I have to figure that out though hmm...... I might be willing to do Bourbon daughter maybe........
Walking on the Silver Line: A Valois-Bourgogne TL
- Thread starter Liminia1
- Start date
Do not worry. Foreigners were ineligible to the English crown… John being Burgundian, son of Margaret of York and husband of the Yorkist heiress is good enough and the Lancastrian legitimate blood who he inherited by his father is also good in securing his Crown but Philip has no need to renounce in favour of his brother to a claim who he does not have
Habsburg England would be good if you mustHmmm I have ideas but I still wish to get rid of the house of Calais anyway in order to kick start another war
It would be kinda cursed to see a Habsburg or Wittelsbach England in this TL right?
Once Iberia is united the problem would solve itself if the Trastamara continue to rule there
I mean ehhhhh a marriage between second cousins and then followed by another marriage between uncle and niece by third cousin degrees isn't great genetically so I might throw in a marriage of Bourbon just to keep the blood alive for a time.
If I turn the house of Calais against Burgundy (Which I probably will to keep this TL healthy in terms of conflict) I think a marriage with Burgundy's rivals of France or the HRE would be good.
Chapter 15: A careful balance of regents until it collapses 1483 - 1491
The death of king Louis XI would give the full regency to Charlotte of Savoy who would be respected as full regent as she began to set up her own royal council. Philip the Rich along with his wife, Anne of Champagne would respect the wishes of King Louis as Anne was quite fond and respecting of her mother. Philip would also devote his time and energies to England as the death of Edward IV and the ascension of Richard III would force him to focus primarily on the rapid fire events occurring in England at the time. Louis of Orleans and Peter of Bourbon, joined in alliance would begin to make moves to secure themselves their respective seats on the royal council. The general estates of France were not keen to invite their most powerful former vassal into running the country in a regency.
The death of Charlotte of Savoy would trigger the Mad War of France between Burgundy and France. The general estates would revoke the will of Louis XI of France who sought to create a carefully balanced regency in order to not trigger the Burgundian anger ironically it would be this alliance of Orleans and Bourbon that would keep this equilibrium. Philip would order his armies led by the capable Burgundian captains which Philip would later reorganize into the Burgundian officer corps into France and would invade and lay siege to Paris. Burgundy would also decisively defeat the royal armies in Beaujeu which were hastily assembled by Peter II of Bourbon. Burgundy would continue the ravage the Ile-de-France, Normandy and Valois itself until the peace of Bourges in 1485. It would reaffirm the will of King Louis XI but importantly forced the county of Vertus, and Tonnerre to be reorganized and underneath the count of Champagne and not the King of France directly. More importantly to Philip was the reorganization of the peer system in France and the forced recognition of Champagne as second peer of France despite its merger with the crown in 1316 which would have given Anne the rank of 20th peer of France instead the elevation of Champagne to second peer would also be forced to give Champagne the role of holding the crown and fastening the belt per tradition while Normandy led by Louis of Orleans and Duke of Guyenne who was the heir to the throne would hold both banners.
State affairs would be run by the legendary Guilleme Briconnet who was a compromise candidate between the triumvirate of Champagne, Bourbon and Orleans and he would run the state in the regency by de facto assuming control of both the treasury and state affairs. Louis of Orleans would take on foreign policy along with Peter of Bourbon both eager to boot Anne out of the regency herself. Anne would be shut out of the triumvirate in terms of genuine policy but what impact she did make was significant such as the removal of French support to Henry VII in 1485 just after the battle of Bosworth Field and her impact as regent would leave an irrefutable mark in 1491 near the end of Charles' regency. Importantly for Anne and Philip, the access to French finances and to strengthen the court of France was important. Throughout the years of 1485 - 1488, Anne would use funnel French money into Champagne and later through Burgundy. The creation of a court in Reims would be precursor to the legendary permanent Burgundian court in Nancy that would be formed in 1491.
The court here would raise Charles II, Count of Charolais, Louise de Savoy, Diane de Poitiers importantly it would also see the introduction of Isabella of Burgundy into this new temporary court, this court of Reims would be spoken of throughout France as various other nobility from England, the Holy Roman Empire and Italy would arrive. Maximilian who was now King of the Romans would arrive at Reims and speak to the courts glamour with the marriage of Isabella and Maximilian taking place in Reims rather than in Vienna as Frederick suggested. This would also allow Philip and Anne to regain the favour of the various nobles all eager to gain the attention of the future King, Charles VII who under this mixture of guidance and education would grow up to be quite shrewd as he learned of various schemes conducted by factional nobles.
The war over Brittany or the second war of Breton succession would see Anne and Philip finally assume the sole regency of France agreeing that by 1491, Charles would reach the majority and they would return to Burgundy afterwards, Anne would declare both Peter and Louis traitors to realm in 1486. Francis II of Brittany not particularly eager to see a Franco-Burgundian Union sided with Orleans and Bourbon in order to check Anne's ambition. This would utterly fail as the following wars would see Peter and Louis imprisoned and Francis II agreeing to the betrothal and later marriage of Anne, heir presumptive of Brittany to Charles VII. Francis' death would be followed up by the invasion of Brittany in 1489 by France to force the marriage of Anne and Charles. This effort would be led by the king himself, Charles VII.
The brilliance of this political move by Anne and Philip could not be understated through clever usage of French finances and rhetoric the majority of the nobles were somewhat open if not willing to turn a blind eye to this new Franco-Burgundian Union. The removal of the most powerful rivals to the French throne, Bourbon, Orleans and Brittany would practically guarantee Burgundy control of France. Anne and Philip however would not undo many of the absolutist reforms done by Louis XI as the royalist advisors now under the command of Charles VIII would not allow it and while this control of France would allow Philip to gain even more access to French finances and established a very strong pro-Burgundian faction within France, it would not ingratiate itself with Charles VIII who at this point began to exert a huge amount of royal authority and undercut the Burgundians at every chance he had.
