Burgundian Netherlands
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In the history of the Low Countries, the Burgundian Netherlands refers to the period when the dukes of Burgundy ruled the area, as well as Luxembourg and northern France from 1384 to 1477.
Dynastic
A fair share (but not most) of these territories were inherited by the Burgundian dukes, a younger branch of the French royal house of Valois in 1384, upon the death of Louis de Mâle, count of Flanders. His heiress, Margaret III of Flanders had married Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, "Philip the Bold" (1342–1404), the first of the Valois dukes of Burgundy, who thus inherited the counties of Flanders, Artois, Rethel, Burgundy, and Nevers. Together they initiated an era of Burgundian governance in the Low Countries.The Burgundian territories were expanded with the county of Namur in 1421, the duchies of Brabant and Limburg in 1430, the counties of Hainaut, Holland and Zeeland in 1432, the duchy of Luxembourg in 1443 and the duchy of Guelders in 1473. The Burgundian era would last until 1477, when the last Valois duke Charles the Bold died on the battlefield, leaving no male heir: the duchy of Burgundy reverted to the French crown (see Salic Law), and the Low Countries passed through Mary of Burgundy to Maximilian of Habsburg (see Seventeen Provinces).
The Burgundian dukes who ruled the Netherlandish territories were:
- Margaret III (1384-1405), with her husband Philip of Valois, Duke of Burgundy
- John the Fearless (1405–1419)
- Philip III the Good (1419–1467)
- Charles the Bold (1467–1477)
- Mary of Burgundy (1477–1482)
Political
The sheer burden of variety of bishoprics and independent cities, the intensely local partisanship, the various taxation systems, weights and measures, internal customs barriers, fiercely defended local rights were a hindrance to a good Valois, but attempts at enlarging personal control by the dukes resulted in revolts among the independent towns, sometimes supported by independent local nobles, and bloody military suppression in response, and an increasingly modernized central government with a bureaucracy of clerks allowed the dukes to become celebrated art patrons and establish a glamorous court life that set conventions of behavior that lasted for centuries. Philip the Good (1419-1467) extended his personal control to the southeast bringing Brussels, Namur, and Liège under his control. He suppressed the traditional independence of the cities and consolidated the region's economy.Ducal patronage
From 1441, Philip based his ducal court in Brussels, but Bruges was the center of commerce, though by the 1480s the inevitable silting of its harbor was bringing its economic hegemony to a close. Philip was a great patron of illuminated manuscripts and court painting reached new highs: Robert Campin, the van Eyck brothers, and Rogier van der WeydenSocial and economic
To DoExternal links
- [Metropolitan Museum:] "Burgundian Netherlands: Court Life
- [Metropolitan Museum:] "Burgundian Netherlands: Private Life
References
- Panofsky, Erwin, Early Netherlandish Painting
- Prevenier, W. and Blockmans W., The Burgundian Netherlands Cambridge University Press 1986
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