• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.

Arakhor

Dremora Astronomer
103 Badges
Mar 20, 2010
3.189
970
  • Europa Universalis 4: Emperor
  • Cities: Skylines - Campus
  • Europa Universalis IV
  • Surviving Mars
  • Age of Wonders II
  • Stellaris: Necroids
  • Crusader Kings III: Royal Edition
  • Imperator: Rome - Magna Graecia
  • Stellaris: Federations
  • Surviving Mars: Digital Deluxe Edition
  • Cities: Skylines Industries
  • Crusader Kings III
  • Europa Universalis IV: Golden Century
  • Heir to the Throne
  • Europa Universalis IV: Call to arms event
  • Crusader Kings II: Jade Dragon
  • Cities: Skylines - After Dark
  • Europa Universalis IV: Common Sense
  • Humble Paradox Bundle
  • Tyranny: Archon Edition
  • Cities: Skylines - Natural Disasters
  • Stellaris: Lithoids
  • Stellaris: Leviathans Story Pack
  • Stellaris: Digital Anniversary Edition
  • Tyranny: Archon Edition
  • Cities: Skylines - Mass Transit
  • Europa Universalis IV: Rights of Man
  • Hearts of Iron IV: Colonel
  • Hearts of Iron IV: Cadet
  • Stellaris Sign-up
  • Stellaris: Galaxy Edition
  • Crusader Kings II: Conclave
  • Prison Architect
  • Crusader Kings II: Holy Fury
  • Stellaris: Megacorp
  • Europa Universalis IV: Dharma
  • Cities: Skylines - Parklife
  • Europa Universalis IV: Rule Britannia
  • Stellaris: Apocalypse
  • Stellaris: Humanoids Species Pack
  • Crusader Kings II: Monks and Mystics
  • Imperator: Rome Sign Up
  • Stellaris: Ancient Relics
  • Age of Wonders: Planetfall Sign Up
  • Crusader Kings III Referal
  • Cities: Skylines - Green Cities
  • Age of Wonders
  • Europa Universalis IV: Mandate of Heaven
  • Imperator: Rome Deluxe Edition
  • Crusader Kings II: Horse Lords
A Dream of Lotharingia

Country: Burgundy
Starting Point: 1399
Mod: Death & Taxes


I'm going to attempt this AAR lark with my favourite country in a brand-new mod (to me at least) - Lukew's Death & Taxes (version 3.3). All settings are normal, though the war aggression should have been set to Low and will be from the start of the Reformation.

I plan to expand only through cores within the Empire and only hold Lotharingian provinces directly. I do not intend to become Emperor, given that I need Imperial support to claim the crown of Lotharingia, and seeing as Philippe II was the son, brother and uncle to three French kings, I do not plan to dismember France any more than is necessary to ensure Burgundian survival.

Please feel free to give advice, but at time of writing, I've already played through the 15th Century and I'm just about to face the horrors of the Reformation! Please bear with me if the placement or quality of the screenshots are crap, as there's only so much I can do with MS Paint and Photo-Resizer.


Contents

The House of Valois-Burgundy

Philippe II, the Bold (b. 15.01.1342, r. 01.01.1363 - 11.04.1402)

Jean II, the Fearless (b. 28.05.1371, r. 11.04.1402 - 22.04.1405)

Philippe III, or his Regents thereof (22.04.1405 - 11.04.1417)

Philippe III, the Good (b. 31.07.1402, c. 22.04.1405, r. 11.04.1417 - 30.06.1475)

Philippe IV, the Handsome (b. 20.01.1436, r. 30.06.1475 - )
 
Last edited:
Chapter I - An Internecine War


0PhilipMargaret.jpg

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.

001LowerBurgundy1399.jpg

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.

002HYWcontinues.jpg

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.

003WarwithBrabant.jpg


003aDiplomacysliders1400.jpg

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.

004Brabantfalls18-06-1400.jpg

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.

005VassaliseLorraine.jpg

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.

006ReconquestofCalais1400.jpg


007FrancetakesSavoy.jpg

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.

