Walking on the Silver Line: A Valois-Bourgogne TL
- Thread starter Liminia1
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Oatmeal is great but i HATE raisins. Give me oatmeal cookies with nuts or chocolate chips instead
Chapter 23: From Premier Peer to Premier Prince 1506 - 1517
Philip the Rich's final years were completely dedicated to two things, Italy and the Empire. His Italian policy was practically speaking a complete failure but his imperial policy was far more complicated and arguably more successful. His failures in Italy was evident as the loss of Milan, temporary loss of Savoy and just the complete dominance of France in Italy but his policy towards England, the Kalmar Union and the Holy Roman Empire was more disputed and far more complex. The death of Arthur, prince of Wales would devastate John and Elizabeth. Burgundy under Philip the Rich was unable to capitalize on the death to further improve Burgundian relations with England as Margaret of Burgundy was already betrothed to Christian II of Denmark. England would begin to orient themselves to slowly detach themselves from Burgundy and began to reinforce their alliance with Spain by having Richard IV marry his brother's widow Catherine. The double marriage of Cecily of York to James IV of Scotland and Catherine of England to James of Ross would strengthen ties considerably with Scotland.
In the Kalmar Union, Burgundy would arguably see the greatest success as John of Denmark died and Christian II took the three crowns, importantly to Philip was his daughter Margaret ascending as queen of the Kalmar Union. Arguably the investment of Burgundian funds into securing Sweden for both John and Christian would pay off as Burgundy would completely overtake the Hanseatic League in terms of relevance and naval power basically taking over their respective trade routes and expanding it beyond the Baltic Sea, heading into the British Isles, France, Iberia and Italy. However, the death of John would spark another war of succession over Sweden which Christian much to Philip's anger would play incredibly recklessly. The Stockholm Bloodbath of 1517 with Philip at his deathbed, chroniclers reported Philip's annoyance over what transpired stating, "He has made far too many enemies." However, historians generally agree that Philip's policy in the Kalmar Union was an overwhelming success in terms of financial and naval power.
The following imperial diets after the war of Landshut Succession were focused on one thing in particular for Burgundy: the marriage between Maria of Julich-Berg and Henri, Prince of Namur. Maximilian who did not wish to see further expansion for Burgundy was quite against the marriage proposal but circumstances forced him on the back foot for the entire affair. Maria who was raised in the luxurious Burgundian court of Nancy starting in 1496 was quite keen on marrying the young son of Philip who chroniclers describe their relationship as incredibly fond of each other. This marriage would be further solidified by the agreement of 1496 which saw Maria to be raised in Burgundy and Philip taking joint control of the territories of Julich-Berg with Sibylle of Brandenburg due to William IV's mismanagement of the estates. This agreement was recognized by both the general estates of Burgundy and estates of Julich-Berg who were sent lofty promises of Burgundian wealth, proper management and general improvement of their state by Philip. The two parties that opposed this outright was the Electorate of Saxony and importantly the emperor who pushed for a marriage between Maria and Henry IV of Saxony. This interest in not seeing Julich-Berg handed over to the Burgundy would place a lot of strain on the relationship between the emperor and Burgundy. Isabella, Holy Roman Empress was originally sent to Austria in order to improve relations between Burgundy and the empire but this succession issue would be what drove the Habsburgs away from Burgundy, arguably it would be one of the reasons why Isabella's own journals describe the struggle between her homeland and her husband.
