Music, Maestro! - by Antoine de Croy (1444-1455)
Antoine de Croy (1385 – 1475, both unknown) was eldest son and heir of Jean de Croy, a lower noble from Picardy who rose to power at the Burgundian court. Antoine was named Chamberlain, later Governor General of the Netherlands and Luxembourg for Philippe III. However, he came in conflict with the successor of the latter, Charles I and moved to the Kingdom of France. There as well, he received various titles, among them the very prestigious one of Grand Master of France. The de Croy family would count 32 Knights of the Golden Fleece over the centuries, a record.
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The true conquest of Burgundy in the early 15th century, was to be found far from battlefields. It was in churches and even courtrooms at occasion, and was called “polyphonic vocal music”.
Polywhat? Oh, you mean different voices. I knew that. It’s what makes it different from classic Gregorian chant. With this music, the Burgundians truly conquered the European courts: composers as Gilles Binchois, Guillaume Dufay and Jean de Ockeghem found a school of music which would be heard in every European city. The music, wildly popular and sought after, greatly enhanced the prestige of its regions of origin: Flanders and Burgundy. Philippe III, as a known Maecenas of art, supported these artists, as much as he had supported painters as Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden.
But make no mistake. Burgundy did have success on the battlefield as well. –
Of course we did. I was leading the army! And it was necessary. After the treaty of Arras in 1435, Philippe III had not only lost his most powerful ally, Denmark and Castille were becoming increasingly hostile as well. The Danes were losing an increasing amount of trade to Dutch merchants in the Baltic Sea. Affairs reached an all-time depth when the Danish King, Christian von Wittelsbach, requested Philippe III for a compensation: Dutch pirates would have attacked Danish merchants. Philippe III refused, stating that not the Dutch, but the Danes themselves were aggressors, and that they were rightly sunken. As for Castille, the matter was simple… Philippe III had allied himself with Castilian archenemy Aragon, in an attempt to find another strong ally, should Charles VII change his mind regarding the Burgundian independence. To make matters worse, both Charles VII and Henry VII of Lancaster were preparing for war, it would only be a question of time. –
And so did we. Soldiers never had more exercise! On a positive note, a second ally was found. The emergent English and French expansionist policies quite helped to convince the Grand Duke of Brittany, François de Dreux, to leave the side of Charles VII and marry his son to a daughter of Philippe III.
The partition of the Anjou territory clearly illustrated the tensed atmosphere in the region. Ruling Duke René de’Anjou-Valois (another cadet branch of the Valois dynasty) had been an old ally of Charles VII. –
An ally? More like a subject. That zealot peasant girl was one of his subjects to start with! He was the son of Louis II, King of Naples and Violant de Barcelona, who held a claim on no less than 4 kingdoms: Aragon, Sicily, Jerusalem and Cyprus. René’s sister was no one less than Marie d’Anjou-Valois was married to Charles VII, making her Queen of France. Yet, the King and his brother in law did not agree. Week after week, René had petitioned Charles VII to reclaim his birthright, and every time Charles VII had refused. Disappointed, René had left the court of France. For Philippe III, encouraged by his allies Brittany and Aragon, this was a dreamed opportunity.
René d'Anjou-Valois, paying homage (part of a vassal oath) to Charles VII.
On December 11th of 1444, Brittany and Burgundy attacked. The army in Lorraine didn’t stand a chance, and surrendered. While Burgundy lay siege to Lorraine and Bar, their Breton allies sieged the ancestral province of the d’Anjou-Valois dynasty. When it became clear that René was losing the war, Charles VII decided to confiscate his territory, to make sure it remained French territory. Already Pope Eugenius IV had declared that not only Avignon, but also Draguignan had been a gift from the French Crown to the Papacy, and invaded on his turn the Anjou territory. The belligerents divided the territory of René d’Anjou-Valois: Philippe III took possession of Bar, Brittany took Anjou. Draguignan would be added to the Papal State and France would be compensated with Maine and Provence. The Duchy of Lorraine was given to Ferry II de Vaudemont, the son of an old ally of Burgundy, Antoine de Vaudemont. However, the partition turned out to be the prelude of a much bigger war. René died on the battlefield, leaving no issue. This meant that, by right, all his possessions would go to the current queen of France, Marie. In March 1452, Charles VII declared war on the Breton-Burgundian alliance.
Drums of war were heard in every corner of France. But until that point, no one would have thought Philippe III was a capable warrior. They were wrong. The Duke was every bit a warrior, and he knew how to instill fear on his enemies. “The Black Duke” they would call him: Philippe III had not worn any other color since the death of his father, and had made a completely blackened Gothic full plate armor, endorsed with gold and over his chest, the Saint Andrews Cross.
