Philip the Good

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Philip the Good
Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Limburg, Lothier and Luxembourg, Margrave of Namur, Count of Artois, Flanders, Hainault, Holland and Zeeland, Count Palatine of Burgundy

Philip the Good, after a Roger van der Weyden of c.1450
Reign 10 September 141915 June 1467
Titles Duke of Burgundy, Count of Artois and Flanders, Count Palatine of Burgundy
(10 September 141915 June 1467)
Margrave of Namur (1 March 142915 June 1467)
Duke of Brabant, Limburg and Lothier (4 August 143015 June 1467)
Count of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland (April 1432–15 June 1467)
Duke of Luxemburg (1443–15 June 1467)
Count of Charolais (1405–1433)
Born 31 July 1396
Birthplace Dijon, Burgundy
Died 15 June 1467
Place of death Bruges, Flanders
Buried Dijon, Burgundy
Predecessor John the Fearless
Successor Charles the Bold
Consort Michèle of Valois (1395–1422)
Bonne of Artois (1396–1425)
Isabel of Portugal (1397–1471)
Issue Antoine (1430–1432)
Joseph (1432–1432)
Charles the Bold (1433–1477)
Royal House House of Valois-Burgundy
Father John the Fearless (1371-1419)
Mother Margaret of Bavaria (1363-1423)
Duchy of Burgundy-
House of Valois, Burgundian Branch
John the Good
Children
   Charles V of France
   Louis I of Anjou
   John, Duke of Berry
   Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
Children
   John the Fearless
   Margaret of Burgundy, Duchess of Bavaria-Straubing
   Catherine of Burgundy
   Anthony, Duke of Brabant
   Mary, Duchess of Savoy
   Philip, Count of Nevers
John the Fearless
Children
   Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Cleves
   Margaret, Countess of Richemont
   Philip the Good
   Anne of Burgundy
   Agnes of Burgundy
Philip the Good
Children
   Charles the Bold
   Anthony the Bastard
Charles the Bold
Children
   Mary of Burgundy
Mary of Burgundy


Philip the Good (French: Philippe le Bon), also Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (July 31, 1396June 15, 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty (the then Royal family of France). During his reign Burgundy reached the height of its prosperity and prestige and became a leading center of the arts. Philip is known in history for his administrative reforms, patronage of Flemish artists such as Jan van Eyck, and the capture of Joan of Arc. During his reign he alternated between English and French alliances in an attempt to improve his dynasty's position.

Contents

[edit] Family and early life

Coat of arms of Philip the Good (after 1430)
Coat of arms of Philip the Good (after 1430)

Born in Dijon, he was the son of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria-Straubing. On the 28 January 1405, he was named Count of Charolais in appanage of his father and probably on the same day he was engaged to Michele of Valois (1395–1422), daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. They were married in June of 1409.

Philip subsequently married Bonne of Artois (1393–1425), daughter of Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, and also the widow of his uncle, Philip II, Count of Nevers, in Moulins-les-Engelbert on November 30, 1424. The latter is sometimes confused with Philip's biological aunt, also named Bonne (sister of John the Fearless, lived 1379 - 1399), in part due to the Papal Dispensation required for the marriage which made no distinction between a marital aunt and a biological aunt.

His third marriage, in Bruges on January 7, 1430 with Isabella of Portugal (1397 - December 17, 1471), daughter of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, produced three sons:

Philip also had some eighteen illegitimate children, including Antoine, bastard of Burgundy, by twenty four documented mistresses [1]. Another, Philip of Burgundy (1464-1524), bishop of Utrecht, was a fine amateur artist, and the subject of a biography in 1529.

[edit] Early rule and alliance with England

Philip became duke of Burgundy, count of Flanders, Artois and Franche Comté when his father was assassinated in 1419. Philip accused Charles, the Dauphin of France and Philip's brother-in-law of planning the murder of his father which had taken place during a meeting between the two at Montereau, and so he continued to prosecute the civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs. In 1420 Philip allied himself with Henry V of England under the Treaty of Troyes. In 1423 the alliance was strengthened by the marriage of his sister Anne to John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England.

In 1430 Philip's troops captured Joan of Arc at Compiègne and later handed her over to the English who orchestrated a heresy trial against her, conducted by pro-Burgundian clerics. Despite this action against Joan of Arc, Philip's alliance with England was broken in 1435 when Philip signed the Treaty of Arras (which completely revoked the Treaty of Troyes) and thus recognised Charles VII as king of France. Philip signed for a variety of reasons, one of which may have been a desire to be recognised as the Premier Duke in France. Philip then attacked Calais, but this alliance with Charles was broken in 1439, with Philip supporting the revolt of the French nobles the following year (an event known as the Praguerie) and sheltering the Dauphin Louis.

[edit] Geographic expansion

Statue of Philip the Good, in the Ducal Palace at Dijon
Statue of Philip the Good, in the Ducal Palace at Dijon

Philip generally was preoccupied with matters in his own territories and seldom was directly involved in the Hundred Years' War, although he did play a role during a number of periods such as the campaign against Compiegne during which his troops captured Joan of Arc. He incorporated Namur into Burgundian territory in 1429 (March 1, by purchase from John III, Marquis of Namur), Hainault and Holland, Frisia and Zealand in 1432 (with the defeat of Countess Jacqueline in the last episode of the Hook and Cod wars); inherited the duchy of Brabant and Limburg and the margrave of Antwerp in 1430 (on the death of his cousin Philip of Saint-Pol); and purchased Luxembourg in 1443 from Elisabeth of Bohemia, Duchess of Luxembourg. Philip also managed to ensure his illegitimate son, David, was elected Bishop of Utrecht in 1456. It is not surprising that in 1435, Philip began to style himself "Grand Duke of the West". In 1463 Philip returned some of his territory to Louis XI. That year he also created an Estates-General based on the French model. The first meeting of the Estates-General was to obtain a loan for a war against France and to ensure support for the succession of his son, Charles I, to his dominions. Philip died in Bruges in 1467.

