Burgundian flag sheets!

Still on the subject of flags, I've put together three A4 sheets of my own flags which I'm offering free to download.

These are all heraldic banners for a variety of personalities on the Burgundian/Habsburg side of the War of the Burgundian Succession, thirty in all. There's a sheet of French flags on the way too. Almost all of these characters were actively involved in the military side of the conflict, so would make for good commanders on the tabletop.

A lot of the heraldry for these nobles was easy to source, as more than half of them were Knights of the Golden Fleece, so there are good records of their arms. A few of them are conjectural, and I've noted on the sheets where this is the case.

Of course lots of these will be useful for other projects - most obviously, many of them fought in the campaigns of Charles the Bold.

Sheet #1 focuses on the war in the Franche-Comté, which I've talked a lot about on this blog. In fact I've already written about all the characters here - see my posts on The Prince of Orange, The House of Vaudrey and Three Burgundian Commanders. I'll give some biographical summaries here for completion.

Jean de Châlon, Prince of Orange - Wealthy nobleman with various estates across France and Burgundy, he had at different times served both Louis XI and the dukes of Burgundy. By 1477 he was in the service of France, having joint command of the army that occupied Burgundy, before switching allegiance to Duchess Mary and leading a rebellion against the French. Served Maximilian in the Low Countries, campaigning in Luxembourg and Liège, and was made captain-general of Namur in 1483. Later moved to Brittany and sided with the Breton-Orleanist faction in the ‘Mad War’. Fought at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (1488) where he was captured. Following the Treaty of Senlis (1493) he was made stadtholder of the Franche-Comte, though at the same time he retained a placed on the royal council of France.

Hugues de Châlon, Lord of Château-Guyon - Uncle of the Prince of Orange, whom he convinced to switch allegiance from Louis XI to Duchess Mary, and was one of the principal leaders of the 1477 Franche-Comté rebellion. Taken prisoner at the bridge of Émagny but later ransomed. Surrendered to the French in 1479, his loyalty having been bought through a long-desired marriage to Louise of Savoy, niece of Louis XI.

Simon de Quingey - Had served Charles the Bold and fought with him in all his battles, having saved his life at Montlhéry in 1465. After the death of the duke in 1477 he remained loyal to Duchess Mary. Defended Dole from the French, but was captured at Verdun (1478) and imprisoned in an iron cage, after which he served Louis XI.

Claude de Toulongeon, Lord of La Bastie - Remained loyal to Duchess Mary in 1477 and fought the French in Burgundy, Franche-Comté and Charolais. Continued to fight into 1479/80, after which he had to flee to the Netherlands and Louis XI confiscated his possessions. Made a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1481. Following the Treaty of Arras in 1482 he was to have his Burgundian possessions returned to him, but he struggled for the rest of his life to reclaim them, leading to a feud with his brother-in-law Guillaume de Vergy. Was involved in the reconquest of the Franche-Comte in 1493. 

Guillaume de la Baume, Lord of Irlain - Chamberlain in the household of Margaret of York since 1472, he later served both Mary and Maximilian, fighting the French in Burgundy. Made a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1481. After the Treaty of Arras in 1482 he regained his Burgundian possessions, and by the reign of Charles VIII appears to have been serving the French.

Guillaume de Vaudrey, Lord of Courlaoux -  One of the leaders of the 1477 Franche-Comté rebellion against the French, responsible for many of their military successes. He defended Vesoul until it capitulated in 1479, whereupon he was captured and summarily executed.

Claude de Vaudrey, Lord of l’Aigle - With his uncle Guillaume, one of the leaders of the 1477 Franche-Comté rebellion. Eventually surrendered Rochefort to the French in 1479, but survived and was fighting for Maximilian again in Holland by 1481.

Marc de Ray and Louis de Vienne - Two more of the comtois rebels who fought the French. I haven't been able to find heraldry for either of them, these are their family arms (in the case of Louis de Vienne, he almost certainly didn't use them as he came from a junior branch).

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Sheets #2 and #3 feature characters who were involved in the northern theatre of the war, in the Low Countries. Almost all of them had previously served the dukes of Burgundy prior to 1477 (many of them had been at the battles of Grandson, Morat and/or Nancy), and remained loyal to Duchess Mary. I'll give a little biographical summary of each of them below.

Engelbert of Nassau, Count of Nassau - One of the richest men in the Netherlands and a supporter of the dukes of Burgundy. A Knight of the Golden Fleece (1473), he fought at and was captured at the battle of Nancy in 1477. After his release he served Maximilian and helped defend the Netherlands from the French invasion, fighting at the Battle of Guinegate in 1479. Was appointed Maximilian’s first chamberlain in 1482, stadtholder of Luxembourg in 1483 and of Flanders and Limburg in 1487. He also was part of the council that governed the Netherlands during Maximilian’s trip to Germany from 1485 to 1486. He fought at the battle of Béthune in 1487, where he was captured and released two years later. During the reign of Philip the Fair he governed the Netherlands as stadtholder-general during the duke’s trips to Germany and Spain.

Jacques of Savoy, Count of Romont - A younger son of the Duke of Savoy who served Charles the Bold and then Maximilian, fighting at the Battle of Guinegate in 1479. Was made a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1478, lieutenant-general of the Netherlands in 1482, and was later part of the Flemish regency council that contested Maximilian’s power.

Philip of Burgundy, Lord of Beveren - Son of Anthony the Bastard and cousin of Duchess Mary, he led ordonnance companies in the armies of both Charles the Bold and Maximilian. Defended St Omer from the French in 1477, refusing to yield even when threatened with his father’s execution. Knight of the Golden Fleece (1478), Admiral of Flanders (1491-1498) and Governor of Artois. Was part of the Flemish regency council of 1482, but resigned in 1484 due to the increasing radicalism of the Flemish towns.

