Welcome to Grand Dukes of the West
The story of Valois Burgundy is one of the most exciting of the Late Middle Ages. The four Valois Dukes of Burgundy used political intrigue, calculated splendor, economic power, and good old-fashioned violence to forge a state out of the many Duchies and Counties between France and the Holy Roman Empire. During Burgundy’s height its Dukes were seen by many as the equals of Kings and Emperors and their court was at the center of Western Europe’s cultural and political development. And then it all fell apart. Please join me as I explore the history and legacy of this forgotten kingdom.
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Episode 69: Incroyable
Low Countries in the 1450s. Antoine de Croy governed the territories of Boulogne, Namur, and Luxembourg; his brother Jean de Croy was the Captain-General and Bailiff of Hainault; and their nephew Jean de Lannoy was the Stadholder of Holland and Zeeland. The House of Croy had a dramatic rise over the course of the 15th Century. Beginning as Banneret Lords in Picardy, through their closeness with the Dukes of Burgundy, they gained immense riches, vast lands, and significant power. As Philip the Good aged, the Croy only grew more influential and more acquisitive, and the more they gained the more enemies they made.
Time Period Covered: 1400-1457
Notable People: Philip the Good, Jean I de Croy, Antoine de Croy, Jean II de Croy, Philippe de Croy Lord of Renty, Philippe de Croy Lord of Sempy, Louis of Luxembourg Count of Saint-Pol, Isabella of Portugal, Charles the Bold, Louis XI
Notable Events/Developments: Rise of the House of Croy, Excommunication of Jean II de Croy, Marriage of Jacqueline of Luxembourg and Philippe de Croy Lord of Renty, Fallout between Louis of Luxembourg and Philip the Good, Dispute over Charles the Bold’s chamberlain, Philip the Good gets lost in the woods
Antoine de Croy (Left) and Jean II de Croy (Right) wearing the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Sources
Philip the Good by Richard Vaughan
John the Fearless by Richard Vaughan
Les Croy, conseillers des ducs de Bourgogne by Marie-Rose Thielemans
Montee, crise, reorientation. Pour une histoire de la famille de Croy au xve siecle by Werner Paravicini
A l’ombre du Pouvoir: Les entourages princiers au Moyen Age Edited By Jean-Louis Kupper and Alain Marchandisse
The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court by Susan Abernethy
Histoire de Charles VII by Gaston du Fresne de Beaucourt Tome V
Histoire de Charles VII by Gaston du Fresne de Beaucourt Tome VI
Chronicles of Engeurrand de Monstrelet
Chronicles of Mathieu d’Escouchy
Ouvres of Georges Chastellain Tome III
Recueil des croniques et anchiennes istories de la Grant Bretaigne, a present nomme Engleterre by Jean de Wavrin
Memoires by Jacques du Clerq
Memoires by Olivier de la Marche
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