008EnglandcedesCalais.jpg


009PhilippeIIdies.jpg



ArmsofBurgundy1364.png


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​
 
Last edited:
Very good stuff. I like the choice of nation, a decent power with great potential for growth, which you have already been working towards. As such there should be a good deal of warfare, which is always good. I don't know anything about the Death & Taxes mod, thus I am looking forward to learning about it whilst following this. Consider me subscribed.
 
Chapter II - Blood and Tears in the Lowlands


009aJeanIItheFearlessCustom.jpg

Jean II, Duke of Burgundy

010Burgundy1402.jpg


011AccessionofJeanII.jpg

Burgundy at the accession of Jean II

Philippe's eldest son, Jean, later called the Fearless, succeeded him as Duke of Burgundy and Count of Charolais on 11th April 1402 and inherited all his mother's titles, holding all his titles by right, rather than by conquest or marriage. His father's political acumen and bravery on the battlefield, even into old age, convinced him that all of the Lowlands would soon come under Burgundian rule.

That very summer he began a fresh campaign against his neighbours and as the new year dawned, Jean VI, Prince-Bishop of Liege, pledged allegiance to the Burgundian throne and the rich lands of Gelre had been annexed outright.

013LiegeGelredefeated.jpg

Meanwhile, the Iberian Wars were still in full swing, as King Enrique III of Castille laid claim to the throne of Aragon in May 1402, and fifteen months later, was proclaimed King of Castille, Leon and Aragon.

012Castile-Aragonwar.jpg

Harmony in Germany, however, was very far from the truth. Only two electors supported Albrect von Habsburg as Emperor, but as four of the remaining five electors were busy extolling the virtues of their own claims to the Imperial throne, Albrecht V's control was effectively uncontested.

014HRE1403.jpg

Back at home, three years of war were taking their toll on the Burgundian economy, but Philippe II's cultural reforms were playing their part in keeping the people peaceful.

015Mixednewsathome.jpg

War broke out with Lorraine when Jean demanded that Charles, Duke of Lorraine, recognise him as his superior, but Charles refused, having been a comrade-in-arms with Jean's father, Philippe the Bold, and Jean's pride could not accept this slight to his honour, even though Charles had also accompanied Jean eight years before at the Battle of Nicopolis.

Jean was not the diplomat his father was, by any means, for after an incident with his soldiers burning a Luxembourgian village (mistaking it for a village in Lorraine), he wrote a staggeringly condescending letter to the ambassador, apologising for his soldiers not being able to tell the people of one rural state apart from another.

016Luxembourgianmilitaryaccess.jpg

017Incompetentdiplomat.jpg

Still, his military prowess was not in question and Charles of Lorraine was made to bend the knee to Jean of Burgundy on 3rd May 1404.

018BurgundyLorrainewar.jpg

Jean's eyes turned next to the counties of Holland and Hainault. Duke William of Bavaria had married Jean's sister, Margaret, but with only a three-year-old daughter, his dynastic position was not secure. On 2nd Sept, 1404, Jean declared war on his brother-in-law under pretence of stabilising his sister's realm.

019WaroverHainaut.jpg


020AntwerpenjoinsHRE.jpg

Albrecht V approves the expansion of the Empire into Dutch lands

021Milanesealliance.jpg

Milan seeks protection from Austria and France from their greatest rival

On 10th March, 1405, William of Bavaria was banished back to Germany, the County of Hainaut was ceded to Burgundy and Jean's sister Margaret was installed as Countess of Holland in her own right, though subordinate to her brother of course. As a show of clemency, Jean pardoned his brother Antoine and granted him the County of Rethel, making Philippe, his youngest surviving brother, Count of Nevers.

022HollandHainautdefeated.jpg

Unfortunately, just six weeks later, even as the Duke was making plans for a great cultural revival throughout all of Burgundy and the Netherlands, he was stabbed to death by a Bavarian assassin, presumably on the orders of William of Bavaria. His reign had lasted for three years and a matter of days.

