[MR] Wikipedia: Birth and Life of Philip the Good

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1396, Philip the Good was born. He was the son of John the
Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and inherited the duchy and title after his
father's assassination in 1419. The Valois House of Burgundy was a cadet
line descended from the Valois kings of France, but was also a thorn in
their side.

Phil had more titles than even he could . . . uh . . . count. Besides
Burgundy within France, he inherited the Free County of Burgundy, a
separate territory across the border in the Holy Roman Empire. Through
inheritance, marriage, conquest and even cash purchase, Philip came to rule
a mess of other territories in France, plus Flanders, Brabant, Limburg,
Artois, Hainaut, Luxembourg, Zeeland, Friesland and Namur. This amounts to
ruling what is today Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg, plus about 1/3 of
France.

Being Count of Flanders gave Philip control of the important wool trade
with England, and the tax on every bolt of cloth the Flemish wove. This
made him arguably one of the richest men in western Europe, perhaps second
only to the various popes he outlived. Philip didn't just run an opulent
court (the most lavish and stylish in Europe), he used his wealth to
support arts and industries in his territories, creating the finest luxury
goods. His peripatetic court was the place to see and be seen, with
products from supported artists and artisans always on display. Court
officers were standing by to take orders for Burgundian goods from nobles
who wanted to imitate Philip's taste. And most did.

Phil started his own order of chivalry when he had to decline membership in
the English Order of the Garter. Acceptance would have been treasonous to
the King of France who was actively at war with England. Burgundy's Order
of the Golden Fleece became the continental equivalent to the Garter, and
continues to this day in two branches.

His rivalry with the various French Valois kings, and a long-running civil
war against the Dukes of Armagnac and Orleans, caused Philip to generally
support the English during the Hundred Years Wars. The allies rarely fought
side-by-side, but Philip continued to scrap it out with the Armagnacs,
which kept their forces from supporting the French king. It was the
Burgundians who captured Joan of Arc, then shopped her to the English.

Philip had a single legitimate heir who survived to adulthood, Charles the
Bold (or Charles "The Rash", as he was styled by his detractors). But
Philip's bedroom exploits were legendary. His 24 known noble mistresses
produced some 17 or 18 acknowledged bastards. Historians disagree on six or
seven more. Philip was almost richer than God himself, so his lack of chin
apparently didn't matter to women. Most of Philip's acknowledged blow-bys
were proud to be called "Bastard of Burgundy". Many of the men found high
places in the Burgundian civil service, or were appointed as bishops.
Several of the  women cemented important marriage alliances, though some
entered religious life.

It was Philip's dream to make Burgundy an independent kingdom. He never got
around to it before dying in bed at 70 years of age. His son Charles
squandered the whole thing in his testosterone-fueled wars of conquest
against Loraine, which inconveniently separated the Duchy of Burgundy from
the rest of the Burgundian territories in the Low Countries. After Charles
was killed at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, the French king Louis XI sucked
up all the Burgundian territories inside France, and the rest passed to the
Habsburg-ruled Holy Roman Empire through Charles' daughter and sole heir,
Mary of Burgundy (aka Mary "The Rich"). That's another story I've related
here before.

So today, let's offer a birthday toast to one of the most interesting men
in European history, Philip the Good.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Burgundian History Geek