Charles the Bold
Rogier van der Weyden painted Charles the Bold as a young man in about 1460, wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece
Duke of Burgundy
Reign	15 June 1467 – 5 January 1477
Predecessor	Philip the Good
Successor	Mary
Spouse	Catherine of France Isabella of Bourbon Margaret of York
Issue
Mary, Duchess of Burgundy
House	House of Valois
Father	Philip the Good
Mother	Isabella of Portugal
Born	(1433-11-10)10 November 1433 Dijon, Burgundy
Died	5 January 1477(1477-01-05) (aged 43) Nancy, Lorraine

Charles the Bold (or Charles the Rash) (Dutch: Karel de Stoute, French: Charles le Téméraire or Charles le Hardi)^[1] (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), baptised Charles Martin, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. Known as Charles the Terrible to his enemies,^[2] he was the last Valois Duke of Burgundy and his early death was a pivotal, if under-recognised, moment in European history.

After his death, his domains began an inevitable slide towards division between France and the Habsburgs (who through marriage to his heiress Mary became his heirs). Neither side was satisfied with the results and the disintegration of the Burgundian state was a factor in most major wars in Western Europe for more than two centuries.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Charles the Bold was born in Dijon, the son of Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal. In his father's lifetime (1433–1467) he bore the title of Count of Charolais; afterwards, he assumed all of his father's titles, including that of "Grand Duke of the West". He was also made a Knight of the Golden Fleece just twenty days after his birth, being invested by Charles I, Count of Nevers and the seigneur de Croÿ.

He was brought up under the direction of the Seigneur d'Auxy, and early showed great application to study and also to warlike exercises. His father's court was the most extravagant in Europe at the time, and a centre for arts and commerce. While he was growing up, Charles witnessed his father's efforts to unite his increasing dominions in a single state, and his own later efforts centered on continuing and securing his father's successes.

In 1440, at the age of seven, Charles was married to Catherine, daughter of Charles VII, the King of France, and sister of the Dauphin (afterwards Louis XI). She was five years older than her husband, and she died in 1446 at the age of 18. They had no children.

Charles as a boy stands next to his father, Philip the Good. Rogier van der Weyden's frontispiece to the Chroniques de Hainaut, c. 1447–8 (Royal Library of Belgium)

.

In 1454, at the age of 21, having been a widower for eight years, Charles married a second time. He wanted to marry a daughter of his distant cousin, the Duke of York (sister of Kings Edward IV and Richard III of England), but under the Treaty of Arras (1435), he was required to marry only a French princess. His father chose Isabella of Bourbon for him: she was the daughter of Philip the Good's sister, and a very distant cousin of Charles VII of France. Their daughter, Mary, was Charles' only surviving child, and became heiress to all of the Burgundian domains. Isabella died in 1465.

Charles was on familiar terms with his brother-in-law, the Dauphin, when the latter was a refugee at the Court of Burgundy from 1456 until Louis succeeded his father as King of France in 1461. But Louis began to pursue some of the same policies as his father; Charles viewed with chagrin Louis's later repurchase of the towns on the Somme, which Louis's father had ceded in 1435 to Charles's father in the Treaty of Arras. When his own father's failing health enabled him to take into his hands the reins of government (which Philip relinquished to him completely by an act of 12 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.

For his third wife, Charles was offered the hand of Louis XI's daughter, Anne; however, the wife he ultimately chose was Margaret of York (who was his second cousin, they both being descended from John of Gaunt). With his father gone, and being no longer bound by the Treaty of Arras, Charles decided to ally himself with Burgundy's old ally England. Louis did his best to prevent or delay the marriage (even sending French ships to waylay Margaret as she sailed to Sluys), but in the summer of 1468 it was celebrated sumptuously at Bruges, and Charles was made a Knight of the Garter. The couple had no children, but Margaret devoted herself to her stepdaughter Mary; and after Mary's death many years later, she kept Mary's two infant children as long as she was allowed. Margaret survived her husband, and was the only one of his wives to be Duchess of Burgundy, the first two wives having died before his accession and thus being known as Countesses of Charolais.

