Philip the Bold, the formation of the Burgundian state

by Richard Vaughan

This book is a biography of Philip and a study of the emergence of the Burgundian state under his aegis in the years 1384-1404, paying particular attention to his crucial aquisition of Flanders. There is comprehensive analysis of how Philip's government worked. When in 1363 the duke of Burgundy died without an heir, the duchy returned to the French crown. John II's decision to give it to his fourth son, Philip, had some logic behind it, given the independence of the inhabitants; but in so doing he created the basis for a power which was to threaten France's own existence in the following...