also to warlike exercises. Although he was on familiar terms with the dauphin (afterwards Louis XI.), when the latter was a refugee at the court of Burgundy, he could not but view with chagrin the repurchase by the king of France of the towns on the Somme, which had been temporarily ceded to Philip the Good by the treaty of Arras; and when his father's failing health enabled him to take into his hands the reins of government (which Philip abandoned to him completely by an act of the 12th of April 1465), he entered upon his lifelong struggle against Louis XI., and became one of the principal leaders of the League of the Public Weal. His brilliant bravery at the battle of Montlhery (16th of July 1465), where he was wounded and was left master of the field, neither prevented the king frem re-entering Paris nor assured Charles a decisive victory. He succeeded, however, in forcing upon Louis the treaty of Conflans (1466), by which the king restored to him the towns on the Somme, and promised him the hand of his infant daughter Catherine, with Champagne as dowry. In the meanwhile the Count of Charolais obtained the surrender of Ponthieu. The revolt of Liege and Dinant intervened to divert his attention from the affairs of France. On the 25th of August 1466 Charles took possession of Dinant, which he pillaged and sacked, and succeeded in treating at the same time with the Liegeois. After the death of Philip the Good (r5th June 1467), the Liegeois renewed hostilities, but Charles defeated them at St Trond, and made a victorious entry into Liege, which he dismantled and deprived of some of its privileges. Alarmed by these early successes of the Duke of Burgundy, and anxious to settle various questions relating to the execution of the treaty of Conflans, Louis requested a meeting with Charles and placed himself in his hands at Peronne. In the course of the negotiations the Duke was informed of a fresh revolt of the Liegeois secretly fomented by Louis. After deliberating for four days how to deal with his adversary, who had thus maladroitly placed himself at his mercy, Charles decided to respect the parole he had given and to treat with Louis (October 1468), at the same time forcing him to assist in quelling the revolt. The town was carried by assault and the inhabitants were massacred, Louis not having the courage to intervene on behalf of his ancient allies. At the expiry of the one year's truce which followed the treaty of Peronne, the king accused Charles of treason, cited him to appear before the parlement, and seized some of the towns on the Somme (1471). The Duke retaliated by invading France with a large army, taking possession of Nesle and massacring its inhabitants. He failed, however, in an attack on Beauvais, and had to content himself with ravaging the Country as far as Rouen, eventually retiring without having attained any useful result. Other matters, moreover, engaged his attention. Relinquishing, if not the stately magnificence, at least the gay and wasteful profusion which had characterized the court of Burgundy under the preceding Duke, he had bent all his efforts towards the development of his military and political power. Since the beginning of his reign he had employed himself in reorganizing his army and the administration of his territories. While retaining the principles of feudal recruiting, he had endeavoured to establish a system of rigid discipline among his troops, which he had strengthened by taking into his pay foreign mercenaries, particularly Englishmen and Italians, and by developing his artillery. Furthermore, he had lost no opportunity of extending his power. In 1469 the archDuke of Austria, Sigismund, had sold him the County of Ferrette, and the landgraviate of Alsace and some other towns, reserving to himself the right to repurchase. In 1472-1473 Charles bought the reversion of the duchy of Gelderland from its old Duke, Arnold, whom he had supported against the rebellion of his son. Not content with being "the grand Duke of the West," he conceived the project of forming a kingdom of Burgundy or Arles with himself as independent sovereign, and even persuaded the emperor Frederick to assent to crown him king at .Trier. The ceremony, however, did not take place owing to the emperor's precipitate flight by night (September 1473), occasioned by his displeasure at the Duke's attitude. In the following year Charles involved himself in a series of difficulties and struggles which ultimately brought about his downfall. He embroiled himself successively with Sigismund of Austria, to whom he refused to restore his possessions in Alsace for the stipulated sum; with the Swiss, who supported the free towns of Alsace in their revolt against the tyranny of the ducal governor, Peter von Hagenbach (who was condemned and executed by the rebels in May 1474); and finally, with Rene of Lorraine, with whom he disputed the succession of Lorraine, the possession of which had united the two principal portions of Charles's territories - Flanders and the duchy and County of Burgundy. All these enemies, incited and supported as they were by Louis, were not long in joining forces against their common adversary. Charles suffered a first rebuff in endeavouring to protect his kinsman, the archbishop of Cologne, against his rebel subjects. He spent ten months (July 1474 - June 1475) in besieging the little town of Neuss on the Rhine, but was compelled by the approach of a powerful imperial army to raise the siege. Moreover, the expedition he had persuaded his brother-in-law, Edward IV. of England, to undertake against Louis was stopped by the treaty of Picquigny (29th of August 1475). He was more successful in Lorraine, where he seized Nancy (Both of November 1475). From Nancy he marched against the Swiss, hanging and drowning the garrison of Granson in spite of the capitulation. Some days later, however, he was attacked before Granson by the confederate army and suffered a shamful defeat, being compelled to fly with a handful of attendants, and leaving his artillery and an immense booty in the hands of the allies (February 1476). He succeeded in raising a fresh army of 30,000 men, with which he attacked Morat, but he was again defeated by the Swiss army, assisted by the cavalry of Rene of Lorraine (22nd of June 1476). On the 6th of October Charles lost Nancy, which was re-entered by Rene. Making a last effort, Charles formed a new army and arrived in the depth of winter before the walls of Nancy. Having lost many of his troops through the severe cold, it was with only a few thousand men that he met the joint forces of the Lorrainers and the Swiss, who had come to the relief of the town (6th of January 1477). He himself perished in the fight, his mutilated body being discovered some days afterwards. Charles the Bold has often been regarded as the last representative of the feudal spirit - a man who possessed no other quality than a blind bravery - and accordingly has often been contrasted with his rival Louis XI. as representing modern politics. In reality, he was a prince of wide knowledge and culture, knowing several languages and austere in morals; and although he cannot be acquitted of occasional harshness, he had the secret of winning the hearts of his subjects, who never refused him their support in times of difficulty. He was thrice married - to Catherine (d. 1446), daughter of Charles VII. of France; to Isabella (d. 1465), daughter of Charles I., Duke of Bourbon; and to Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV. of England, whom he married in 1468, and by whom he had one daughter, Mary, afterwards the wife of the emperor Maximilian I.
