Charles the Bold, a posthumous portrait by Peter Paul Rubens.

Charles, called the Bold or the Rash (French: Charles le Téméraire) (November 10, 1433 – January 5, 1477) was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. He was known as Charles the Terrible to his detractors. Download high resolution version (1544x1804, 667 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1544x1804, 667 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Rubens and Isabella Brant in the Honeysuckle Bower Alte Pinakothek Pieter Pauwel (Peter Paul) Rubens (June 28, 1577 – May 30, 1640) was the most popular and prolific Flemish and European painter of the 17th century. ... November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... Events Births June 23 - Francis II, Duke of Brittany Kettil Karlsson Vasa, later Regent of Sweden. ... January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 5 - Battle of Nancy - Charles the Bold of Burgundy is again defeated, and this time is killed. ... The Duchy of Burgundy, today Bourgogne, has its origin in the small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Balds kingdom of West Franks. ... Events October 29 - Battle of Brusthem: Charles the Bold defeats Liege Beginning of the Sengoku Period in Japan. ... Events January 5 - Battle of Nancy - Charles the Bold of Burgundy is again defeated, and this time is killed. ...

Biography

He was born in Dijon, the son of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy and Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy. In his father's lifetime (1433-1467) he bore the title of Count of Charolais; afterwards, he assumed all of his father's titles, including that of "Grand Duke of the West". He was also created a Knight of the Golden Fleece but twenty days after his birth, being invested by Charles I, Count of Nevers and the seigneur de Croy. Location within France Street in the center of Dijon Arc de triomphe known as the Porte Guillaume, on Place Darcy in the center of Dijon Dijon and suburbs Dijon ( ) is a city in eastern France, the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Côte-dOr département and of... Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (Philip the Good or Philippe le Bon) (1396–1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. ... Events Births June 23 - Francis II, Duke of Brittany Kettil Karlsson Vasa, later Regent of Sweden. ... Charolais is an area of France, named after the town of Charolles, and located in todays Saône-et-Loire département, in Burgundy. ... The Order of the Golden Fleece (Ordre de la Toison dOr in French) is an order of chivalry founded in 1430 by Duke Philip III of Burgundy to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Isabelle of Aviz It was modelled on the English Order of the Garter (Philip... Charles I, Count of Nevers (1414 – May 25, 1464), Count of Nevers and Rethel, was the son of Philip II, Count of Nevers and Bonne dArtois. ... Croy is a municipality in the district of Orbe of the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. ...

He was brought up under the direction of the seigneur d'Auxy, and early showed great application to study and also to warlike exercises. He was on familiar terms with the dauphin (afterwards Louis XI), when the latter was a refugee at the court of Burgundy. But he viewed with chagrin the repurchase by the king of France of the towns on the Somme, which had been temporarily ceded to Philip the Good by the Treaty of Arras; and when his father's failing health enabled him to take into his hands the reins of government (which Philip abandoned to him completely by an act of April 12, 1465), he entered upon his lifelong struggle against Louis XI, and became one of the principal leaders of the League of the Public Weal. For other uses, see Dauphin (disambiguation). ... Louis XI the Prudent (French: Louis XI le Prudent) (July 3, 1423 – August 30, 1483), also informally nicknamed luniverselle aragne (old French for universal spider), or the Spider King, was King of France (1461–1483). ... Coat of arms of the 2nd duchy of Burgundy and later of the French province of Burgundy Burgundy (French: Bourgogne) is a historic region of France, inhabited in turn by Pre-Indo-European people, Celts (Gauls), Romans (Gallo-Romans), and various Germanic peoples, most importantly the Burgundians and the Franks. ... Somme river The Somme River (French Rivière Somme) is a river in Picardy, northern France. ... Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (Philip the Good or Philippe le Bon) (1396–1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. ... There have been several treaties of Arras: the Treaty of Arras (1435) between Charles VII of France and Philip the Good of Burgundy. ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... Events July 13 - Battle of Montlhéry Troops of King Louis XI of France fight inconclusively against an army of the great nobles organized as the League of the Public Weal. ... The League of the Public Weal was an alliance of feudal nobles organized in defiance of the centralized authority of the French King, Louis XI, by his brother, the duke of Berry, and Charles the Bold of Burgundy. ...

