The Count who lived continued (1430-1444)
“It wasn’t until Anthony was 14 years old that he was able to leave Coudenburg, The House of Burgundy’s estate in Brabant for the first time. Before this point his health wouldn’t allow for it as incidents of possession (epilepsy)(1) seemed to afflict him anytime time he left the estate. His health in these years was so bad that he was given last rights at least four times between the birth of Charles and his 14th birthday. (2). His association of being assertive or aggressive with loss of control and mortal peril is entirely understandable in this context. Imprisoned by his body in Coudenburg, Anthony saw his family even less then you average noble child. Like Charles he was closer to his mother then his father, but this closeness was magnified by the fact that he spent even less time with his father then Charles did. He seemed to be his happiest in the company of his mother’s cadre of poets and artists. In contrast he seemed to dread encounters with his father, at one point when a frustrated Philip chastised him for acting more like a lady then a lord at yesterday’s feast, it caused Anthony to have a fit almost instantaneously. As Anthony was taken away Philip is reported to have said, “For what sin is my House being punished My Lord?”(3) Anthony’s relationship with his father can, and to be honest must be explored more deeply later in the paper, but for now all that needs to be said is that relations between them were poor.
It must be emphasized that while he enjoyed the time he had with his mother, she was an incredibly busy women. Duchess Isabella played many roles in Philip’s realm, governor in his absence, his greatest diplomat, negotiator, and was Duke’s official matchmaker. (4) For the most part, he was raised and educated by people on hand in Brussels. Sources describe him as being kind, humble and gentile to a fault, it also seems he was eager to please and went go out his way to was also known to be incredible curious and inquisitive child fascinating with knowing as much as possibly could. He was also know for his most influential tutors were a Catholic priest and Flemish Merchant, whose names seem to have been lost to history.(5) The Flemish Merchant was a somewhat odd choice for the time but since Anthony wasn’t interested in the art of war, and no one was interested in teaching him, it was allowed.(6) Anthony was a voracious reader, going through almost any book he could find in Coudenburg and the city of Brussels. He was interested in theology, philosophy, and politics but he was obsessed with Thomas Aquinas. St. Augustine of Hippo seems to have been his next favorite author based on how much he quotes him in his writing (7) By the time he became Duke of Burgundy in 1467 he had collected all of the man’s work and kept them near his person at all times. His decision to go above and beyond the call of duty what was required of a proper catholic prince by embracing celibacy can be attributed to the piety he gained from his embracing of Thomism. (8) His admiration of St. Thomas was so strong that of his first acts as duke was favoring the highly reform minded congregation of Dominican Friars known as the Congregation of Holland whose importance would grow with time. (9)
Most of this drama hadn’t occurred when Anthony turned 14 in 1444, At this point it he was finally healthy enough to leave Coudenburg. In preparation for this day He had prepared for this day, finally mastering the ability to ride a horse, only a few years after his brother, which was reported to have slightly impressed his father. (10) In a rather low-key ceremony, for Philip at least, (11) Anthony was inducted into the Order of the Golden Fleece, only 9 years after his younger brother! As the assumed heir of the Realm it was high time for him to learn how to rule. So with his parents in agreement he was sent off to formally govern Artois to learn the ropes of ruling. While this was happening, the plan was that his mother would finally be able to find him a match from among Europe’s nobility, as to be blunt he was no longer a waste of a marriage. (12) Alas, events rarely go according to plan especially for late house of Burgundy.
Excerpt from Grant Covington’s essay “Better Know A Ruler: Anthony the Cautious (1467-1485)"
(1) I originally had him live for 64 years, but with my decision to counterbalance survival with epilepsy, his life got nine years shaved off it.
(2) In D&D terms, he had terrible Stat rolls

(3) A pretty reasonable Renaissance/Medieval reaction I feel, and it would make a pretty important scene in the Fall of the House of Burgundy.
(4) She did the exact same thing in OTL, and was perhaps one of most influential women of the age.
(5) This isn’t really true but the only sources that describe them our in Dutch-Rhenish-Franconian Hybrid that is spoken in what was once Lorraine-Burgundy.
(6) I’ll try to drive this point in harder later on but Charles is almost unquestionable understood to be the dynasty’s greatest hope and favorite son. To use the example of the Brady Bunch, Antoine is very much the Jan to Charles’s Marsha.
(7) Antoine is one of the few men of the era whose diary has survived, it’s discovery in Coudenberg in 1492 by future Duke TBD of Lorraine.
(8) To paraphrase Joe Biden this is A Big fracking Deal! This decision more than any other is cause of the tension at the twilight of the house of burgundy.
(9) These guys become a big deal later.
(10) One must understand that Philip cared for his first-born son a great deal, which at least partly why he isn’t disinherited and exiled in the following years.
(11) Philip was a Big spender in This Timeline and Ours.
(12)It seems reasonable to me that no noble would really want to give a dowry to burgundy and then have the groom die within the month you know.