1.
Philip III of France
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It can also refer to Philippe III de Croÿ and Philippe III, Duke of Orléans. Philip III, called the Bold, was King of France from 1270 to 1285, Philip proved indecisive, soft in nature, and timid. The strong personalities of his parents apparently crushed him, and policies of his father dominated him, people called him the Bold on the basis of his abilities in combat and on horseback and not on the basis of his political or personal character. He was pious but not cultivated and he followed the suggestions of others, first of Pierre de La Broce and then of his uncle King Charles I of Naples, Sicily, and Albania. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade, Philip, who was accompanying him, came back to France to claim his throne and was anointed at Reims in 1271. Philip made numerous territorial acquisitions during his reign, the most notable being the County of Toulouse which was annexed to the Crown lands of France in 1271. Following the Sicilian Vespers, a rebellion triggered by Peter III of Aragon against Philips uncle Charles I of Naples, Philip was forced to retreat and died from dysentry in Perpignan in 1285. He was succeeded by his son Philip the Fair, Philip was born in Poissy to King Saint Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence, queen consort of France. As a younger son, Philip was not expected to rule a kingdom, at the death of his elder brother Louis in 1260, he became the heir to the throne. He was then 15 years old and has less skill than his brother, being of a character, submissive, timid and versatile. Pope Urban IV released Philip from his oath on June 6,1263, from 1268 Pierre de La Brosse became mentor. Saint Louis also provided him his own advice, writing in particular Enseignements and he also received a very faith-oriented education. Guillaume dErcuis was also his chaplain before being the tutor of his son, as Count of Orléans, he accompanied his father to the Eighth Crusade in Tunis,1270. After taking Carthage, the army was struck by an epidemic of dysentery and his brother John Tristan, Count of Valois died first, on August 3, and on August 25 the king died. To prevent putrefaction of the remains of the sovereign, they recoursed to Mos Teutonicus, Philip, then 25 years old, was proclaimed king in Tunis. With neither great personality or will, very pious, but a good rider and he was unable to command the troops at the death of his father. He left his uncle Charles I of Naples to negotiate with Muhammad I al-Mustansir, Hafsid Sultan of Tunis and he got the payment of tribute from the caliph of Tunis in exchange for the departure of the crusaders. A treaty was concluded October 28,1270 between the kings of France, Sicily and Navarre and the barons on one hand and the caliph of Tunis on the other
2.
Duke of Burgundy
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Under the Ancien Régime, the Duke of Burgundy was the premier lay peer of the kingdom of France. Beginning with Robert II of France, the title was held by the Capetians and it was granted to Roberts younger son, Robert, who founded the House of Burgundy. When the senior line of the House of Burgundy became extinct, John granted the duchy as an appanage for his younger son, Philip the Bold. The Valois Dukes of Burgundy became dangerous rivals to the line of the House of Valois. When the male line of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy became extinct, today, the title is used by the House of Bourbon as a revived courtesy title. His descendants and their relatives by marriage ruled the duchy until its annexation over a century later by the French crown, their suzerain. Richard the Justiciar Rudolph, then King of France Hugh the Black Gilbert Otto Eudes Henry the Great Otto William In 1004, Burgundy was annexed by the king, Otto William continued to rule what would come to be called the Free County of Burgundy. His descendants formed another House of Ivrea, Robert Henry Robert, son of Robert II of France, received the Duchy as a peace settlement, having disputed the succession to the throne of France with his brother Henry. John II of France, the second Valois king, successfully claimed the Duchy after the death of Philip, John then passed the duchy to his youngest son Philip as an apanage. In 1477, the territory of the Duchy of Burgundy was annexed by France, in the same year, Mary married Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, giving the Habsburgs control of the remainder of the Burgundian Inheritance. They often used the term Burgundy to refer to it, until the late 18th century, at the same time, various members of the French royal family, most notably Louis, Dauphin of France, the father of Louis XV of France, also used the title. Duchess of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy King of Burgundy Duchy of Burgundy County of Burgundy Count of Burgundy Dukes of Burgundy family tree Calmette, the Golden Age of Burgundy, the Magnificent Dukes and Their Courts. Les Origines du Duché de Bourgogne
3.
