War of the Ligue du Bien Public, 1465



King Louis XI. of France (King 1461-1483) pursued a policy aiming at strengthening royal authority and revenue at the expense of princes, nobles and cities. In 1465, the princely opposition, lead by Duke François II of Bretagne, Duke Charles of Berry and Charles Count of Charolais (future Duke Charles "the Bold" of Burgundy), formed the Ligue du Bien Public (League of Public Good).
In July 1465, three Leaguist armies marched on Paris, the largest, 12,000 men, commanded by Charles de Charolais; the other two armies 5,000 men strong each.
A royal force, with King Louis XI. himself present, provoked the Burgundian force into attacking her in the BATTLE OF MONTLHERY. The battle was indecisive; however, the opposition had lost momentum and King Louis XI. gained time to reorganize. Paris withstood a siege. The war was terminated by the Treaties of Conflans and of Saint-Maur-des-Fosses, October 1465.
The League was dissolved; a brother of King Louis XI. was enfiefed with Normandy; Duke Philip the Good was enfiefed with Peronne, Montdidier and Roye.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		La bataille de Montlhery, 1465, from Montlhery sur Internet, in French
Ligue du Bien Public, from Yahoo Encyclopedie, in French
Guerre de la Ligue du Bien Public, Mars-Octobre 1465, from La Passion de l'Histoire, in French
Siege of Paris 1465, from Paris in Conflict by Tom Oberhofer, numismatist
DOCUMENTS Memoirs of Philippe de Commynes, from Richard III. Society; has account of Battle of Montlhery
REFERENCE Joseph Calmette, The Golden Age of Burgundy, (1949), London : Phoenix Press 2001, pp.173-176



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on August 10th 2004, last revised on November 17th 2004

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