The armor of the Black Duke. Cloth wrappings would form a St. Andrews cross over his torso, but those were lost in time.
His leadership was needed. After a full surrender of the Breton army at Maine, the Burgundians soon realized they had to face the entire strength of the French army alone. The French lost no time, and commander Jean de Dunois launched an attack at Nevers, but was beaten back by Nevers and Burgundy. Severe casualties by the defenders were sustained, however. Soon after, another French army under command of Jean Bureau attacked the capital of Dijon itself, but again the Burgundians managed to hold their ground, thanks to the timely intervention of Brabantian and Dutch reinforcements. –
I was there… If it weren’t for their two generals, we would have destroyed them…
Similar battles ensued. At every turn, the French armies would cause significant losses to the Burgundian defenders. Yet they were beaten back, in no small thanks to the continuous inspiration of the Black Duke. While the Bretons were mustering a new army, the Burgundians held off the French. By then, Philippe realized he had to launch a counteroffensive. A small company was detached to conquer the unprotected north of France. Nemours, Champagne and Vermandois quickly succumbed, and soon Burgundian troops stood at the gates of Paris. It would be the last time Philippe III saw Paris. His black armor was too much of a target for enemy crossbowmen, and Philippe got hit by a bolt in the shoulder. While the wound itself was not mortal, the infection that followed was. While leading the main body of his army away from Paris, to support his allies fend off yet another French attack in Orléans, Philippe III de Bourgogne died. His son Charles I inherited a war-torn country, and a rebellion in Bar, which caused severe unrest in the Burgundian army command.
Of course it did! What if that horrible province had spawned another Joan of Arc?
Charles proved to be as capable as his father regarding military command, but since he had no heir and keeping the fate of his father in mind, he chose not to lead the troops personally, and gave command to Antoine de Croy –
ME! In Orléans, as in the first battle of Nevers, the French troops were beaten back.
The key were the Flemish pikemen, I swear. At every charge of the French knights, charges that would have destroyed any other army, they managed to keep the lines together. Soon after, the Barrois rebellion was subdued by a Neverois-Dutch army. –
I never doubted our eventual victory.
NEVER.The second battle of Nevers was no different: again the Breton-Burgundian armies held their ground. As for Charles I, he noticed staying behind the lines had advantages. In January 1453, a son was born to the Duke. Things were looking bright for Burgundy. Unfortunately, the armies of their ally grew reckless. While the Burgundians continued to siege Paris, the Bretons, who wished to conquer very base of power of Charles VII – Armagnac, suffered a humiliating loss. A Brabander army under command of Filip de Leeuw, sent as a reinforcement, suffered a similar fate in the Pyrenees. But in June 1453, Paris was conquered. The entire north of France was now under Burgundian control.
The glorious Burgundian army besieging Paris. Or was it Lyon? Hm, I can't remember... - Antoine de Croy (original source: Chronique de Suisse)
A new French invasion in Burgundian territory followed the conquest of Paris, but again the French were beaten back at Charolais. All these battles had worn out both realms tough, and the English were eying hungrily. Francois de Dreux would have nothing from peace negotiations tough, and setup the siege of Lyons. A desperate French attempt to lift the siege followed, but no avail. At this point, even Charles VII had to recognize defeat. In February 1455, a peace was signed. Since France had no more money to pay for war reparations, the Bretons took Saintonge and Maine and forced Charles VII to hand over his bulwark of Armagnac to England. Furthermore, the Bretons rewarded an ally of theirs who had worked again France behind the schemes: Guillaume de Talleyrand. As a reward for his service, he was granted the now independent Duchy of Toulouse. As for Burgundy, they gained nothing. And everything: Charles VII formally recognized the Burgundian independence.
While the independence was won, the only one rejoicing was death, who was welcoming the ten thousands of new souls dancing to its pipes. Over 180.000 French, Burgundian, Breton, Brabander and Dutch soldiers had perished in the conflict, an entire generation was essentially wiped out. France had received a major blow, but Burgundy too was severely weakened. Meanwhile, England was eying its rivals hungrily. While Burgundy and France were devouring each other, the English throne had passed to Henry VII Frederick of… Habsburg.
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Fore those of you who prefer screenshots over the storyline and illustrations:
here you go. If you want more, just ask.
Some questions I expect:
How I was able to win so many battles? High morale thanks to the Jousting event + Burgundian traditions, always defending and luck. Pure, dumb luck.
Why I didn't get any territory from France? I didn't rival them, had no claims and forgot to put my interest in provinces when the war started.
Why I didn't rival them? Already Castille, Denmark and England had declared me a rival. I was afraid to make too many enemies at game start and push them into big hostile alliances. Like the English-Austrian right now.