Coat of arms of Charles the Bold

Early battles[link]

On 12 April 1465, Philip relinquished government to Charles, who spent the next summer prosecuting the War of the Public Weal against Louis XI. Charles was left master of the field at the Battle of Montlhéry (13 July 1465), where he was wounded, but this neither prevented the King from re-entering Paris nor assured Charles a decisive victory. He succeeded, however, in forcing upon Louis the Treaty of Conflans (4 October 1465), by which the King restored to him the towns on the Somme, the counties of Boulogne and Guînes, and various other small territories. During the negotiations for the Treaty, his wife Isabella died suddenly at Les Quesnoy on 25 September, making a political marriage suddenly possible. As part of the treaty Louis promised him the hand of his infant daughter Anne, with Champagne and Ponthieu as dowry, but no marriage took place.

In the meanwhile, Charles obtained the surrender of Ponthieu. The Revolt of Liège against his father and his brother in law, Louis of Bourbon, the Prince-Bishop of Liège, and a desire to punish the town of Dinant, intervened to divert his attention from the affairs of France. During the previous summer's wars, Dinant had celebrated a false rumour that Charles had been defeated at Montlhéry by burning him in effigy, and chanting that he was the bastard of Duchess Isabel and John of Heinsburg, the previous Bishop of Liege (d.1455). On 25 August 1466, Charles marched into Dinant, determined to avenge this slur on the honour of his mother, and sacked the city, killing every man, woman and child within; perhaps not surprisingly, he also successfully negotiated at the same time with the Bishopric of Liège. After the death of his father, Philip the Good (15 June 1467), the Bishopric of Liège renewed hostilities, but Charles defeated them at the Battle of Brustem, and made a victorious entry into Liège, whose walls he dismantled and deprived the city of some of its privileges.

Treaty of Péronne[link]

Territories of the house of Valois-Burgundy during the reign of Charles the Bold.

Alarmed by these early successes of the new 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 daringly placed himself in his hands at Péronne. In the course of the negotiations the Duke was informed of a fresh revolt of the Bishopric of Liège 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 negotiate with Louis (October 1468), at the same time forcing him to assist in quelling the revolt. The town of Liège was carried by assault and the inhabitants were massacred, Louis not intervening on behalf of his former allies.

At the expiry of the one year's truce which followed the Treaty of Péronne, 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.

Domestic policies[link]

Other matters, moreover, engaged his attention. Relinquishing, if not the stately magnificence, at least some of the extravagance which had characterized the court of Burgundy under his father, 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.

Building a kingdom[link]

Furthermore, he lost no opportunity to extend his power. In 1469, Archduke Sigismund of Austria sold him the County of Ferrette, 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 Guelders (i.e. the right to succeed to it) from its 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 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III 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. At the close of 1473, his duchy of Burgundy was anchored in France and extended to the edges of the Netherlands. Charles the Bold was now one of the wealthiest and most powerful nobles in Europe. His fortunes and landholdings rivaled those of many of the royal families.^[3]

Downfall[link]

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 the Archduke 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 Upper Rhine in their revolt against the tyranny of the ducal governor, Peter von Hagenbach (who was condemned by a special international tribunal and executed on 9 May 1474); and finally, with René II, Duke of Lorraine, with whom he disputed the succession of Lorraine, the possession of which had united the two principal portions of Charles's territories— the County of Flanders, the Low Countries, the Duchy of Burgundy and the 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 the Bold, a much later portrait by Peter Paul Rubens.

Charles suffered a first rebuff in endeavouring to protect his kinsman, Rupprecht of the Palatinate, Archbishop of Cologne, against his rebel subjects. He spent ten months (July 1474 – June 1475) besieging the little town of Neuss on the Rhine (the Siege of Neuss), 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, the King of England, to undertake against Louis was stopped by the Treaty of Picquigny (29 August 1475). He was more successful in Lorraine, where he seized Nancy (30 November 1475).

