Charles the Bold (Charles Martin; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), also called the Rash, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. A member of the House of Valois-Burgundy, he was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, Isabella of Portugal. In his youth, Charles was known for his chivalric ambitions and his admiration for Alexander the Great. As count of Charolais, he clashed with his father's ministers and developed an intense rivalry with King Louis XI of France. In 1465, he formed the League of the Public Weal, a coalition of French feudal lords, and led them in a war against Louis XI.
As duke of Burgundy, Charles inherited a vast but fragmented collection of territories stretching from the Low Countries to the borders of Switzerland. Therefore, he pursued the creation of an independent Burgundian kingdom. To this end, he acquired Guelders and Upper Alsace, sought recognition as King of the Romans, and became increasingly involved in conflicts within the Holy Roman Empire. He married Margaret of York to secure an English alliance, and arranged the betrothal of his only child, Mary, to Maximilian of Austria.
Charles was a patron of music and the arts, especially illuminated manuscripts, and his court was noted for its chivalric culture and elaborate etiquette. He reformed the Burgundian military through continuous military ordinances. Pursuing an aggressive foreign policy, he increased his sphere of influence in Italy, allying himself with Milan, Naples and Venice, but repeatedly declined papal and Venetian requests to undertake a crusade against the Ottoman Empire.
In the final years of his reign, Charles fought the Burgundian Wars against an alliance of Swiss, German, and Alsatian powers while trying to retain control of Upper Alsace. After his unsuccessful siege of Neuss, he was defeated by the Swiss at the battles of Grandson and Morat. He was killed at the Battle of Nancy on 5 January 1477 while fighting René II of Lorraine and his Swiss allies. His death triggered the War of the Burgundian Succession and contributed to the collapse of the Burgundian State. He was succeeded by his only child, Mary.
Charles Martin was born on 10 November 1433 in Dijon, capital of the Duchy of Burgundy. He was the third child of Philip the Good and his third wife Isabella of Portugal and the only one to survive past infancy. Fearing that she would lose another child, Isabella consecrated the infant to the Blessed Sacrament. Philip the Good arrived in Dijon in November to celebrate the birth. He made his son a knight of the Golden Fleece and granted him the title of count of Charolais, traditionally borne by the heirs of the dukes of Burgundy. Charles was baptised on 20 November. His sponsors were Count Charles of Nevers and Antoine de Croÿ, and he was named after the count of Nevers, Philip the Good's stepson through his second wife, Bonne of Artois.
During infancy, Charles was described as a robust child. Philip appointed numerous tutors for the young Charles, including Antoine Haneron, professor of rhetoric in the University of Louvain. Like his father, Charles developed a fondness for reading histories, chronicles, and historical romances. He aspired to become a conqueror like Alexander the Great. The fact that both he and Alexander had fathers named Philip appears to have stimulated his imagination and encouraged his ambition. From a young age, Charles chose Saint George as his patron saint. He kept a sword purported to have belonged to Saint George in his treasury, and he also revered other warrior saints. Until the age of six, Charles was brought up by his cousins, John and Agnes of Cleves, both children of Mary of Burgundy, daughter of John the Fearless. Of the two, Agnes played the larger role in Charles's early education. She remained in close company with Isabella and Charles.
At the age of six, Charles was married to Catherine of France, the ten-year-old daughter of Charles VII, as part of the Treaty of Arras (1435), which reconciled Philip the Good with the King of France, marking the end of the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War. As a sign of good faith, Charles VII had agreed to a marriage between one of his daughters and Philip's heir and sent his daughters to Burgundy, where Catherine was chosen. Charles and Catherine were married on 11 June 1439, at Saint-Omer in a ceremony accompanied by concerts, jousts, and banquets. The pair were put under the care of a governess, but were often kept apart and given pursuits suited to their age. Catherine died on 30 July 1446.
In 1441, Philip appointed Jean d'Auxy, seigneur of Auxi-le-Château, as guardian to the eight-year-old Charles. D'Auxy later served as Charles's chamberlain from 1456 to 1468. At the age of 12, Charles began to take part in the public affairs of his father's realm. In 1445, he accompanied his father on a rare state visit to Holland and Zealand.
In 1449, the wealthy city of Ghent rebelled against Burgundian rule in response to new taxes on salt. Charles took part in the fighting, but Philip the Good, wishing to keep him out of danger, sent him to Lille with the false news that his mother Isabella was seriously ill. Charles left shortly before the decisive Battle of Gavere in 1453. In Lille, his mother honoured him with a feast and encouraged him to return to the battlefield and fight for his inheritance. By then, Philip had already defeated the rebellious burghers at Gavere.
Charles remained a widower for eight years before marrying Isabella of Bourbon on 30 October 1454. Isabella, the daughter of Agnes of Burgundy and Charles I, Duke of Bourbon, was Philip the Good's niece. Her father had sent her as a child to the Burgundian court as a ward of Isabella of Portugal. A shy and pliant young woman, she was adored by Philip, who saw the match as an opportunity of renewing the Treaty of Arras after Charles VII's threatening actions towards Burgundy. Charles was not informed of his father's plan until the night before the wedding, but he did not resist the match. As part of Isabella's dowry, the town of Chinon was incorporated into Philip's realm.
From 1454 to 1464, Charles was excluded from power by his father and shut out from the ducal council and from influence at the Burgundian court. In 1454, Philip appointed him governor and lieutenant-general in absence while he attended the Imperial Diet in Regensburg. But as regent, Charles exercised little power compared with his father and mother. He was nevertheless able to issue documents in his own name. His regency was short-lived. Philip returned to Burgundy on 7 or 9 August, and Charles was once again excluded from power.
Charles's exclusion from power damaged his relationship with his father, and tensions between them came to a head in 1457. Charles wanted to appoint Antoin Rolin, seigneur of Aymeries and son of Nicolas Rolin, Philip the Good's chancellor, as his chamberlain. Philip the Good, wary of the influence this would give his chancellor, refused and instead proposed Philip I of Porcéan, high bailiff of Hainaut and a member of the influential House of Croÿ.
Charles distrusted Philip de Croÿ, whom he suspected of accepting money from Charles VII to undermine Philip the Good, and refused his father's choice. Philip was so angered that Charles's mother feared for Charles's life and had him removed from court. Charles fled to Dendermonde (now in northern Belgium) while Philip lost his way in the forests of Soignies trying to find him. Through the mediation of his wife, who was pregnant, father and son reached a truce. When Charles's daughter, Mary, was born on 13 February 1457, neither Charles nor his father attended her baptism, as both wished to avoid each other.
Nicolas Rolin was removed from the chancellery, and Rolin's close ally, Jean Chevrot, was removed from the ducal council. As a result, the de Croÿ family became more powerful. Charles withdrew from court to his estate at Le Quesnoy in Hainaut, where he was entrusted with minor tasks concerning his father's Flemish subjects. In 1461, he also built the Blue Tower at Gorinchem as a personal residence. He attempted to formalise his position as heir to the Burgundian State, prompting his father to cut off his allowance. As a result, Charles lacked the money to pay his household or maintain his estate. According to Burgundian court chronicler Georges Chastellain, Charles dismissed his staff in 1463 because he could no longer pay them, but they were determined to continue serving him and even offered him part of their own money. According to the German historian Werner Paravicini, such acts of altruism were typical of the time, which made the account more plausible.