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Charles the Bold

Charles the Bold
Charles the Bold 1460.jpg
Rogier van der Weyden painted Charles the Bold as a young man in about 1460, wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece
Duke of Burgundy
Reign 15 June 1467 – 5 January 1477
Predecessor Philip the Good
Successor Mary
Born (1433-11-10)10 November 1433
Dijon, Burgundy
Died 5 January 1477(1477-01-05) (aged 43)
Nancy, Lorraine
Spouse Catherine of France
Isabella of Bourbon
Margaret of York
Issue Mary, Duchess of Burgundy
House Valois-Burgundy
Father Philip the Good
Mother Isabella of Portugal

Charles the Bold (French: Charles le Téméraire, Dutch: Karel de Stoute, 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), baptised Charles Martin, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. He was the last Duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois and is sometimes also known as Charles the Rash.

His early death at the Battle of Nancy at the hands of Swiss mercenaries fighting for René II, Duke of Lorraine, was of great consequence in European history. The Burgundian domains, long wedged between the growing powers of France and the Habsburg Empire, were divided, but the precise disposition of the vast and disparate territorial possessions involved was disputed among the European powers for centuries.

Charles the Bold was born in Dijon, the son of Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal. Before the death of his father in 1467, he bore the title of Count of Charolais; afterwards, he assumed all of his father's titles, including that of "Grand Duke of the West". He was also made a Knight of the Golden Fleece just twenty days after his birth, invested by Charles I, Count of Nevers, and the seigneur de Croÿ.

Charles was brought up under the direction of Jean d'Auxy and early showed great application alike to academic studies and warlike exercises. His father's court was the most extravagant in Europe at the time, and a centre for the arts and commerce. While he was growing up, Charles witnessed his father's efforts to unite his far-flung and ethnically diverse dominions into a single state, and his own later efforts centered on continuing and securing his father's successes in this endeavor.


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