1.
Collar (order)
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A collar is an ornate chain, often made of gold and enamel, and set with precious stones, which is worn about the neck as a symbol of membership in various chivalric orders. It is a form of the livery collar, the grandest form of the widespread phenomenon of livery in the Middle Ages. Orders which have several grades often reserve the collar for the highest grade, the links of the chain are usually composed of symbols of the order, and the badge of the order normally hangs down in front. Sometimes the badge is referred to by what is depicted on it, for instance, the first of the Orders of Knighthood were the military orders of crusaders who used red, green or black crosses of velvet on their mantles, to distinguish their brotherhoods. Later the members of knightly orders used rings, embroidred dragons, after the 17th century the heyday of the collar was over. They were worn only on occasions and replaced in daily life by stars pinned to the breast. Many orders retained their collars and when orders were divided into ranks or grades the collar was usually reserved for the highest rank. Collars of various devices are worn by the knights of some of the European orders of knighthood. The custom was begun by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, following this new fashion, Louis XI of France, when instituting his Order of St. Michael in 1469, gave the knights collars composed of scallop shells linked on a chain. The chain was doubled by Charles VIII, and the pattern underwent other changes before the order lapsed in 1830, when the orders became more democratic several ranks were introduced and only the highest grade, the Grand Commanders or Grand Crosses, wore collars. The Netherlands never had collars but several Belgian, most of the Austrian and Prussian orders, in Portugal all the members of these orders of knighthood wear a collar but the collars of the Grand Cross are more elaborate. Sometimes the collar is used as the insignia of office of the Grand Master of the order, for instance, the President of France wears the collar of the Order of the Legion of Honour. In other countries such as Brazil the collar is a rank above that of a Grand Cross and it is reserved for the president, napoleon I introduced the Grand aigle to replace the Grand Cross as the highest rank in his Legion of Honour. Napoleon dispensed 15 such golden collars of the Legion among his kinsmen and this collar did not survive his downfall and was abolished in 1815. Until the reign of Henry VIII, the Order of the Garter, most of the British orders of knighthood have collars and they are still worn on special occasions. The Distinguished Service Order, the Order of Merit, the Order of the Companions of Honour, the Royal Victorian Chain consists of a collar alone, and no other insignia are worn by its recipients. In heraldry, most members of orders are permitted to display the collar of their order on their coat of arms, there are often very strict rules as to how exactly the collar is to be displayed. Normally it will encircle the escutcheon, or the collar may be partially hidden by it
2.
Fire striker
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A fire striker is a piece of carbon steel from which sparks are struck by the sharp edge of flint, chert or similar rock. A Fire Striker is a tool used in firemaking. In early times, percussion firemaking was often used to start fires, before the advent of steel, a variety of iron pyrite or marcasite was used with flint and other stones to produce a high-temperature spark that could be used to create fire. There are indications that the Iceman called Ötzi may have used iron pyrite to make fire, from the Iron Age forward, until the invention of the friction match, the use of flint and steel was a common method of firelighting. Percussion fire-starting was prevalent in Europe during ancient times, the Middle Ages, when flint and steel were used, the fire steel was often kept in a metal tinderbox together with flint and tinder. In Tibet and Mongolia they were carried in a leather pouch called a chuckmuck. In Japan, percussion firemaking was performed, using agate or quartz and it was also used as a ritual to bring good luck or ward off evil. The type and hardness of steel used is important, high carbon steels generate sparks easily. The steel must be hardened but softer than the flint-like material scraping off the spark, old files, leaf and coil springs, and rusty gardening tools are common, re-purposed sources of strikers. Besides flint, many other hard, non-porous rocks can be used, the sharp edge of the flint is used to violently strike the fire steel at an acute angle in order to cleave or shave off small particles of metal. The force of shaving the steel heats the pieces to state where it oxides in the air, the molten, oxidizing sparks ignite the fine tinder. Tinder is best held next to the flint and the striker quickly slid down against the flint casting sparks into the tinder. Charcloth or amadou is often used to catch the low-temperature sparks, firelighting Coat of arms of Serbia Tinderbox Fire piston Viking Age Fire-Steels and Strike-A-Lights Flint and Marcasite
3.
Order of the Golden Fleece
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It became one of the most prestigious orders in Europe. The chaplain of the Austrian branch is Cardinal Graf von Schönborn and it is restricted to a limited number of knights, initially 24 but increased to 30 in 1433, and 50 in 1516, plus the sovereign. The Orders first King of Arms was Jean Le Fèvre de Saint-Remy, so that those knights and gentlemen who shall see worn the order. Should honor those who wear it, and be encouraged to employ themselves in noble deeds, the bishop of Châlons, chancellor of the Order, rescued the fleeces reputation by identifying it instead with the fleece of Gideon that received the dew of Heaven. He was succeeded as king by Philip V, a Bourbon, in either case the sovereign, as Duke of Burgundy, writes the letter of appointment in French. These, and other awards by Joseph, were revoked by King Ferdinand on the restoration of Bourbon rule in 1813, napoleon created by Order of 15 August 1809 the Order of the Three Golden Fleeces, in view of his sovereignty over Austria, Spain and Burgundy. This was opposed by Joseph I of Spain and the new order was never awarded, in 1812 the acting government of Spain awarded the order to the Duke of Wellington, an act confirmed by Ferdinand on his resumption of power, with the approval of Pope Pius VII. Wellington therefore became the first Protestant to be awarded the Golden Fleece and it has subsequently also been awarded to non-Christians, such as Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand. There was another crisis in 1833 when Isabella II became Queen of Spain in defiance of Salic Law that did not allow women to become heads of state and her right to award the Fleece was challenged by Spanish Carlists. Sovereignty remained with the head of the Spanish house of Bourbon during the republican and Francoist periods and is today by the present King of Spain. Knights of the Order are entitled to be addressed with the style His/Her Excellency in front of their name, King Juan Carlos I of Spain – Former Sovereign of the Order as King of Spain from 1975 to 2014. The problem of inheritance was avoided on the accession of Maria Theresa in 1740 as sovereignty of the Order passed not to herself but to her husband. Sovereignty remains with the head of the House of Habsburg, which was handed over on 20 November 2000 by Otto von Habsburg to his elder son, die Schatzkammer in Wien, Symbole abendländischen Kaisertums. Der Schatz des Ordens vom Goldenen Vlies, ISBN 3-7017-0541-0 Boulton, DArcy Jonathan Dacre,1987
4.
Rogier van der Weyden
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Rogier van der Weyden or Roger de la Pasture was an Early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces and commissioned single and diptych portraits. By the latter half of the 15th century, he had eclipsed Jan van Eyck in popularity, however his fame lasted only until the 17th century, and largely due to changing taste, he was almost totally forgotten by the mid-18th century. There are few facts of van der Weydens life. What else is known of him has come from records and secondary sources. However the paintings now attributed to him are generally accepted, despite a tendency in the 19th century to attribute his work to others, all of his forms are rendered with rich, warm colourisation and a sympathetic expression, while he is known for his expressive pathos and naturalism. His portraits tend to be half length and half profile, Van der Weyden used an unusually broad range of colours and varied tones, in his finest work the same tone is not repeated in any other area of the canvas, even the whites are varied. Due to the loss of archives in 1695 and again in 1940, Rogelet de le Pasture was born in Tournai in 1399 or 1400. His parents were Henri de le Pasture and Agnes de Watrélos and he married around 1426, to Elisabeth Goffaert, and was made town painter of Brussels in 1436, and changed his name from the French to the Flemish format, becoming van der Weyden. The Pasture family had settled before in the city of Tournai where Rogiers father worked as a maître-coutelier, in 1426 Rogier married Elisabeth, the daughter of a Brussels shoemaker Jan Goffaert and his wife Cathelyne van Stockem. Rogier and Elisabeth had four children, Cornelius, who became a Carthusian monk, was born in 1427, a daughter Margaretha in 1432. Before 21 October 1435 the family settled in Brussels where the two children were born, Pieter in 1437 and Jan in 1438, who would go on to become a painter. On his move to Brussels, Rogier began using the Flemish version of his name, little is known about Rogiers training as a painter. The archival sources from Tournai were completely destroyed during World War II, the sources on his early life are confusing and have led to different interpretations by scholars. It is known that the city council of Tournai offered eight pitchers of wine in honour of a certain Maistre Rogier de le Pasture on the 17th November 1426. However, on 5 March of the year the records of the painters guild show a Rogelet de le Pasture entered the workshop of Robert Campin together with Jacques Daret. Records show that de le Pasture was already established as a painter, only five years later, on the first of August 1432, de le Pasture obtained the title of a Master painter. His later entry into apprenticeship might be explained by the fact that during the 1420s the city of Tournai was in crisis, the late apprenticeship may have been a legal formality. Also Jacques Daret was then in his twenties and had living and working in Campins household for at least a decade
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Charles the Bold
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Charles the Bold, baptised Charles Martin, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. He was the last Duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois and is also known as Charles the Rash. His early death at the Battle of Nancy at the hands of Swiss mercenaries fighting for René II, Charles the Bold was born in Dijon, the son of Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal. Before the death of his father in 1467, he bore the title of Count of Charolais, afterwards, he assumed all of his fathers titles, including that of Grand Duke of the West. He was also made a Knight of the Golden Fleece just twenty days after his birth, invested by Charles I, Count of Nevers, Charles was brought up under the direction of Jean dAuxy and early showed great application alike to academic studies and warlike exercises. His fathers court was the most extravagant in Europe at the time, in 1440, at the age of seven, Charles was married to Catherine, daughter of King Charles VII of France and sister of the Dauphin. She was five years older than her husband, and she died in 1446 at the age of 18, in 1454, at the age of 21, Charles married a second time. He wanted to marry a daughter of his distant cousin Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his father chose Isabella of Bourbon, who was three years younger than he was. Isabella was the daughter of Philip the Goods sister Agnes and a distant cousin of Charles VII of France. Their daughter Mary of Burgundy was Charles only surviving child, she inherited all the Burgundian domains before her marriage to Maximilian of Hapsburg, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. Charles was on terms with his brother-in-law Louis, the Dauphin of France. For his third wife, Charles was offered the hand of Louis XIs daughter Anne, the wife he ultimately chose, however, was his second cousin Margaret of York. Upon the death of his father in 1467, Charles was no longer bound by the terms of the Treaty of Arras, and he decided to ally himself with Burgundys old ally England. Louis did his best to prevent or delay the marriage with Margaret, but in the summer of 1468, it was celebrated sumptuously at Bruges, the couple had no children, but Margaret devoted herself to her stepdaughter Mary. After Marys death many years later, she kept Marys two infant children as long as she was allowed. On 12 April 1465, Philip relinquished control of the government of his domains to Charles, who spent the next summer prosecuting the War of the Public Weal against Louis XI. Charles was left master of the field at the Battle of Montlhéry on 13 July 1465, during the negotiations for the treaty, his wife Isabella died suddenly at Les Quesnoy on 25 September, making a political marriage suddenly possible. As part of the treaty, Louis promised him the hand of his infant daughter Anne, with the territories of Champagne and Ponthieu as a dowry, in the meanwhile, Charles obtained the surrender of Ponthieu
8.
