THE HISTORY OF BELGIUM1400 1425 1450 1475
and the Duchy of Brabant
(which included Brussels)
in 1404. Under Philip the
Good (r.1419–67), Flanders
entered a golden age. Philip
was the richest man in
Europe and his court was
one of the most fashionable
and celebrated of the time.
In 1429, Bruges became the
capital of Burgundy. For over
a century, it had been an
important trading city, with a
population similar to that of
London and Paris. It had a
resident international community,
with Italian bankers as well as mer-
chants from England, Scotland, Spain,
Germany, Genoa and Venice. Paintings
by the city’s artists, including those
by Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling,
bear witness to the extraordinary
riches of the well-to-do classes in
clothing, jewellery and furnishings.
Ruling from his Prinsenhof palace,
Philip the Good created the idealistic
Order of the Golden Fleece (a
reference to the wool trade). This
order of chivalry was dedicated
to St Andrew and brought
many of the kings and lead-
ing nobles of Europe to
Bruges to iron out their
disputes. In 1441, Philip the
Good acquired the Duchy
of Luxembourg. The only
gap that now remained in
the Burgundian possessions
was the central band of terri-
tory along the River Meuse,
belonging to the Bishopric
of Liège, which included
Dinant and Tongeren. Yet, even here,
Philip managed to exert control
by installing his protégé Louis
of Bourbon as prince-bishop.Death of Charles the Bold depicted by Eugene Delacroix in 1831THE TURNING POINT
Philip’s son and successor, Charles
(r.1467–77) used strong-arm tactics
that earned him the sobriquets
Charles the Bold and Charles the
Rash. He captured Dinant in 1466
and Liège in 1468. That same year he
was married for the third time, to
Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV
of England. Their wedding celebra-
tion in Bruges was one of the most
spectacular feasts of medieval Europe.
However, Charles overreached
himself. In his bid to conquer all
of Lorraine, he was defeated
and killed at the Battle of
Nancy, and, as a result, lost
the Burgundian holdings in
France. His only direct heir
was his daughter, 20-year-
old Mary, who now became
ruler of the remaining
Burgundian territories in the
Low Countries. Louis XI of
France hoped to marry his
son to Mary of Burgundy, but
her stepmother, Margaret
of York, had other plans. In 1477,
Mary was married to the Habsburg
Archduke Maximilian of Austria,
son of the Holy Roman Emperor.1477 Death of
Charles the Bold;
his daughter Mary
marries Maximilian
of Austria1468 Charles the
Bold, Duke
of Burgundy,
seizes Liège1425 Foundation of
the University
of Leuven1419 Philip the
Good succeeds
as Duke
of Burgundy1430 Philip the Good
marries Isabella of
Portugal, his third wifePhilip the Good and IsabellaTomb of Charles the Bold
in Bruges’s cathedralMary of Burgundy
(1457–82)39