023MissionNI.jpg

024JeanIIdies.jpg

025JeanII.jpg



ArmsofBurgundy1404.png


Jean the Fearless
(b. 28.05.1371, r. 11.04.1402 - 22.04.1405)

II Duke of Burgundy, IV Duke of Brabant & Lothier, IV Duke of Limburg
I Count of Artois, Flanders and Charolais, I Count Palatine of Burgundy
Jure bellum: III Count of Hainaut​
 
Last edited:
Impressive gains in so short a time, although I think it quite a pity that Jean died so early, he seemed destined for greatness. Even if his diplomacy wasn't quite up to scratch. Thus now a regency which should slow Burgundy down slightly. I have to also assume that Burgundian women are truly stunning looking. Otherwise it makes little sense why so many nations agree to royal marriages with Burgrundy, considering the royal marriage so often then becomes the basis for Burgundian conquest!
 
Yes indeed, Morningsider. It helps that the Burgundians are rich, powerful and closely related to the French royal family! I rather suspect that this incarnation of Jean the Fearless was nicknamed after the old saying, "fools rush in where angels fear to tread".

Thanks for the compliment, Bazti! I'm glad you're both enjoying it so far. :)
 
Sounds interesting; what exactly does your mod do?
 
Well, it's not my mod, but if you follow the link in my first post, you'll find the mod thread where I'm sure that Lukew can tell you all about it. :)
 
Love it! I'm doing a great deal of research into this region of time and history for my AAR as well, so reading yours is even more fun than usual. Do treat Holland nicely, won't you? :)

I like the map. Definitely going to check out DnT after this.

Sorry to see John the Fearless die so soon, assassinated far ahead of schedule. Still, you've gained so much in so short a time, the regency will keep things challenging. His heir is Philip the Good? If so, he should be about 9 years old, which means you've got a while before you can go back to expanding.

Burn Paris to the ground! Show those froggy French who's boss!

Edit: Wow, playing around with it, I really like the mod. Map is gorgeous, and just generally feels more accurate.

How exactly does that 'variable claim_on_lotharingia' work?

Its a shame you warred with the English. I'd love to see Philip and Henry divy up France between them. Maybe they're in a forgiving mood? I hear gold helps :)
 
Last edited:
Thank you, Luke and Kaoschan. I'm definitely planning towards taking the throne of Lotharingia, as hinted at in the title. I was going to call this "the Curse of April", due to getting a whole bunch of nasty dynastic events events in Spring, but I thought that a more evocative title would be better suited!

Likewise, Damien. I've haven't done half the research you have, but yes, the regency is for the future Philip the Good, who in this timeline is not quite three years old. I can't promise her the world, but his cousin Jacqueline won't come to any harm on my watch. :)

As for the variable claim on Lotharingia, I assume that once I own 25+ provinces in the Lotharingian region, I'll be eligible to claim the throne of Lotharingia. Here's hoping that I can!
 
Last edited:
Chapter III - A Minor Succession Issue


028Burgundy1405.jpg

Burgundy, 1405, at the death of Jean II

Upon Jean II's sudden early death, his brothers, Antoine, Count of Rethel, and Philippe, Count of Nevers, swiftly formed a council of regents to govern for the young heir, who was not yet three years old. The regents pressed ahead with the diplomatic negotiations necessary to add Burgundy's Dutch and Flemish provinces to the Empire and, by September next year, all but Picardie and the port of Calais, seized by Philippe the Bold, had been extended Imperial protection.

029MorejoinHRE.jpg

On the occasion of young Philippe's fifth birthday, he was betrothed to his second cousin, Michelle of Valois, fourth daughter of Charles VI of France and seven years his senior. The Burgundian marriage network continued undaunted, with Margaret, Countess of Holland, marrying the Count of Friesland, Antoine, Count of Rethel, marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Vaclav of Bohemia and of Luxembourg, and so on.

030BURdiplomacy1407.jpg

In early 1408, Castille invaded Navarra and requested Burgundy's intervention when England, Portugal and Austria declared war on Castille in retaliation. Navarra was nothing more than a stumbling block, however, and Navarra was annexed by the end of July.

031CastillevsNavarre.jpg

During Christmas that year, the six-year-old Duke was instructed in the whys and wherefore of the current Valois-Burgundy royal marriages and their likely conclusions. He was also introduced to Karoly III, King of Hungary, a distant cousin through his great-aunt Agnes, when the King came to visit for the 1408 festivities.