Dijon
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Dijon is a city in eastern France, capital of the Côte-dOr département and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. The earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to the Neolithic period, Dijon later became a Roman settlement named Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Paris. Population,151,576 within the city limits,250,516 for the greater Dijon area, the city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the central district date from the 18th century. Dijon architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black, Dijon holds an International and Gastronomic Fair every year in autumn. With over 500 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors every year, Dijon is also home, every three years, to the international flower show Florissimo. The historical center of the city has been registered since July 4,2015 as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to the Neolithic period. Dijon later became a Roman settlement called Divio, which may mean sacred fountain, saint Benignus, the citys apocryphal patron saint, is said to have introduced Christianity to the area before being martyred. The Duchy of Burgundy was a key in the transformation of medieval times toward early modern Europe, the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy now houses city hall and a museum of art. In 1513, Swiss and Imperial armies invaded Burgundy and besieged Dijon, the siege was extremely violent, but the town succeeded in resisting the invaders. After long negotiations, Louis II de la Trémoille managed to persuade the Swiss, during the siege, the population called on the Virgin Mary for help and saw the towns successful resistance and the subsequent withdrawal of the invaders as a miracle. For those reasons, in the following the siege the inhabitants of Dijon began to venerate Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir. Although a few areas of the town were destroyed, there are no signs of the siege of 1513 visible today. However, Dijons museum of arts has a large tapestry depicting this episode in the towns history. Dijon is situated at the heart of a plain drained by two small converging rivers, the Suzon, which crosses it mostly underground from north to south, farther south is the côte, or hillside, of vineyards that gives the department its name. Dijon lies 310 km southeast of Paris,190 km northwest of Geneva, the average low of winter is −1 °C, with an average high of 4.2 °C. The average high of summer is 25.3 °C with a low of 14.7 °C. Average normal temperatures are between 2.3 °C and 5.3 °C from November to March, and 17.2 to 19.7 °C from June to August, the climate is oceanic but with a greater temperature range than closer to the Atlantic coastline
9.
Duchy of Burgundy
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Upon the extinction of the line with the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, the duchy fell back to King John II of France and the royal House of Valois. The Burgundian duchy rose to a complex of a European scale after in 1363 King John II of France ceded the duchy to his younger son Philip of Valois. By his marriage with Countess Margaret of Flanders, he laid the foundation for a Burgundian realm further north in the Low Countries collectively known as the Burgundian Netherlands. The Burgundian sphere, in its own right, was one of the largest ducal territories that existed at the time of the emergence of Early Modern Europe. Including the thriving regions of Flanders and Brabant, it was a centre of trade. After about one hundred years of Valois-Burgundy rule, however, the last duke Charles the Bold rushed to the Burgundian Wars and was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. With the abdication of the Habsburg emperor Charles V in 1556, the Burgundians settled in the area around Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Autun and Châtillon-sur-Seine, and gave the name to the region. The Kingdom of the Burgundians was annexed by the Merovingian Kings of the Franks Childebert I in 534 following their defeat by the Franks and it was recreated, however, on several occasions when Frankish territories were redivided between the sons on the death of a Frankish king. As part of the Kingdom of the Franks, Burgundy maintained a semi-autonomous existence, with the Burgundians maintaining their own law code, however, southern Burgundy was pillaged by the Saracen invasion of the 8th century. When Charles Martel drove the invaders out, he divided Burgundy into four commands, Arles-Burgundy, Vienne-Burgundy, Alamanic Burgundy and he appointed his brother Childebrand governor of Frankish Burgundy. Under the Carolingians, Burgundian separatism lessened and Burgundy became a geographical term. As a vital military defender of the West Frankish border, Guerin was sometimes known by the Latin term for leader – Dux or Duke, by the time of Richard the Justiciar, the Duchy of Burgundy was beginning to emerge. Richard was officially recognised by the king as a duke, he stood as individual count of each county he held. As Duke of Burgundy, he was able to wield an increasing amount of power over his territory, to the collective body of his territory there came to be applied the term ducatus. Included in the ducatus of Richard were the regions of Autunais, Beaunois, Avalois, Lassois, Dijonais, Memontois, Attuyer, Oscheret, under Richard, these territories were given law and order, protected from the Normans, and served as a haven for persecuted monks. It was from his territories in Burgundy that he drew the resources needed to fight those who challenged his right to rule, under Hugh the Black came the beginning of what would be a long and troubled saga for Burgundy. His neighbours were the Robertian family, who held the title of Duke of Francia and this family, wanting to improve their standing in France and against the Carolingian kings, attempted to subject the duchy to the suzerainty of their own duchy. They failed, eventually, when they appeared close to success, they were forced to scrap the scheme, two brothers of Hugh Capet, the first Capetian King of France, took up the rule of Burgundy as duke
10.
Bruges
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Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 13,840 hectares, including 1,075 hectares off the coast, the historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval and about 430 hectares in size, the citys total population is 117,073, of whom around 20,000 live in the city centre. The metropolitan area, including the commuter zone, covers an area of 616 km2 and has a total of 255,844 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008. Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Stockholm, Bruges has a significant economic importance thanks to its port and was once one of the worlds chief commercial cities. Bruges is well known as the seat of the College of Europe, the name probably derives from the Old Dutch for bridge, brugga. Also compare Middle Dutch brucge, brugge, and modern Dutch bruggehoofd, the form brugghe would be a southern Dutch variant. The Dutch word and the English bridge both derive from Proto-Germanic *brugjō-, Bruges was a location of coastal settlement during prehistory. This Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement is unrelated to medieval city development, in the Bruges area, the first fortifications were built after Julius Caesars conquest of the Menapii in the first century BC, to protect the coastal area against pirates. The Franks took over the region from the Gallo-Romans around the 4th century. The Viking incursions of the century prompted Count Baldwin I of Flanders to reinforce the Roman fortifications, trade soon resumed with England. Bruges received its city charter on 27 July 1128, and new walls and canals were built, in 1089 Bruges became the capital of the County of Flanders. Since about 1050, gradual silting had caused the city to lose its access to the sea. A storm in 1134, however, re-established this access, through the creation of a channel at the Zwin. The new sea arm stretched all the way to Damme, a city became the commercial outpost for Bruges. Bruges had a location at the crossroads of the northern Hanseatic League trade. They developed, or borrowed from Italy, new forms of merchant capitalism, whereby several merchants would share the risks and profits and they employed new forms of economic exchange, including bills of exchange and letters of credit. The city eagerly welcomed foreign traders, most notably the Portuguese traders selling pepper and other spices, the citys entrepreneurs reached out to make economic colonies of England and Scotlands wool-producing districts
11.
County of Flanders
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The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards the Counts of Flanders were one of the twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypres formed one of the most affluent regions in Europe, up to 1477, the area under French suzerainty was located west of the Scheldt River and was called Royal Flanders. Aside from this the Counts of Flanders from the 11th century on also held land east of the river as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire, an area called Imperial Flanders. Part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1384, the county was removed from French to Imperial control after the Peace of Madrid in 1526. In 1795 the remaining territory within the Austrian Netherlands was incorporated by the French First Republic, the former County of Flanders, except for French Flanders, is the only part of the medieval French kingdom that is not part of modern-day France. Flanders and Flemish are likely derived from the Frisian *flāndra and *flāmisk, the Flemish people are first mentioned in the biography of Saint Eligius, the Vita sancti Eligii. This work was written before 684, but only known since 725 and this work mentions the Flanderenses, who lived in Flandris. The geography of the historic County of Flanders only partially overlaps with present-day region of Flanders in Belgium, though there it extends beyond West Flanders. Some of the county is now part of France and the Netherlands. The arms of the County of Flanders were allegedly created by Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191, as a result, the arms of the county live on as arms of the Flemish Community. It is said that Philip of Alsace brought the flag with him from the Holy Land, where in 1177 he supposedly conquered it from a Saracen knight. The simple fact that the lion appeared on his personal seal since 1163, in reality Philip was following a West-European trend. In the same period also appeared in the arms of Brabant, Luxembourg, Holland, Limburg. It is curious that the lion as a symbol was mostly used in border territories. It was in all likelihood a way of showing independence from the emperor, in Europe the lion had been a well-known figure since Roman times, through works such as the fables of Aesop. The future county of Flanders had been inhabited since prehistory, during the Iron Age the Kemmelberg formed an important Celtic settlement. During the times of Julius Caesar, the inhabitants were part of the Belgae, for Flanders in specific these were the Menapii, the Morini, the Nervii and the Atrebates
12.