Josse de Lalaing, Lord of Montigny - Had previously served the dukes of Burgundy as Admiral of the Netherlands from 1462, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Nancy in 1477. Served Mary and Maximilian as chamberlain, promoted to First Chamberlain in 1480. Made a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1478, fought at Guinegate in 1479, appointed stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland in 1480, and died at the siege of Utrecht in 1483.

Pierre de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol - Son of Louis de Luxembourg, who had been executed in 1475 – Pierre had managed to stay out of his father’s troubles, and inherited all his possessions in the Netherlands (but not in France), as well as his elder brother’s when he died at the Battle of Morat. He subsequently served Maximilian, leading an ordonnance company and becoming a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1478.

Jacques de Luxembourg, Lord of Fiennes - A cousin of Pierre, was made a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1478 and then in 1479 marshal of Maximilian’s army and captain of Douai.

Jean de Ligne, Lord of Ligne - Captain of an ordonnance company, fought the French in Hainault and was taken prisoner at the Battle of Guinegate in 1479. Made a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1481 and appointed deputy lieutenant-general of Hainault in 1484.

Pierre de Henin, Lord of Boussu - Captain of an ordonnance company and of La Quesnoy, he recaptured the castle of Boussu from the French, and fought in Luxembourg in 1480. Knight of the Golden Fleece (1481). Was taken prisoner at Bethune in 1487, released after paying his ransom.

Claude de Neufchâtel, Lord of Fay - Served as Lieutenant-General of Luxembourg under Charles the Bold and again under Maximilian, then made governor of the Burgundies in 1487 (though they were still held by the French). Knight of the Golden Fleece (1491).

Jean de Neufchâtel, Lord of Montaigu - Previously a councillor and chamberlain to both Philip the Good and Charles the Bold, Knight of the Golden Fleece (1451) and Lieutenant-General of both Burgundies in 1470. Fought at the Battle of Grandson in 1476. He was given a place in Maximilian’s household in 1477, and helped defend the Franche-Comté from the French. However he surrendered and swore allegiance to the French king in 1479, and was removed from the order of the Golden Fleece in 1481.

Adolph of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein - Nobleman related to both the dukes of Cleves and Burgundy (as a nephew of Philip the Good) and Knight of the Golden Fleece (1456). Was a leading figure in the court of Mary of Burgundy in 1477, appointed governor-general of the Netherlands until Mary’s marriage to Maximilian, and stadtholder of Hainault. Following Mary’s death was part of the Flemish regency council of Philip the Fair.

Philip of Cleves - Son of Adolph, Philip grew up with Mary of Burgundy, and from 1477 took a prominent leadership role against the French. Commanded the Burgundian cavalry at Guinegate in 1479, campaigned in Liège in 1482, was appointed Admiral of the Netherlands in 1485 and was part of the council that governed the Netherlands during Maximilian’s absence in 1485. In 1488 he turned against Maximilian to join the Flemish rebels, finally surrendering in 1492, after which he served Charles VIII and Louis XII of France.

Guillaume de Vergy, Lord of Vergy - In 1477 he was defeated and captured by the French whilst leading Burgundian reinforcements to the siege of Arras. Was imprisoned for a year, and thereafter served Louis XI and Charles VIII of France. Was given many of the possessions of his brother-in-law Claude de Toulongeon, and refused to return them after the Treaty of Arras. Following the treaty of Senlis in 1493 he was made Marshal of Burgundy by Maximilian, and lost his French possessions.

Jean de Berghes, Lord of Cohen - Commanded an ordonnance company of fifty lances. Surrendered Aire to the French in 1482, requesting that the town be bombarded for a few days first so he could be seen to have surrendered to superior force.

Martin and Wolfgang of Polheim - Probably cousins, they were childhood friends of Maximilian who came with him to the Netherlands in 1477. Fought at the Battle of Guinegate in 1479, where they were both captured. Were also both held prisoner by the Flemish in 1488. Both were made Knights of the Golden Fleece, Martin in 1481 and Wolfgang in 1501.

Jean de Lannoy, Lord of Maingoval - In 1477 was captain of Avesne, defended Montdidier and Valenciennes from French raids and helped to recapture Chimay. In 1478 recaptured Le Quesnoy, but was unsuccessful in defending Conde. Fought at the Battle of Guinegate in 1479. Supported Maximilian in his struggle against the Flemish regency councils, and in 1488 was one of the nobles imprisoned in Bruges by the Flemish.

Baudouin de Lannoy, Lord of Molembaix - Knight of the Golden Fleece (1481) and from 1485 stadtholder of Flanders. From 1480 to 1489 was castellan of Bouchain in Hainault, which was regularly a target of French attacks.

Philippe de Croÿ, Count of Porcéan - Captured at the Battle of Nancy, he subsequently fought the French in Flanders, was at the Battle of Guinegate in 1479, was involved in the pacification of Luxembourg in 1480 and served as captain-general of Hainault between 1482 and 1483.

Philippe de Croÿ, Count of Chimay - A distant cousin of the former, with the same name. A Knight of the Golden Fleece (1473), was also captured at Nancy. Remained loyal to Duchess Mary in 1477, and recaptured Chimay from the French. Captain of an ordonnance company under Maximilian, and appointed lieutenant-general of Luxembourg in 1479. After his death in 1482 these arms were inherited by his son Charles de Croÿ, who had fought and was knighted at Guinegate, was elevated to Prince of Chimay in 1486 and made a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1491.