John II of France
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John II, called John the Good, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1350 until his death. While John was a prisoner in London, his son Charles became regent and faced several rebellions, to liberate his father, he concluded the Treaty of Brétigny, by which France lost many territories and paid an enormous ransom. In an exchange of hostages, which included his second son Louis, Duke of Anjou, when John was informed that Louis had escaped from captivity, he voluntarily returned to England, where he died in 1364. He was succeeded by his son Charles V, John was nine years old when his father had himself crowned as Philip VI of France. Initially a marriage with Eleanor of Woodstock, sister of King Edward III of England, was considered, Bohemia had aspirations to control Lombardy and needed French diplomatic support. The military clauses stipulated that, in the event of war, the political clauses ensured that the Lombard crown would not be disputed if the king of Bohemia managed to obtain it. Philip selected Bonne of Bohemia as a wife for his son, as she was closer to child-bearing age, and the dowry was fixed at 120,000 florins. John reached the age of majority,13 years and one day, on 27 April 1332, the wedding was celebrated on 28 July at the church of Notre-Dame in Melun in the presence of six thousand guests. The festivities were prolonged by a two months when the young groom was finally knighted at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Upon his accession as Duke of Normandy in 1332, John had to deal with the reality that most of the Norman nobility was already allied with the English camp, effectively, Normandy depended economically more on maritime trade across the English Channel than on river trade on the Seine. The Duchy had not been English for 150 years, but many landowners had holdings across the Channel, consequently, to line up behind one or other sovereign risked confiscation. Therefore, Norman members of the nobility were governed as interdependent clans and it was split into two key camps, the counts of Tancarville and the counts of Harcourt, which had been in conflict for generations. King Philip, worried about the richest area of the breaking into bloodshed, ordered the bailiffs of Bayeux. Geoffroy dHarcourt raised troops against the king, rallying a number of nobles protective of their autonomy, the rebels demanded that Geoffroy be made duke, thus guaranteeing the autonomy granted by the charter. Royal troops took the castle at Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte and Geoffroy was exiled to Brabant, three of his companions were decapitated in Paris on 3 April 1344. In 1342, John was in Avignon at the coronation of Pope Clement VI, by 1345, increasing numbers of Norman rebels had begun to pay homage to Edward III, constituting a major threat to the legitimacy of the Valois kings. The defeat at the Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346, defections by the nobility, whose land fell within the broad economic influence of England, particularly in the north and west, increased. Consequently, King Philip VI decided to seek a truce, Duke John met Geoffroy dHarcourt, to whom the king agreed to return all confiscated goods, even appointing him sovereign captain in Normandy
4.
John the Fearless
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John the Fearless, also known as John of Valois and John I of Burgundy, was Duke of Burgundy from 1404 to 1419. He was a member of the Burgundian branch of the Valois Dynasty, for a period of time, he served as regent of France on behalf of his first cousin King Charles VI of France, who suffered from severe mental illness. John was born in Dijon on 27 May 1371 to Philip II the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in 1385, a double wedding for the Burgundian family took place in Cambrai. The marriage took place after John cancelled his engagement to Catherine of France, before his accession to the Duchy of Burgundy, John was one of the principal leaders of the French forces sent to aid King Sigismund of Hungary in his war against Sultan Bayezid I. John fought in the Battle of Nicopolis of 25 September 1396 with such enthusiasm, despite his personal bravery, his impetuous leadership ended in disaster for the European expedition. He was captured and did not recover his liberty until the year after an enormous ransom was paid. Both men attempted to fill the vacuum left by the demented king. John played a game of marriages by exchanging his daughter Margaret of Burgundy for Michelle of Valois, for her part, Margaret was married to Louis, Duke of Guyenne, the heir to the French throne from 1401 until his death in 1415. For all his concentration on aristocratic politics, John nonetheless did not overlook the importance of the class of merchants. Louis tried to gain the favour of the wife of Charles VI, Queen Isabeau of France and this did not improve relations between John and the Duke of Orléans. Soon the two descended into making open threats. Their uncle, John, Duke of Berry, secured a vow of solemn reconciliation on 20 November 1407, the order, no one doubted, had come from the Duke of Burgundy, who shortly admitted to the deed and declared it to be a justifiable act of tyrannicide. After an escape from Paris and a few skirmishes against the Orléans party, in the treaty of Chartres, signed on 9 March 1409, the King absolved the Duke of Burgundy of the crime, and he and Louis son Charles pledged a reconciliation. A later edict renewed Johns guardianship of the Dauphin, even with the Orléans dispute resolved in his favour, John did not lead a tranquil life. Chief among these allies was his father-in-law Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, because of this alliance, their faction became known as the Armagnacs in opposition to the Burgundians. With peace between the factions solemnly sworn in 1410, John returned to Burgundy and Bernard remained in Paris, at this time, King Henry V of England invaded French territory and threatened to attack Paris. During the peace negotiations with the Armagnacs, Henry was also in contact with John, despite this, he continued to be wary of forming an alliance with the English for fear of destroying his immense popularity with the common people of France. When Henry demanded Burgundys support for his claim to be the rightful King of France, John backed away and decided to ally himself with the Armagnacs
5.