Burgundian Netherlands
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The area comprised large parts of present-day Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as Luxembourg and parts of northern France. A fair share of these territories were inherited by the Burgundian dukes, together they initiated an era of Burgundian governance in the Low Countries. His son, the last Burgundian duke Charles the Bold, in 1473 annexed the Duchy of Guelders, the Valois era would last until 1477, when Duke Charles the Bold died at the Battle of Nancy leaving no male heir. The territorial Duchy of Burgundy reverted to the French crown according to Salic law, the Imperial fiefs passed to the Austrian House of Habsburg through Charles daughter Mary of Burgundy and her husband Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg, son of Emperor Frederick III. Maximilian however regarded the Burgundian Netherlands including Flanders and Artois as the domains of his wife and himself. The conflict culminated at the Battle of Guinegate in 1479, though Maximilian was victorious, he was only able to gain the County of Flanders according to the 1482 Treaty of Arras after his wife Mary had suddenly died, while France retained Artois. In her testament, Mary of Burgundy had bequested the Burgundian heritage to her and Maximilians son and his father, dissatisfied with the terms of the Arras agreement, continued to campaign the seized French territories. Attempts at enlarging personal control by the dukes resulted in revolts among the independent towns, Philip the Good extended his personal control to the southeast, bringing Brussels, Namur, and Liège under his control. He channeled the traditional independence of the cities through such mechanisms as the first Estates-General, the first Estates General of the Burgundian territories met in the City Hall of Bruges on 9 January 1464. Up to 1464, the Duke only maintained ties with each of the provincial States separately, convening an Estates General in which all provincial Estates were represented was part of Philip the Goods policy of centralisation. They were suppressed by Maximilians forces under the command of Duke Albert of Saxony at a battle at Heemskerk, early Netherlandish Painting, Its Origins and Character. Metropolitan Museum, Burgundian Netherlands, Court Life Metropolitan Museum, Burgundian Netherlands, Private Life
13.
Michelle of Valois
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Michelle of France was a Duchess consort of Burgundy. She was a daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria and she was named for Saint Michael the Archangel after her father noted an improvement in his health after a pilgrimage to Mont Saint-Michel in 1393. Although rumors persist that Michelle and her siblings were neglected by their parents, queen Isabeau purchased luxurious toys, clothes and gifts for her children, and regularly wrote them letters when apart. In times of plague, she ensured they were sent to safety in the countryside, in June 1409, Michelle married the future Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, later known as Philip the Good. She became melancholic in 1419 following the involvement of her brother, Michelle had borne a daughter, Agnes, but she died in infancy. Michelle fell ill and died in Ghent in 1422 while her husband was away preparing for the battle of Cone, all of the inhabitants grieved, as she was much loved by the people. Michelle was interred in the monastery of St Bavon near Ghent, only a fragment of her recumbent tomb still remains. After her death, it was believed she had been poisoned by an attendant from Germany, Dame de Viesville
14.
Bonne of Artois
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Bonne of Artois was the daughter of Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, and Marie, Duchess of Auvergne. She married first at Beaumont-en-Artois on 20 June 1413, to Philip II and he was son of Philip the Bold and Margaret III, Countess of Flanders. Their eldest son Charles succeeded as Count of Nevers, however, due to the childs minority, Bonne acted as regent from 1415 until 1424. She succeeded her aunt Jeanne dArtois as Mademoiselle de Dreux and as Dame de Houdain, after Philips death, Bonne married his nephew Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, on 30 November 1424 at Moulins-les-Engelbert. His first marriage to Michelle of Valois had produced no surviving issue and she had died young, the marriage of Bonne and Philip lasted little over a year and produced no surviving children. Bonne died on 15 September 1425 in Dijon
15.
Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy
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Isabella of Portugal was Duchess of Burgundy as the third wife of Duke Philip the Good. Born a Portuguese infanta of the House of Aviz, Isabella was the surviving daughter of King John I of Portugal. Her son by Philip was Charles the Bold, the last Valois Duke of Burgundy, Isabella was the regent of the Burgundian Low Countries during the absence of her spouse in 1432 and in 1441–1443. She served as her husbands representative in negotiations with England regarding trade relations in 1439, Isabella was born to John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, who had six children survive infancy. Born in 1397 in Évora, and raised in the Portuguese court in Lisbon, Isabella was the fourth child, phillippa instilled in all her children, including her daughter, a sense of duty, faith and belief in education. Isabella was a reader and held an interest in politics. She was fond of riding and hunting with her brothers, in 1415 Isabella received an offer of marriage from her cousin Henry V of England, an effort for England to form closer links with Portugal against France. The negotiations failed and Isabella remained unmarried, also in 1415 she grieved at the death of her mother on 19 June, with whom she had a close relationship. At age of 30 Isabella was still unmarried when the Burgundian house of Valois provided her with an offer of marriage in 1428, the reigning Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, had already been widowed twice - by Michelle of Valois and Bonne of Artois. For his third wife, Philip was anxious to seek a candidate from England or a nation allied to England, Isabella was attractive to Philip as a potential consort being well-bred, shrewd and accomplished. The delegation waited another month while Isabellas father and brothers met at Aviz to discuss the matter, on 19 January 1429, a formal request for the Infantas hand was made by the Burgundians, and discussions between the two parties began. The Portuguese agreed to the marriage and sent messengers on 2 February to receive the Duke of Burgundys formal response, which was signed on 5 May and received by the Portuguese on 4 June. The marriage contract was drawn up, and Isabella, still in Portugal, was married to Philip the Good by proxy on 24 July 1429, Isabella did not leave Portugal for another eight weeks. Her father had a fleet and trousseau prepared and on 19 October 1429, with a flotilla of about 20 ships, Isabella—accompanied by almost 2000 Portuguese—left Portugal forever. After an eleven-week journey when the fleet was beset by storms, causing the loss of ships and much of her bridal trousseau. The Duchess disembarked the following day where she and Philip celebrated their formal religious marriage two weeks later, on 7 January 1430 and she then returned to Ghent, where she dealt with a potential guild uprising. Isabella was at first unprepared for the style of court life in Burgundy. More upsetting to Isabella, however, was her husbands behaviour
16.
David of Burgundy
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David of Burgundy was a bishop of Utrecht. He also served as bishop of Thérouanne from 1451 to 1456 and he is the third longest-reigning bishop of Utrecht after Balderic and Willibrord. David of Burgundy was bishop of Thérouanne from 1451, thanks to a joint effort between the Cods and Burgundy, he was appointed as bishop of Utrecht by the pope. The Utrecht chapters, however, had elected the Hook-favoured provost Gijsbrecht van Brederode as bishop, but Philip the Good forced the Nedersticht to accept Davids appointment on 3 August 1456 at the treaty of IJselstein. The Oversticht had to be forcefully convinced as well, deventer was besieged for five weeks before it surrendered. The opposition against him remained and therefore David left Utrecht in 1459 to settle in the newly acquired Wijk bij Duurstede, thanks to Burgundian support and clever politics, his authority rose. Another effective measure was the creation of the Schive, a court of appeal that was above city law. A breakthrough meant the capture of Gijsbrecht van Brederode and his brother Reinoud in 1470 and this led to the First Utrecht Civil War, won by David. Because of the Burgundian power of time, David of Burgundy was one of the most powerful bishops in Europe. He appointed the schout, wrested criminal jurisdiction from the council, controlled the tolls, the death of his half-brother Charles the Bold in 1477 changed everything. Davids politics led to a revolt of supporters of the Hook party in 1481, a new civil war erupted and David was captured. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor had to intervene to free the bishop, David then reconquered Utrecht in the Battle of Westbroek, only to be driven out again in 1483. After the successful Siege of Utrecht, the revolt came to an end in 1483, David of Burgundy was an art lover, he attracted artists to his court and gave a powerful impulse to the construction of the Dom Church in Utrecht. He modernised his residence, the Duurstede Castle at Wijk bij Duurstede, the Museum Catharijneconvent holds a beautiful Cope of David of Burgundy. David died in 1496 and was buried in the church of Wijk bij Duurstede
17.
