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 67: A Fox That Will Eat All His Chickens
Charles VII and his son Louis had a strained relationship to say the very least, and the Dauphin was eager to escape his father’s court and head to Dauphine. Distance would not mend things between father and son, and before long, the Prince was fleeing to Burgundian territory, complicating the already complicated relationship between Philip the Good and Charles VII.
Time Period Covered: 1445-1456
Notable People: Philip the Good, Louis XI, Charles Duke of Orleans, Charles I Duke of Bourbon, Charles Count of Nevers, John of Nevers Count of Etampes, Louis of Luxembourg Count of Saint-Pol, Pierre de Breze, Agnes Sorel, Rene of Anjou, Charles of Anjou Count of Maine, Antoine de Chabannes Count of Dammartin, Francesco Sforza
Notable Events/Developments: Turmoil at Charles VII’s Court, The Provocations of the Paris Parlement, Louis of Luxembourg’s Dual Loyalties, Dauphin Louis’ Exile in Dauphine, Dauphin Louis arrives at the Burgundian Court
Left: Italy and South Eastern France. Right: Louis XI as Dauphin depicted in The Crucifixion of the Parliament of Toulouse
From Left to Right: Pierre de Breze, Agnes Sorel, Rene of Anjou, and Charles of Anjou Count of Maine. All influential members of King Charles VII’s court. Sources
Philip the Good by Richard Vaughan
Louis XI: The Universal Spider by Paul Murray Kendall
Charles VII by Malcolm Vale
Histoire de Charles VII by Gaston du Fresne de Beaucourt Tome IV
Histoire de Charles VII by Gaston du Fresne de Beaucourt Tome V
Ouvres of Georges Chastellain Tome III
Recueil des croniques et anchiennes istories de la Grant Bretaigne, a present nomme Engleterre by Jean de Wavrin
The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court by Susan Abernethy
Charles of Orleans Prince and Poet by Enid McCleod
The Good King: Rene of Anjou and Fifteenth Century Europe by Margaret Kekewich
A History of Milan Under the Sforza by Cecilia Mary Ady
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