Burgundy Big Time

Burgundy Big Time

With no city larger than the capital Dijon (population 150,000), Burgundy seems the sleepy epitome of La France Profonde. Yet Dijon is one of the richest cities in France, and top European medieval painter Rogier van der Weyden stars down the road in Beaune. How come? Because, from 1369 to 1477, Burgundy hit the big time as an independent European power. In 1369, Philip II of Burgundy married Marguerite de Flandre. She brought Nevers, Franche-Comté, and French Flanders with her as dowry. Burgundy prospered. In 1435, the Peace of Arras, signed with France, recognized Burgundy's further claims to Belgium, Picardy, and the Netherlands. Burgundy's capital moved from Dijon to Brussels where, in 1436, Van der Weyden was appointed official city painter. In 1443 the art-loving Burgundian Chancellor Nicolas Rolin commissioned the Last Judgment from Van der Weyden that still hangs in Beaune's Hôtel Dieu. Everything in the vineyard looked rosy, but there was just one problem: the northern and southern ends of Burgundy remained asunder, with Lorraine in between. When Charles the Bold succeeded Philip the Good in 1467, conquering Lorraine was top priority. Charles snatched part of Lorraine in 1475, but was slain two years later laying siege to Nancy. French King Louis XI seized the chance to invade Burgundy to annex it for the French crown. Charles' daughter Mary married Maximilian of Habsburg, taking Flanders and Holland with her. The Duchy of Burgundy had passed into the wine-vat of history.