Pontoise
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Pontoise is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 28.4 km from the centre of Paris, Pontoise is also the seat of the Arrondissement of Pontoise. The sous-préfecture building and administration, unlike the préfecture, are located inside the commune of Pontoise. Known as being a violent city in the past, with a rate of 137.62 incidents per 1000 inhabitants. By 2008 the rate had declined to 99.87, although this is considered high. Pontoise is the capital of the Vexin français. Its foundation dates from Roman times, at that time, the rock peak overhanging the river Oise supported the defense of the ford which was on the Roman road, the Chaussée Jules César, between Lutetia and Rotomagus. The road still exists and is now part of the N14 from Paris to Rouen and it is also known to many people as the birthplace of the alchemist Nicholas Flamel. With an over 2,000 year patrimonium, Pontoise still has vestige of the past, of which medieval lanes, convents, churches and museums, and was awarded the City of Art and History Label in 2006. The impressionnist painter Camille Pissarro made it famous through many paintings which are present nowadays in the most famous art galleries in the world, at the census of 1999, the population was 27,494. The estimate for 2005 was 28,500, some trains originating at Gare Saint-Lazare continue onto Gisors. For bus services, Stivo operates within the new town of Cergy-Pontoise, Pontoise – Cormeilles Aerodrome is the area airport. Many painters took as a point the city and its area for the creation of landscapes. Camille Pissarro lived there for seventeen years, other artists lived or worked in the area such as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Charles-François Daubigny, Gustave Caillebotte, Gustave Loiseau, etc. It was built in the 12th century and reconstructed and enlarged in the 15th and 16th centuries, the tower as well as the central portal is in flamboyant style. The central body is flanked by Renaissance additions. The remaining 12th century part of the cathedral is to the back, to the North of the building is a Renaissance portal. The museum houses sculptures from the Middle Ages, manuscripts from the century and paintings from the twentieth century Musée Pissarro. The Museum is situated in a house at the entrance of the old castle
6.
Kingdom of France
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The Kingdom of France was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Western Europe. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe and a great power since the Late Middle Ages and it was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world. France originated as West Francia, the half of the Carolingian Empire. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, the territory remained known as Francia and its ruler as rex Francorum well into the High Middle Ages. The first king calling himself Roi de France was Philip II, France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was overthrown in 1792 during the French Revolution. France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy, in Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France, during the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars, religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and a Protestant minority, the Huguenots, which led to a series of civil wars, the Wars of Religion. France laid claim to large stretches of North America, known collectively as New France, Wars with Great Britain led to the loss of much of this territory by 1763. French intervention in the American Revolutionary War helped secure the independence of the new United States of America, the Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic. The monarchy was restored by the great powers in 1814. During the later years of the elderly Charlemagnes rule, the Vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the Kingdom of the Franks, after Charlemagnes death in 814 his heirs were incapable of maintaining political unity and the empire began to crumble. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, with Charles the Bald ruling over West Francia, the nucleus of what would develop into the kingdom of France. Viking advances were allowed to increase, and their dreaded longboats were sailing up the Loire and Seine rivers and other waterways, wreaking havoc. During the reign of Charles the Simple, Normans under Rollo from Norway, were settled in an area on either side of the River Seine, downstream from Paris, that was to become Normandy. With its offshoots, the houses of Valois and Bourbon, it was to rule France for more than 800 years. Henry II inherited the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou, and married Frances newly divorced ex-queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, after the French victory at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the English monarchs maintained power only in southwestern Duchy of Guyenne. The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without male heirs ended the main Capetian line, under Salic law the crown could not pass through a woman, so the throne passed to Philip VI, son of Charles of Valois
7.