From Nancy he marched against the Swiss, hanging or drowning, in spite of their capitulation, the garrison of Grandson, a possession of the Savoyard Jacques de Romont, a close ally of Charles, which the Confederates had invested shortly before. Some days later, on 2 March 1476, he was attacked before the village of Concise by the confederate army in the Battle of Grandson and suffered a shameful defeat, being compelled to flee with a handful of attendants, and leaving his artillery and an immense booty (including his silver bath) in the hands of the allies.

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 the Duke of Lorraine (22 June 1476). On this occasion, and unlike the debacle at Grandson, little booty was lost, but Charles certainly lost about one third of his entire army, the unfortunate losers being pushed into the nearby lake where they were drowned or shot at while trying to swim to safety on the opposite shore. On 6 October Charles lost Nancy, which René re-entered.

Depiction of finding his body after the Battle of Nancy, by Auguste Feyen-Perrin (1826–1888), Musée Lorrain.

Death at Nancy[link]

Making a last effort, Charles formed a new army and arrived in the dead 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, at the Battle of Nancy (5 January 1477). He himself perished in the fight, his naked and disfigured body being discovered some days afterward frozen into the nearby river. Charles' head had been cleft in two by a halberd, lances were lodged in his stomach and loins, and his face had been so badly mutilated by wild animals that only his physician was able to identify him by his long fingernails and the old battle scars on his body.

Charles' battered body was initially buried in Nancy but in 1550, his great-grandson and heir, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, ordered it to be moved to the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, next to that of his daughter Mary. In 1562, Emperor Charles V's son and heir, King Philip II of Spain, erected a splendid mausoleum in early renaissance style over his tomb, still extant.^[4] Excavations in 1979 positively identified the remains of Mary, in a lead coffin, but those of Charles were never found.^[5]

Legacy[link]

Charles left his unmarried nineteen year-old daughter, Mary, as his heir; clearly her marriage would have enormous implications for the political balance of Europe. Both Louis and the Emperor had unmarried eldest sons; Charles had made some movements towards arranging a marriage between the Emperor's son, Maximilian, before his own death. Louis unwisely concentrated on seizing militarily the border territories, in particular the Duchy of Burgundy (a French fief). This naturally made negotiations for a marriage difficult. He later admitted to his councillor Philippe de Commynes that this was his greatest mistake. In the meantime the Habsburg Emperor moved faster and more purposefully and secured the match for his son, the future Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, with the aid of Mary's stepmother, Margaret.

In view of Charles' irrational behaviour in the last year or so of his life, it has even been suggested that he became mentally unstable.

Ancestors[link]

Duchy of Burgundy-
House of Valois, Burgundian Branch

John the Good Children    Charles V of France    Louis I of Anjou    John, Duke of Berry    Philip the Bold Philip the Bold Children    John the Fearless    Margaret of Burgundy, Duchess of Bavaria    Catherine of Burgundy    Anthony, Duke of Brabant    Mary, Duchess of Savoy    Philip, Count of Nevers John the Fearless Children    Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Cleves    Margaret, Countess of Richemont    Philip the Good    Anne of Burgundy    Agnes of Burgundy Philip the Good Children    Charles the Bold    Anthony the Bastard Charles the Bold Children    Mary of Burgundy Mary of Burgundy

Titles[link]

• 1433–5 January 1477: Count of Charolais as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Duke of Burgundy as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Duke of Brabant as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Duke of Limburg as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Duke of Lothier as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Duke of Luxemburg as Charles II
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Margrave of Namur as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Count Palatine of Burgundy as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Count of Artois as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Count of Flanders as Charles II
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Count of Hainault as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Count of Holland as Charles I
• 15 June 1467–5 January 1477: Count of Zeeland as Charles I
• 23 February 1473–5 January 1477: Duke of Guelders as Charles I
• 23 February 1473–5 January 1477: Count of Zutphen as Charles I

See also[link]

Kingdom of France portal

• Burgundian Netherlands
• Burgundian Wars
• Duchy of Burgundy
• Dukes of Burgundy family tree
• Jacques of Savoy, Count of Romont

References[link]

Sources[link]

Further reading[link]

• Vaughan, Richard (1973), Charles the Bold: The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy, London: Longman Group, ISBN 0-582-50251-9 .