Rogier van der Weyden miniature 1447-8. Philip dresses his best, in an extravagant chaperon, to be presented with a History of Hainault by the author, flanked by his son and Nicolas Rolin
Rogier van der Weyden miniature 1447-8. Philip dresses his best, in an extravagant chaperon, to be presented with a History of Hainault by the author, flanked by his son and Nicolas Rolin

[edit] Court life and patron of the arts

Philip's court can only be described as extravagant. Despite the flourishing bourgeois culture of Burgundy, which the court kept in close touch with, he and the aristocrats who formed most of his inner circle retained a world-view dominated by knightly chivalry. He declined membership in the English Order of the Garter in 1422, which could have been considered an act of treason against the King of France, his feudal overlord. Instead in 1430 he created his own Order of the Golden Fleece, based on the Knights of the Round Table. He had no fixed capital and moved the court between various palaces, the main urban ones being Brussels, Bruges, or Lille. He held grand feasts and other festivities, and the knights of his Order frequently travelled throughout his territory participating in tournaments. In 1454 Philip planned a crusade against the Ottoman Empire, launching it at the Feast of the Pheasant, but this plan never materialized. In a period from 1444-6 he is estimated to have spent a sum equivalent to 2% of Burgundy's main tax income over the period, the recette génerale, with a single Italian supplier of silk and cloth of gold, Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini.[1]

His court was regarded as the most splendid in Europe, and became the accepted leader of taste and fashion, which probably helped the Burgundian economy considerably, as Burgundian (usually Netherlandish) luxury products became sought by the elites of other parts of Europe. During his reign, for example, the richest English commissioners of illuminated manuscripts moved away from English and Parisian products to those of the Netherlands, as did other foreign buyers. Philip himself is estimated to have added six hundred manuscripts to the ducal collection, making him by a considerable margin the most important patron of the period.[2]

Philip was also a considerable patron of other arts, commissioning many tapestries (which he tended to prefer over paintings), pieces from goldsmiths, jewellery, and other works of art. It was during his reign that the Burgundian chapel became the musical center of Europe, with the activity of the Burgundian School of composers and singers. Gilles Binchois, Robert Morton, and later Guillaume Dufay, the most famous composer of the 15th century, were all part of Philip's court chapel.

In 1428 Jan van Eyck traveled to Portugal to paint King John I's daughter Infanta Isabel {right by Roger van der Weyden} for Philip in advance of their marriage. With help from more experienced Portuguese shipbuilders Philip established a shipyard in Bruges. Roger van der Weyden painted his portrait twice on panel, of which only copies survive, wearing the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The only original van der Weyden of Philip to survive is a superb miniature from a manuscript (above right).[2]. The painter Hugo van der Goes, of the Flemish school, is credited with creating paintings for the church where Philip's funeral was held.

[edit] Ancestors

Philip's ancestors in three generations
Philip the Good Father:
John the Fearless
Paternal Grandfather:
Philip the Bold
Paternal Great-grandfather:
John II of France
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Bonne of Bohemia
Paternal Grandmother:
Margaret III, Countess of Flanders
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Louis II of Flanders
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Margaret of Brabant
Mother:
Margaret of Bavaria
Maternal Grandfather:
Albert I, Duke of Bavaria
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Margaret, Countess of Hainaut
Maternal Grandmother:
Margaret of Brieg
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Louis I of Liegnitz-Brieg
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Agnes of Glogau

[edit] Titles

[edit] In popular culture

Philip appears as an unplayable character in Koei's video game Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War, in which he is the right-hand man of Joan of Arc

[edit] References

  1. ^ National Gallery Catalogues: The Fifteenth Century Netherlandish Paintings by Lorne Campbell, 1998, ISBN 185709171
  2. ^ a b T Kren & S McKendrick (eds), Illuminating the Renaissance - The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe, Getty Museum / Royal Academy of Arts, 2003, p. 68, ISBN 19033973287

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] See also

Philip the Good
Cadet branch of the House of Valois
Born: 31 July 1396 Died: 15 June 1467
Preceded by
John the Fearless
Duke of Burgundy
10 September 141915 July 1467
Succeeded by
Charles the Bold
Count of Artois and Flanders , Count Palatine of Burgundy
10 September 141915 July 1467
Preceded by
John of Dampierre
Margrave of Namur
1 March 142915 July 1467
Preceded by
Philip of Saint Pol
Duke of Brabant, Limburg and Lothier
14 August 143015 July 1467
Preceded by
Jacqueline of Bavaria
Countess of Hainaut , Holland and Zeeland
April 1432–15 July 1467
Preceded by
Elisabeth of Görlitz
Duke of Luxemburg
1443–15 July 1467
Preceded by
John the Fearless
Count of Charolais
28 January 1405–January 1431;
5 February 1432–April 1432;
August 1432–November 1433
Succeeded by
Anthony
Preceded by
Anthony
Succeeded by
Joseph
Preceded by
Joseph
Succeeded by
Charles the Bold