The betrothal between Charles VIII and Anne of Brittany would further drive a wedge between the regents and the king. Charles VIII would pardon Peter and Louis within the the year of 1489. The abuse of the French finances would come to a halt with once again with Charles VIII now 19 would reject any attempt for Burgundy to pay off any expenses incurred by the Burgundians with French money. The restoration of the triumvirate would also limit Burgundian expansion as the court of Reims would be moved back to Paris and with it Anne's influence would crumble, the death of Charles II, count of Charolais would also wound the headstrong Anne as she entered into a state of grief. Philip would continue to desperately entrench the crumbling Burgundian influence in France but would ultimately fail. Near the end of 1490, Burgundian influence was almost nothing in France and Charles VIII would watch over the Burgundians with every waking breath. Philip would smartly devote his time in entrenching the treaties of Arras, Conflans, Peronne, Beaune and Senlis as Duke of Burgundy rather than Count of Champagne, extracting promises and agreements with the King to ensure that these treaties be respected.
The death of John II of Nevers would trigger the war of Lotharingia, which would be fought between Burgundy against France. Charles VIII at this point completely despising the Burgundians declared that the five treaties despite their agreement in 1490 were invalid and declared himself to take the majority as he was 20 years of age at this point, he accused Philip of treason against the crown and went to war against Burgundy. Louis of Orleans and Peter II of Bourbon who already festered wounds against the Burgundians would take up the cause with divine anger. The only pro-Burgundian person in the French court as one chronicler wrote was the practically imprisoned Duchess of Brittany, Anne. Burgundian forces would fight to a standstill as the legendary captain Tremoille would lead the French armies to victories in the Ile de France and Champagne. The treaty of Dijon would be signed in the winter months of 1491, in which Burgundy would inherit Nevers, Rethel and Eu per the treaty of Peronne, Charles VIII would respect the five previous treaties signed by his father Louis XI. Importantly for Philip the Rich, Charles VIII would acknowledge the privilegium Lotharingia signed by Frederick III. There would also be a clause that was minor to Philip but would bite back for his descendants later on, he would renounce his succession rights to the throne of France in exchange for the recognition of the privilegium Lotharingia.
The regency of France was masterminded by Louis XI to bring a semblance of balance and stability in France during the minority of Charles VIII. This would actually work perhaps even better than Louis' imagined, as Charles VIII would be just as politically active and astute as his father. The problems with this minority rule were the implementation as both Orleans and Bourbon rightfully feared Burgundian dominance. The abuse of French finances would be reminiscent of the days of Philip the Bold and John the Fearless, although to a much lesser degree. The fruitful few months of Burgundian dominated regency would immensely benefit the already powerful state arguably starting the golden age of Burgundy. Louis did not want a Burgundian dominated France however the reasons he included Anne into the regency were of immense debate to historians as in 1465, Louis hinted the Charles the Absolute that he could take the crown of France if he had no male heirs, but Louis' policy of absolutism would be in stark contrast to Charles' state building. So which is it? Did Louis want to inherit or dismantle Burgundy? Why couldn't he just remove Anne from the regency at all? Perhaps it would best answered by Philip the Rich who stated, "My godfather and father in law was wise enough to realize that removing my wife from the regency would doom France and to give her sole regency would also doom France. I think it was in his interest to watch my wife and the other regents squabble to teach his son how to rule properly with an iron fist as he ruled."
The death of Charlotte of Savoy would trigger the Mad War of France between Burgundy and France. The general estates would revoke the will of Louis XI of France who sought to create a carefully balanced regency in order to not trigger the Burgundian anger ironically it would be this alliance of Orleans and Bourbon that would keep this equilibrium. Philip would order his armies led by the capable Burgundian captains which Philip would later reorganize into the Burgundian officer corps into France and would invade and lay siege to Paris. Burgundy would also decisively defeat the royal armies in Beaujeu which were hastily assembled by Peter II of Bourbon. Burgundy would continue the ravage the Ile-de-France, Normandy and Valois itself until the peace of Bourges in 1485. It would reaffirm the will of King Louis XI but importantly forced the county of Vertus, and Tonnerre to be reorganized and underneath the count of Champagne and not the King of France directly. More importantly to Philip was the reorganization of the peer system in France and the forced recognition of Champagne as second peer of France despite its merger with the crown in 1316 which would have given Anne the rank of 20th peer of France instead the elevation of Champagne to second peer would also be forced to give Champagne the role of holding the crown and fastening the belt per tradition while Normandy led by Louis of Orleans and Duke of Guyenne who was the heir to the throne would hold both banners.
State affairs would be run by the legendary Guilleme Briconnet who was a compromise candidate between the triumvirate of Champagne, Bourbon and Orleans and he would run the state in the regency by de facto assuming control of both the treasury and state affairs. Louis of Orleans would take on foreign policy along with Peter of Bourbon both eager to boot Anne out of the regency herself. Anne would be shut out of the triumvirate in terms of genuine policy but what impact she did make was significant such as the removal of French support to Henry VII in 1485 just after the battle of Bosworth Field and her impact as regent would leave an irrefutable mark in 1491 near the end of Charles' regency. Importantly for Anne and Philip, the access to French finances and to strengthen the court of France was important. Throughout the years of 1485 - 1488, Anne would use funnel French money into Champagne and later through Burgundy. The creation of a court in Reims would be precursor to the legendary permanent Burgundian court in Nancy that would be formed in 1491.
The court here would raise Charles II, Count of Charolais, Louise de Savoy, Diane de Poitiers importantly it would also see the introduction of Isabella of Burgundy into this new temporary court, this court of Reims would be spoken of throughout France as various other nobility from England, the Holy Roman Empire and Italy would arrive. Maximilian who was now King of the Romans would arrive at Reims and speak to the courts glamour with the marriage of Isabella and Maximilian taking place in Reims rather than in Vienna as Frederick suggested. This would also allow Philip and Anne to regain the favour of the various nobles all eager to gain the attention of the future King, Charles VII who under this mixture of guidance and education would grow up to be quite shrewd as he learned of various schemes conducted by factional nobles.
The war over Brittany or the second war of Breton succession would see Anne and Philip finally assume the sole regency of France agreeing that by 1491, Charles would reach the majority and they would return to Burgundy afterwards, Anne would declare both Peter and Louis traitors to realm in 1486. Francis II of Brittany not particularly eager to see a Franco-Burgundian Union sided with Orleans and Bourbon in order to check Anne's ambition. This would utterly fail as the following wars would see Peter and Louis imprisoned and Francis II agreeing to the betrothal and later marriage of Anne, heir presumptive of Brittany to Charles VII. Francis' death would be followed up by the invasion of Brittany in 1489 by France to force the marriage of Anne and Charles. This effort would be led by the king himself, Charles VII.