Anthony, bastard of Burgundy
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Anthony, known to his contemporaries as the Bastard of Burgundy or Le grand bâtard, was the natural son of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, and one of his mistresses, Jeanne de Presle. He was comte de La Roche, de Grandpré, de Sainte-Menehould et de Guînes, seigneur de Crèvecoeur, Beveren et Tournehem, together with his older illegitimate half-brother Corneille, bastard of Burgundy, he was the favourite amongst the many natural children of Philip the Good. In 1459, he married Marie de la Viesville by whom he had five children and he fought for his father on several campaigns, from at least 1451 onwards, and in 1464 left for a crusade against the Moors when he helped raise the siege of Ceuta. In 1456 he was awarded the prestigious Order of the Golden Fleece and he took part in the Battle of Montlhéry, when he is said to have saved the life of the Count of Charolais after he was separated from his men and wounded in the neck. During this visit, which extended into the summer of 1467, Anthonys father, Philip the Good, died, in 1468, Charles appointed him first Chamberlain, head of 99 other chamberlains and thirteen chaplains, all of whom served the duke. This loyalty was never called into question even when in 1473 he was accused by Charles of accepting a gift of 20,000 gold écus from Charles sworn enemy. Charles the Bold won the Brussels contest every year between 1466 and 1471, at the disastrous siege of Beauvais in 1472, Antoine reportedly lost his best jewels. In the middle of these travels, he managed to find time to call in at the siege of Neuss, but Antoine had no interest in making trouble, and he offered Louis his services to help stabilize the precarious political situation. He was instrumental in arranging the marriage of Duchess Mary, his niece and only child and successor of Charles the Bold and he was a significant collector of illuminated manuscripts, mostly newly commissioned from the best Flemish illuminators and scribes. He had at least forty-five volumes, of which it is estimated that thirty were contemporary illuminated volumes. Many volumes with his inscription of ownership survive in various libraries, the young King Charles VIII of France legitimized Anthony in 1485 and awarded him the Order of Saint Michael. He died at Tournehem near Calais in 1504, Charles the Bold, The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy. Philip the Good, The Apogee of Burgundy, ed. H. Beaune & J. dArbaumont, Paris 1888
18.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
19.
House of Valois-Burgundy
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The House of Valois-Burgundy, or the Younger House of Burgundy, was a noble French family deriving from the royal House of Valois. It is distinct from the Capetian House of Burgundy, descendants of King Robert II of France, though both houses stem from the Capetian dynasty. The term Valois Dukes of Burgundy is employed to refer to the dynasty which began after King John II of France granted the French Duchy of Burgundy to his youngest son, Philip the Bold in 1363. During the Hundred Years War, the dukes rivalled with their royal cousins uniting a number of French. However, their plans to establish an autonomous kingdom ultimately failed when the last duke, Charles the Bold, the final ruler of the dynasty, Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, attempted to assert her authority within her domains, but failed. Her lands outside of France passed to her eldest son, Philip, to become the Habsburg Netherlands, Mary died in 1482, thus ending the House of Valois-Burgundy. The former Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy had been divided into a East and West Frankish part by the 843 Treaty of Verdun. The Capetian House of Burgundy became extinct when Duke Philip I died in 1361, before he was able to consummate the marriage with Margaret of Dampierre, the Duchy of Burgundy was then unified with the French royal domain under the Valois king John II. Soon after, however, Johns fourth son Philip the Bold received the Duchy of Burgundy as an appanage from the hands of his father, Philip the Bold ruled as Duke Philip II of Burgundy from 1363 to 1404. Already upon the death of King Charles V of France in 1380, Philip together with Duke Louis I of Anjou, raised in Flanders, Duke John the Fearless succeeded his father in 1404 and unified the heritage of his mother Margaret of Dampierre with the Burgundian duchy. Like his father he quarrelled with his Valois cousin Louis I of Orléans, the remaining tensions with the Orléans liensmen led to the French Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War, whereby Duke John allied with King Henry V of England and in 1418 occupied Paris. Lured into an ambush and murdered by the Armagnac leader Tanneguy du Chastel the next year. Johns son Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1419, by the 1435 Congress of Arras Duke Philip acknowledged the rule of King Charles VII of France and in turn reached the formal independence of the Burgundian lands from the French Crown. In 1441 he also purchased the Duchy of Luxembourg from the last duchess regnant Elisabeth of Görlitz, the Valois-Burgundy duke Charles the Bold, ideal picture of a knightly duke, wore himself out in armed conflicts. With the acquisition of Guelders, the Burgundian Netherlands reached their greatest extent, enraged at the reluctance of the emperor, Charles started the unsuccessful Siege of Neuss in 1474 and became involved in the Burgundian Wars against the Duchy of Lorraine and the Swiss Confederacy. In consequence, the Valois-Burgundy dukes became extinct in the line when Charles was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. The French king could only seize the Duchy of Burgundy proper, Artois, the House of Habsburg abruptly rose to a royal dynasty of European scale, however, at the price of the centuries-long France–Habsburg rivalry. History of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy
20.
Margaret of Bavaria
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Margaret of Bavaria, was Duchess consort of Burgundy by marriage to John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. She was the regent of the Burgundian Low countries during the absence of her spouse in 1404–1419, with the death of Philip the Bold in 1404, and Margaret of Dampierre in 1405, John inherited these territories, and Margaret became his consort. They had only one son, Philip the Good, who inherited these territories and she married Adolph I, Duke of Cleves
21.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
22.
Dutch language
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It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after English and German. Dutch is one of the closest relatives of both German and English and is said to be roughly in between them, Dutch vocabulary is mostly Germanic and incorporates more Romance loans than German but far fewer than English. In both Belgium and the Netherlands, the official name for Dutch is Nederlands, and its dialects have their own names, e. g. Hollands, West-Vlaams. The use of the word Vlaams to describe Standard Dutch for the variations prevalent in Flanders and used there, however, is common in the Netherlands, the Dutch language has been known under a variety of names. It derived from the Old Germanic word theudisk, one of the first names used for the non-Romance languages of Western Europe. It literarily means the language of the people, that is. The term was used as opposed to Latin, the language of writing. In the first text in which it is found, dating from 784, later, theudisca appeared also in the Oaths of Strasbourg to refer to the Germanic portion of the oath. This led inevitably to confusion since similar terms referred to different languages, owing to Dutch commercial and colonial rivalry in the 16th and 17th centuries, the English term came to refer exclusively to the Dutch. A notable exception is Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a West Central German variety called Deitsch by its speakers, Jersey Dutch, on the other hand, as spoken until the 1950s in New Jersey, is a Dutch-based creole. In Dutch itself, Diets went out of common use - although Platdiets is still used for the transitional Limburgish-Ripuarian Low Dietsch dialects in northeast Belgium, Nederlands, the official Dutch word for Dutch, did not become firmly established until the 19th century. This designation had been in use as far back as the end of the 15th century, one of them was it reflected a distinction with Hoogduits, High Dutch, meaning the language spoken in Germany. The Hoog was later dropped, and thus, Duits narrowed down in meaning to refer to the German language. g, in English, too, Netherlandic is regarded as a more accurate term for the Dutch language, but is hardly ever used. Old Dutch branched off more or less around the same time Old English, Old High German, Old Frisian and Old Saxon did. During that period, it forced Old Frisian back from the western coast to the north of the Low Countries, on the other hand, Dutch has been replaced in adjacent lands in nowadays France and Germany. The division in Old, Middle and Modern Dutch is mostly conventional, one of the few moments linguists can detect somewhat of a revolution is when the Dutch standard language emerged and quickly established itself. This is assumed to have taken place in approximately the mid-first millennium BCE in the pre-Roman Northern European Iron Age, the Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups, East, West, and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period, Dutch is part of the West Germanic group, which also includes English, Scots, Frisian, Low German and High German
23.
House of Valois
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The House of Valois was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet to the French throne, and were the house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the family founded cadet branches in Orléans, Anjou, Burgundy, the Valois descended from Charles, Count of Valois, the second surviving son of King Philip III of France. Their title to the throne was based on a precedent in 1316, the Capetian dynasty seemed secure both during and after the reign of Philip IV from 1285 to 1313. Philip had left three surviving sons and a daughter, each son became king in turn but died young without male heirs, leaving only daughters who could not inherit the throne. When Charles IV died in 1328, the French succession became more problematic, in 1328 three candidates had plausible claims to the throne, Philip, Count of Valois, son of Charles of Valois, who was the closest heir in male line and a grandson of Philip III. Because his father was the brother of the late Philip IV, he was therefore a nephew of Philip IV, further, Charles IV had chosen him as the regent before his death. Philip, Count of Évreux, another nephew of Philip IV and he strengthened his position by marrying Joan of France, daughter of Louis X. Edward III of England, son of Isabella of France, daughter and only surviving child of Philip IV. Edward claimed to be the heir as a grandson of Philip IV, in England, Isabella of France claimed the throne on behalf of her son. Like the French, the English law of succession did not allow the succession of females, the French rejected Isabellas claims, arguing that since she herself, as a woman, could not succeed, then she could not transmit any such right to her son. Thus the French magnates chose Philip of Valois, who became Philip VI of France, the throne of Navarre went its separate way, to Joan of France, daughter of Louis X, who became Joan II of Navarre. Because diplomacy and negotiation had failed, Edward III would have to back his claims with force to obtain the French throne, for a few years, England and France maintained an uneasy peace. Eventually, an escalation of conflict between the two led to the confiscation of the duchy of Aquitaine. Instead of paying homage to the French king, as his ancestors had done and these events helped launch the Hundred Years War between England and France. The Hundred Years War could be considered a war of succession between the houses of Valois and Plantagenet. The early reign of Philip VI was a one for France. The new king fought the Flemings on behalf of his vassal, the count of Flanders, Edward IIIs aggression against Scotland, a French ally, prompted Philip VI to confiscate Guyenne. In the past the English kings would have to submit to the King of France, but Edward, having descended from the French kings, claimed the throne for himself
24.