His bravery at the Battle of Montlhéry (July 13, 1465), where he was wounded and was left master of the field, neither prevented the king from re-entering Paris nor assured Charles a decisive victory. He succeeded, however, in forcing upon Louis the Treaty of Conflans (October 1465), by which the king restored to him the towns on the Somme, and promised him the hand of his infant daughter Catherine, with Champagne as dowry. Insert non-formatted text here July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining. ... Events July 13 - Battle of Montlhéry Troops of King Louis XI of France fight inconclusively against an army of the great nobles organized as the League of the Public Weal. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Events July 13 - Battle of Montlhéry Troops of King Louis XI of France fight inconclusively against an army of the great nobles organized as the League of the Public Weal. ... Somme is a French département, named after the Somme River, located in the north of France. ... Champagne is one of the traditional provinces of France, a region of France that is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the regions name. ...

In the meanwhile, the Count of Charolais obtained the surrender of Ponthieu. The revolt of Liège and Dinant intervened to divert his attention from the affairs of France. On August 25, 1466, Charles took possession of Dinant, which he pillaged and sacked, and succeeded in treating at the same time with the Bishopric of Liège. After the death of Philip the Good (June 15, 1467), the Bishopric of Liège renewed hostilities, but Charles defeated them at Sint-Truiden, and made a victorious entry into Liège, which he dismantled and deprived of some of its privileges. Ponthieu is a former province of northern France. ... The city of Liège (Dutch: Luik, German: Lüttich) on the Meuse River is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège, of which it is the capital. ... The tower of Notre-Dame, seen from the citadel Dinant is a municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur, Wallonia. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... Events Chimú Empire conquered by troops of the Inca End of term for Regent of Sweden Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna. ... The Bishopric of Liège or Prince-Bishopric of Liège was a state of the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire in present Belgium. ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... Events October 29 - Battle of Brusthem: Charles the Bold defeats Liege Beginning of the Sengoku Period in Japan. ... Sint-Truiden (also Saint-Trond) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, near the town of Hasselt and Tongeren (Tongres). ...

Rogier van der Weyden painted Charles the Bold in about 1460, wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Charles the Bold as imagined in a Victorian engraving.

Depiction of finding his body after the Battle of Nancy.

Alarmed by these early successes of the duke of Burgundy, and anxious to settle various questions relating to the execution of the treaty of Conflans, Louis requested a meeting with Charles and placed himself in his hands at Péronne. In the course of the negotiations the duke was informed of a fresh revolt of the Bishopric of Liège secretly fomented by Louis. After deliberating for four days how to deal with his adversary, who had thus maladroitly placed himself at his mercy, Charles decided to respect the parole he had given and to treat with Louis (October 1468), at the same time forcing him to assist in quelling the revolt. The town was carried by assault and the inhabitants were massacred, Louis not having the courage to intervene on behalf of his ancient allies. Deposition by Roger van der Weyden (c. ... The Order of the Golden Fleece (Spanish: Orden del Toisón de Oro) is an order of chivalry founded in 1430 by Duke Philip III of Burgundy to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Isabelle of Aviz. ... Charles the Bold, engraving scanned from Cyclopaedia of Universial History, 1885 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Charles the Bold, engraving scanned from Cyclopaedia of Universial History, 1885 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Péronne is the name or part of the name of several communes in France: Péronne, in the Saône-et-Loire département Péronne, in the Somme département Péronne-en-Mélantois, in the Nord département This is a disambiguation page — a list of... The Bishopric of Liège or Prince-Bishopric of Liège was a state of the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire in present Belgium. ... Events Baeda Maryam succeeds his father Zara Yaqob as Emperor of Ethiopia Births February 29 - Pope Paul III (died 1549) Juan del Encina, Spanish poet, dramatist and composer Charles I of Savoy John, Elector of Saxony (died 1532) Juan de Zumárraga, Spanish Franciscan prelate and first bishop of Mexico...