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Bobbie Diane Eakes (born July 25, 1961) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Macy Alexander on The Bold and the Beautiful (1989–2000, 2001, 2002–2003.) and for her role as Krystal Carey on All My Children (2003–2011).

Biography[link]

Personal life[link]

She is the youngest of five daughters in an Air Force family.^[1]

Eakes was Miss Georgia 1982, and studied at the University of Georgia. She married novelist and actor David Steen on July 4, 1992.

Career[link]

Eakes received bit roles on nighttime television series, such as Cheers, before becoming successful in the soap opera genre. In the mid-1980s, she was the lead singer of the dance-pop group Big Trouble. The group released one self-titled CD in 1987, which was produced by Giorgio Moroder.^[2] Their single "Crazy World" charted on the U.S. singles chart, reaching #71.

She first achieved fame in the role of Macy Alexander on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, which she played from 1989 to 2000 (on contract), 2001 (guest appearance) and 2002 to 2003 (on contract). A very popular "good girl" kind of character, Macy battled with her inner demons (including an addiction to alcohol) before finally finding happiness with Deacon Sharpe (played by Sean Kanan. On the show, Macy was an accomplished singer in her own right (in tune with Bobbie Eakes' hobby).

Between stints as Macy, Eakes hosted shows on the country music television channel Great American Country. She was also featured on country music singer Collin Raye's 2000 single "Tired of Loving This Way", which peaked at #50 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts.

On July 7, 2000, her character "died" in a fiery explosion when her car crashed into a gasoline truck when the writers of the show felt the character of Macy no longer contributed to the show's storyline. She was brought back to the show during the B&B location shoot at Portofino, Italy in December 2002, and was then killed off after a chandelier fell on her during a concert in 2003. The decision was made to kill Macy off a second time after Eakes had decided to take the role of Krystal Carey on All My Children, as the complete opposite of Macy,playing the sexy and sassy character. The role of Krystal is loosely based on Eakes' Southern upbringing.

Eakes also starred in productions of Cinderella and Love Letters opposite her former costar Jeff Trachta in Los Angeles. The two are still friends offscreen. The CD they recorded together, "Bold and Beautiful Duets", went double-platinum in Europe.

With All My Children airing its final episode on ABC in September 2011, in June 2011 it was highly rumored that Bobbie Eakes would be returning to The Bold and the Beautiful.

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Guest singles[link]

Music videos[link]

Award nominations[link]

Daytime Emmy Awards

• (2010) Outstanding Lead Actress (Krystal Carey, All My Children)
• (2006) Outstanding Lead Actress (Krystal Carey, All My Children)

Soap Opera Digest Awards

• (2005) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Supporting Actress for All My Children
• (1999) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Supporting Actress for The Bold and the Beautiful
• (1994) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Supporting Actress for The Bold and the Beautiful

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Bobbie Eakes at the Internet Movie Database
• Bobbie Eakes on Myspace

• A & A's Newssite 4 Bobbie Eakes
• Bobbie Eakes Divas of Daytime Interview
• Official Bobbie Eakes Channel
• Official Bobbie Eakes Message Board
• Divas of Daytime TV
• Bobbie Eakes profile

Hayne van Ghizeghem (c. 1445–1476–1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance Burgundian School.

While many of his works have survived, little is known about his life. He was probably born in Gijzegem (near Ghent, in modern Belgium). His musical talent must have been noticed early by Charles, Count of Charolais (later to become Charles the Bold) because there is a record of his being personally assigned to a teacher by him; in 1467 he is shown in the Burgundian employment records as being a singer. In addition, he was named along with Adrien Basin and Antoine Busnois as "chantre et valet de chambre" to Charles, indicating the special regard in which he was held.

