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Mary of Burgundy

Mary, called Mary the Rich (13 February, 1457 – 27 March, 1482), was suo jure Duchess of Burgundy from 1477 – 1482. As the only child of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and his wife Isabella of Bourbon, she was the heiress to the vast Burgundian domains in France and the Low Countries upon her father's sudden death on 5 January 1477. Her mother died in 1465, but Mary was on very good terms with her stepmother Margaret of York, whom Charles married in 1468.

History

Heiress of Burgundy

Mary of Burgundy was born in Brussels, at the Ducal castle of Coudenberg. Her birth, according to the court chronicler, Georges Chastellain, was attended by a clap of thunder ringing from the otherwise clear twilit sky. Her godfather was Louis the Dauphin, in exile in Burgundy at that time; he named her for his mother, Marie of Anjou. Reactions to the child were mixed: the baby's grandfather, Philip the Good, was unimpressed, and "chose not to attend the [Baptism] as it was only for a girl"; his wife, Isabel, was simply delighted at the birth of a granddaughter.

As the only child of Charles the Bold, Mary was heiress to a vast and wealthy domain, made up of the Duchy of Burgundy, the Free County of Burgundy, and the majority of the Low Countries, and her hand was eagerly sought by a number of princes. The first proposal was received by her father when she was only five years old, to marry the future Ferdinand II of Aragon. Later the younger brother of Louis XI, Charles de Valois, Duc de Berry made an approach, to the intense annoyance of his brother the King, who attempted to prevent the necessary Papal dispensation for consanguinity.

As soon as Louis produced a male heir who survived infancy, the future Charles VIII of France, Louis wanted his son to be the one to marry Mary, despite his son being thirteen years younger than Mary. Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine was a few years older than Mary, and his Duchy lay alongside Burgundian territory, but his plan to combine his territory with hers was frustrated by his death in battle in 1473.

When her father fell upon the field at the siege of Nancy, on 5 January 1477, Mary was only nineteen years old. Louis XI of France seized the opportunity afforded by his rival's defeat and death to attempt take possession of the Duchy of Burgundy proper, and also of Franche Comté, Picardy and Artois.

Louis was anxious that Mary should marry Charles, the Dauphin of France, and thus secure the inheritance of the Low Countries for his descendants, by force of arms if necessary. Mary, advised by Margaret, distrusted Louis, declined the French alliance, and turned to her Netherland subjects for help. Sensing her weakness, she obtained their help only at the price of great concessions.

The Great Privilege

On 10 February 1477 at Ghent on the occasion of her formal recognition, known as the Joyous Entry, as Charles' heir, she was compelled to sign a charter of rights, called the Great Privilege. Under this agreement, the provinces and towns of Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, and Holland recovered all the local and communal rights which had been abolished by the decrees of the dukes of Burgundy in their efforts to create a centralized state on the French model out of their separate holdings in the Low Countries. In particular, the Parliament of Mechelen (established formally by Charles the Bold in 1470) was abolished and replaced with the pre-existing authority of the Parlement de Paris, which was considered an amenable counterweight to the encroaching, if informal, centralisation undertaken by both Charles and Philip the Good. Mary also had to undertake not to declare war, make peace, or raise taxes without the consent of the States, and to employ only native residents in official posts.

Such was the hatred of the people for the old regime that two of her father's influential councillors, the Chancellor Hugonet and the Sire d'Humbercourt, having been discovered in correspondence with the French king, were executed at Ghent despite the tears and entreaties of the youthful duchess.

Marriage

Mary now made her choice among the many suitors for her hand, selecting the Duke Maximilian of Austria (after her death the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I). The marriage took place at Ghent on 18 August 1477. By marrying Duke Maximilian of Austria, son of the Duke of Austria, she became Duchess Mary of Austria. In this way the Low Countries came to the Habsburgs, initiating two centuries of contention between France and the Habsburgs, later of Spain, then of Austria, for their possession, which climaxed in the War of the Spanish Succession, 1701–1714.

In the Netherlands, affairs now went more smoothly, the French aggression was temporarily checked, and internal peace was in a large measure restored.

Death and legacy

Five years later, the 25-year-old Duchess met her death by a fall from her horse on 27 March 1482 near the Castle of Wijnendale. She loved riding, and was falconing with Maximilian when her horse tripped, threw her, and then landed on top of her, breaking her back. She died several days later, having made a detailed will. She is buried in Bruges.

Louis was swift to re-engage, and forced Maximilian to agree to the Treaty of Arras (1482) by which Franche Comté and Artois passed for a time to French rule, only to be exchanged for Burgundy and Picardy in the Treaty of Senlis (1493), which established peace in the Low Countries.

Family

Three children had been the issue of her marriage, and her eldest son, Philip, succeeded to her dominions under the guardianship of his father.

Her children were:

Philip the Handsome, 22 July 1478 – 25 September 1506 who succeeded his mother as Philip IV of Burgundy, and became Philip I of Castile by marriage to Joanna of Castile
Margaret, 10 January 1480 – 1 December 1530, married to 1) Juan, Prince of Asturia, the son and heir of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and 2) Philibert II, Duke of Savoy
Franz, b. and d. 1481

Mary's ancestors in three generations
Mary of Burgundy	Father: Charles the Bold	Paternal Grandfather: Philip the Good	Paternal Great-grandfather: John the Fearless
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Margaret of Bavaria
		Paternal Grandmother: Isabel of Portugal	Paternal Great-grandfather: John I of Portugal
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Philippa of Lancaster
	Mother: Isabella of Bourbon	Maternal Grandfather: Charles I, Duke of Bourbon	Maternal Great-grandfather: John I, Duke of Bourbon
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Marie, Duchess of Auvergne
		Maternal Grandmother: Agnes of Burgundy	Maternal Great-grandfather: John the Fearless
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Margaret of Bavaria

Descendents

Mary's daughter Margaret died childless, she had one miscarriage in her life, but her son Philip I of Castile is an ancestor of many monarchs, through Mary's grandson Charles she is an ancestor of many Spanish Kings such as Philip II of Spain and Philip III of Spain. Her greatgrand daughter was Johanna of Austria who was the mother of both Eleonora de' Medici and Marie de' Medici, Eleonora was the mother of Francesco IV Gonzaga. Marie became Queen of France, through Marie's son Louis, Mary are ancestors of French Kings, through Marie's daughter Henrietta Maria (who is the mother of Charles II of England and James II of England) Mary is an ancestor of English Kings.