Jan van Eyck
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Jan van Eyck was a Flemish/Netherlandish painter active in Bruges. He is often considered one of the founders of Early Netherlandish painting school, the few surviving records of his early life indicate that he was born c. After Johns death in 1425 he was employed in Lille as court painter to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, until 1429 before moving to Bruges, where he lived until his death. Apart from the Ghent Altarpiece and the miniatures of the Turin-Milan Hours, about 20 surviving paintings are confidently attributed to him. Ten, including the Ghent altarpiece, are dated and signed with a variation of his motto, ALS IK KAN always written in Greek characters, Van Eyck painted both secular and religious subject matter, including altarpieces, single panel religious figures and commissioned portraits. His work includes single panels, diptychs, triptychs, and polyptych panels and he was well paid by Philip, who sought that the painter was secure financially and had artistic freedom and could paint whenever he pleased. Van Eycks work comes from the International Gothic style, but he soon eclipsed it, through his developments in the use of oil paint he achieved a new level of virtuosity. Van Eyck was highly influential and his techniques and style were adopted and refined by the Early Netherlandish painters, little is known of Jan van Eycks early life and neither the date nor place of his birth is documented. This suggests a date of birth of 1395 at the latest, however, his apparent age in the London probable self-portrait of 1433 suggests to most scholars a date closer to 1380. He was identified in the late 1500s as having been born in Maaseik and this claim is still considered credible on etymological grounds, considering that Van Eyck means of Eyck which is an old variant spelling of eik. He had a sister Margareta, and at least two brothers, Hubert and Lambert, both painters, but the order of their births has not been established. Another significant, and rather younger, painter who worked in Southern France and it is not known where Jan was educated, but he had knowledge of Latin and used the Greek and Hebrew alphabets in his inscriptions, indicating that he was schooled in the classics. This level of education was rare among painters, and would have made him attractive to the cultivated Philip. Van Eyck served John of Bavaria-Straubing, ruler of Holland, Hainault, by this time van Eyck had assembled a small workshop and was involved in redecorating the Binnenhof palace in The Hague. After Johns death in 1425 he moved to Bruges and came to the attention of Philip the Good c and his emergence as a collectable painter generally follows his appointment to Philips court, and from this point his activity in the court is comparatively well documented. He served as court artist and diplomat, and a was a member of the Tournai painters guild. On 18 October 1427, the Feast of St. Luke, he travelled to Tournai to attend a banquet in his honour, also attended by Robert Campin, a court salary freed him from commissioned work, and allowed a large degree of artistic freedom. Over the following decade van Eycks reputation and technical ability grew, unlike most of his peers his reputation never diminished and he remained well regarded over the following centuries
25.
Franco-Flemish School
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The diffusion of their technique, especially after the revolutionary development of printing, produced the first true international style since the unification of Gregorian chant in the 9th century. Franco-Flemish composers mainly wrote sacred music, primarily masses, motets, several generations of Renaissance composers from the region loosely known as the Low Countries—i. e. Present-day Northern France, Belgium and the Southern Netherlands—are grouped under Franco-Flemish School, most of these musicians were born in the thriving Burgundian provinces of Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, or Limburg. During periods of political and economic stability, the courts of the Burgundian dukes were a centre of activity in Europe. The exact centres shifted during time, and by the end of the sixteenth century the focal point of the Western musical world had moved from the Low Countries to Italy. Following are five groups, or generations, that are distinguished in the Franco-Flemish/Netherlandish school. Development of this style was continuous, and these generations only provide useful reference points. The First generation, dominated by Guillaume Du Fay, Gilles Binchois and Antoine Busnois, the origins of the style of the first generation embraces both earlier Burgundian traditions and also Italian and English styles. For example, in 1442, the poet Martin le Franc praised Binchois, the Second generation, with Ockeghem as its main exponent, others including Orto, Compère, Prioris, Agricola, Caron, Faugues, Regis and Tinctoris. The Third generation, Obrecht, de la Rue, Isaac, Brumel, Févin, Pipelare, Richafort, Divitis, the Fourth generation, Gombert, Crecquillon, Manchicourt, Arcadelt, Rore, Willaert, Courtois and Clemens non Papa. The Fifth generation, Lassus, de Monte, Vaet, Regnart, Luython, Wert, de Macque, and Rogier. By this time, many of the composers of music were native to Italy and other countries, the Netherlandish style had naturalized on foreign soil. Composed between 1450 and 1520, these motets were written for four voices, with all voices being equal. They often exhibit thick, dark textures, with a low range. The most notable composers of this style include Ockeghem and Josquin, whose De profundis clamavi ad te, category, Franco-Flemish composers The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. A History of Music and Musical Style, by Homer Ulrich & Paul Pisk, register of Polyphonists out of The Low countries/the Netherlands born in between 1400-1600
26.
Gilles Binchois
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Gilles de Binche, was a Netherlandish composer, one of the earliest members of the Burgundian school and one of the three most famous composers of the early 15th century. While often ranked behind his contemporaries Guillaume Dufay and John Dunstable by contemporary scholars, Binchois was probably from Mons, the son of Jean and Johanna de Binche, who may have been from the nearby town of Binche. His father was a councillor to Duke Guillaume IV of Hainault, nothing is known about Gilles until 1419, when he became organist at the church of Ste. In 1423 went to live in Lille, around this time he may have been a soldier in the service of either the Burgundians or the English Earl of Suffolk, as indicated by a line in the funeral motet composed in his memory by Ockeghem. He eventually retired in Soignies, evidently with a pension for his long years of excellent service to the Burgundian court. Binchois is often considered to be the finest melodist of the 15th century, writing carefully shaped lines which are not only easy to sing and his tunes appeared in copies decades after his death, and were often used as sources for Mass composition by later composers. Most of his songs are rondeaux, which became the most common song form during the century. He rarely wrote in strophic form, and his melodies are generally independent of the scheme of the verses they are set to. About half of his extant secular music is found in the manuscript Oxford, david Fallows, Gilles Binchois, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. ISBN 1-56159-174-2 Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance, ISBN 0-393-09530-4 Binchois Studies, Edited by Andrew Kirkman and Dennis Slavin
27.
Joan of Arc
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Joan of Arc, nicknamed The Maid of Orléans, is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years War and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. Joan of Arc was born to Jacques dArc and Isabelle Romée, the uncrowned King Charles VII sent Joan to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted nine days later. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VIIs coronation at Reims and this long-awaited event boosted French morale and paved the way for the final French victory. On 23 May 1430, she was captured at Compiègne by the Burgundian faction and she was later handed over to the English and put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon on a variety of charges. After Cauchon declared her guilty she was burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, in 1456, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, debunked the charges against her, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr. In the 16th century she became a symbol of the Catholic League and she was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. Cultural depictions of her have continued in films, theater, television, video games, music, the Hundred Years War had begun in 1337 as an inheritance dispute over the French throne, interspersed with occasional periods of relative peace. Nearly all the fighting had taken place in France, and the English armys use of chevauchée tactics had devastated the economy, the French population had not recovered to its size previous to the Black Death of the mid-14th century, and its merchants were isolated from foreign markets. Prior to the appearance of Joan of Arc, the English had nearly achieved their goal of a monarchy under English control. In the words of DeVries, The kingdom of France was not even a shadow of its thirteenth-century prototype, the French king at the time of Joans birth, Charles VI, suffered from bouts of insanity and was often unable to rule. The kings brother Louis, Duke of Orléans, and the kings cousin John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, quarreled over the regency of France and the guardianship of the royal children. This dispute included accusations that Louis was having an affair with the queen, Isabeau of Bavaria. The conflict climaxed with the assassination of the Duke of Orléans in 1407 on the orders of the Duke of Burgundy, the young Charles of Orléans succeeded his father as duke and was placed in the custody of his father-in-law, the Count of Armagnac. Their faction became known as the Armagnac faction, and the party led by the Duke of Burgundy was called the Burgundian faction. In 1418 Paris was taken by the Burgundians, who massacred the Count of Armagnac, the future French king, Charles VII, assumed the title of Dauphin—the heir to the throne—at the age of fourteen, after all four of his older brothers had died in succession. His first significant official act was to conclude a treaty with the Duke of Burgundy in 1419. This ended in disaster when Armagnac partisans assassinated John the Fearless during a meeting under Charless guarantee of protection, the new duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, blamed Charles for the murder and entered into an alliance with the English
28.
Kingdom of England
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In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
29.
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
30.
Duchy of Brabant
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The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. Today all the former territories, apart from exclaves are in Belgium except for the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Duchy of Brabant was historically divided into four parts, each with its own capital, the four capitals were Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp and s-Hertogenbosch. Before s-Hertogenbosch was founded, Tienen was the fourth capital and its most important cities were Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, Breda, s-Hertogenbosch, Lier and Mechelen. The modern flag of Belgium takes its colors from Brabants coat of arms, probably first used by Count Lambert I of Louvain, the lion is documented in a 1306 towns seal of Kerpen, together with the red lion of Limburg. Up to the present, the Brabant lion features as the charge on the coats of arms of both Flemish and Walloon Brabant, and of the Dutch province of North Brabant. The regions name is first recorded as the Carolingian shire pagus Bracbatensis, upon the 843 Treaty of Verdun it was part of Lotharingia within short-lived Middle Francia, and was ceded to East Francia according to the 880 Treaty of Ribemont. In earlier Roman times, the Nervii, a Belgic tribe and they were incorporated into the Roman province of Belgica, and considered to have both Celtic and Germanic cultural links. At the end of the Roman period the region was conquered by the Germanic Franks, in 959 the East Frankish king Otto I of Germany elevated Count Godfrey of Jülich to the rank of duke of Lower Lorraine. In 962 the duchy became a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Here, the counts of Leuven rose to power, when about 1000 Count Lambert I the Bearded married Gerberga, the daughter of Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine, and acquired the County of Brussels. About 1024 southernmost Brabant fell to Count Reginar V of Mons, in 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lower Lotharingia. By that time the title had lost most of its territorial authority, according to protocol, all his successors were thereafter called Dukes of Brabant and Lower Lotharingia. After the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the dukes of Brabant also acquired the Duchy of Limburg, in 1354 Duke John III of Brabant granted a Joyous Entry to the citizens of Brabant. In 1430 the Duchies of Lower Lotharingia, Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Philip the Good of Burgundy, in 1477 the Duchy of Brabant became part of the House of Habsburg as part of the dowry of Mary of Burgundy. At that time the Duchy extended from Luttre, south of Nivelles to s Hertogenbosch, the subsequent history of Brabant is part of the history of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces. The Eighty Years War brought the parts under military control of the northern insurgents. The southern part remained in Spanish Habsburg hands as a part of the Southern Netherlands and it was transferred to the Austrian branch of the Habsburg monarchy in 1714
31.
