Burgundian War on the Princebishopric of Liege, 1465-1468



Duke Charles, nicknamed 'the Bold', had succeeded his father as Duke of Burgundy (and ruler of many territories in the Low Countries) in 1467. The new princebishop, Louis de Bourbon (1456-1482), a Burgundian protege, soon alienated the Estates of the Princebishopric, who declared him deposed in 1465. The estates allied with France; the Liegois army, commanded by Raes van Heers, 4000 men strong, was defeated by the Burgundians at Montenaken (Oct. 20th 1465), the Princebishopric proclaimed a Burgundian protectorate.
Charles the Bold, Duke-to-be, infuriated about reports that burghers of the city of Dinant would have ridiculed him, took the city of Dinant, had the population massacred; the city was burnt to ashes (August 1466). The city of Liege rebelled in 1468, hoping for assistance from King Louis XI. of France (which did not materialize); Liege also suffered siege (Oct. 21st-30th), destruction and the massacre of her population. King Louis XI. was obliged to look on while the city was destroyed.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		La Democratie au Pays de Liege, in French
Het Kasteel van Heers (The Castle of Heers), in Dutch
Karl der Kühne, from mediatime, in German
Article Liege, from Columbia Encyclopedia
Liege, la cite Ardente, in English
Article Liege, from Catholic Encyclopedia
The History of Liege in Belgium, from Trabel
Liege, la cite Ardente, from vki
DOCUMENTS Philippe de Commines, La destruction de Dinant, La tentative des 600 Franchimontois from his Memoires, in French
Prinsbisschoppen van Luik (Princebishops of Liege), from Wikipedia.nl, in Dutch
REFERENCE Joseph Calmette, The Golden Age of Burgundy, (1949), London : Phoenix Press 2001, pp.178-184



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on February 29th 2004, last revised on November 16th 2004

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