The diet of 1505 and 1507 would finally settle the matter, reconciling the two and fully implementing the diet's resolution of the Landshut Succession would return Imperial-Burgundian relations to pre-1491 at face value for a brief period but this would have drastic consequences for Burgundy. Arguably this spat over Julich-Berg would cause the disaster that was Louis XII's war for Italy due to a lack of unity between especially Burgundy and the Habsburgs. Some historians would dispute this as they would argue the diet of 1512 would firmly set the empire against Burgundy as a redrawing of the imperial circles began. The imperial circles of 1500 were quite large but would cause friction within the imperial princes and this popular revolt against the imperial circles would be spearheaded by the reformist electors who were backed by Burgundy. By 1512, Burgundy at this point was by far the richest and most powerful prince in the empire rivalling the likes of England and France as a prince and they were not even the emperor. Maximilian on the other hand continued what can be described as centralizing reforms, merging the two chancellery positions in the empire into one and basing it in Tyrol. He also dissolved the Reichsregiment an imperial government that gave incredible power to the electors and had it dissolved through factionalism and an agreement with Burgundy. The expansion and reorganization of the imperial circles would give Philip even further control and centralization. The creation of the Austrian Circle and the splitting of the Saxon circle into a lower and upper Saxon circle would not be of any note to Burgundy but the inclusion of Aachen and Julich into the Burgundian circle was of particular note to Philip.
The free city of Aachen was a city eagerly desired by the Burgundian dukes, while Philip the Good did not influence Aachen at all during his reign due to his focus primarily on the lowlands. Charles the Absolute and Philip the Rich would absolutely influence it. Charles started the process through economic warfare and pure Burgundian wealth politics, having turning the Rhine into a Burgundian vessel of economic dominance, Aachen was a victim of this economic prosperity and dominance as under Philip more and more merchants and people in Aachen became Burgundian partisans in order to share into this wealth. Aachen while incredibly large as a free city under both Philip and Charles would fall completely under Philip's influence when the city agreed to install Philip as its protector in 1511. The city of Cologne would also fall under this sway although much less successfully throughout Philip's reign only the election of a new Burgundian partisan as archbishop did this process complete although it was officially more of an Cologne dominance disguised as Burgundian dominance. It would be these reasons in which Maximilian would move the coronation site was moved to Frankfurt, far easier to influence for the emperor rather than Aachen.
The death of Vladislaus II of Bohemia would be the last opportunity for Maximilian to expand his realm. The bohemian nobility who at this point ran rampant and practically stripped the king of his power would elect a Brandenburger to the throne, George IV of Bradenburg-Ansbach. George was sent by the Habsburgs to secure Maximilian's eventual ascension to the throne and would build up quite a large pro-Habsburg faction within the crown of Bohemia and yet when he was elected, he would try to turn this faction into his own. Maximilian on the other hand, was quite experienced with elective monarchies, having himself dealt with the Hungarian magnates throughout various noble uprisings would raise a massive army and coup d'etat George from the throne. Maximilian within a couple of months conquered the entirety of the kingdom and with the justification of the treaty of Pressburg forced the Bohemian nobility to accept him as king. Brandenburg was not pleased with the news however, considering one of their own was about to hold the coveted crown of Bohemia but through forceful negotiation both George and Brandenburg accepted Maximilian as the new king of Bohemia. Burgundian presence in this event was little to none. Arguably this would be Philip's greatest foreign policy failure allowing the Habsburgs to secure an electoral vote that was not seen since Albert II of Germany, and Ladislaus V of Austria. Historians still debate on the exact reasoning for Philip's failure to intervene but generally they agreed it was a mixture of bribery, goodwill against the French, and facade diplomacy on the Habsburg side.