Halle, Belgium
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Halle is a city and municipality of Belgium, in the district Halle-Vilvoorde of the province Flemish Brabant. It is located on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and on the Flemish side of the border that separates Flanders. Halle lies on the border between the Flemish plains to the North and the undulating Brabant lands to the South, the city also borders on the Pajottenland to the west. The official language of Halle is Dutch, the municipality Halle comprises the city of Halle proper and the towns of Buizingen and Lembeek. The neighboring towns are, Pepingen, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Beersel, Braine-lAlleud, Braine-le-Château, the population of Halle has increased from 32,758 inhabitants in 1991 to 34,882 on January 1,2006. The mayor is Dirk Pieters of the CD&V, borders have always played an important role in the history of Halle. Already in the era, before the Roman conquests, a tribe of Nervii – either a Germanized Celtic people or a celticized Germanic people – lived in this region. In the 7th century, Saint Waltrude, the daughter of an important Merovingian personality, from that time on and until the French Revolution, the region around Halle would depend to various degrees on the County of Hainaut. In the 8th century, Hubertus, archbishop of Tongeren, founded a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the town must have grown quickly since Jeanne, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, already granted it its freedom charters in 1225. The miraculous statue of the Virgin arrived in Halle in 1267 as a gift to John II, Count of Holland. The cult of Mary attracted important visitors such as Edward I of England and Ludwig the Bavarian, a much bigger church was now needed, that was completed in the 15th century. The death of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in Halle in 1404 was actually a benefit to the city as all subsequent ruling Dukes of Burgundy were to pay a visit here. Even Louis XI of France decided to bury his son in the Halle church in 1460. After the death of Mary of Burgundy, Flanders and Brabant revolted against her husband Maximilian, while Hainaut, two attempts by a Brussels army to conquer Halle in 1489 failed. In the 16th century, Brussels and Halle were fighting again, again, two attempts failed, leading to an increased devotion to the citys miraculous statue. In 1621, with the support of the archdukes Albert and Isabella, Halle and the surrounding area were used by Philip IV of Spain as a warrant against a loan, leading to the cessation of the city to the Duke of Arenberg in 1648. Louis XIVs wars at the end of the resulted in heavy losses. The French Revolution brought the usual religious curtailments to religious life, however, the pilgrimage site, the religious services were completely restored under Napoleon, and the tradition of princely visits to the church of Halle continues until this day
8.
County of Hainaut
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The County of Hainaut, sometimes given the archaic spellings Hainault and Heynowes, was a historical lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire, with its capital at Mons. The name comes from the river Haine, besides Mons, it included the cities of Cambrai and Charleroi. It consisted of what is now the Belgian province of Hainaut, originally a gau of Lotharingia, Hainaut was briefly a part of West Francia before becoming definitively attached to Germany. The county was divided in 958 and only emerged in its more or less final form in 1071, during the High Middle Ages, Hainaut became culturally and linguistically French. In 1432, Hainaut was acquired by the House of Valois-Burgundy and in 1477 passed to the Habsburgs with the rest of the Burgundian Netherlands and it was ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1555 to 1714. In 1659 and 1678 southern Hainaut was acquired by France, and in 1797 the rest of the county was ceded to France by the Emperor Francis II, who was also count of Hainaut. In Roman imperial times, Hainaut was, at least for the most part, as the empire lost control, this entire region came under the lordship of the Salian Franks, within their Neustrian territory. By the time of Charlemagne, the Frankish empire had declared a new Holy Roman Empire. After the death of the last Carolingian king in East Francia, Louis the Child in 911, following Gilberts death in 939, his successors from the House of Reginar failed to retain the ducal title, but continued to rule over the Hainaut region. After Count Reginar III Longneck had unsuccessfully rebelled against Duke Bruno the Great, however, in 998 the Reginars regained control over the County of Mons. When the last Count, Herman, died without issue in 1051, his widow Richilde married Baldwin VI, on the death of his father in 1067, Baldwin VI became the ruler of both Hainaut and Mons. He was succeeded by his son Arnulf III, who was killed at the Battle of Cassel in 1071 in a dispute with his uncle. The victorious Robert acquired Flanders, but his sister-in-law Richilde retained the adjacent Lower Lorraine territories in the Holy Roman Empire as her dowry. Henry IV ordered the Prince-Bishop of Liège to purchase the fiefs and then return them as a county to the countess Richilde. The Counts of Hainaut had several connections with the counts of Flanders and Holland. Throughout its history, the county of Hainaut formed a union with other states. The last independent countess died early on 8 October 1436 in Teylingen Castle, near The Hague, when Charles the Bold of Burgundy was killed at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, the male line of the Burgundian dukes became extinct. In the same year, Charles daughter Mary of Burgundy married Archduke Maximilian I of Habsburg, King Louis XI of France hoped to take advantage of the death of his cousin, Charles, and sent an army to invade the Netherlands
9.
