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 66: Burgundifying the Bishoprics
Triptych with the Virgin and Child, Saints and Donors painted by the Master of Delft c.1500. The far left of the triptych shows David of Burgundy as the Bishop of Utrecht. Throughout the reigns of all the Burgundian Dukes so far, they have been constantly trying to expand their influence over the Church in the Low Countries. In the mid-1450s, Philip the Good would take that project as far as it had ever gone by placing Burgundians on the Episcopal thrones of Utrecht and Liege.
Time Period Covered: 1455-1460
Notable People: Philip the Good, David of Burgundy Bishop of Utrecht, Louis of Bourbon Bishop of Liege, Gijsbrecht van Brederode, Reinoud van Brederode, Duke Arnold of Guelders, Catherine of Cleves Duchess of Guelders, Jean de Lannoy Stadtholder of Holland, Rudolph von Diepholz Bishop of Utrecht, John of Heinsberg Bishop of Liege
Notable Events/Developments: Death of Rudolph von Diepholz, Election of Gijsbrecht van Brederode, Siege of Deventer (1456), David of Burgundy becomes Bishop of Utrecht, Louis of Bourbon becomes Bishop of Liege
Saint Martin’s Cathedral in Utrecht Sources
Philip the Good by Richard Vaughan
Staat en kerk in Holland en Zeeland onder de Bourgondische hertogen, 1425-1477 by A. G. Jongkees
The Chronicle of Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland with the Chronicle of the Bishops of Utrecht by Cornelius Aurelius
Recueil des croniques et anchiennes istories de la Grant Bretaigne, a present nomme Engleterre by Jean de Wavrin
Handbook of Dutch Church History ed by Herman J. Selderhuis
The Golden Age of Burgundy by Joseph Calmette
In the Shadow of Burgundy: The Court of Guelders in the Late Middle Ages by Gerard Nijsten
The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court by Susan Abernethy
Jean de Heinsberg (1419-1455): Ou le Dilemme d’Un Prince-Eveque de Liege Ecertele par des Options Politiques Antagonistes by Alain Marchandisse
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