This page covers the various personalities involved in the War of the Burgundian Succession, ranging from the high-ranking nobility to more obscure characters. As my research progressed the longer the list grew. Some were just names or titles briefly mentioned, and it took quite a bit of work trying to find who exactly they were. It got very complicated at times - certain people have a bewildering array of titles and are referred to by different names in different sources (not to mention different spellings). This is what I've been able to decipher at present - it no doubt will be updated in the future.
The man whose death started events in motion of course was Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. His daughter was Mary of Burgundy, by his second wife Isabella of Bourbon. Charles’ third wife was Margaret of York, sister of the Yorkist kings of England. This made her Mary’s step-mother, and after the duke’s death she remained an important figure at court.
Mary married Maximilian of Hapsburg, who was Archduke of Austria and son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. Mary and Maximilian had two children, Philip and Margaret. After Mary’s death in 1482 Maximilian ruled as regent for his son Philip. In 1486 Maximilian was elected King of the Romans, and succeeded his father as emperor in 1493, at which point he formally bestowed on Philip (then fifteen years old) the government of the Low Countries. Philip married Joanna of Castile, and in 1506 was briefly recognised as King of Castile himself before dying unexpectedly – Philip and Joanna’s son Charles eventually inherited everything from both sides of his family.
The king of France was Louis XI, who after his death in 1483 was followed by his son Charles VIII. Charles was originally betrothed to Maximilian’s daughter Margaret, as set out in the Treaty of Arras (1482), after which she lived in France and was prepared for her role as queen. However Charles spurned her and in 1491 married Anne of Brittany instead for political reasons. Margaret was not allowed to return home until after the Treaty of Senlis (1493).
The Burgundians
Following the death of Charles the Bold and Louis XI’s invasion of the Burgundian territories, many nobles remained loyal to Mary. Others quickly swore allegiance to France instead. Most notable of these was Philippe de Crèvecœur, Lord of Esquerdes, a Knight of the Golden Fleece and governor of both Artois and Picardy. He became the main French general in the Low Countries, and was made Marshal of France in 1483. Another notable Burgundian to defect was Anthony, Bastard of Burgundy, half-brother of Charles the Bold and Mary’s uncle. He had been captured at the Battle of Nancy in January 1477 and handed over to the French. However his son Philip of Beveren refused to surrender even when threatened with his father’s execution.
Other Burgundians who had their loyalty tested and eventually ended up declaring for France included Jean de Damas, Jean de Berghes and Guillaume de Vergy. Vergy had fought with Charles the Bold at the battles of Morat and Nancy, and in 1477 was captured by the French whilst leading a relief force to Arras. He refused to defect, and was imprisoned in an iron cage for two years – only then, and after being persuaded to do so by his mother, did he finally swear allegiance to Louis XI and have his lands restored, though after the death of Charles VIII he was serving Maximilian as Marshal of Burgundy. Jean de Jaucourt on the other hand was never persuaded to defect, and suffered for it – all his French estates were razed and his family taken hostage, but still his allegiance to Mary was not swayed. In 1491 he was made captain-general of Maximilian’s armies, and later in the reign of Louis XII his lands were returned to him.
Among the high-ranking nobility who still remained loyal to Mary were John, Duke of Cleves and his brother Adolph, Lord of Ravenstein, both cousins of Charles the Bold. In 1477 Cleves put forward his own son as a potential husband for Mary, but eventually had to admit defeat in this endeavour. Ravenstein’s son Philip of Cleves had grown up with Mary and served both her and Maximilian faithfully until he himself defected and joined the Flemish rebels in 1488.
Adolph of Egmont, Duke of Guelders had in 1465 overthrown his own father with the support of Philip the Good, but was later imprisoned by Charles the Bold who reinstated his father and purchased the duchy from him before he died. In 1477 Adolph was liberated by the Flemish as a marriage candidate for Mary, but he died leading an army against the French. His son Charles, Duke of Guelders fought for Maximilian before being captured at the Battle of Béthune - in 1492 he was ransomed by the citizens of Guelders and recognised as their duke in defiance of Maximilian, and years later he went to war with the Hapsburgs over the duchy.
Other nobles from both the Netherlands and Germany who were allied with Burgundy included Engelbert of Nassau, Jacques of Savoy, Wolfhart of Borselen and Josse de Lalaing, all of whom were Knights of the Golden Fleece (some of them newly appointed by Maximilian in 1478). Maximilian’s cousin Albert the Bold, Duke of Saxony served him faithfully from 1489 and successfully put down multiple rebellions, with the assistance of John of Egmont (from the younger branch of the Egmont family, he was elevated to the rank of count for his service).