The brilliance of this political move by Anne and Philip could not be understated through clever usage of French finances and rhetoric the majority of the nobles were somewhat open if not willing to turn a blind eye to this new Franco-Burgundian Union. The removal of the most powerful rivals to the French throne, Bourbon, Orleans and Brittany would practically guarantee Burgundy control of France. Anne and Philip however would not undo many of the absolutist reforms done by Louis XI as the royalist advisors now under the command of Charles VIII would not allow it and while this control of France would allow Philip to gain even more access to French finances and established a very strong pro-Burgundian faction within France, it would not ingratiate itself with Charles VIII who at this point began to exert a huge amount of royal authority and undercut the Burgundians at every chance he had.
The betrothal between Charles VIII and Anne of Brittany would further drive a wedge between the regents and the king. Charles VIII would pardon Peter and Louis within the the year of 1489. The abuse of the French finances would come to a halt with once again with Charles VIII now 19 would reject any attempt for Burgundy to pay off any expenses incurred by the Burgundians with French money. The restoration of the triumvirate would also limit Burgundian expansion as the court of Reims would be moved back to Paris and with it Anne's influence would crumble, the death of Charles II, count of Charolais would also wound the headstrong Anne as she entered into a state of grief. Philip would continue to desperately entrench the crumbling Burgundian influence in France but would ultimately fail. Near the end of 1490, Burgundian influence was almost nothing in France and Charles VIII would watch over the Burgundians with every waking breath. Philip would smartly devote his time in entrenching the treaties of Arras, Conflans, Peronne, Beaune and Senlis as Duke of Burgundy rather than Count of Champagne, extracting promises and agreements with the King to ensure that these treaties be respected.
The death of John II of Nevers would trigger the war of Lotharingia, which would be fought between Burgundy against France. Charles VIII at this point completely despising the Burgundians declared that the five treaties despite their agreement in 1490 were invalid and declared himself to take the majority as he was 20 years of age at this point, he accused Philip of treason against the crown and went to war against Burgundy. Louis of Orleans and Peter II of Bourbon who already festered wounds against the Burgundians would take up the cause with divine anger. The only pro-Burgundian person in the French court as one chronicler wrote was the practically imprisoned Duchess of Brittany, Anne. Burgundian forces would fight to a standstill as the legendary captain Tremoille would lead the French armies to victories in the Ile de France and Champagne. The treaty of Dijon would be signed in the winter months of 1491, in which Burgundy would inherit Nevers, Rethel and Eu per the treaty of Peronne, Charles VIII would respect the five previous treaties signed by his father Louis XI. Importantly for Philip the Rich, Charles VIII would acknowledge the privilegium Lotharingia signed by Frederick III. There would also be a clause that was minor to Philip but would bite back for his descendants later on, he would renounce his succession rights to the throne of France in exchange for the recognition of the privilegium Lotharingia.
The regency of France was masterminded by Louis XI to bring a semblance of balance and stability in France during the minority of Charles VIII. This would actually work perhaps even better than Louis' imagined, as Charles VIII would be just as politically active and astute as his father. The problems with this minority rule were the implementation as both Orleans and Bourbon rightfully feared Burgundian dominance. The abuse of French finances would be reminiscent of the days of Philip the Bold and John the Fearless, although to a much lesser degree. The fruitful few months of Burgundian dominated regency would immensely benefit the already powerful state arguably starting the golden age of Burgundy. Louis did not want a Burgundian dominated France however the reasons he included Anne into the regency were of immense debate to historians as in 1465, Louis hinted the Charles the Absolute that he could take the crown of France if he had no male heirs, but Louis' policy of absolutism would be in stark contrast to Charles' state building. So which is it? Did Louis want to inherit or dismantle Burgundy? Why couldn't he just remove Anne from the regency at all? Perhaps it would best answered by Philip the Rich who stated, "My godfather and father in law was wise enough to realize that removing my wife from the regency would doom France and to give her sole regency would also doom France. I think it was in his interest to watch my wife and the other regents squabble to teach his son how to rule properly with an iron fist as he ruled."
Great workIt took me a lot of brain cells to figure out how to plausibly write Charles VIII's regency without turning it into a Burgundian wank. Hope this works
Valois (either France or Burgundy) or Habsburg NOT Bourbon who are far too low ranking for a (future) King
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No way. Spain will NOT take a proxy, specially NOT a French one who is NOT daughter of a ruler in his own right.
Chapter 16: Reforms, Privileges and Crowns 1483 - 1491
Burgundy's main interest despite the last phase of the war of the roses and regency of Charles VIII would still be firmly rooted in expansion eastward in the Holy Roman Empire. In the previous 8 years under Charles and Philip, a pursuit of expansion towards and across the Rhine was pursued and with the majority of this expansion complete in 1485 with the reconquest of Frisia and Guelders. The brutal campaign against Frisia would circle sharks around Burgundy as primarily Saxony would begin to fight tooth and nail to influence the Rhine electors. Burgundy who had firmly influenced only Trier at this point would lose Cologne due to a new Hesse-Saxony alliance. Mainz would elect a Nassau branch bishop as their new elector in 1484. Nassau was a soft Burgundian ally with ties to Brabant as John V who was appointed into the Staadholder of Guelders and Zutphen. Yet, Mainz would be the strongest anti-Burgundian elector out of the 7 electors.
The archbishop of Mainz, Berthold von Henneberg would pursue a reformist agenda that would rival against the Burgundians as the proposals of eternal peace, an imperial Supreme Court and a new elector based imperial government. Both the Habsburgs and Burgundians would be firmly opposed to this, Philip even more so as the eternal peace would force him to give up reluctantly his invasion or more accurately conquest of Frisia and Guelders, the appointment of a new imperial Supreme Court would bring a new Paris Parlament but instead from Paris it would be from Frankfurt. The elector based government while taking away power from the emperor would give power to the electors and Philip would not give further strength to his future vassals. The Habsburgs would be slightly more open to the idea, Maximilian who acknowledged the reality of the necessity of imperial reform would begin negotiations with the elector of Mainz agreeing to the imperial eternal peace and the new Supreme Court of the Holy Roman Empire.