He was married with Isabella of Bourbon and had only one child, Mary "the Rich" (1458-1482).
During the reign of Charles the Bold (1467-1477) the Hollanders, like the other subjects of that warlike prince, suffered much from the burden of taxation. An outbreak at Hoorn was by Charles sternly repressed.
The Hollanders were much aggrieved by the establishment of a high court of justice for the entire Netherlands at Mechlin (1474). This was regarded as a serious breach of their privileges.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Seventeen Provinces were a personal union of states in the Low Countries in the 15th century and 16th century, roughly covering the current Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, a good part of the North of France (Artois, Nord), and a small part of the West of Germany. The Seventeen Provinces were originally held by the Dukes of Burgundy of the House of Valois and later by the Habsburgs, first by the Spanish and then by the Austrian line. From 1512 the Provinces formed the major part of the Burgundian Circle.
The map corresponds to the following provinces: the County of Artois the County of Flanders, including the burgraviates of Lille, Douai, Orchies, the Lordship of Tournai and the Tournaisis the Lordship of Mechelen the County of Namur the County of Hainaut the County of Zeeland the County of Holland the Duchy of Brabant, including the Margraviate of Antwerp, the Counties of Leuven and of Brussels, and the advocacy of the Abbey of Nivelles and of Gembloux the Duchy of Limburg, including the Counties of Dalhem and Valkenburg and the Lordship of Herzogenrath the Duchy of Luxembourg the Prince-Bishopric, later Lordship of Utrecht the Lordship of Frisia the Duchy of Guelders and the County of Zutphen the Lordships of Groningen the Ommelanden the Lordship of Drenthe, Lingen, Wedde, and Westerwolde the Lordship of Overijssel It was not always the same Seventeen Provinces represented at the Estates-General of the Netherlands. Sometimes one delegation was included in another. In later years the County of Zutphen became a part of the Duchy of Guelders, and the Duchy of Limburg was dependent on the Duchy of Brabant. On the other hand the French-speaking cities of Flanders were sometimes recognised as a separate province. In addition, there were a number of fiefdoms in this region that were not part of the Seventeen Provinces. The largest of these was the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the green area on the map, including the County of Horne. It was not a member-province of the Burgundian Circle. It was part of the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle. In the north, there were also a few smaller entities like the island of Ameland that would retain their own lords until the French Revolution.
The Seventeen Provinces originated from the Burgundian Netherlands. The Dukes of Burgundy systematically became the lord of different provinces. Mary I of Valois, Duchess of Burgundy was the last of the House of Burgundy. When she married Maximilian I of Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the provinces were acquired by the House of Habsburg in 1482. His grandson and successor, Charles V of Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Burgundy, eventually united all seventeen provinces under his rule, the last one being the Duchy of Guelders, in 1543. Most of these provinces were fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire. Two provinces, the County of Flanders and County of Artois, were originally French fiefs, but sovereignty was ceded to the Empire in the Treaty of Cambrai in 1529. The Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 determined that the Provinces should remain united in the future and inherited by the same monarch. Therefore, Charles V introduced the title of Heer der Nederlanden ("Lord of the Netherlands"). Only he and his son could ever use this title. After Charles V's abdication in 1556, his realms were divided between his son, Philip II of Habsburg, King of Spain, and his brother, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Seventeen Provinces went to his son, the king of Spain. Conflicts between Philip II and his Dutch subjects led to the Eighty Years' War, which started in 1568. The seven northern provinces gained their independence as a republic called the Seven United Provinces. They were:
The southern provinces, Flanders, Brabant, Namur, Hainaut, Luxembourg a.o., were restored to Spanish rule thanks to the military and political talent of the Duke of Parma, especially at the Siege of Antwerp (1584–1585). Hence, these provinces became known as the Spanish Netherlands or Southern Netherlands. The northern Seven United Provinces kept parts of Limburg, Brabant, and Flanders during the Eighty Years' War (see Generality Lands), which ended with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Artois and parts of Flanders and Hainaut were ceded to France in the course of the 17th and 18th century. [edit] EconomyBy the mid-16th century, the Margraviate of Antwerp (Duchy of Brabant) had become the economic, political, and cultural center of the Netherlands after its capital had shifted from the nearby Lordship of Mechelen to the city of Brussels. Bruges (County of Flanders) had already lost its prominent position as economic powerhouse of northern Europe. And Holland was gradually gaining importance in the 15th and 16th centuries. However after the independence of the seven northern provinces and the resulting closure of the Scheldt river to navigation, a large number of people from the southern provinces emigrated north to the new republic. The center of prosperity moved from cities in the south such as Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels to cities in the north, mostly Holland, including Amsterdam, the Hague, and Rotterdam. [edit] NetherlandsTo distinguish between the older and larger Low Countries of the Netherlands from the current Country of the Netherlands, Dutch speakers usually drop the plural for the latter. They speak of Nederland in singular for the current Country and of de Nederlanden in plural for the integral domains of Charles V. In other languages, this has not been adopted, though the larger area is sometimes known as the Low Countries in English. The fact that the term Netherlands has such different historical meanings can sometimes lead to difficulties in expressing oneself correctly. For example, composers from the 16th century are often said to belong to the Dutch School (Nederlandse School). Although they themselves would not have objected to that term at that time, today it may wrongly create the impression that they were from the current Netherlands. In fact, they were almost exclusively from current Belgium. [edit] Coats of arms
Mary "the Rich" 1457-1482, Duchess 1477-1482 Mary "the Rich"
MARY (1457-1482), duchess of Burgundy, only child of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and his wife Isabella of Bourbon, was born on the 13th of February 1457. As heiress of the rich Burgundian domains her hand was eagerly sought by a number of princes. When her father fell upon the field of Nancy, on the 5th of January 1477, Mary was not yet twenty years of age. Louis XI. of France seized the opportunity afforded by his rival's defeat and death to take possession of the duchy of Burgundy as a fief lapsed to the French crown, and also of Franche Comte, Picardy and Artois. He was anxious that Mary should marry the Dauphin Charles and thus secure the inheritance of the Netherlands for his descendants. Mary, however, distrusted Louis; declined the French alliance, and turned to her Netherland subjects for help. She obtained the help only at the price of great concessions. On the 11th of February 1477 she was compelled to sign a charter of rights, known as "the Great Privilege," by which the provinces and towns of the Netherlands recovered all the local and communal rights which had been abolished by the arbitrary decrees of the Dukes of Burgundy in their efforts to create in the Low Countries a centralized state. Mary had to undertake not to declare war, make peace, or raise taxes without the consent of the States, and not to employ any but natives in official posts. Such was the hatred of the people to the old regime that two influential councillors of Charles the Bold, the Chancellor Hugonet and the Sire d'Humbercourt, having been discovered in correspondence with the French king, were executed at Ghent despite the tears and entreaties of the youthful duchess. Mary now made her choice among the many suitors for her hand, and selected the archDuke Maximilian of Austria, afterwards the emperor Maximilian I., and the marriage took place at Ghent on the 18th of August 1477. Affairs now went more smoothly in the Netherlands, the French aggression was checked, and internal peace was in a.large measure restored, when the duchess met her death by a fall from her horse on the 27th of March 1482. Three children had been the issue of her marriage, and her elder son, Philip, succeeded to her dominions under the guardianship of his father.
The succession of Mary of Burgundy led to the grant Burgundy to Holland as to the other provinces of the Netherlands of the Great Privilege of March 1477, which restored the most important of their ancient rights and liberties. A high court of justice was established for Holland, Zeeland and Friesland, and the use of the native language was made official. The Hook and Cod troubles again disturbed the Country. Hook uprisings took place at Leiden and Dordrecht and had to be repressed by armed force.
She was the only daughter of Charles I "the Bold" and Isabella of Bourbon, she married 19 August 1477 with Emperor Maximilliaan I of Germany. Because she was female she lost Burgundy to France. Together with her husband Maximilliaan I they declared themselves Duchess and Duke of Holland by declaration called "the Great Privilage".
By the sudden death of the Duchess Mary in 1482 her possessions, including the County of Holland, passed to her infant son, Philip, under the guardianship of his father Maximilian I of Germany. Thus the Burgundian dynasty was succeeded by that of the Habsburgs.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg){kind=small}