The lords of the Franche-Comté
In the south, the nobility of the Franche-Comté fought a bitter war against the French. Their most notable leader was Jean de Châlon-Arlay, Prince of Orange, who owned estates in both the duchy and county of Burgundy. Due to a recent inheritance dispute with his uncles which had seen Charles the Bold rule against him, he had at first been driven to serve Louis XI. After using his influence to secure the duchy and most of the county for France, he was then persuaded by his uncle Hugues de Châlon to switch sides, and so he fought against the French in the subsequent uprising. Charles de Châlon and Léonard de Châlon also seem to have taken part. The family tree below shows the Prince of Orange and his relation to these other family members.
Other prominent lords of the Franche-Comté who fought with him were Claude de Vaudrey, Guillaume de Vaudrey, Claude de Toulongeon, Simon de Quingey, Marc de Ray, Chrétien de Digoine, Guillaume de la Baume and Louis de Vienne. Their war was ultimately unsuccessful, and many of them were killed or executed. Others, such as de Quingey, were persuaded to serve Louis XI after lengthy imprisonments. Hugues de Châlon was persuaded to defect after his capture through the promise of a long-desired marriage pact.
The Prince of Orange himself seems to have perhaps relinquished his leadership role after 1477, or at least there are no accounts of what he did in the next couple of years. Later he became heavily involved in the affairs of Brittany on behalf of Maximilian, being the nephew of Duke Francis II. He attempted to arrange a marriage between Maximilian and his cousin Anne of Brittany, and fought at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (1488) where he was captured. He eventually negotiated the marriage of Anne to Charles VIII of France, sold his claim to the duchy and was appointed lieutenant-general of Brittany.
The French
Many high-ranking French nobles fought in both the Low Countries and Burgundy, among them Jean de Daillon (chamberlain of the king and governor of the the Dauphiné), Antoine de Chabannes (an elderly veteran of the hundred years war and Grand Master of France) and Pierre de Rohan (Marshal of France). The chronicler Philippe de Commines was also involved on the diplomatic front during early 1477.
Three French nobles served as governor of Burgundy during this period, the first being Georges de la Trémoille. He was appointed governor when the French first occupied the duchy and the Franche-Comté, and soon had to fight a messy war against the Comtois rebels who had declared for Mary. He was ultimately defeated, humiliated and dismissed from his role by the king. He was replaced as governor by Charles d’Amboise, who proved much more capable and successfully subdued the Franche-Comté. After d’Amboise died in 1481 he was in turn replaced by Jean de Baudricourt, who held the position until the Franche-Comté was reclaimed by Maximilian in 1493.
Foreign captains
Foreign mercenaries fought in the armies of both Burgundy and France, and some of their captains are worthy of mention. Jean de Salazar was a veteran Biscayan known as the ‘Grand Capitaine’ – he had fought with Joan of Arc fifty years prior, and in many significant conflicts since, including several against the dukes of Burgundy. He was badly burned defending Gray from the Comtois rebels in 1477, but still fought for France until his death two years later. Interestingly there was another Spaniard of the same name who fought for Burgundy, sometimes referred to as ‘The Little Salazar’ – his relationship to the former is unknown.
The Italian Jacques Galéot had served Charles the Bold in all his great campaigns, and remained in service to Mary, distinguishing himself in many skirmishes. However he left during the truce of 1478, apparently with permission from Maximilian to return home – he then reappeared in 1480 fighting for the French.
Thomas Everingham was an Englishman who had also served Charles the Bold as captain of a company of English archers. He fought at Nancy (1477), and afterwards remained in the service of Burgundy, being knighted by Maximilian before the battle of Guinegate (1479).
Among the many captains in command of Maximilian’s German troops, the names Ruprecht of Richembourg and Friedrich Kappler have survived.
Rebels and wildcards
The Flemish were responsible for two major uprisings against Maximilian’s regency, and one name that stands out as a leader and agitator behind both rebellions is that of Jan van Coppenolle. After the first revolt failed he was driven out and had to flee to France. He returned to Ghent in 1487 and came to dominate the political life of the city, but when the second revolt eventually faltered he was beheaded in 1492.
The other major anti-Burgundian movement to trouble Maximilian was that of the so-called ‘hook’ party in Holland and Utrecht, whose many leaders included Jan van Montfoort and Frans van Brederode. They also had the support of the house of Cleves following the death of the first duke in 1481 – his sons John, Duke of Cleves and Engelbert, Count of Nevers provided the ‘hooks’ with troops in an attempt to replace David of Burgundy (another of Mary’s half-uncles) as Bishop of Utrecht.
A similar thing occurred in the prince-bishopric of Liège, where the notorious brigand William de la Mark attempted to wrest power from bishop Louis de Bourbon, who was an uncle of Mary on her mother’s side. Known as the ‘Wild Boar of the Ardennes’, la Mark eventually had Bourbon murdered and tried to install his own son as bishop. A civil war ensued, with la Mark and his brothers Everard and Robert fighting against the new pro-Burgundian bishop John of Hoorne. The brothers were distantly related to the dukes of Cleves, being from a younger branch of the family, as the following family tree shows.
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