Charles the Bold (Burgundy) (1433–1477)

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CHARLES THE BOLD (BURGUNDY) (1433–1477)

CHARLES THE BOLD (BURGUNDY) (1433–1477), duke of Burgundy. Charles was the last of the Valois dukes of Burgundy. The son of Duke Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal, he was born in 1433. As a youngster he had a reputation for unbounded energy, a fierce temper, and a determination to win glory in battle. His impetuous nature in politics and battle led to his designation as Charles le Teméraire, "the Bold" but equally "the Rash." Because Charles was more absorbed in war than his father, Charles's court was less important as a center of art, but he had a fondness for music that helped create the Flemish School of Music. Two years before his father's death in 1467 he took control of the vast territories of the House of Burgundy—the duchy of Burgundy, Flanders, and Artois, lands in the kingdom of France; and the county of Burgundy (the Franche-Comté), Brabant, Friesland, Hainaut, Holland, Luxembourg, and Zeeland, units of the Holy Roman Empire. The two Burgundies were separated from his provinces in the Netherlands by Alsace and Lorraine, and one of his goals was uniting his lands by gaining control of the last two territories. Another was gaining the title of king so he would be the equal of his rival, Louis XI of France.

As one of the peers of France, Charles involved himself in plots against Louis. He and his French allies in the League of the Public Weal were victorious over Louis in the Battle of Montlhéry in July 1465, but as they failed in a subsequent attack on Paris, little came of their victory. Charles began negotiations with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (ruled 1440–1493) to marry Mary, Charles's daughter with his first wife Isabelle de Bourbon, to Frederick's son Maximilian and to gain from him the title of king. In 1473 negotiations with Frederick over Charles's coronation broke down at the last minute, and Charles decided to win by arms what he could not by bargaining.

After arranging for Edward IV of England to invade France, Charles began a campaign to conquer Alsace and the Rhine Valley in 1474. The Swiss, frightened by Charles's pretensions of reestablishing the old kingdom of Burgundy that included much of western Switzerland, allied with Louis XI. The French paid the Swiss Confederation a substantial sum to wage war on Charles. Involved in Alsace, he was forced to leave the Swiss unpunished after they ravaged the county of Burgundy in 1474. When in 1475 Edward agreed to a truce with Louis instead of undertaking the joint campaign to divide up France with Charles, the latter turned his attention to the Swiss. Assembling the heavy lancers of Burgundy, regarded as the best cavalry in Europe; the cream of Europe's foot soldiers, who included Italian crossbowmen, English archers, and pikemen from the Low Countries; and the best artillery train yet seen, Charles led his forces into Switzerland in February 1476. A brief siege took the town of Grandson, and Charles hanged every defender as an example to the Swiss. As his army moved eastward, it ran into the Swiss forces that, as was their practice, were marching in battle order. Charles had little time to form his lines before the Swiss phalanxes were on top of his men. Desperately trying to rally them, the duke had to be dragged from the battlefield.

Undaunted by this defeat, Charles rebuilt his army with his usual energy. By June he was back in the field. While laying siege to Morat, Charles came under attack from the Swiss, who had rapidly reassembled. The ability of the Swiss to move quickly across a field of artillery fire allowed them to reach the Burgundian lines and rout them. While Charles got away, most of his men were slaughtered. Yet he once again assembled an army, although smaller than his previous ones. His wrath was especially directed at the duke of Lorraine, who had joined the Swiss at Morat. In late 1476 he moved into Lorraine and laid siege to Nancy. The Swiss arrived in early January and as usual moved immediately into battle. Badly outnumbering the Burgundians, the Swiss routed them on 5 January 1477 and killed Charles. His frozen body with its head cleaved "from crown to chin" by a halberd was found two days later.

Charles's lands passed to Mary, his only child. Louis XI, who took advantage of Charles's death to recover the duchy of Burgundy and Artois for the French crown, pressed her to marry his young son Charles. Being a Burgundian, however, she refused with disdain and married Maximilian of Austria (Holy Roman emperor; ruled 1493–1519). This was the first in the series of marriages that passed much of Europe to Charles's great-grandson Charles V (ruled 1519–1556), who was named for him.