Charles the Bold of Burgundy ^{1 2 3}

   Cause of his death was he was killed.

  General Notes:

Charles the Bold, 1433-77, last reigning duke of Burgundy (1467-77), son and successor of Philip the Good. As the count of Charolais before his accession, he opposed the growing power of King Louis XI of France by joining (1465) the League of Public Weal. In 1468 he had Louis arrested during their interview at Péronne and compelled him to help in subduing Liège, where Louis had incited a revolt. Charles allied himself with England by his marriage (1468) to Margaret, the sister of King Edward IV. Master of the Low Countries, Charles ruled Burgundy, Flanders, Artois, Brabant, Luxembourg, Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, and Hainaut; he dreamed of reestablishing the kingdom of Lotharingia. He needed Alsace, Lorraine, and a royal title to achieve his goal. In 1473 he met Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III at Trier to arrange a marriage between his daughter Mary and Frederick's son, the future Maximilian I; Charles was to have been crowned king of Lotharingia. However, the emperor broke off negotiations; the marriage took place (1477) only after Charles's death. Meanwhile, Charles continued to conquer the lands that separated his possessions. His struggles with the Alsatian towns and his occupation (1473) of Lorraine alienated the Swiss cantons, which were allied with France. In 1474 war broke out between Charles and the Swiss. Charles's English ally, Edward IV, invaded France (1475), but accepted a bribe from Louis XI and ceased hostilities. Charles was routed (1476) by the Swiss at Grandson and Morat. Early in 1477, at Nancy, Charles was defeated utterly and killed by the Swiss and the Lorrainers. His heiress, Mary of Burgundy, lost part of her possessions to France, the rest passing to the Hapsburgs through her marriage with Maximilian. Once powerful Burgundy ceased to exist as a state. Charles, who earned his surname by his impetuous gallantry, was a capable, though harsh, ruler; however, his achievements were short-lived.

  Medical Notes:

A certain Italian named Campobasso, who had won the confidence of Charles, turned traitor and ordered his men to kill him during the battle (of Nancy). The duke, three times wounded, fell on his face in a morass, and was frozen to death during the night.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Acceded: Duke of Burgundy, 1467. He was the last reigning duke of Burgundy.

Charles married Catherine de Valois de France, daughter of Charles VII the Victorious de Valois and Mary d' Anjou. (Catherine de Valois de France died in 1446.)

Charles next married Isabella of Bourbon, daughter of Charles I de Bourbon and Agnes de Bourgogne, in 1454 in Lille, France. (Isabella of Bourbon was born in 1435 and died on 13 Sep 1465.)

Charles next married Margaret of York, daughter of Richard of York Plantagenet and Lady Cecily Neville, on 9 Jul 1468 in Bruges, Belgium. (Margaret of York was born on 3 May 1446 in Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire, England and died on 23 Nov 1503 in Mechelen, Antwerpen, Belgium.)