Margaret III, Countess of Flanders
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Margaret III was the last Countess of Flanders of the House of Dampierre, as well as Countess of Artois and Countess Palatine of Burgundy. She was the surviving child and heir of Louis II. In 1355, the young Margaret married Philip of Rouvres, grandson and heir of Odo IV and he was count of Burgundy and Artois, Duke of Burgundy, and became Count of Auvergne and Boulogne. Following Philips death from an accident in 1361, Margaret was widowed. King John II of France claimed the duchy for the kingdom of France, in 1364 Philip the Bold, Johns youngest son, was granted the duchy, and subsequently married Margaret. Margarets second marriage to Philip the Bold took place in 1369, when Margarets father died in 1384, she and Philip inherited the counties of Artois, Burgundy, Flanders, Nevers, and Rethel. Philip died in 1404, and Margaret died the next year, with her death, the House of Dampierre came to an end and the County of Flanders lost its independence to Burgundy. It came under the rule of her son, John the Fearless, the Dampierres, originally only counts of Flanders, had through a clever marriage policy managed to inherit the counties of Nevers and Rethel. Through her grandmother, a daughter of King Philip V of France and her eldest son, John the Fearless, succeeded her husband in 1404 as Duke of Burgundy and her as Count of Burgundy, Count of Artois, and Count of Flanders. In 1406 her younger son Anthony inherited Brabant and Limburg, Nevers and Rethel were at first, in her lifetime, given to her eldest sons John and Anthony, but after Johns accession to the duchy, Nevers went to her youngest son Philip. Rethel was given to Philip in 1402 when it became clear that Anthony would inherit Brabant, in Burgundy, the château de Germolles offered by Philip the Bold to Margaret of Flanders in 1381 was embellished by the princess. Largely preserved, it is one of the best example of the princely residences in France at the end of the Middle Ages
10.
Margaret of Burgundy (1374-1441)
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Margaret of Burgundy was Duchess of Bavaria as the wife of Duke William II. Margaret was the child and first daughter out of nine children born to Philip II, Duke of Burgundy. Margarets father used the marriages of his children to achieve far-sighted goals, in keeping with this strategy, Margaret and her brother John were wedded in a double marriage to William of Bavaria and his sister Margaret. This marriage, celebrated on 12 April 1385 in Cambrai, would have later influence the union of Hainaut and Holland with Burgundy and Flanders, as carried out by Margarets nephew Philip the Good. Margaret exerted a lot of influence during the reign of her spouse. Margaret was thus governed Hainaut in his name, after 16 years of childless marriage, Margaret gave birth to a daughter, Jacqueline, on 16 August 1401. Margarets political position increased in the 1410s, as she was granted several towns, William died in 1417 of a dog bite. Although he and Margaret attempted to ensure that their daughter would inherit all his lands, Jacqueline would eventually come to inherit Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland, but not Bavaria. During the reign of her daughter, Margaret was involved in several political acts and she preferred the Le Quesnoy castle as her residence, which was also her personal fief. She died at Le Quesnoy on 8 March 1441, having outlived her childless daughter, media related to Margaret of Burgundy at Wikimedia Commons
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