At the expiry of the one year's truce which followed the Treaty of Péronne, the king accused Charles of treason, cited him to appear before the parlement, and seized some of the towns on the Somme (1471). The duke retaliated by invading France with a large army, taking possession of Nesle and massacring its inhabitants. He failed, however, in an attack on Beauvais, and had to content himself with ravaging the country as far as Rouen, eventually retiring without having attained any useful result. In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation or state. ... Parlements (pronounced in French) in ancien régime France — contrary to what their name would suggest to the modern reader — were not democratic or political institutions, but law courts . ... This article is about the year 1471, not the BT caller ID service accessible by dialling 1-4-7-1. ... Nesle is a commune of the Somme département, in northern France. ... Beauvais is a town and commune of northern France, préfecture (capital) of the Oise département. ... Location within France Rouen Cathedral The entrance to Rouen Cathedral Abbey church of Saint-Ouen, (chevet) in Rouen Rouen, medieval house Rouen (pronounced in French, sometimes also ) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France, and presently the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) région. ...

Other matters, moreover, engaged his attention. Relinquishing, if not the stately magnificence, at least the gay and wasteful profusion which had characterized the court of Burgundy under the preceding duke, he had bent all his efforts towards the development of his military and political power. Since the beginning of his reign he had employed himself in reorganizing his army and the administration of his territories. While retaining the principles of feudal recruiting, he had endeavoured to establish a system of rigid discipline among his troops, which he had strengthened by taking into his pay foreign mercenaries, particularly Englishmen and Italians, and by developing his artillery. Furthermore, he had lost no opportunity of extending his power. In 1469, the archduke of Austria, Sigismund, had sold him the county of Ferrette, and the landgraviate of Alsace and some other towns, reserving to himself the right to repurchase. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi   - Water (%) Population... A 155 mm artillery shell fired by a United States 11th Marine regiment M-198 howitzer Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... Events July 26 - Battle of Edgecote Moor October 17 - Prince Ferdinand of Aragon wed princess Isabella of Castile. ... Look up Archduke in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An engraving by W. Killian, 1623 Sigismund of Austria (October 26, 1427 in Innsbruck – March 4, 1496 ibid) was a Habsburg archduke of Austria and regent of Tirol from 1446 to 1490. ... Capital Strasbourg Land area¹ 8,280 km² Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Population  - Jan. ...

In 1472-1473, Charles bought the reversion of the duchy of Guelders from its old duke, Arnold, whom he had supported against the rebellion of his son. Not content with being "the grand duke of the West," he conceived the project of forming a kingdom of Burgundy or Aries with himself as independent sovereign, and even persuaded the emperor Frederick to assent to crown him king at Trier. The ceremony, however, did not take place owing to the emperor’s precipitate flight by night (September 1473), occasioned by his displeasure at the duke’s attitude. In the following year Charles involved himself in a series of difficulties and struggles which ultimately brought about his downfall. He embroiled himself successively with the archduke Sigismund of Austria, to whom he refused to restore his possessions in Alsace for the stipulated sum; with the Swiss, who supported the free towns of Upper Rhine in their revolt against the tyranny of the ducal governor, Peter von Hagenbach (who was condemned by a special international tribunal and executed in May 1474); and finally, with René II, Duke of Lorraine, with whom he disputed the succession of Lorraine, the possession of which had united the two principal portions of Charles's territories— Flanders and the Low Countries and the duchy and county of Burgundy. Events February 20 - The Orkneys and Shetlands are annexed to the crown of Scotland Discovery of Newfoundland by Didrik Pining and João Vaz Corte-Real. ... Events Ottoman sultan Mehmed II defeats the White Sheep Turkmens lead by Uzun Hasan at Otlukbeli Axayacatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan invades the territory of neighboring Aztec city of Tlatelolco. ... For the present province also called Guelders in English, see Gelderland. ... Detail of Aeneas Piccolomini Introduces Eleonora of Portugal to Frederick III by Pinturicchio (1454-1513) Frederick III of Habsburg (Innsbruck, September 21, 1415 – August 19, 1493 in Linz) was elected as German King as the successor of Albert II in 1440. ... The city of Trier (Latin: Augusta Treverorum; French: ; Luxembourgish Tréier; Italian: ; Spanish: ) is situated on the western bank of the Moselle River in a valley between low vine-covered hills of ruddy sandstone. ... An engraving by W. Killian, 1623 Sigismund of Austria (October 26, 1427 in Innsbruck – March 4, 1496 ibid) was a Habsburg archduke of Austria and regent of Tirol from 1446 to 1490. ... Events December 12 - Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile and her sister Juana who was supported by her husband, Alfonso V of Portugal. ... René II (May 2, 1451–December 10, 1508) was count of Vaudemont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar and titular King of Aragon, Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem from 1483 to his death. ... Flanders (Dutch: Vlaanderen) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; some prefer to call this the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians... The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries (see Country) on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ... The County of Burgundy was a medieval county, within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comté, whose very name is reminiscent of the unusual title of its count : Freigraf (free count, or franc comte in french, hence the term franc(he) comté for his feudal principiality). ...

