War of Burgundian Succession, 1490-1493



Duke Charles "the Bold" of Burgundy died in the Battle of Nancy in 1477. His only daughter Mary, in a previous agreement with Emperor Frederick III., was to mary Maximilian von Habsburg, the Emperor's son. In 1477 both were married; the Burgundian administration in Brussels regarded Mary the legitimate ruler.
King Louis XI. regarded himself entitled to occupy a number of the Burgundian lands, while Maximilian von Habsburg, as husband of Mary of Burgundy, claimed the entire inheritance. The War of Burgundian Succession ensued. Maximilian was victorious at Guinegate, but Louis XI. held on to Artois, the Picardie and Vermandois. Pressed by the Estates of the Low Countries, following the death of his wife Mary, Maximilian I. in Dec. 1482 signed the Peace of Frankfurt with France.
Now Philip le Bel, son of Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian, succeeded. During his infancy, Maximilian ruled as regent (but temporarily was deprived of the regency by the rebellious estates). In 1488-1492 he had to deal with the insubordination of the Flemish cities of Brugge and Ghent.
In 1488, Duke François of Bretagne died. A marriage between Maximilian (by now a widower) and Anne de Bretagne (11 years old) was arranged (1490); French forces then occupied the Bretagne (Bretagne Struggle for Independence). King Charles VIII. of France dissolved his betrothal to Maximilian's daughter Margaret and married Anne of Bretagne (1491).
In 1492, Maximilian (following the death of Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus, he also had a War with Hungary at hand, for the reconquest of Lower Austria and parts of Styria), burning for revenge, took the city of Arras and expelled the French from Artois. On May 23rd 1493, Maximilian and King Charles VIII. of France signed the Treaty of Senlis.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		The Tomb of Maximilian, from Hofkirche
Article Maximilian I., from BBKL, in German
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on April 8th 2004, last revised on April 17th 2004

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