Mary of Burgundy
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Mary (February 13, 1457 – March 27, 1482), duchess of Burgundy, was the only child of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and his wife Isabella of Bourbon.
As the only child of Charles, the Valois heiress of the rich Burgundian domains, her hand was eagerly sought by a number of princes. When her father fell upon the field at the siege of Nancy, on January 5 1477, Mary was not yet twenty years of age. Louis XI of France seized the opportunity afforded by his rival's defeat and death to take possession of the duchy of Burgundy as a fief lapsed to the French crown, and also of Franche Comte, Picardy and Artois.
He was anxious that Mary should marry the Dauphin Charles and thus secure the inheritance of the Low Countries for his descendants, by force of arms if necessary. Mary, however, distrusted Louis; declined the French alliance, and turned to her Netherland subjects for help. She obtained the help only at the price of great concessions. On February 10 1477 at Ghent she was compelled to sign a charter of rights, known as "the Great Privilege," by which the provinces and towns of Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, and Holland recovered all the local and communal rights which had been abolished by the arbitrary decrees of the dukes of Burgundy in their efforts to create in the Low Countries a centralized state on the French model. Mary had to undertake not to declare war, make peace, or raise taxes without the consent of the States, and not to employ any but natives in official posts.
Such was the hatred of the people to the old regime that two influential councillors of Charles the Bold, 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. Mary now made her choice among the many suitors for her hand, and selected the archduke Maximilian of Austria, afterwards the emperor Maximilian I, and the marriage took place at Ghent on August 18 1477. In this way the Low Countries came to the Hapsburgs, initiating the long period of contention between France and 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, when the Duchess met her death by a fall from her horse on March 27 1482. Louis was swift to reengage, and Maximilian was forced (1483) to agree to the Treaty of Arras (1483) 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.
Three children had been the issue of her marriage, and her elder son, Philip, succeeded to her dominions under the guardianship of his father.
Her children were:
- Philip I of Castile (Philip IV of Burgundy), July 22, 1478 – September 25, 1506
- Margaret of Austria, January 10, 1480 – December 1, 1530, married to 1) Crown Prince John of Aragon, later Philibert II of Savoy, and 2) Juan, Infante of Spain (1478-1497), the son and heir of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile
See also: Dukes of Burgundy family tree – Other politically important horse accidents
| Preceded by: Charles | Duchess of Burgundy with Maximilian 1477–1482 | Succeeded by: Philip IV Template:End boxde:Maria von Burgund fr:Marie de Bourgogne (1457-1482) nl:Maria van Bourgondië |