032BUR-HUNmarriages.jpg

On 7th Jan 1409, Count Antoine, always military-minded, if not the equal of his late brother, supervised the training and outfitting of the first Burgundian regiments of soldiers that would later become known as men-at-arms and Latin knights. Unfortunately, the new Burgundian army, under the command of Armande de Ferette, were ambushed in the mountains of Bern en route to an Austrian engagement and were almost annihilated before ever reaching Habsburg territory.

The Second Iberian Wars ended in Portugal in 1409 and England in 1410 with further territorial concessions to the rapacious Enrique III of Castille-Leon & Aragon and peace reigned once more in Burgundy.

033IberianWarsagain.jpg

On 30th Sept, 1409, the Diet of Dorpat passed the Reichsreform measure, as proposed by Albrecht V of Austria. This came as somewhat of surprise in Burgundy, as Austria's amassing of imperial authority had been extremely low-key.

034DietinDorpat.jpg

In March of 1410, the entire of Burgundy was considered to be within the Holy Roman Empire, unlike ten years before when it had been a very much mixed affair.

035AllBURinHRE.jpg

Unfortunately, Count Philippe's attempts to reform the decentralised nature of Burgundian government and streamlining of bureaucracy led to the December riots in Gelre, as the people of Gelre did not see the need to pay increased taxes after having been so abruptly added to the Burgundian domain less than ten years before.

036December1410riots.jpg

The next four years were a peaceful time, with extra building work taking place on the Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne and the Cathédrale Saint-Bénigne de Dijon. It is said that Count Philippe's interest in architecture is what inspired the young Duke to extensively expand the Ducal palace in later years and gave him a strong fondness for Dijon Cathedral.

037Bourgognecastlebuilt1412.jpg

There were some religious difficulties however, with the Abbot of St. Benignus and Bishop Jean VI of Liege, as they felt that the young Duke was being raised in a far too liberal and permissive environment, deprived of the proper religious backing to the cultural renaissance currently thriving in Burgundy. The regents agreed, if only for the sake of the boy, and the nearly twelve-year-old Philippe spent many long hours in Dijon Cathedral studying the Bible in Greek, Latin and Hebrew with the Abbot and his staff.

038Agreetoclericaldemands1414.jpg

A year later, the Iberian Wars recommenced with King Enrique's desire to control all of the Iberian peninsula once more dragging Burgundy and its vassals into the fray against a variety of enemies.

039IberianWarsIII.jpg

Shortly thereafter, however, in the year that Philippe would become fifteen, his uncles decided that he was now old enough to rule in his own right and disbanded the council of regents.

040P3Regency.jpg



ArmsofValoisBurgundy.png


Regency for Philippe III
(22.04.1405 - 11.04.1417)

III Duke of Burgundy, II Duke of Brabant & Lothier, II Duke of Limburg
V Count Palatine of Burgundy, V Count of Artois, III Count of Flanders
II Count of Charolais, I Count of Hainaut​
 
Last edited:
Thankfully a relatively quiet regency and Philippe's uncles seem to have acted well as regents. The House of Bourgogne certainly has very impressive marital connections to many nations which should prove useful. Hopefully having aided Castille in her many wars, she will extend the same courtesy now that Burgundy can engage in wars herself now. Speaking of which, I'm interested to see what exactly Philippe's reign will entail.
 
It was a very quiet regency, all told, though since you asked, it would be only a small spoiler to reveal that the length of Philippe III's reign more than makes up for those of his father, grandfather and uncles! ;)
 
Excellent update! Castile is on a rampage though it seems.
 
Why, thank you, Tony. I'm glad you think so! :D

Ashantai - Castille is definitely on a rampage! Given that it continues well into Philippe's majority, they're likely to either fall apart from infamy and war exhaustion or eventually form Spain/Iberia. Which of those is more likely I'll leave to reader speculation.
 
A long reigning monarch, eh? Well, its about time.

Hopefully your assistance to Castille has bought you enough trust to drag them in against France when the time comes! Just don't let them get too strong...

Can we get a Europe wide summary when Philip's reign is done? Curious how eastern europe is shaping up...