The election of 1486 was only between two candidates, the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Rich and the Archduke of Austria, Maximilian the Last Knight. Ironically it would be the first elector, the archbishop of Trier would vote for Philip the Rich, the betrothal of Charles II of Charolais and Elizabeth of the Palatine would get Philip the Upright of the Palatine to vote for, Philip would achieve two votes for emperor, while Maximilian now firmly backed by Saxony, Cologne, Brandenburg, Mainz and Bohemia would win the majority but importantly for Philip during the rounds of negotiation and trying to appeal to the two dissenters. While Maximilian would pressure the Burgundians with the marriage of himself to Isabella of Burgundy, Philip's masterful politic got him to extend the privilegium Burgundiae to expand to all of Philip's current holdings, and he would be crowned Duke of Frisia and count of Alsace at this time. The Burgundian's stranglehold on the electoral palatine and Trier would further concern the emperor but ironically the Burgundians would never be able to seize the imperial crown.
The election of Maximilian, the last knight as King of the Romans, would call the reichstag in 1488 nearing the end of the Austro-Hungarian war to form a Swabian league, and this would ostensibly be used to support Maximilian against the Swiss confederation but Philip who rightfully feared that this league would be used against Burgundy would firmly oppose this conciliar way of governance fearing more opposition to Burgundian expansion. His inclusion as Count of Alsace however, would weaken any attempt to deal with Burgundy as Philip rightfully claimed that his county of Alsace was part of the stem duchy of Swabia in which the Swabian league was formed around. What would be even worse was during the diet of 1487 and 1488, were the discussions regarding both roman law implementation and the improvements of sounder administration by imperial circles.
The Austro-Hungarian war of 1477 - 1491 would be the key to Habsburg domination, ironically funding Burgundy's greatest rival. The battle of Leitzerdorf in 1484 would be a decisive victory against the black army of Hungary and it would cement Maximilian as a brilliant general and warrior. The campaign into Moravia joined by Vladislaus II the new king of Bohemia would lead to the reclamation of Moravia, Lusatia and Silesia against Hungary. The assistance of Poland now led by Vladislaus II's father Casimir IV would put Matthias Corvinus on the back foot for the remaining years of his life. His death however would spark a succession crisis between Bohemia, Poland, Austria and Hungary. John Corvinus, illegitimate son of Matthias would claim the crown through his father and would be backed by the remaining loyalists of Matthias, Vladislaus would claim the crown by blood relation, and finally Maximilian who had the lion's share of the kingdom would claim it both on his father's claim to the crown and the treaty of Wiener Neustadt. This war was brief as was referred to the war of Hungarian succession, as John Corvinus would be defeated within months while Vladislaus would fight for another year but finally agreeing to the peace of Pressburg in which Vladislaus would renounce all rights to the crown of Hungary, agree to Maximilian becoming his heir if he did not have any legitimate sons. Importantly for the Bohemian king was he would not have to pay the 300 thousand florins that was owed to Maximilian over his reconquest of the lands of the Bohemian Crown. Maximilian would be crowned king of Hungary within a month of the treaty.
The victory of the Habsburgs was funded through a mixture of Burgundian, and Fugger Loans. Maximilian would be able to pay off the Fugger loans by giving them various estates around the Nitra copper mines but for the Burgundians he was hard pressed into signing the Privilegium Lotharingia. The inheritance of Tyrol by Maximilian in 1490 due to a pointless war in Venice would be of greater concern to Burgundy as Philip noted, "It is not completely out of question the Habsburgs would claim Alsace through this inheritance, they fought over inheritance against relatives after all." Fortunately Maximilian was more warm to Burgundy whether it was a personal enjoyment of Burgundy itself as his tales of the lavish Burgundian court were quite flattering or just his realpolitik in believing the Habsburgs could inherit Burgundy through luck is debated. What was more pressing for the twice crowned king was the Burgundian loans which were quite substantial and the only way Burgundy would agree to a forgiveness of the loans was the expansion of the privilegium Burgundiae, into the privilegium Lotharingia. Arguably, Maximilian realized the expansion of the empire under his rule would grant him immense prestige especially if it was directed westward considering his predecessors only lost lands in the Kingdom of Burgundy under their imperial reign, perhaps importantly a strengthened alliance with Burgundy would be necessary for his ambitions north to Bohemia. Key to this reform however was the ambition of the archbishop of Mainz who wanted a court independent of the emperor and yet above him in determining the law, and the already in place reforms of the previous two Burgundian dukes, Philip the Good and Charles the Absolute which made signing this privilege remarkably more like an acceptance of the status quo.
The signing of the privilegium Lotharingia which was forced into imperial law in 1491 would fundamentally reshape the Holy Roman Empire, and would act as a precursor to the formation of the fourth Kingdom of Burgundy. This privilegium would give all of Philip's current domains four main things, it would be inseparable from inheritance and automatically inherited through male-preference primogeniture. A fully independent jurisdiction with no possibility of appealing to any higher court backed by the emperor or empire.The strengthening of the vicarate of the Kingdom of Burgundy which now governed all the lands of the defunct Kingdom of Burgundy/Arles and all imperial lands west of the Rhine River excluding the elector states. A fully independent legislature which would take the form of the Estates General of Burgundy, and importantly to Burgundian historians who emphasis nationalism permission to display certain symbols of rule. This privilegium would coincide with the treaty of Dijon recognizing all independent Burgundian fiefs in the treaty of Beaune and any other domains of Philip the Rich to join the Holy Roman Empire.
Burgundy would not wait patiently before pulling off this masterpiece of imperial politics as Philip who had consolidated his control the left bank of the Rhine by influencing an election for the free city of Aachen and Cologne through bribes. The war of Lotharingia would drag Cleves who under the leadership of the nascent John II and his brother Englebert disputed count of Nevers would fight a desperate war for their independence ending with John II giving up his county to Philip who was anointed by their estates in late 1491 as count of Cleves and Englebert himself, dying in battle. This final major expansion by Burgundy under Philip the Rich in the Holy Roman Empire would be followed an era of internal golden peace for Burgundy, arguably the first Burgundian Golden age but this is not the end of the story of Philip the Rich's meddling in geopolitics as Italy would become the focus of Europe and Burgundy.
