[MR] Wikipedia: Death of Philip of Rouvres

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1461 Philip of Rouvres died.

Philip (aka Philip I, Duke of Burgundy) was a minor princeling from an
insignificant house in an agricultural French backwater (they didn't even
make good wine yet). His passing might seem a small thing, but from his
death flowed a chain of events that were to shape Europe for centuries.

Young Philip (House of Burgundy), born in 1346, became Duke of Burgundy at
a young age when the Black Death wiped out all of his male relatives.
During his minority, the duchy was ruled by his mother, Joan I, Countess of
Auvergne. After her husband's death, Joan married the King of France, John
II (aka John the Wise, House of Valois). Thus young Phil was a stepson of
the King. As Philip came into his majority at the age of 15, his stack of
inherited titles was pretty impressive: Duke of Burgundy, Count of Auvergne
and Boulogne, and Count of Burgundy and Artois (this being the "Free County
of Burgundy", a Holy Roman Empire territory, adjacent to but separate from
the French Duchy of Burgundy). In 1355 he was married to Margaret III,
Countess of Flanders (their union was apparently never unconsummated, or at
least produced no heirs).

Fast forward to 1361, when Phil cashed in his chips just after starting to
rule personally. Sources vary on the cause of his demise, but a riding
accident and the Black Death are both in the running. Phil had no living
male relatives, and any female relatives were barred from succession by
Salic law. On his deathbed, he told his advisors to work out the succession
among themselves, and soon gasped out his last breath.

The heralds and the lawyers got to work, and narrowed the succession to two
candidates: King John of France, and the king's son-in-law King Charles II
of Navarre (aka Charles the Bad -- Boo! Hiss!). Eventually they picked King
John (Whew!), making Chuck-o hate his father-in-law even more, and what I
suspect led to John's possible death by arsenic poisoning.

King John had a son of his own, another Philip (aka Philip "The Bold").
Since this Philip was his fourth son, and didn't have much to do, John
passed Burgundy to him as Philip II, Duke of Burgundy. This Philip not only
picked up all Philip of Rouvres titles, but also his young bride Margaret.
After her father and only brother died, she got all of their lands and
titles. Since women in France had few rights, Philip the Bold ended up with
all the marbles, and was now one of the most important and powerful men in
France.

A couple of kings later, France was being "ruled" by Charles VI, who was
better known as Charles "The Mad". His delusions and antics resulted in the
deaths of several nobles, so he was essentially walled up in a palace in
Paris to keep everybody else safe. Throughout most of Charles' reign the
real rulers were a regency council made up of his close relatives,
including Philip the Bold (his uncle). Power on the council shifted back
and forth between Philip and his cousins from the House of Orleans. They
accused Philip of embezzlement from the French treasury to enhance his own
lands, especially Burgundy (where he sponsored the planting of better
grapes that would make Burgundy's wines famous). Probably true, but his
Orleans relatives were likely doing the same thing when they were running
things.

The outcome of all this was that the Burgundian branch of the House of
Valois grew in power and wealth. As many of their richest lands were
outside of France, they became largely independent and serious rivals to
the French kings. Philip's son John the Fearless, grandson Philip the Good,
and finally great grandson Charles the Bold, raised Burgundy to a major
power in Europe, and came close to founding an independent kingdom in their
own right. It all came crashing down in 1477 when Charles the Bold (or
Charles "The Rash", as named by his detractors) overreached himself and got
his skull split open by a Swiss halberdier at the Siege of Nancy.

Wow! What an epic. And that is just a gloss!

So back to Phil of Rouvres who started all this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_I,_Duke_of_Burgundy .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge (and Burgundy Geek)  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep Merry Rose relevant and in business.