Chapter I - An Internecine War
Philippe II, Duke of Burgundy, and Margaret III, Countess of Flanders
Philip de Valois, later called the Bold, was born on 15th January 1342, as the fourth and youngest son of Jean II, King of France, and his wife, Bonne de Luxembourg. Having fought at the Battle of Poiters in 1356 and created Duke of Tourane by his father in 1360, he surrendered Tourane in 1363 and received the Duchy of Burgundy, becoming the first of the House of Valois-Bourgogne.
His 1369 marriage to Margaret of Dampierre, later Countess of Flanders, gained him rich territories in the Netherlands and reunited the Duchy and County-Palatine of Burgundy, whilst the strategic arrangement of marriages for his various children were to set up the future unification of the Burgundian Netherlands.
The Duchy of Burgundy, shortly before the untimely death of Margaret of Flanders
In the autumn of 1399, war broke out again between France and England and their various vassals and allies, as Charles VI of France attempted to retake Calais from the English.
After Margaret's death at the Chateau de Germolles, Philippe's gift to his wife in 1389, his second surviving son, Antoine, insisted on being invested with the Duchy of Brabant as per his mother's will. Philippe refused to allow him to inherit ahead of his eldest son, Jean, and when Antoine travelled to Brussels to raise his standard as the next Duke of Brabant, Philippe issued a declaration of war against the duchy of Brabant.
The network of alliances and marriages Philippe established to aid him in his war against his son and supporters. Cleves would soon intervene on Antoine's side.
On 18th June next year, Philippe seized Brussels, forcibly annexed Brabant and made Adolf of Cleves swear fealty to him for his poor judgement in taking the field against him. This would be the end of the appanage system in Burgundy. With Antoine locked in the castle at Mechelen, Philippe began to focus his attention on the Netherlands to bury old divisions, show acceptance for his new Dutch subjects and promote the idea that one could be Burgundian, rather than merely Flemish, Dutch or French.
Although Philippe was content with his holdings so far, the Bishop of Dijon told him that it was God's will that some day the Kingdom of Lotharingia would be formed by his family and thus prove themselves to be true heirs of Charlemagne.
Soon afterwards, in early August, the first of the many Iberian Wars begin, as Castille attacks England over trade-rights. With France busy in Savoy and England now distracted by both France and Castille, Philippe also declares war on the English, intending to avenge his father's humiliation at Poitiers.
France annexes Savoy for its support to England in the Hundred Years War
Philippe seized the strategic port of Calais just eight months later and Henry IV accepted peace by ceding the city and his claims on the Burgundian lands in Picardie. However, Philippe, now sixty years of age and still leading his troops in person, took a lance to the shoulder and, whilst recovering in bed, died of a heart attack a little over a week after retaking Calais.
Philippe the Bold
(b. 15.01.1342, r. 01.01.1363 - 11.04.1402)
II Duke of Burgundy and I Count of Charolais
Jure uxoris: IV Count Palatine of Burgundy, IV Count of Artois,
II Count of Flanders, I Count of Nevers & Rethel
Jure bellum: I Duke of Brabant & Lothier, I Duke of Limburg
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