The archbishop of Mainz, Berthold von Henneberg would pursue a reformist agenda that would rival against the Burgundians as the proposals of eternal peace, an imperial Supreme Court and a new elector based imperial government. Both the Habsburgs and Burgundians would be firmly opposed to this, Philip even more so as the eternal peace would force him to give up reluctantly his invasion or more accurately conquest of Frisia and Guelders, the appointment of a new imperial Supreme Court would bring a new Paris Parlament but instead from Paris it would be from Frankfurt. The elector based government while taking away power from the emperor would give power to the electors and Philip would not give further strength to his future vassals. The Habsburgs would be slightly more open to the idea, Maximilian who acknowledged the reality of the necessity of imperial reform would begin negotiations with the elector of Mainz agreeing to the imperial eternal peace and the new Supreme Court of the Holy Roman Empire.
The election of 1486 was only between two candidates, the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Rich and the Archduke of Austria, Maximilian the Last Knight. Ironically it would be the first elector, the archbishop of Trier would vote for Philip the Rich, the betrothal of Charles II of Charolais and Elizabeth of the Palatine would get Philip the Upright of the Palatine to vote for, Philip would achieve two votes for emperor, while Maximilian now firmly backed by Saxony, Cologne, Brandenburg, Mainz and Bohemia would win the majority but importantly for Philip during the rounds of negotiation and trying to appeal to the two dissenters. While Maximilian would pressure the Burgundians with the marriage of himself to Isabella of Burgundy, Philip's masterful politic got him to extend the privilegium Burgundiae to expand to all of Philip's current holdings, and he would be crowned Duke of Frisia and count of Alsace at this time. The Burgundian's stranglehold on the electoral palatine and Trier would further concern the emperor but ironically the Burgundians would never be able to seize the imperial crown.
The election of Maximilian, the last knight as King of the Romans, would call the reichstag in 1488 nearing the end of the Austro-Hungarian war to form a Swabian league, and this would ostensibly be used to support Maximilian against the Swiss confederation but Philip who rightfully feared that this league would be used against Burgundy would firmly oppose this conciliar way of governance fearing more opposition to Burgundian expansion. His inclusion as Count of Alsace however, would weaken any attempt to deal with Burgundy as Philip rightfully claimed that his county of Alsace was part of the stem duchy of Swabia in which the Swabian league was formed around. What would be even worse was during the diet of 1487 and 1488, were the discussions regarding both roman law implementation and the improvements of sounder administration by imperial circles.
The Austro-Hungarian war of 1477 - 1491 would be the key to Habsburg domination, ironically funding Burgundy's greatest rival. The battle of Leitzerdorf in 1484 would be a decisive victory against the black army of Hungary and it would cement Maximilian as a brilliant general and warrior. The campaign into Moravia joined by Vladislaus II the new king of Bohemia would lead to the reclamation of Moravia, Lusatia and Silesia against Hungary. The assistance of Poland now led by Vladislaus II's father Casimir IV would put Matthias Corvinus on the back foot for the remaining years of his life. His death however would spark a succession crisis between Bohemia, Poland, Austria and Hungary. John Corvinus, illegitimate son of Matthias would claim the crown through his father and would be backed by the remaining loyalists of Matthias, Vladislaus would claim the crown by blood relation, and finally Maximilian who had the lion's share of the kingdom would claim it both on his father's claim to the crown and the treaty of Wiener Neustadt. This war was brief as was referred to the war of Hungarian succession, as John Corvinus would be defeated within months while Vladislaus would fight for another year but finally agreeing to the peace of Pressburg in which Vladislaus would renounce all rights to the crown of Hungary, agree to Maximilian becoming his heir if he did not have any legitimate sons. Importantly for the Bohemian king was he would not have to pay the 300 thousand florins that was owed to Maximilian over his reconquest of the lands of the Bohemian Crown. Maximilian would be crowned king of Hungary within a month of the treaty.
The victory of the Habsburgs was funded through a mixture of Burgundian, and Fugger Loans. Maximilian would be able to pay off the Fugger loans by giving them various estates around the Nitra copper mines but for the Burgundians he was hard pressed into signing the Privilegium Lotharingia. The inheritance of Tyrol by Maximilian in 1490 due to a pointless war in Venice would be of greater concern to Burgundy as Philip noted, "It is not completely out of question the Habsburgs would claim Alsace through this inheritance, they fought over inheritance against relatives after all." Fortunately Maximilian was more warm to Burgundy whether it was a personal enjoyment of Burgundy itself as his tales of the lavish Burgundian court were quite flattering or just his realpolitik in believing the Habsburgs could inherit Burgundy through luck is debated. What was more pressing for the twice crowned king was the Burgundian loans which were quite substantial and the only way Burgundy would agree to a forgiveness of the loans was the expansion of the privilegium Burgundiae, into the privilegium Lotharingia. Arguably, Maximilian realized the expansion of the empire under his rule would grant him immense prestige especially if it was directed westward considering his predecessors only lost lands in the Kingdom of Burgundy under their imperial reign, perhaps importantly a strengthened alliance with Burgundy would be necessary for his ambitions north to Bohemia. Key to this reform however was the ambition of the archbishop of Mainz who wanted a court independent of the emperor and yet above him in determining the law, and the already in place reforms of the previous two Burgundian dukes, Philip the Good and Charles the Absolute which made signing this privilege remarkably more like an acceptance of the status quo.
The signing of the privilegium Lotharingia which was forced into imperial law in 1491 would fundamentally reshape the Holy Roman Empire, and would act as a precursor to the formation of the fourth Kingdom of Burgundy. This privilegium would give all of Philip's current domains four main things, it would be inseparable from inheritance and automatically inherited through male-preference primogeniture. A fully independent jurisdiction with no possibility of appealing to any higher court backed by the emperor or empire.The strengthening of the vicarate of the Kingdom of Burgundy which now governed all the lands of the defunct Kingdom of Burgundy/Arles and all imperial lands west of the Rhine River excluding the elector states. A fully independent legislature which would take the form of the Estates General of Burgundy, and importantly to Burgundian historians who emphasis nationalism permission to display certain symbols of rule. This privilegium would coincide with the treaty of Dijon recognizing all independent Burgundian fiefs in the treaty of Beaune and any other domains of Philip the Rich to join the Holy Roman Empire.