In addition to serving as a singer and composer, he evidently served as a soldier as well, for there is a record of purchase of military equipment for him, prior to the campaign against Liège by Charles. Charles took his musicians along with him on his campaigns, because he loved music as much as war, and insisted on entertainment; however Hayne was the only one of his famous musicians known to be also outfitted as a soldier. He is known to have been at the Siege of Beauvais in 1472, where Charles was decisively repulsed by the French, and Hayne was long presumed by scholars to have been killed in that battle. However, recent research into his surviving compositions indicates that some may have been produced after 1472, especially because they seem to show stylistic development beyond the ones that can be definitively dated to 1472 or before.^[1] Current scholarship suggests he may have survived the siege, and gone to work at the court of France. That such a distinguished singer and composer worked for France's bitter rival would have been an offense easy to forgive, for Burgundian musicians of the time were highly prized.

Hayne is principally known as a composer of chansons, and most of these are rondeaux. Two in particular—Allez regrets, and De tous biens plaine—were so famous in late 15th century Europe that they appeared in 25 separate sources, many dating from before the invention of printing, and they were used as source material for many later compositions by other composers. Almost all of his works are for three voices; they are simple and clear in texture, in the typical manner of the Burgundian school; and the melodic voice is the highest.

Eleven pieces can be definitively attributed to Hayne, though numerous similar works classified as "anonymous" may actually be compositions of his. The entire collection has been edited and published in Corpus mensurabilis musicae, vol. lxxiv (1977), by B. Hudson.^[1]

Notes[link]

References and further reading[link]

• Louise Litterick: "Hayne van Ghizeghem", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
• Litterick, Louise. Hayne van Ghizeghem. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/book/omo_gmo. Retrieved 29 October 2010.  (Subscription required)
• Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4

External links[link]

• Free scores by Hayne van Ghizeghem in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)

Philip the Bold
Duke of Burgundy
Reign	1363 – 27 April 1404
Predecessor	John the Good
Successor	John the Fearless
Spouse	Margaret III, Countess of Flanders
Issue
John the Fearless Margaret of Burgundy Anthony, Duke of Brabant Philip II, Count of Nevers
House	Valois of Burgundy
Father	John II of France
Mother	Bonne of Bohemia
Born	15 January 1342 Pontoise, France
Died	27 April 1404 (aged 62) Halle, Brabant

Philip the Bold (Dutch: Filips de Stoute French: Philippe le Hardi), also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (January 15, 1342, Pontoise – April 27, 1404, Halle), was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV of Burgundy. He was the founder of the Burgundian branch of the House of Valois.

Early life[link]

Coat of arms (after 1363)

Born in 1342, Philip gained his cognomen the Bold when, at the age of 14, he fought beside and was captured with his father at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. He was created Duke of Touraine in 1360, but in 1363, as a reward for his behaviour at Poitiers, he returned this to the crown, receiving instead from his father the Duchy of Burgundy in apanage, which his father had been Duke of since the death of Philip of Rouvres in 1361. Philip would rule the Duchy until his death.^[1]

On 19 June 1369, Philip married the 19 year old Margaret of Dampierre, the daughter of Louis II, Count of Flanders, who would become the heiress of Flanders, Brabant, Artois, and the Free County of Burgundy after the death of her brother in 1376. Margaret was the widow of his stepbrother, Philip of Rouvres, Duke of Burgundy, Count Palatine of Burgundy, and Count of Artois, Boulogne and Auvergne. The two had been betrothed and married as children, she at seven years old, he at 11 years old; he died when he was about 15 and she about 11. Their marriage was without issue. As her father's eventual heiress, Margaret would bring rich possessions to her husband and to their children.^[2]

From 1379 to 1382, he helped his father-in-law put down revolts in Flanders, particularly in Ghent, organising an army against Philip van Artevelde. The revolts were finally ended only in 1385, following the death of Louis II, with the Peace of Tournai. As jure uxoris Count of Flanders, he would keep in mind the economic interests of the Flemish cities, which made their money from weaving and spinning. In this he was aided by the expansion of the Three Members - a parliament consisting of representatives from the towns of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres - to the Four Members through the addition of the rural area Franc of Bruges

In 1390, Philip also became the Count of Charolais, a title used by Philip the Good and Charles the Bold as the heirs of Burgundy.