All these enemies, incited and supported as they were by Louis, were not long in joining forces against their common adversary. Charles suffered a first rebuff in endeavouring to protect his kinsman, the archbishop of Cologne, against his rebel subjects. He spent ten months (July 1474 – June 1475) in besieging the little town of Neuss on the Rhine (the Siege of Neuss), but was compelled by the approach of a powerful imperial army to raise the siege. Moreover, the expedition he had persuaded his brother-in-law, Edward IV of England, to undertake against Louis was stopped by the treaty of Picquigny (August 29, 1475). He was more successful in Lorraine, where he seized Nancy (November 30, 1475). From Nancy he marched against the Swiss, hanging and drowning the garrison of Grandson, a possession of the Savoyard Jacques de Romont, a close ally of Charles, which the Confederates had invested shortly before, and in spite of their capitulation. The Archbishopric of Cologne was one of the major ecclesiastical principalities of the Holy Roman Empire. ... Events August 29 - Treaty of Picquigny ends a brief war between France and England. ... Neuss is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Loreley At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (Dutch Rijn, French Rhin, German Rhein, Italian: Reno, Romansch: Rein, ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... The Siege of Neuss, from 1473–1474, was part of the Burgundy Wars. ... Edward IV (April 28, 1442 – April 9, 1483) was King of England from March 4, 1461 to April 9, 1483, with a break of a few months in the period 1470–1471. ... The Treaty of Picquigny was negotiated in 1475 between England and France. ... August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. ... Events August 29 - Treaty of Picquigny ends a brief war between France and England. ... Location within France Nancy (pronounced in French) (German: Nanzig) is a city and commune which is the préfecture (capital) of the Meurthe-et-Moselle département, in the Lorraine région of northeastern France. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... Grandson is a municipality in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, seat of the district of the same name. ...

Some days later, however, he was attacked before Grandson by the confederate army in the Battle of Grandson and suffered a shameful defeat, being compelled to fly with a handful of attendants, and leaving his artillery and an immense booty in the hands of the allies (March 1476). He succeeded in raising a fresh army of 30,000 men, with which he attacked Morat, but he was again defeated by the Swiss army, assisted by the cavalry of René II, Duke of Lorraine (June 22, 1476). On this occasion, and unlike the debacle at Grandson, little booty was lost, but Charles certainly lost about one third of his entire army, the unfortunate losers being pushed into the nearby lake where they were drowned or shot at whilst trying to swim to safety on the opposite shore. On October 6 Charles lost Nancy, which was re-entered by René. Making a last effort, Charles formed a new army and arrived in the depth of winter before the walls of Nancy. Having lost many of his troops through the severe cold, it was with only a few thousand men that he met the joint forces of the Lorrainers and the Swiss, who had come to the relief of the town, at the Battle of Nancy (January 5, 1477). He himself perished in the fight, his naked body being discovered some days afterwards, the face so mutilated by wild animals that only his physician was able to identify him by old scars on his body. The Battle of Grandson, took place on 2 March 1476, was part of the Burgundian Wars (Burgundy Wars), and resulted in a major defeat for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. ... Events March 2 - Battle of Grandson. ... The Battle of Morat was a battle in the Burgundy Wars fought June 22, 1476 between Charles, Duke of Burgundy and a Swiss army at Murten (French: Morat), about 30 kilometers from Bern. ... René II (May 2, 1451–December 10, 1508) was count of Vaudemont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar and titular King of Aragon, Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem from 1483 to his death. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... Events March 2 - Battle of Grandson. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... Despite the disasters of 1476 Charles the Bold, [[Duke of Burgundy]], remained confident that 1477 would bring an upturn in the fortunes of his beloved Burgundy. ... January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 5 - Battle of Nancy - Charles the Bold of Burgundy is again defeated, and this time is killed. ...

Charles the Bold has often been regarded as the last representative of the feudal spirit—a man who possessed no other quality than a blind bravery.

External links

• Duke Charles at Find A Grave