In 1517, Philip the Rich arguably the most powerful prince of the empire passed away. His son Henri would assume the title Duke Palatine of Burgundy within the month through another total agreement by the estates of Burgundy which now was joined by Julich-Berg. His reign had fundamentally shifted Burgundy from a weird Franco-imperial state into a centralized de facto kingdom within the empire. His foreign policy achievements gave rise to the House of Calais, a Burgundian queen of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, a complete vassalage of Savoy, the privilegium Lotharingia, a solidification of imperial electoral votes until the religious wars of the empire, and importantly the start of the Burgundian golden age. Yet his failures were completely shown in the war of Bohemian succession, Italian wars of Charles and Louis and the war of Landshut Succession. Ironically the day after he passed away, Martin Luther a Saxon priest would nail his 95 theses to a church door beginning the protestant reformation which would shake Burgundy fundamentally until the counter-reformation. It is undisputed however that Philip turned Burgundy from the premier peer of France into the premier and first prince of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the Kalmar Union, Burgundy would arguably see the greatest success as John of Denmark died and Christian II took the three crowns, importantly to Philip was his daughter Margaret ascending as queen of the Kalmar Union. Arguably the investment of Burgundian funds into securing Sweden for both John and Christian would pay off as Burgundy would completely overtake the Hanseatic League in terms of relevance and naval power basically taking over their respective trade routes and expanding it beyond the Baltic Sea, heading into the British Isles, France, Iberia and Italy. However, the death of John would spark another war of succession over Sweden which Christian much to Philip's anger would play incredibly recklessly. The Stockholm Bloodbath of 1517 with Philip at his deathbed, chroniclers reported Philip's annoyance over what transpired stating, "He has made far too many enemies." However, historians generally agree that Philip's policy in the Kalmar Union was an overwhelming success in terms of financial and naval power.
The following imperial diets after the war of Landshut Succession were focused on one thing in particular for Burgundy: the marriage between Maria of Julich-Berg and Henri, Prince of Namur. Maximilian who did not wish to see further expansion for Burgundy was quite against the marriage proposal but circumstances forced him on the back foot for the entire affair. Maria who was raised in the luxurious Burgundian court of Nancy starting in 1496 was quite keen on marrying the young son of Philip who chroniclers describe their relationship as incredibly fond of each other. This marriage would be further solidified by the agreement of 1496 which saw Maria to be raised in Burgundy and Philip taking joint control of the territories of Julich-Berg with Sibylle of Brandenburg due to William IV's mismanagement of the estates. This agreement was recognized by both the general estates of Burgundy and estates of Julich-Berg who were sent lofty promises of Burgundian wealth, proper management and general improvement of their state by Philip. The two parties that opposed this outright was the Electorate of Saxony and importantly the emperor who pushed for a marriage between Maria and Henry IV of Saxony. This interest in not seeing Julich-Berg handed over to the Burgundy would place a lot of strain on the relationship between the emperor and Burgundy. Isabella, Holy Roman Empress was originally sent to Austria in order to improve relations between Burgundy and the empire but this succession issue would be what drove the Habsburgs away from Burgundy, arguably it would be one of the reasons why Isabella's own journals describe the struggle between her homeland and her husband.
The diet of 1505 and 1507 would finally settle the matter, reconciling the two and fully implementing the diet's resolution of the Landshut Succession would return Imperial-Burgundian relations to pre-1491 at face value for a brief period but this would have drastic consequences for Burgundy. Arguably this spat over Julich-Berg would cause the disaster that was Louis XII's war for Italy due to a lack of unity between especially Burgundy and the Habsburgs. Some historians would dispute this as they would argue the diet of 1512 would firmly set the empire against Burgundy as a redrawing of the imperial circles began. The imperial circles of 1500 were quite large but would cause friction within the imperial princes and this popular revolt against the imperial circles would be spearheaded by the reformist electors who were backed by Burgundy. By 1512, Burgundy at this point was by far the richest and most powerful prince in the empire rivalling the likes of England and France as a prince and they were not even the emperor. Maximilian on the other hand continued what can be described as centralizing reforms, merging the two chancellery positions in the empire into one and basing it in Tyrol. He also dissolved the Reichsregiment an imperial government that gave incredible power to the electors and had it dissolved through factionalism and an agreement with Burgundy. The expansion and reorganization of the imperial circles would give Philip even further control and centralization. The creation of the Austrian Circle and the splitting of the Saxon circle into a lower and upper Saxon circle would not be of any note to Burgundy but the inclusion of Aachen and Julich into the Burgundian circle was of particular note to Philip.