Involvement in France[link]

Philip was very active in the court of France, particularly after the death of his brother, Charles V, who left the 12 year old Charles VI as King. Charles was a minor, so a regency was undertaken by his uncles, Louis, Duke of Anjou, John, Duke of Berry, Philip himself, and Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, Charles VI's maternal uncle. Among his acts while regent was the putting down of the 1382 tax revolt known as the Harelle. The regency lasted until 1388, Philip taking the dominant rôle: Louis of Anjou was fighting for his claim to the Kingdom of Naples after 1382, dying in 1384, John of Berry was interested mainly in the Languedoc,^[3] and not particularly interested in politics; whilst Louis of Bourbon was a largely unimportant figure, due to his personality (he showed signs of mental instability) and his status (since he was not the son of a King). However, Burgundy, along with Berry and Bourbon, lost their power in 1388, when Charles VI, taking up personal rule, chose to favour the advice of the Marmousets, his personal advisors, over that of his uncles.^[4]

In 1392, events conspired to allow Burgundy to seize power once more in France. Charles VI's friend and advisor, Olivier de Clisson, had recently been the target of an assassination attempt by agents of John V, Duke of Brittany; the would-be assassin, Pierre de Craon, had taken refuge in Brittany. Charles, outraged at these events, determined to punish Craon, and on 1 July 1392 led an expedition against Brittany. Whilst progressing towards Brittany, the King, already overwrought by the slow progress, was shocked by a madman who spent half-an-hour following the procession, warning the King that he had been betrayed; when a page dropped a lance, the King reacted by killing several of his knights, and had to be wrestled to the ground. Burgundy, who was present, immediately assumed command, and appointed himself regent, dismissing Charles' advisors. He was the principal ruler of France until 1402.^[5]

His seizure of power, however, had disastrous consequences for the unity of the House of Valois, and of France itself. The King's brother, Louis, Duke of Orléans, resented his uncle rather than himself being regent; the result was a feud between Philip and Louis, which was continued after their deaths by their families. In particular, both quarrelled over the royal funds, each desiring to appropriate this for their own ends: Louis to fund his extravagant lifestyle, Philip to further his ambitions in Burgundy and the Low Countries. Nonetheless, this struggle only served to enhance the reputation of Philip, and gave him real popularity in Paris, since, in comparison with the profligate and irresponsible Orléans, he appeared a sober and honest reformer. Thus, although Charles VI, in a rare moment of sanity, confirmed his brother as regent in 1402, Orléans' misrule allowed Burgundy to regain control of France as regent in 1404, shortly before his death.^[6]

Philip died in Halle, County of Hainaut (modern Belgium), on 27 April 1404.^[7] His territories were bequeathed to his eldest son, John the Fearless, who inherited also Philip's political position in France and leadership of the Burgundians against Orléans.

Tomb of Philip the Bold[link]

Tomb of Philip the Bold at the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy at Dijon

In 1378, Philip the Bold acquired the domain of Champmol just outside Dijon, to build the Chartreuse de Champmol (1383–1388), a Carthusian monastery ("Charterhouse"), which he intended to house the tombs of his dynasty. His tomb and his recumbent effigy are one of the chief works of Burgundian sculpture. They were made by Jean de Marville (1381–1389), Claus Sluter (1389–1406) and Claus de Werve (1406–1410). Jean Malouel, official painter to the duke, was responsible for the polychrome and gilt decoration. After his death, the body of Philip the Bold was eviscerated and embalmed, then placed in a lead coffin. It was then deposited in the choir of Chartreuse de Champmol on 16 June 1404. His internal organs were sent to the church of Saint Martin at Halle. In 1792, his body was transferred to Dijon Cathedral and in the following year his tomb was damaged by revolutionaries and looters. It was restored in the first half of the 19th century, and is today in the former palace of the dukes, now part of the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Dijon.

