[MR] January 5 Envents in History

[Groff, Garth (ggg9y)]

Noble Friends,

Two big events took place on 5 January in history that may be of great interest to Scadians.

In 1066, Edward the Confessor, King of England, died childless. Harold Godwinson ascended to the throne, prompting William Duke of Normandy to invade and conquer all of England. Here is a brief Wikipedia biography of Edward: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Confessor . Here's a bit on the Norman Conquest of England: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_conquest_of_England .

Another death in 1477, that of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, changed the entire face of Europe. Though Burgundy was a Duchy within France, its Dukes were extremely independent, and sided with the English against France in the Hundred Years Wars. Burgundy controlled Flanders and Holland, plus other territories beyond France. It had long been a dream of the various ruling Dukes to make Burgundy an independent kingdom, backed by their tremendous wealth from the Flemish wool trade. At the Battle of Nancy, Charles the Bold was cut down by Swiss halberds. Louis XI ("the Universal Spider") immediately seized all Burgundian territory in France. Flanders became the dowry of Charles' daughter Mary ("The Rich"), and she was married off to Maximilian of Austria, later Holy Roman Emperor. You can read more about Charles the Bold (or "The Rash", as his detractors called him) at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_the_bold . For more on the Duchy of Burgundy, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundy . Be sure to take note of the map showing how much territory Charles the Bold controlled. And to meet the most interesting character in Burgundy, here is a short piece on Charles' half-brother, Antoine, flamboyantly styled  the Grand Bastard of Burgundy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony,_bastard_of_Burgundy .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier,