Now Charles the Bold has two sons....man Louis XI must be having the worst day ever.
The Marriage of the Century - A Burgundian Timeline
- Thread starter BlueFlowwer
- Start date
Chapter 7. Things fall.
Chapter 7. Things fall.
The year of 1476 would be a watershed in Burgundian history. The ducal armies would face increasingly powerful enemies made up by Lorraine troops and Swiss forces who determinedly defended their lands from the egomaniac Duke of Burgundy. Naturally the king of France backed them. The battles of Grandson and Murten in spring and summer would be crushing defeats for Burgundy. Charles returned briefly to Namur in autumn where the duchess Margaret rushed to meet him. Charles managed to raise more tropes and after a week he left for Franche-Comté. At Salins he reminded the Estates there that the ancient Roman heroes had triumphed against many odds and that his two sons had been granted by God, thus they should put their faith in their duke to win this war. His speech was so impressive and his confidence so unshakable that the estates sent another 4,000 men to his force. In addition, the church bells would be melted down to make new cannons.
Armed with a fresh force and more weapons, Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, returned to Lorraine in October. In November Margaret returned to Ghent to spend Christmas with Mary and her children. She was able to bring good news to the Estates; Mary was officially betrothed to Maximillian of Austria, the son of Emperor Frederick III. The papal dispensation got issued by the Papal Legate Cardinal Tolentis in Antwerp. The marriage would take place in summer of 1477. Margaret was able to share another piece of news to gladden her family, she was expecting a baby again.
In Ghent Margaret was joined in the castle of Ten Waele by Philip, now seven years old, Isabella, age five and little John, who had taken his first steps and could speak a few words.
For the duchess the Christmas at Ghent must have been a happy time for her family, even with Charles in Lorraine, besieging the city of Nancy in the cold winter. To cheer her husband up, the duchess sent a messenger down to Charles to tell him about her blessed state and that his entire family prayed for his success and safety.
The ending to the siege of Nancy came in the first week of January in a very dramatic way. A combined force made up of swiss infantry and mounted knights from Lorraine attacked the Burgundian camp, led by the duke René. The falling snow had lent them the element of surprise and their opponents were brutally overrun. The brutal mêlée smashed the Burgundian infantry, took the artillery and baggage, including the newly made cannons. The most important loss to Burgundy, however, would be the Duke himself. Charles the Bold, one of the most feared and magnificent rulers of his day, would perish in the cold snow. His corpse was found days later, frozen nearby a stream. His horse had thrown him at a attempted jump and the blow to the head had been fatal.
The defeat of Charles would become material for legends all over Europe. The duke himself would be subject of ballads, epics and folklore from every pen and poet, Spanish, German, English, France. The fascinations would be comparable to Hannibal and Alexander the Great, something that would have gladden the duke in the afterlife. Decades after, rumours would persist of a hermit living in a cave or a desolated prisoner a la Richard the Lionheart.
The shockwaves would resonate the strongest in Charles’s own duchy and with his family. But the implications of Nancy in France would not be less. With the death of Charles the Bold rose another war, one less grandiose perhaps, but one vital nonetheless. Two people would fight over the late Duke’s inheritance with ferocity. One was King Louis XI of France who had long wished to dismantle Burgundy and now with the Duke dead had a clear possibility. On the other side stood the now dowager duchess, Margaret of York, equally determined to prevent her sons inheritance from being lost to ravenous wolves.
It would be a fight between giants.
Dowager Duchess Margaret Louis XI of France
-Source: The Spider and the Daisy – The fight for Burgundy, Catherine Keenan.