Burgundy would not wait patiently before pulling off this masterpiece of imperial politics as Philip who had consolidated his control the left bank of the Rhine by influencing an election for the free city of Aachen and Cologne through bribes. The war of Lotharingia would drag Cleves who under the leadership of the nascent John II and his brother Englebert disputed count of Nevers would fight a desperate war for their independence ending with John II giving up his county to Philip who was anointed by their estates in late 1491 as count of Cleves and Englebert himself, dying in battle. This final major expansion by Burgundy under Philip the Rich in the Holy Roman Empire would be followed an era of internal golden peace for Burgundy, arguably the first Burgundian Golden age but this is not the end of the story of Philip the Rich's meddling in geopolitics as Italy would become the focus of Europe and Burgundy.
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So I took a bit longer than I hoped to write this chapter, sorry
This is possibly the most Burgundian wank chapter imo but I hope it is realistic enough to, Philip the Good was actually seriously offered the imperial vicarate of the lands west of the Rhine and Charles the Absolute too was IOTL. I feel like for the largest nation in the Holy Roman Empire a forced privilegium Maius but for Burgundy makes sense and especially considering both Philip the Good and Charles the Bold were making attempts for this to happen IOTL, (Estates General of the Netherlands, Parlament of Malines) I feel like with a successful Charles the Absolute and Philip the Rich, Maximilian basically is accepting the status quo.
This is possibly the most Burgundian wank chapter imo but I hope it is realistic enough to, Philip the Good was actually seriously offered the imperial vicarate of the lands west of the Rhine and Charles the Absolute too was IOTL. I feel like for the largest nation in the Holy Roman Empire a forced privilegium Maius but for Burgundy makes sense and especially considering both Philip the Good and Charles the Bold were making attempts for this to happen IOTL, (Estates General of the Netherlands, Parlament of Malines) I feel like with a successful Charles the Absolute and Philip the Rich, Maximilian basically is accepting the status quo.
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You did an amazing job! the wait was worth it! very happy for Philip and Maximilian! Specially the latter! he got Hungary! Hope he and his burgundian bride have plenty of heirs!So I took a bit longer than I hoped to write the next chapter, sorry
This is possibly the most Burgundian wank chapter imo but I hope it is realistic enough to, Philip the Good was actually seriously offered the imperial vicarate of the lands west of the Rhine and Charles the Absolute to was IOTL. I feel like for the largest nation in the Holy Roman Empire a forced privilegium Maius but for Burgundy makes sense and especially considering both Philip the Good and Charles the Bold were making attempts for this to happen IOTL, (Estates General of the Netherlands, Parlament of Malines) I feel like with a successful Charles the Absolute and Philip the Rich, Maximilian basically is accepting the status quo.
I feel kind of weird in terms of how I write my TL, I rarely focus on heirs and royal marriages which a lot of TLs do (To those who write that you all are amazing). I get into politics, events and wars. Like tbh the marriage of Isabella to Maximilian would also soften up Maximilian in signing the Privilegium Lotharingia but I just don't mention that.
Chapter 17: From Nice to Amsterdam 1482 - 1493
Burgundy under Philip's reign was solely focus on one thing, the improvement of the Burgundian state and to implement the first Burgundian Golden Age. Philip and more accurately Anne would finish Charles the Absolute's project of forming a proper Burgundian state and while by the end of 1492, Burgundy would complete it under the privilegium Lotharingia, it would not magically come to existence from a single privilege alone. The half-completed works of Philip the Good, and Charles the Absolute would finally be completed under Philip the Rich. The foreign policy of Philip the Rich would reflect this as the annexation of Champagne, Cleves, Nevers, and Alsace would fundamentally show a goal of connecting Burgundy and strengthening that connection geographically.
This connection geographically was already displayed during the final years of Charles the Absolute but it would be Philip the Rich that would permanently bind the two parts of Burgundy together. The establishment of the capital of Nancy as the new permanent residence of the Burgundian dukes would restart the centralization efforts of Charles the Absolute. The general estates of Burgundy, which were established by Charles the Absolute in 1475, which themselves were a successor to the general estates of the Burgundian Netherlands under Philip the Good would begin efforts to move Brussels to Nancy during the years of 1480 to 1482. Charles would refuse to move the estates to Nancy believing the power centre of Burgundy was in Brabant not in Lorraine but when Philip the Rich took over the Burgundian state he believed in equal centralization and began the process of moving the estates to Nancy. The Coudenberg which was were the estates took place began to revert back into a royal palace while a new building, the Palace of Colchis which would become the permanent residence of both the estates and the dukes of Burgundy.
Philip the Rich would begin to pursue estate reform as he wanted this new advisory body to be representing his various domains, he would conduct a census which while used mostly for tax purposes allowed Philip to reorganize his domains' representatives based on class and on population allocating specific amounts of people per domain of specific class. This proto-democratic approach would allow Philip and his heirs to use this body incredibly efficiently in strengthening their own power. This purely advisory body would allow Philip to pursue broad popular reforms within his domains, mainly the lessening of tolls going in between his various domains in order to gain popular support within the people. Philip would also aggrandize the individual estates as well, expanding the amount of delegates per individual estate but also weakening it as a whole due to the increase in amounts of people. This absolutist estate reform would most reminisce his father in law, Louis XI and his conduct with the general estates of France.
The parlament of Mechelen, while unpopular would be further strengthened under the reign of Philip the Rich, while the parlament was still stacked with loyalists to the duke, Philip would believe in competence for this parlament and due to the privilegium Burgundiae, he would gain a stronger jurisidiction over his imperial lands. This careful tightrope walking in dealing with the new judicial system that is the parlament of Malines would succeed under Philip as the crown's lawyers would appeal unpopular laws that were implemented during the times in which these domains were independent. This usage of the parlament and the usage of crown lawyers would be incredibly effective in slowly taking away privileges from these urbanized centres. Arguably the only mistake, Philip would make in the parlament was not also moving it to Nancy as it any judgements in Southern Burgundy would take precious time, fortunately it would be his successor, Henri the Fortunate that would fix this issue.
The Chambres des Coptes of Mechelen would be moved to Nancy under Philip the Rich, who would begin to reorganize the various chambres established by his predecessors, reassigning them into various cities such as Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, Beaune, and Arras and having them essentially act as chapters or extensions of the one in Nancy. This selectively decentralized approach to taxation would eventually lead to the implementation of direct taxes by Philip in 1483, this would be as a result of Philip forgiving various fines and special taxes or aides to his domains. Another key factor to the realization of a direct tax was the slow removal of various tolls to cross into other Burgundian domains which were already declining under Charles but under Philip they were completely removed. It would be this direct tax implementation which would contribute greatly to the Burgundian golden age and the reason why Burgundy remained throughout history incredibly rich.