The free city of Aachen was a city eagerly desired by the Burgundian dukes, while Philip the Good did not influence Aachen at all during his reign due to his focus primarily on the lowlands. Charles the Absolute and Philip the Rich would absolutely influence it. Charles started the process through economic warfare and pure Burgundian wealth politics, having turning the Rhine into a Burgundian vessel of economic dominance, Aachen was a victim of this economic prosperity and dominance as under Philip more and more merchants and people in Aachen became Burgundian partisans in order to share into this wealth. Aachen while incredibly large as a free city under both Philip and Charles would fall completely under Philip's influence when the city agreed to install Philip as its protector in 1511. The city of Cologne would also fall under this sway although much less successfully throughout Philip's reign only the election of a new Burgundian partisan as archbishop did this process complete although it was officially more of an Cologne dominance disguised as Burgundian dominance. It would be these reasons in which Maximilian would move the coronation site was moved to Frankfurt, far easier to influence for the emperor rather than Aachen.
The death of Vladislaus II of Bohemia would be the last opportunity for Maximilian to expand his realm. The bohemian nobility who at this point ran rampant and practically stripped the king of his power would elect a Brandenburger to the throne, George IV of Bradenburg-Ansbach. George was sent by the Habsburgs to secure Maximilian's eventual ascension to the throne and would build up quite a large pro-Habsburg faction within the crown of Bohemia and yet when he was elected, he would try to turn this faction into his own. Maximilian on the other hand, was quite experienced with elective monarchies, having himself dealt with the Hungarian magnates throughout various noble uprisings would raise a massive army and coup d'etat George from the throne. Maximilian within a couple of months conquered the entirety of the kingdom and with the justification of the treaty of Pressburg forced the Bohemian nobility to accept him as king. Brandenburg was not pleased with the news however, considering one of their own was about to hold the coveted crown of Bohemia but through forceful negotiation both George and Brandenburg accepted Maximilian as the new king of Bohemia. Burgundian presence in this event was little to none. Arguably this would be Philip's greatest foreign policy failure allowing the Habsburgs to secure an electoral vote that was not seen since Albert II of Germany, and Ladislaus V of Austria. Historians still debate on the exact reasoning for Philip's failure to intervene but generally they agreed it was a mixture of bribery, goodwill against the French, and facade diplomacy on the Habsburg side.
In 1517, Philip the Rich arguably the most powerful prince of the empire passed away. His son Henri would assume the title Duke Palatine of Burgundy within the month through another total agreement by the estates of Burgundy which now was joined by Julich-Berg. His reign had fundamentally shifted Burgundy from a weird Franco-imperial state into a centralized de facto kingdom within the empire. His foreign policy achievements gave rise to the House of Calais, a Burgundian queen of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, a complete vassalage of Savoy, the privilegium Lotharingia, a solidification of imperial electoral votes until the religious wars of the empire, and importantly the start of the Burgundian golden age. Yet his failures were completely shown in the war of Bohemian succession, Italian wars of Charles and Louis and the war of Landshut Succession. Ironically the day after he passed away, Martin Luther a Saxon priest would nail his 95 theses to a church door beginning the protestant reformation which would shake Burgundy fundamentally until the counter-reformation. It is undisputed however that Philip turned Burgundy from the premier peer of France into the premier and first prince of the Holy Roman Empire.
AWESOME! RIP philip the rich, Long live Henri I !Yep
And yay! Max got Bohemia! The last knight still got it!
Duke palatine, since Philip was given the vicarate of Burgundy in the privilegium lotharingia. He assigned it to the Duchy of Burgundy hence Duke palatine. The logic is that Philip wanted to portray Burgundy as equal if not higher than an elector.
Now I have to figure/write the empire turning from a diarchy into a broad triarchy, ofc I have a rough plan of how to do it but it will be difficult.