Duchy of Limburg
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The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its main territory including the capital Limbourg is today located within the Belgian province of Liège, with a part in the neighbouring province of Belgian Limburg. However finally, after the failed Brabant Revolution in 1789, the history was terminated with the occupation by French Revolutionary troops in 1793. These lands were reunited within modern Belgium only after World War I, the duchy was multilingual, being the place where Dutch, French, and German dialects border upon each other and coexist at their geographical extremes, both now and in medieval times. Its northern and eastern borders are the boundaries of the modern state of Belgium with the Netherlands and Germany. The eastern part, which includes Eupen, is the administrative capital, of the various places known as Limburg, it is the Duchy of Limburg which is the origin of the pungent-smelling soft cheese known as Limburger, and today made in many places. The states territory was situated in the Low Countries between the river Meuse in the west and the Imperial city of Aachen in the east and its most important cities were Limbourg, the capital, and Eupen. In the west and south, Limburg bordered on the territory of the Liège Prince-Bishops, in the north, linguistically Limburg was situated on the border of Germanic with Romance Europe. While in the northern and eastern districts Limburgish and Ripuarian dialects were spoken and they were in contact with both Gaulish and Germanic peoples. The language they spoke is not certain, and it is not certain to what extent these earlier tribes can be equated to the Tungri. By this time the area had become integrated into the Civitas Tungrorum and this was a frontier area, which took in soldiers and settlers from across the Rhine in Germany and from around the empire. The region to the north of the Duchy was dominated by Salian Franks, under the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, Frankish rule expanded from the region around Limbourg to cover larger areas, and eventually began to replace Roman imperial rule. By the time of Charlemagne, the first Frank to be called an emperor of Rome, the Duchy of Limburg, like most of modern Belgium, was within Lower Lorraine. For a while, Lower Lorraine had its own single Duke and it is from this Duchy that the Duchy of Limbourg derived its Ducal status. The territory of the duchy of Limburg was formed in the 11th century around the town of Limbourg in present-day Wallonia, about 1020, Duke Frederick of Lower Lorraine, a descendant of Count Palatine Wigeric of Lotharingia, had Limbourg Castle built on the banks of the Vesdre river. His estates then comprised the districts of Baelen, Herve, Montzen, Walhorn, and they were inherited by Fredericks son-in-law Count Waleran of Arlon, who about 1065 began to call himself a count of Limburg. Waleran also claimed Fredericks ducal title, which was acknowledged by Emperor Henry IV in 1101 in favour of Walerans son Henry. This meant that Lower Lorraine now had two Duchies, that of Brabant, and that of Limburg, and the title of Duke of Lothier, still held by Brabant, eventually became ineffective
32.
County of Artois
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The County of Artois was an historic province of the Kingdom of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659. Present Artois lies in northern France, on the border with Belgium and its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras, Calais, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Saint-Omer, Lens and it forms the interior of the French département Pas-de-Calais. Originally a feudal county itself, Artois was annexed by the county of Flanders and it came to France in 1180 as a dowry of a Flemish princess, Isabelle of Hainaut, and was again made a separate county in 1237 for Robert, a grandson of Isabelle. Through inheritance, Artois came under the rule of the dukes of Burgundy in 1384, at the death of the fourth duke, Charles the Bold, Artois was inherited by the Habsburgs and passed to the dynastys Spanish line. After the religious revolts of 1566 in the Netherlands, Artois briefly entered the Dutch Revolt in 1576, after the Union, Artois and Hainaut reached a separate agreement with Philip II. Artois remained with the Spanish Netherlands until it was conquered by the French during the Thirty Years War, the annexation was acknowledged during the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, and it became a French province. Artois had already been largely French-speaking, but it was part of the Southern Netherlands until the French annexation, Artois experienced rapid industrial development during the second half of the 19th century, fueled by its rich coal resources. During World War I, the front line between the opposing Entente and Allied armies in France ran through the province, resulting in physical damage. Since the second half of the 20th century, Artois has suffered along with nearby areas because of the decline of the coal industry, Artois occupies the interior of the Pas-de-Calais département, the western part of which constitutes the former Boulonnais. Artois roughly corresponds to the arrondissements of Arras, Béthune, Saint Omer, and Lens, and it occupies the western end of the coalfield which stretches eastward through the neighbouring Nord département and across central Belgium. At the time of Julius Caesar, Artois was the province of the Atrebates and their capital, Nemetocenna, is now the city of Arras, which possibly took its later name from the old name of the region. Artois originally was a Carolingian lordship established in West Francia, in Roman times, Artois had been situated in the Roman provinces of Belgica and Germania Inferior and inhabited by Celtic tribes, until Germanic peoples replaced them as the Roman Empire waned. Upon Isabelles death in 1190, it was claimed as a fief by the French crown. In 1237, King Louis VIII gave the County of Artois as an appanage to his younger son Robert, who became the progenitor of the House of Artois. The dispute was settled in favour of Mahaut, upon her death in 1329, Artois passed to her daughter by the Anscarid count Otto IV of Burgundy, Countess Joan II. Joan II had inherited the County of Burgundy in 1315 and when she died in 1330, she bequested Artois and Franche-Comté to her eldest daughter, Joan III. Joan III, Countess of Artois and Burgundy, entered into the dynastic allegiance with the ducal House of Burgundy, until 1350 all territories of Artois, Franche-Comté and the Burgundian duchy were inherited by their grandson Philip I of Burgundy
33.
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
34.
County of Holland
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The territory of the County of Holland corresponds roughly with the current provinces of North and South Holland in the Netherlands. The oldest sources refer to the not clearly defined county as Frisia, before 1101, sources talk about Frisian counts, but in this year Floris II, Count of Holland is mentioned as Florentius comes de Hollant. This title was used after Holland was united with Hainault, Bavaria-Straubing. The titles eventually lost their importance, and the last count, Philip II of Spain, around 800, under Charlemagne, the Frankish Empire covered a great deal of Europe. In much of this empire an important unit of administration, corresponding roughly to a shire or county in England, was the gau. A comes or Count ruled over one or more gaue, because of the low trade, the negative trade balance with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim states, and the disappearance of currency, the economy was more or less reduced to bartering. The kings vassals could only be rewarded by giving them land, from this the system of Feudalism developed. The vassals, who were appointed by the king, strove for a system of inheritance. This become more and more the rule, and in 877 it was legalised in the Capitulary of Quierzy, upon the death of a king, the Frankish kingdom was frequently divided among his heirs. This partible inheritance often caused internal struggle which made centralized government problematic, the Viking Raids further undermined centralized government. At the end of the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious, the power had weakened because of the flood of 838. Upon Lothairs death in 855, the part of Middle Francia was awarded to his second son Lothair II. The Treaty of Ribemont in 880 added the Kingdom of Lotharingia — of which the Low Countries were part — to East Francia, which attempted to integrate it. However, there were no connections there were between the four German Stem Duchies of east Francia, the Franconia, the Saxony, the Bavaria. Lotharingia took a position with a large amount of self-determination. This became clear when Louis the Child, the last Carolingian of East Francia, while the Stem Duchies flocked to Duke Conrad I of Franconia, Lotharingia chose for the Carolingian Charles the Simple, king of West Francia. In Frisia the situation was complex, the power was in the hands of Roriks successor Godfrid the Sea King, who became embroiled in the high politics of the Frankish empire. He was allied with the children of the former Carolingian Lotharingian king Lothair II, the main actor in this murder was Everard Saxo, the count of Hamaland
35.
County of Zeeland
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The County of Zeeland was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries. It covered an area in the Scheldt and Meuse delta roughly corresponding to the modern Dutch province of Zeeland, the area has always been the prey of its stronger neighbors, the County of Holland, the County of Hainaut and the County of Flanders. In 1167 a war broke out between the counties, after which Count Floris III of Holland had to acknowledge the overlordship of Count Philip of Flanders in Zeeland. Count Floris IV of Holland reconquered Zeeland, which from the accession of Count Floris V, by the 1323 Treaty of Paris between Flanders and Hainaut-Holland, the Count of Flanders reneged from claims on Zeeland and recognized the count of Holland as Count of Zeeland. Nevertheless, Zeeland remained an administrative unit, which in turn was under the administration of the counts of Holland. In 1432 it was annexed by the Burgundian duke Philip the Good, after the death of Mary of Burgundy in 1482, Zeeland according to the Treaty of Senlis was one of the Seventeen Provinces held by the House of Habsburg, which in 1512 joined the Burgundian Circle. After the Eighty Years War, Zeeland was one of the United Provinces of the Dutch Republic established in 1581, after establishment of the States-General of the Netherlands in 1583, Middelburg initially became the place of assembly. From 1585 on they were held in The Hague, as a independent state the county Zealand ceased to exist under the Batavian Republic in 1795, when it became a département. Together with Zeeuws-Vlaanderen it today forms the province of Zeeland
36.