The establishment of a proto-executive branch for the Burgundian state was already quite established by the time of Philip the Good but it was institutionalized by Philip the Rich. The formal ducal council of Burgundy was now firmly established led by the duke and his right hand the chancellor. Philip would assign various positions to each member of the ducal council such as councilman of defence, finance, trade, diplomacy etc. These positions while having overlapping responsibilities and overlapping subordinates would be useful to Philip as they were essentially memory aids and assistants in bringing the duke up to speed. It would be this ducal council that would also assist immensely in Burgundian legislation. The two most important domestic Burgundian achievements during this decade was the implementation and reinforcement of Burgundian roads also the construction of the Palace of Colchis.
The establishment of a permanent Burgundian capital would be the final nail to this Burgundian centralization as an already full treasury from Charles the Absolute would begin to fund the luxurious palace of Colchis. Both a mixture of French and Burgundian finance was used in order to build this magnificent palace, as Philip and Anne sneakily diverted funds away from France into Burgundy to build this palace, throughout the regency of Charles VIII almost the entirety of Burgundian-stolen French money was dedicated to building this palace and the road system that connected this palace to the rest of Burgundy. The incredible usage of late Gothic and early renaissance architecture would allow this palace to eclipse the palace of Coudenberg by the time of its completion. This palace would host the estates general, Chambre des Cortes and later the parlament. More importantly to the Burgundian state was the establishment of the massive road network that connected Burgundy together, this would be useful in the war of Lotharingia as Philip would fight on two fronts but more importantly it would allow safe and free passage through Burgundian lands which increased inter and intra trade within Burgundy itself. This increased prosperity would pay off tremendously in a massive windfall from the direct tax implemented in 1483.
The expansion of Burgundy would not slow down or even strain the Burgundian bureaucracy as Champagne, Cleves, Frisia, and Alsace were easily integrated into the absolutist capital that is Nancy. Burgundy by 1491, began to invest in maritime trading and began to build a merchant fleet rivalling the English and the Hanseatic League. The integration of the new lands would be incredibly quick as Burgundy began to invest and improve the already existing roads in Champagne and Frisia connecting them to the prosperous lands of Lorraine, Burgundy, and Artois and Brabant respectively. This new merchant fleet which was funded entirely by the Burgundian duke would be run by a royalist company: Burgundian Maritime Company which would eventually reform into the Burgundian Indies Company. The inclusion of the new estates into the general estates of Burgundy would allow Philip to make some adjustments into his domains, uniting the fractured domains of Ponthieu and Vermandois into the County of Picardy, absorbing Saint-Pol into Artois, and Burgundy would absorb Charolais and Macon. This would also make the heir defunct and only in 1489 with the birth of Henri would a new title be formed for the heir of Burgundy: Prince of Namur. Philip would grant this title to his new heir as technically all imperial rulers were princes of the empire but clearly the usage of the term prince would refer to the current duke as a king.
Interestingly, it would be Savoy who would be most affected by these administrative reforms as the future Philip II of Savoy was a practical vassal of the Burgundians and the new Savoyard ruler, Charles I was a firm Burgundian ally due to Philip's de facto regency over the young child. Philip would invest Burgundian crowns into Savoy, improving mainly infrastructure in Savoy and throughout the era of regencies of Savoy, 1472 - 1504. Philip the Rich would turn Savoy into a complete vassal as Savoy would be transformed into the duchy of Piedmont as Philip would skillfully manipulate his way into conquering parts of Savoy proper, and the Vaud region from Savoy turning it into a duchy firmly focused on Italian affairs. It would be in Philip's reign that Burgundy would claim itself to be the successor of Middle Francia, any merchant in theory could travel from the city of Nice to the city of Amsterdam without ever leaving Burgundian influence as contemporaries boasted.
These internal and administrative reforms would be in high gear throughout the years of 1492 - 1493 especially after the privilegium Lotharingia was issued. Philip the Rich would pursue a growth and centralization policy throughout the 1480s and the early 1490s. These efforts would succeed not because Philip was particularly special but because circumstances allowed a period of peace and the projects he was working on were merely finishing the ideas of his father and his predecessors. By the end of these reforms Burgundy would become the most powerful state in the Holy Roman Empire besides the emperor and even this was disputed to the amount of debt Maximilian would struggle throughout his wars and yet these achievements would be overshadowed by the Philip's foreign policy, in the war of the roses, war of Hungarian Succession, Bohemian Succession, French regency or Italian wars. At the end of the day though, there was a reason why his epithet was the Rich.
This connection geographically was already displayed during the final years of Charles the Absolute but it would be Philip the Rich that would permanently bind the two parts of Burgundy together. The establishment of the capital of Nancy as the new permanent residence of the Burgundian dukes would restart the centralization efforts of Charles the Absolute. The general estates of Burgundy, which were established by Charles the Absolute in 1475, which themselves were a successor to the general estates of the Burgundian Netherlands under Philip the Good would begin efforts to move Brussels to Nancy during the years of 1480 to 1482. Charles would refuse to move the estates to Nancy believing the power centre of Burgundy was in Brabant not in Lorraine but when Philip the Rich took over the Burgundian state he believed in equal centralization and began the process of moving the estates to Nancy. The Coudenberg which was were the estates took place began to revert back into a royal palace while a new building, the Palace of Colchis which would become the permanent residence of both the estates and the dukes of Burgundy.
Philip the Rich would begin to pursue estate reform as he wanted this new advisory body to be representing his various domains, he would conduct a census which while used mostly for tax purposes allowed Philip to reorganize his domains' representatives based on class and on population allocating specific amounts of people per domain of specific class. This proto-democratic approach would allow Philip and his heirs to use this body incredibly efficiently in strengthening their own power. This purely advisory body would allow Philip to pursue broad popular reforms within his domains, mainly the lessening of tolls going in between his various domains in order to gain popular support within the people. Philip would also aggrandize the individual estates as well, expanding the amount of delegates per individual estate but also weakening it as a whole due to the increase in amounts of people. This absolutist estate reform would most reminisce his father in law, Louis XI and his conduct with the general estates of France.
