III - Philip's Lotharingians Ambitions
The English domination of France prevented any further expension westward for duke Philip, and he tried to keep decent relations with his new neighbor. He instead went for a policy to expend his demesne in Germany, where the fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire allowed him to make easy gains. Luxembourg was gained trough a diplomatical deal, but Alsace was brought under Burgundian authority by the sword.
The new expension of his Duchy toward the Rhine made Philip reconsider the historical legacy of the demesne he was now ruling over; he asked th Emperor for the recreation of the crown of Lotharingia, a title wich would legitimate his independence toward the kingdom of England and France. The first demand for the crown was refused, mostly because of his belligerant actions in Alsace. From the first refusal in 1447, Philip changed his foreign policies entirely: he improved his relations with the Habsburgs and begined to gather an impressive ammount of money. With no large armies to feed and no military campaigns going on, the economy of Burgundy was delivering impressives ammountsof whealt.
Duke Philip waited for fifteen years before making a new demand, consolidating his diplomatical position and his treasury. The Emperor then reconsiderated his position, and tough that a powerfull Burgundy would make a great ally and oppose the Anglo-French wich were an evenr bigger menace to the balance of power. In late 1463, Philip's second demand was accepted.
With the retreival of the old lotharingian crown burried under hundred years of dust, Burgundy's authority was now incontestable in western Europe. Philip's last action was to integrate Lorraine into his new kingdom, as it alway was the center of the Lotharingian (its own name, Lorraine, was descending from Lothringen, the German name of Lotharingia) realm.
The aging king died after two more years of peace, having constructed a real empire out of his small duchy. His son, Charles the First, had similar ambitions for Lotharingia; already, he was gathering his troops to the conquest of what he beleived was his by right: both banks of the Rhine.