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The late 15th century has always fascinated me. The drastic changes that took place in this period are so interesting, and their consequences even more so. The fall of Constantinople, the widespread introduction of firearms and canons, the rounding of the cape of good hope and of course the discovery of America.

So I thought where better to have a POD. And then I started looking and researching and I fell in love with Charles the Bold. So I thought why not give him a little piece of bad luck, that'll give him good luck. And that's why...



Fortune Favours the Bold
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Partie I: Pride comes after a Fall

The Life of Charles the Bold – François Durand

And so it came to the fateful year of 1475. Having returned from Nuess in shame, Charles soon made up for this in Lorraine. Marching in with a relatively small army, he seized the city of Nancy in November and drove out René II, with whom he contested the duchy. However soon after the capture of Nancy, while he was preparing to face the Swiss, he had an accident. He was traveling from Lorraine to Burgundy, when he fell from his horse and broke his left leg and arm. After several attempts at moving, Charles finally consented to stop and let his bones heal. His bones were set and bound, but he was unable to ride his horse and therefore lead his army. The “anti-Burgundian league” now had control of Alsace and were moving in on the county of Burgundy. Absolutely furious but unable to do anything about it, Charles finally made peace with his enemies. He gave up his control of Alsace and was forced to pay a large sum of money to Archduke Sigismund of Hapsburg in the treaty of Nancy. Despite his losses, Charles still kept control of Lorraine, and without the Swiss or Sigismund to support him, René was unable to challenge Charles. René remained in Bar, where he tried to raise and army of his own. Despite the peace, Alsace once again became the cause of a conflict several years later, between the Archduke and the Swiss, over the region.

The year 1476 was a peaceful year for Charles, and allowed him to consolidate his lands. Without the need for taxes to pay for his wars, the people of the low country became much less troublesome and wealthy. The peace also allowed the Burgundian court at Cudenburg to once again achieve it's splendor of past years. Charles invited the great and powerful of Europe to visit him. Edward IV of England visited on two occasions, saying of Charles “I wouldn't make an enemy of him, even if he had lost his leg, both his arms and was blind.” Other important visitors to Brussels included Mathius Corvinus of Hungary, James III of Scotland, Francis II Duke of Brittany and even Andreas Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor and Despot of Morea, however only in name and not reality. Andreas was at the time travelling from court to court seeking charity, as he was living off a small pension from the Pope which was gradually diminishing. Charles took to the young man almost at once. Andreas told him tales off battles against the Ottomans, his escape to Italy, and other stories, many of which he made up. Charles offered the Andreas a substancial pension as well as land and 100 lances as a personal guard. Andreas accepted happily, and remained in the Burgundian court with Charles. It was during this time that Andreas met Mary, Charles' only daughter and heiress...

By the end of the year, Charles' arm had healed, but his leg remained unusable, (it would never fully heal), nonetheless Charles started moving around again. He planned on resuming the war with the Swiss for Alsace, however René beat him to it. In the early months of 1477 René had managed to arrange an army, with the help of French king Louis XI, and marched into Lorraine to reclaim the duchy. Charles wasn't really able to lead the army, but his sheer determination made sure he did. Upon hearing of René's invasion, Chalres is said to have jumped out of his throne and ran towards the door shouting for his armour before collapsing in pain. And so it was that while he was sending orders for the gathering of his army, he also ordered the construction of a chariot so that he could accompany them. Worked on by several men, one in particular made his mark. Hieronymus Bosch, a young artist, let his imagination run wild on the project (and he had quite an imagination). The woodwork was particularly ornate and the panels of the chariot were painted with scenes of battle. As a little experiment he fitted a cross bow to the front and filled the chariot's storage space with all sorts of weapons, including two hackbutts, a large supply of gunpowder, innumerable crossbow bolts along with an assortment of swords and axes. The chariot had enough space for one driver and Charles himself, who would be seated on an almost throne-like chair. The chariot needed two horses to pull it. Some parts of it were highly impractical, but it was certainly impressive and earned Bosch quite a reputation, particularly for his style of painting which was symbolic and strange. Many believe it was Bosch who inspired the surrealist movement in the 19th century.

When Charles finally left to face René in April, he took with him one of the most impressive armies at the time. His combination of ordinance companies and mercenaries along with the largest and most advanced artillery train in Europe was formidable, as it would prove in battle. Charles arrived
at Nancy to find the city being placed under siege. René was not fully prepared but managed to organize his army before the battle. He chose a strong defensive position on a hill between a wood and a stream. The two armies were similar in size, René's consisting mainly of Swiss mercenaries but also a number of armored knights. From his position in his chariot, Charles was afforded a good view of the land. Never much of a planner, Charles nonetheless could see that an all out charge again the swiss pikes would be fruitless. He drew out his lines in a similar fashion to René, only Charles was using Burgundian men-at-arms, some hastily raised Flemish pike men and English longbow men, along with a much larger number of his own Bugundian gendarmes. The battle started with a small advance. The Flemish militias, not usually a reliable force but this time behaving, advanced towards the Swiss. At the same time the gendarmes charged René's left. The gendarmes smashed through a line of levies before trying to attack the Swiss from behind. The Swiss turned their pikes and the gendarmes suffered horrendous casualties. However by this time the Flemings had advanced followed closely by the English. While the Swiss had their backs turned, the English ran forwards, unleashed several volleys of arrows on the pike men, before drawing their axes and swords and charging. None of this was planned by Charles who was stuck behind in his chariot, and was actually ordered by a young English commander called Richard Grey. Charles finally made himself heard and while the English and Flemings where hacking into the disarrayed Swiss, Charles ordered his remaining gendarmes, under the charge of Andreas Palaiologos, to charge. Andreas, who in reality had very little experience on a battlefield, simply charged and let the other gendarmes follow. Chalres also ordered his driver to charge, but the heavy and cumbersome chariot soon fell behind the others. Before Andreas even reached the lines René and his army were fleeing. A note on the Swiss should be made, who remained fighting against the Flemings and English, and almost all of whom died that day. Meanwhile Andreas and the gendarmes were chasing down the fleeing René. It was Andreas himself who captured René, because although an unexperienced soldier, he was an excellent horseman. His rewards for this would change the world.

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