The parlament of Mechelen, while unpopular would be further strengthened under the reign of Philip the Rich, while the parlament was still stacked with loyalists to the duke, Philip would believe in competence for this parlament and due to the privilegium Burgundiae, he would gain a stronger jurisidiction over his imperial lands. This careful tightrope walking in dealing with the new judicial system that is the parlament of Malines would succeed under Philip as the crown's lawyers would appeal unpopular laws that were implemented during the times in which these domains were independent. This usage of the parlament and the usage of crown lawyers would be incredibly effective in slowly taking away privileges from these urbanized centres. Arguably the only mistake, Philip would make in the parlament was not also moving it to Nancy as it any judgements in Southern Burgundy would take precious time, fortunately it would be his successor, Henri the Fortunate that would fix this issue.
The Chambres des Coptes of Mechelen would be moved to Nancy under Philip the Rich, who would begin to reorganize the various chambres established by his predecessors, reassigning them into various cities such as Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, Beaune, and Arras and having them essentially act as chapters or extensions of the one in Nancy. This selectively decentralized approach to taxation would eventually lead to the implementation of direct taxes by Philip in 1483, this would be as a result of Philip forgiving various fines and special taxes or aides to his domains. Another key factor to the realization of a direct tax was the slow removal of various tolls to cross into other Burgundian domains which were already declining under Charles but under Philip they were completely removed. It would be this direct tax implementation which would contribute greatly to the Burgundian golden age and the reason why Burgundy remained throughout history incredibly rich.
The establishment of a proto-executive branch for the Burgundian state was already quite established by the time of Philip the Good but it was institutionalized by Philip the Rich. The formal ducal council of Burgundy was now firmly established led by the duke and his right hand the chancellor. Philip would assign various positions to each member of the ducal council such as councilman of defence, finance, trade, diplomacy etc. These positions while having overlapping responsibilities and overlapping subordinates would be useful to Philip as they were essentially memory aids and assistants in bringing the duke up to speed. It would be this ducal council that would also assist immensely in Burgundian legislation. The two most important domestic Burgundian achievements during this decade was the implementation and reinforcement of Burgundian roads also the construction of the Palace of Colchis.
The establishment of a permanent Burgundian capital would be the final nail to this Burgundian centralization as an already full treasury from Charles the Absolute would begin to fund the luxurious palace of Colchis. Both a mixture of French and Burgundian finance was used in order to build this magnificent palace, as Philip and Anne sneakily diverted funds away from France into Burgundy to build this palace, throughout the regency of Charles VIII almost the entirety of Burgundian-stolen French money was dedicated to building this palace and the road system that connected this palace to the rest of Burgundy. The incredible usage of late Gothic and early renaissance architecture would allow this palace to eclipse the palace of Coudenberg by the time of its completion. This palace would host the estates general, Chambre des Cortes and later the parlament. More importantly to the Burgundian state was the establishment of the massive road network that connected Burgundy together, this would be useful in the war of Lotharingia as Philip would fight on two fronts but more importantly it would allow safe and free passage through Burgundian lands which increased inter and intra trade within Burgundy itself. This increased prosperity would pay off tremendously in a massive windfall from the direct tax implemented in 1483.
The expansion of Burgundy would not slow down or even strain the Burgundian bureaucracy as Champagne, Cleves, Frisia, and Alsace were easily integrated into the absolutist capital that is Nancy. Burgundy by 1491, began to invest in maritime trading and began to build a merchant fleet rivalling the English and the Hanseatic League. The integration of the new lands would be incredibly quick as Burgundy began to invest and improve the already existing roads in Champagne and Frisia connecting them to the prosperous lands of Lorraine, Burgundy, and Artois and Brabant respectively. This new merchant fleet which was funded entirely by the Burgundian duke would be run by a royalist company: Burgundian Maritime Company which would eventually reform into the Burgundian Indies Company. The inclusion of the new estates into the general estates of Burgundy would allow Philip to make some adjustments into his domains, uniting the fractured domains of Ponthieu and Vermandois into the County of Picardy, absorbing Saint-Pol into Artois, and Burgundy would absorb Charolais and Macon. This would also make the heir defunct and only in 1489 with the birth of Henri would a new title be formed for the heir of Burgundy: Prince of Namur. Philip would grant this title to his new heir as technically all imperial rulers were princes of the empire but clearly the usage of the term prince would refer to the current duke as a king.
Interestingly, it would be Savoy who would be most affected by these administrative reforms as the future Philip II of Savoy was a practical vassal of the Burgundians and the new Savoyard ruler, Charles I was a firm Burgundian ally due to Philip's de facto regency over the young child. Philip would invest Burgundian crowns into Savoy, improving mainly infrastructure in Savoy and throughout the era of regencies of Savoy, 1472 - 1504. Philip the Rich would turn Savoy into a complete vassal as Savoy would be transformed into the duchy of Piedmont as Philip would skillfully manipulate his way into conquering parts of Savoy proper, and the Vaud region from Savoy turning it into a duchy firmly focused on Italian affairs. It would be in Philip's reign that Burgundy would claim itself to be the successor of Middle Francia, any merchant in theory could travel from the city of Nice to the city of Amsterdam without ever leaving Burgundian influence as contemporaries boasted.
These internal and administrative reforms would be in high gear throughout the years of 1492 - 1493 especially after the privilegium Lotharingia was issued. Philip the Rich would pursue a growth and centralization policy throughout the 1480s and the early 1490s. These efforts would succeed not because Philip was particularly special but because circumstances allowed a period of peace and the projects he was working on were merely finishing the ideas of his father and his predecessors. By the end of these reforms Burgundy would become the most powerful state in the Holy Roman Empire besides the emperor and even this was disputed to the amount of debt Maximilian would struggle throughout his wars and yet these achievements would be overshadowed by the Philip's foreign policy, in the war of the roses, war of Hungarian Succession, Bohemian Succession, French regency or Italian wars. At the end of the day though, there was a reason why his epithet was the Rich.
So a bit of a reprieve from the foreign policy and chess games played by Philip. We are back to internal government and processes. I probably should do one more in regards to Philip's personal life maybe a biography after the fact who knows. I'll see you all in the Italian wars of 1494 - 1495.