The year of 1476 would be a watershed in Burgundian history. The ducal armies would face increasingly powerful enemies made up by Lorraine troops and Swiss forces who determinedly defended their lands from the egomaniac Duke of Burgundy. Naturally the king of France backed them. The battles of Grandson and Murten in spring and summer would be crushing defeats for Burgundy. Charles returned briefly to Namur in autumn where the duchess Margaret rushed to meet him. Charles managed to raise more tropes and after a week he left for Franche-Comté. At Salins he reminded the Estates there that the ancient Roman heroes had triumphed against many odds and that his two sons had been granted by God, thus they should put their faith in their duke to win this war. His speech was so impressive and his confidence so unshakable that the estates sent another 4,000 men to his force. In addition, the church bells would be melted down to make new cannons.
Armed with a fresh force and more weapons, Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, returned to Lorraine in October. In November Margaret returned to Ghent to spend Christmas with Mary and her children. She was able to bring good news to the Estates; Mary was officially betrothed to Maximillian of Austria, the son of Emperor Frederick III. The papal dispensation got issued by the Papal Legate Cardinal Tolentis in Antwerp. The marriage would take place in summer of 1477. Margaret was able to share another piece of news to gladden her family, she was expecting a baby again.
In Ghent Margaret was joined in the castle of Ten Waele by Philip, now seven years old, Isabella, age five and little John, who had taken his first steps and could speak a few words.
For the duchess the Christmas at Ghent must have been a happy time for her family, even with Charles in Lorraine, besieging the city of Nancy in the cold winter. To cheer her husband up, the duchess sent a messenger down to Charles to tell him about her blessed state and that his entire family prayed for his success and safety.
The ending to the siege of Nancy came in the first week of January in a very dramatic way. A combined force made up of swiss infantry and mounted knights from Lorraine attacked the Burgundian camp, led by the duke René. The falling snow had lent them the element of surprise and their opponents were brutally overrun. The brutal mêlée smashed the Burgundian infantry, took the artillery and baggage, including the newly made cannons. The most important loss to Burgundy, however, would be the Duke himself. Charles the Bold, one of the most feared and magnificent rulers of his day, would perish in the cold snow. His corpse was found days later, frozen nearby a stream. His horse had thrown him at a attempted jump and the blow to the head had been fatal.
The defeat of Charles would become material for legends all over Europe. The duke himself would be subject of ballads, epics and folklore from every pen and poet, Spanish, German, English, France. The fascinations would be comparable to Hannibal and Alexander the Great, something that would have gladden the duke in the afterlife. Decades after, rumours would persist of a hermit living in a cave or a desolated prisoner a la Richard the Lionheart.
The shockwaves would resonate the strongest in Charles’s own duchy and with his family. But the implications of Nancy in France would not be less. With the death of Charles the Bold rose another war, one less grandiose perhaps, but one vital nonetheless. Two people would fight over the late Duke’s inheritance with ferocity. One was King Louis XI of France who had long wished to dismantle Burgundy and now with the Duke dead had a clear possibility. On the other side stood the now dowager duchess, Margaret of York, equally determined to prevent her sons inheritance from being lost to ravenous wolves.
It would be a fight between giants.
Dowager Duchess Margaret Louis XI of France
-Source: The Spider and the Daisy – The fight for Burgundy, Catherine Keenan.
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Sorry about the pics looking so close together, I have tried to edit it, but it won't work.
But anyho, the shitstorm is coming for real!
But anyho, the shitstorm is coming for real!
Margaret has the backing of the HRE and England. The French wolf is biting off more than it can chew.
In real life Edward IV was not the most supportive brother, so we'll see how that goes.
But also this time Louis can't claim the french fiefs due to the lack of a male heir.
Also Margaret's last baby, shall it be a boy or girl?
Also Margaret's last baby, shall it be a boy or girl?
Another daughter would solve the Juan issue, and could bring Spain into alliance, no?
Thank you very much!
The next chapter is 12 pages long on my word document. *keels over and dies*
The next chapter is 12 pages long on my word document. *keels over and dies*
I can also give a spoiler about this TL. Anne of Brittany will not become queen of France and the hapsburgs will not get Spain. Okay, that was two spoilers, but whatever.