County of Namur
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Namur was a county of the Carolingian and later Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries. Its territories largely correspond with the present-day Belgian arrondissement Namur plus the northwestern part of the arrondissement Dinant, the city of Namur most likely arose around the Champeau, a rocky hill between the Sambre and the Meuse. Numerous prehistoric flint weapons have been found in the area, during Roman times the region around Namur was first mentioned in Julius Caesars Commentarii de Bello Gallico in the second half of the 1st century BC. In Caesars wars the Roman legions conquered numerous Belgic cities and settlements, after this defeat the Belgae and their territory were incorporated into the Roman Empire. The county of Namur was first listed as part of the Lommegau in the year 832 in a document by Louis the Pious, in 992, Emperor Otto III titles Albert I count of Namur for the first time. The first count of note was Albert III, who acquired wardship over the prince-abbacy of Stavelot-Malmédy, until the start of the 12th century, Namur was threatened by its powerful neighbours Brabant, Hainaut and Liège. Important parts of the county were annexed, the city of Dinant, for example, from the 12th century on, the counts of Namur managed to more or less compensate for the losses they had suffered. Count Godfrey, for example, acquired the county of Longwy, the last important figure from the first house that ruled Namur was Henry I. Henry I inherited the counties of Durbuy, La Roche-en-Ardenne and Luxembourg, after Henrys death, a fierce succession war broke out between Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Henrys daughter Ermesinde. Baldwin V eventually received the county of Namur while Ermesine received Luxembourg, Laroche, the situation remained more or less stable until 1263. In this year, the count of Namur, Baldwin II of Courtenay, sold his county to the count of Flanders, the house of Dampierre would rule until 1421, when the county of Namur was sold to the Burgundian duke Philip the Good. After the county of Namur was bought by Philip the Good, he integrated it into a territorial and political union. From the 15th century on, the Southern Netherlands were ruled by the Habsburgs, under their new rule, the military importance of the city of Namur steadily grew. The Burgundians and Habsburgs strengthened the city and built new walls around it, during the 16th and 17th centuries the city became an important military stronghold, and was repeatedly besieged for this reason. During the Spanish period, Namur received a bishoprics seat, the Spanish king Philip II wanted to turn Namur into a catholic bastion as a bulwark against the rise of Calvinism. Thus Philip II required several religious orders to establish themselves in Namur, in consequence the city gained a specific catholic character. Philip II also managed to make considerable reïnforcements to the Citadel of Namur, in 1577, Philip II sent Don Juan of Austria to the Netherlands as the new governor. In Namur, Don Juan received Margaret of Valois, and organised a magnificent celebration in her honor, Namur has had a crucial military role throughout history
37.
Low Countries
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Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to one union of port. The Low Countries were the scene of the northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe, all of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, secondary languages included French, Romance-speaking Belgium, the Romance Flanders, and Namur. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions les pays de par deça and Pays dEmbas, which evolved to Pays-Bas or Low Countries, today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term Benelux, which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the country the Netherlands has the same meaning. The same name of countries can be found in other European languages, for example German Niederlande, French, les Pays-Bas, and so on. In the Dutch language itself no plural is used for the name of the modern country, so Nederland is used for the modern nation and de Nederlanden for the 16th century domains of Charles V. In Dutch, and to an extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands. For example, a Derby der Lage Landen, is an event between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the Southern, Spanish or later Austrian Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the low countries, the region politically had its origins in Carolingian empire, more precisely, most of it was within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. After the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia, the Low Countries were brought under the rule of various lordships until they came to be in the hands of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Hence, a part of the low countries came to be referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands also called the Seventeen Provinces up to 1581. Even after the secession of the autonomous Dutch Republic in the north. The Low Countries were part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Inferior and they were inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. In the 4th and 5th century, Frankish tribes had entered this Roman region and they came to be ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, under which dynasty the southern part was re-Christianised
38.
Philip the Bold
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Philip the Bold was Duke of Burgundy and jure uxoris Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. The fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg and his vast collection of territories made him the undisputed premier peer of the kingdom of France and made his successors formidable rivals of the kings of France. Born in Pontoise in 1342, Philip gained his cognomen the Bold at the age of 14 and he remained in the custody of the English with his father until the terms of their ransom were agreed to in the Treaty of Brétigny of 1360. His father had been the ruler of the duchy since the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, Philip would rule the duchy as Philip II until his death. He was actually the stepbrother of Philip I of Burgundy, whose mother Joan was married to King John II of France, Philip the Bolds father, Margaret became the widow of Philips stepbrother Duke Philip I of Burgundy while still a child of about 11. As her fathers heiress, Margaret would bring rich possessions to Philip the Bold. From 1379 to 1382, Philip helped his father-in-law Louis II put down revolts in Flanders, particularly in Ghent, the revolts were finally ended in 1385, following the death of Louis II, with the Peace of Tournai. As jure uxoris Count of Flanders, he would keep in mind the interests of the Flemish cities. Philip was very active at the court of France, particularly after the death in 1380 of his brother King Charles V, among Philips acts while regent was the suppression of a tax revolt in 1382 known as the Harelle. The regency lasted until 1388, always with Philip assuming the dominant role, Louis of Bourbon was largely an unimportant figure due to his personality and his status. In 1392, events conspired to allow Philip to seize power once more in France, Charles VIs friend and advisor Olivier de Clisson had recently been the target of an assassination attempt by agents of John V, Duke of Brittany. The would-be assassin, Pierre de Craon, had taken refuge in Brittany, Charles, outraged at these events, determined to punish Craon, and on 1 July 1392 led an expedition against Brittany. While traveling to Brittany, the king, already overwrought by the progress, was shocked by a madman who spent half-an-hour following the procession to warn the king that he had been betrayed. When a page dropped a lance, the king reacted by killing several of his knights and had to be wrestled to the ground, Philip, who was present, immediately assumed command and appointed himself regent, dismissing Charles advisors. He was the ruler of France until 1402. His seizure of power, however, had consequences for the unity of the House of Valois. This struggle only served to enhance the reputation of Philip, since he appeared to be a sober and honest reformer in comparison to the profligate and irresponsible Louis. Although Charles VI confirmed his brother as regent in 1402 in a moment of sanity, Louiss misrule allowed Philip to regain control of France as regent in 1404
39.
Charolais, France
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Charolais is a historic region of France, named after the central town of Charolles, and located in todays Saône-et-Loire département, in Burgundy. It was held by the French noble house of Chalon-Arlay, until in 1237 Count John the Old ceded it to Duke Hugh IV of Burgundy. The county of Charolais was inherited by Hughs granddaughter Beatrice, who in 1272 married Count Robert of Clermont, in 1314 it passed to Roberts second son John, whose daughter Beatrice married Count John I of Armagnac in 1327. Johns grandson Count Bernard VII of Armagnac sold the county to Duke Philip II of Burgundy in 1390 and it thus became part of the Duchy of Burgundy and the title Count of Charolais was systematically given to the heir apparent of the incumbent duke. After the War of the Burgundian Succession, Charolais finally fell to the Habsburg dynasty according to the 1493 Treaty of Senlis, the County of Charolais shared a common history with the Imperial County of Burgundy, as both belonged to the dowry of Maximilians daughter Margaret of Austria. While the County of Burgundy fell to the French Crown upon the 1678 Treaty of Nijmegen and it was not awarded to the French Crown until the death of Count Charles of Charolais in 1760, when King Louis XV of France ultimatively incorporated it into the Estates of Burgundy. Hubert Elie, Le Charolais dans l’histoire européenne
40.
