[MR] Wikipedia: Battle of Nancy

[Garth Groff via Atlantia]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1477 an army led by René II, Duke of  Lorraine, and 
fleshed out with Swiss mercenary halberdiers, attacked a much smaller 
Burgundian army commanded by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, at 
Nancy in what is now France. Charles the Bold had laid siege to Nancy in 
his campaign to conquer Lorraine, but had poor intelligence regarding 
the size of his enemy's forces. René divided his army, sending a large 
force undetected around to the rear of the Burgundian position. The 
Burgundians were caught between the two forces, their artillery park 
overrun, and were virtually exterminated to the last man. Charles the 
Bold was killed in the attack by the Swiss troops, who did not take 
prisoners. Only his command staff and a few other mounted men, led by 
the Duke's brother Antoine, Bastard of Burgundy, managed to find 
Lorraine cavalry to which they surrendered.

For many years, the Dukes of Burgundy had been nearly independent from 
France. In addition to Burgundy, they controlled vast portions of French 
territory. They also held the Free County of Burgundy within the Holy 
Roman Empire, Luxembourg, and nearly all of what is today Belgium and 
the Netherlands. The dream of Phillip the Good and his son Charles the 
Bold of making Burgundy an independent kingdom died at Nancy. With in a 
few weeks, all Burgundian territory within France was in the hands of 
Louis XI. Flanders and the territories within the Empire passed to 
Charles' daughter Mary (aka Mary the Rich), who soon married Maximilian, 
the future Holy Roman Emperor.

You can read more about the Battle of Nancy at 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nancy . For more on Charles the 
Bold, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_the_Bold . To learn more 
about Antoine, the Bastard of Burgundy (one of my heroes), go to 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony,_bastard_of_Burgundy .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, the Laird of Mallard Lodge