Marriage and issue[link]

Philip the Bold in later life, after Jean Malouel

Philip the Bold married Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (1350–1405) on 19 June 1369, a marriage which would eventually not only reunite the Duchy of Burgundy with the Free County of Burgundy and the County of Artois, but also unite it to the rich county of Flanders. Philip and Margaret had the following children:

• John the Fearless (1371–1419, murdered at Montereau), his eldest son and successor as Duke of Burgundy
• Charles (1372–1373)
• Marguerite of Burgundy (October 1374 – March 8, 1441, Le Quesnoy), Countess of Mortain married William VI, Count of Holland and Duke of Bavaria-Straubing
• Louis (1377–1378)
• Catherine of Burgundy (April 1378, Montbard – January 24, 1425, Gray, Haute-Saône), married Leopold IV, Duke of Austria
• Bonne (1379–1399, Arras) betrothed to John I, Duke of Bourbon
• Antoine, Duke of Brabant (August, 1384 – October 25, 1415, at Agincourt)
• Mary of Burgundy (September 1386, Dijon – October 2, 1422, Thonon-les-Bains), married Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy
• Philip II, Count of Nevers and Rethel (1389–1415, at Agincourt)

In arranging the marriages of his children, Philip followed an intelligent diplomatic and strategic design, which would be followed by his successors in Burgundy as far as Emperor Maximilian I. For example, the marriages in 1385 of his son, John the Fearless, and his daughter, Marguerite, to Margaret of Bavaria and William of Bavaria, son and daughter of Albert, Count of the neighbouring Hainault and Holland, prepared the later union of Hainault and Holland with Burgundy and Flanders, as carried out by Philip's grandson, Philip the Good; the marriages also inserted the new Valois Burgundy dynasty into the Wittelsbach network of alliances: the other daughters of Count Albert had married William I, Duke of Guelders and Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia; their cousin, Isabeau of Bavaria, had married Charles VI of France, and become Queen of France.

In addition to his alliance with the low county Bavarians, Philip also made links with the Dukes of Austria and of Savoy, by marrying his daughter Catherine to Leopold IV of Austria, and his daughter Mary to Amadeus VIII Savoy.

See also: Dukes of Burgundy family tree

His residences[link]

The château de Germolles

In Burgundy, the residences that once belonged to Philippe the Bold and that still exist are rare. Apart from several elements of the ducal palace in Dijon (Tour de Bar), we find the château de Germolles, largely preserved. This residence was offered to his wife, Margaret III, Countess of Flanders in 1381. The princess transformed the old fortress into a luxurious home with the help of the finest artists of the Burgundian School Claus Sluter and Jean de Beaumetz.

Titles[link]

Duchy of Burgundy-
House of Valois, Burgundian Branch

John the Good Children    Charles V of France    Louis I of Anjou    John, Duke of Berry    Philip the Bold Philip the Bold Children    John the Fearless    Margaret of Burgundy, Duchess of Bavaria    Catherine of Burgundy    Anthony, Duke of Brabant    Mary, Duchess of Savoy    Philip, Count of Nevers John the Fearless Children    Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Cleves    Margaret, Countess of Richemont    Philip the Good    Anne of Burgundy    Agnes of Burgundy Philip the Good Children    Charles the Bold    Anthony the Bastard Charles the Bold Children    Mary of Burgundy Mary of Burgundy

• 1360–1363: Duke of Touraine as Philip II
• 1363–1404: Duke of Burgundy as Philip II
• 1390–1404: Count of Charolais as Philip I
• 1384–1404: Count Palatine of Burgundy as Philip IV by jure uxoris
• 1384–1404: Count of Artois as Philip IV by jure uxoris
• 1384–1404: Count of Flanders as Philip II by jure uxoris
• 1384: Count of Nevers as Philip I by jure uxoris
• 1384–1402: Count of Rethel as Philip I by jure uxoris

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Kitchin, George William, A History of France, Vol.1, Clarendon Press, 1849.
• The New International Encyclopædia, Vol.14, Ed. Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck, Frank Moore Colby, Dodd Mead and Company, 1903.
• Vaughan, Richard, Philip the Bold: the formation of the Burgundian state, The Boydell Press, 2002.
• The Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy

Ancestors[link]