Charles VI of France
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Charles VI, called the Beloved and the Mad, was King of France from 1380 to his death. He was a member of the House of Valois, Charles VI was only 11 when he inherited the throne in the midst of the Hundred Years War. The government was entrusted to his four uncles, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, John, Duke of Berry, Louis I, Duke of Anjou, and Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. Although the royal age of majority was fixed at 14, the dukes maintained their grip on Charles until he took power at the age of 21, as royal funds drained, new taxes had to be raised, which caused several revolts. In 1388 Charles VI dismissed his uncles and brought back to power his fathers former advisers, political and economic conditions in the kingdom improved significantly, and Charles earned the epithet the Beloved. But in August 1392 en route to Brittany with his army in the forest of Le Mans, Charles suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother, from then on, Charles bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration. During these attacks, he had delusions, believing he was made of glass or denying he had a wife and he could also attack servants or run until exhaustion, wailing that he was threatened by his enemies. Between crises, there were intervals of months during which Charles was relatively sane, however, unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was taken away from him by the princes of the blood, which would cause much chaos and conflict in France. A fierce struggle for power developed between Louis of Orléans, the brother, and John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. When John instigated the murder of Louis in November 1407, the conflict degenerated into a war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. John offered large parts of France to King Henry V of England, when Charles VI died, he was succeeded by his son Charles VII, who found the Valois cause in a desperate situation. Charles was born in Paris, in the residence of the Hôtel Saint-Pol, on 3 December 1368, the son of the king of France Charles V, of the House of Valois. As heir to the French throne, his brothers having died before he was born. At his fathers death on 16 September 1380, he inherited the throne of France and his coronation took place on 4 November 1380, at Reims Cathedral. Although the royal age of majority was 14, Charles did not terminate the regency and he married Isabeau of Bavaria on 17 July 1385, when he was 17 and she was 14. Isabeau had 12 children, most of whom died young, isabeaus first child, named Charles, was born in 1386, and was Dauphin of Viennois, but survived only 3 months. Her second child, Joan, was born on 14 June 1388 and her third child, Isabella, was born in 1389. She was married to Richard II, King of England in 1396, at the age of 6, Richard died in 1400 and they had no children
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Isabeau of Bavaria
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Isabeau of Bavaria was born into the House of Wittelsbach as the eldest daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingolstadt and Taddea Visconti of Milan. She became Queen of France when she married King Charles VI in 1385, at age 15 or 16, Isabeau was sent to France on approval to the young French king, the couple wed three days after their first meeting. Isabeau was honored in 1389 with a coronation ceremony and entry into Paris. In 1392 Charles suffered the first attack of what was to become a lifelong and progressive mental illness, the episodes occurred with increasing frequency, leaving a court both divided by political factions and steeped in social extravagances. A1393 masque for one of Isabeaus ladies-in-waiting—an event later known as Bal des Ardents—ended in disaster with the King almost burning to death, although the King demanded Isabeaus removal from his presence during his illness, he consistently allowed her to act on his behalf. In this way she became regent to the Dauphin of France, Charles illness created a power vacuum that eventually led to the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War between supporters of his brother, Louis of Orléans and the royal dukes of Burgundy. Isabeau shifted allegiances as she chose the most favorable paths for the heir to the throne, when she followed the Armagnacs, the Burgundians accused her of adultery with Louis of Orléans, when she sided with the Burgundians the Armagnacs removed her from Paris and she was imprisoned. In 1407 John the Fearless assassinated Orléans, sparking hostilities between the factions, the war ended soon after Isabeaus eldest son, Charles, had John the Fearless assassinated in 1419—an act that saw him disinherited. Isabeau attended the 1420 signing of the Treaty of Troyes, which decided that the English king should inherit the French crown after the death of her husband and she lived in English-occupied Paris until her death in 1435. Isabeau was popularly seen as a spendthrift and irresponsible philanderess, Isabeaus parents were Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingolstadt and Taddea Visconti, whom he married for a 100,000 ducat dowry. She was most likely born in Munich where she was baptized as Elisabeth at the Church of Our Lady and she was great-granddaughter to the Wittelsbach Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV. At that period Bavaria counted amongst the most powerful German states, Isabeaus uncle, Duke Frederick of Bavaria-Landshut, suggested in 1383 that she be considered as a bride to King Charles VI of France. Charles, then 17, rode in the tourneys at the wedding and he was an attractive, physically fit young man, who enjoyed jousting and hunting and was excited to be married. Charles VIs uncle, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, thought the proposed marriage ideal to build an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire and against the English. Isabeaus father agreed reluctantly and sent her to France with his brother, her uncle, on the pretext of taking a pilgrimage to Amiens. According to the contemporary chronicler Jean Froissart, Isabeau was 13 or 14 when the match was proposed and about 16 at the time of the marriage in 1385, suggesting a birth date of around 1370. Before her presentation to Charles, Isabeau visited Hainaut for about a month, staying with her granduncle Duke Albert I, ruler of some of Bavaria-Straubing and Count of Holland. Alberts wife, Margaret of Brieg, replaced Isabeaus Bavarian style of dress, deemed unsuitable as French courtly attire and she learned quickly, suggestive of an intelligent and quick-witted character
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Philip of Artois, Count of Eu
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Philip of Artois, son of John of Artois, Count of Eu, and Isabeau of Melun, was Count of Eu from 1387 until his death, succeeding his brother Robert. Philip was a gallant and energetic soldier, in 1383, he captured the town of Bourbourg from the English. He went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and was imprisoned there by the Sultan of Egypt, being released through the mediation of Jean Boucicaut, in 1390, he joined the unsuccessful expedition of Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, against Mahdia. In 1392, he was created Constable of France, on 27 January 1393 he married Marie, daughter of John, Duke of Berry. They had four children, Philip, likely dead by the time news arrived in France of his fathers death in a Turkish prison. Although he is buried in a tomb that names him as Count of Eu in the crypt of the Collegiale of Eu, he is not recognised as a count by historians. 1416 John of Bourbon, Lord of Carency As a prominent Crusader and he was captured in the battle, and subsequently died in captivity. Hugh Chisholm, 11th Edition, Vol.9,1910, wilson, Katherine M. Medieval women writers, Manchester University Press,1984
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Philip II, Count of Nevers
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Phillip II, Count of Nevers was the youngest son of Philip the Bold and Margaret III of Flanders. He succeeded his brothers, John the Fearless and Anthony, Duke of Brabant, as Count of Nevers and he married in Soissons on 9 April 1409 Isabelle de Coucy, daughter of Enguerrand VII de Coucy. They had two children, Philip Margaret He married again, in Beaumont-en-Artois on 20 June 1413, Bonne of Artois, daughter of Philip of Artois, Count of Eu. They had two sons, Charles I, Count of Nevers John II, Count of Nevers He also had four children by various mistresses. He was succeeded by his son Charles
44.
John I of Portugal
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John I was King of Portugal and the Algarve in 1385–1433. He was referred to as the Good or of Happy Memory in Portugal, more rarely, and especially in Spain, he was sometimes referred to as the Bastard. He is recognized chiefly for his role in preserving the independence of the kingdom of Portugal from the kingdom of Castile, as part of his efforts to acquire Portuguese territories in Africa, he became the first king of Portugal to use the title Lord of Ceuta. John was born in Lisbon as the son of King Peter I of Portugal by a woman named Teresa. In the 18th century, António Caetano de Sousa found a 16th-century document in the archives of the Torre do Tombo in which she was named as Teresa Lourenço. In 1364, by request of Nuno Freire de Andrade, a Galician Grand Master of the Order of Christ, as heiress presumptive, Beatrice had married king John I of Castile, but popular sentiment was against an arrangement in which Portugal would have been virtually annexed by Castile. The 1383–1385 Crisis followed, a period of anarchy, when no monarch ruled the country. On 6 April 1385, the Council of the Kingdom met in Coimbra and declared John, then Master of Aviz, to be king of Portugal. This was followed by the liberation of almost all of the Minho in the course of two months as part of a war against Castile in opposition to its claims to the Portuguese throne. Soon after, the king of Castile again invaded Portugal with the purpose of conquering Lisbon, John I of Castile was accompanied by French allied cavalry while English troops and generals took the side of John of Aviz. John and Nuno Álvares Pereira, his constable and talented supporter, John I of Castile then retreated. The Castilian forces abandoned Santarém, Torres Vedras and Torres Novas, as a result, the stability of the Portuguese throne was permanently secured. On 11 February 1387, John I married Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, the marriage consolidated an Anglo-Portuguese Alliance that endures to the present day. John I of Castile died in 1390 without issue from his wife Beatrice, John I of Portugal was then able to rule in peace and concentrate on the economic development and territorial expansion of his realm. The most significant military actions were the siege and conquest of the city of Ceuta by Portugal in 1415, and these measure were intended to help seize control of navigation off the African coast and trade routes from the interior of Africa. The raids and attacks of the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula created captives on both sides who were ransomed or sold as slaves. The Portuguese crown extended this practice to North Africa, after the attack on Ceuta, the king sought papal recognition of the military action as a Crusade. Such a ruling would have enabled those captured to be sold as slaves
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Philippa of Lancaster
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Philippa of Lancaster was Queen of Portugal from 1387 until 1415 by marriage to King John I. Born into the family of England, her marriage secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. Born on 31 March 1360, Philippa was the oldest child of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Philippa spent her infancy moving around the various properties owned by her family with her mother and her wet-nurse, Maud. Here, she was raised and educated alongside her two siblings, Elizabeth, who was three years younger, and Henry, six years younger, who would later become King Henry IV. Philippas mother died of plague in 1369, the affair and eventual marriage was considered scandalous, and in the future Philippa would protect herself against such embarrassment. Katherine seems to have been liked by Philippa and her Lancastrian siblings. Katherine had close ties with Geoffrey Chaucer, since her sister, John of Gaunt became Chaucers patron, and Chaucer spent much time with the family as one of Philippas many mentors and teachers. She was remarkably well educated for a female at the time and studied science under Friar John, poetry under Jean Froissart and she was well read in the works of Greek and Roman scholars such as Pliny and Herodotus and was diligent in her study of religion. Philippa became Queen consort of Portugal through her marriage to King John I and this marriage was the final step in the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance against the Franco-Castillian axis. The couple were blessed by the church in the Cathedral of Porto on 2 February 1387, the Portuguese court celebrated the union for fifteen days. Philippa married King John I by proxy, and in keeping with a unique Portuguese tradition, the stand-in for King John I was João Rodrigues de Sá. Philippa was considered to be plain, and King João I already had a mistress, Inês Peres Esteves. Their son Afonso was ten when Philippa and John married, Philippa allowed Afonso and his sister Beatrice to be raised in the Portuguese court. Their mother left the court at Philippas command to live in a convent, as the de facto King of Castile, it was feared that John of Gaunt could challenge King Johns claim to the newly installed dynasty. Surviving letters show that Philippa often wrote to the English court from Portugal, on one instance, Philippa intervened in court politics on behalf of followers of the dethroned Richard II when they appealed for her help after her brother, Henry IV, had usurped the English throne. On another occasion, she persuaded the reluctant Earl of Arundel to marry her husbands illegitimate daughter Beatrice, Philippas main political contribution, however, was in her own court. Upon the end of the Portuguese involvement in wars with Castile and the Moors, the Portuguese economy was failing. Philippa knew that the conquest and control of Ceuta would be lucrative for Portugal with the control of the African and Indian spice trade
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Brussels
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Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
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Duchy of Burgundy : 1st Grand Master and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Kingdom of France – Duchy of Orléans : Knight of the Order of the Porcupine
Kingdom of England : He refused the Order of the Garter
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Philip the Good (1396–1467)". Encyclopædia Britannica. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Kurth, Godefroid (1908). "Burgundy". In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "
