 |
| Coudenberg (1659) |
Children
Isabella
gave birth to her first child on 30th December 1430 at Coudenberg. The child, named Antoine was christened on 16th
January 1431. He was a sickly child who was left alone by his parents who
focussed on matters pertaining to Philip’s domains. Philip and Isabella were
seldom apart during the spring and summer and Isabella was pregnant again by
the autumn of that year with her second son Joseph.
While she
was away in Ghent during January 1432 Isabella despatched someone to ensure
that Antoine was well looked after. A short time later she also sent a member
of the Ghent council. The council member returned to say that Antoine was
feverish, his lungs were congested and he was eating very little. He was also
irritable in the care of his wet nurse. Isabella despatched a further member of
the court who returned with the sad news that Antoine had died alone in his
nursery on February 5th.
Isabella
blamed herself for leaving her son during his first major illness, although she
was but obeying her husband’s orders, directing affairs in Ghent. On 11th
February Isabella was presented with the Great Seal of Ghent which authorised
her to conduct business in Philip’s absence. Isabella was assisted by Jean de
Thoisy, Bishop of Liège.
With spring
Isabella was able to travel and moved between Ghent and Brussels. Coudenberg
Castle was filled with soldiers wounded fighting the French; Isabella had the
oversight of the men’s treatment and as well as responsibility for the court at
Ten Waele.
Joseph was
born on April 24th 1432 at Ten Waele. Joseph was weak and listless
and not very interested in feeding and was gradually growing weaker. He was
baptised on 6th May and died when he was about four months old.
Joseph was buried in the Abbey of St Michael in Ghent. His parents conducted
pilgrimages to the Abbey of Ponthier and the shrines of St Anthony and St
Josse. They returned to Ghent, a city in turmoil, in early August.
 |
| Nicolas Rolin (L) |
The winter
of 1432-3 saw Isabella and Philip spend most of their time while keeping an eye
on the, for now quiet, Ghent. Isabella was pregnant again. But Philips’
southern territories were under French military pressure and Philip’s
chancellor Nicolas Rolin[i] had been the potential victim of a
kidnapping plot masterminded by Georges de la Trémoille[ii],
In mid-June
1433 Isabella joined Philip to travel to the southern half of Philip’s lands. Philip
ordered that Isabella was to take over the administration of Dijon while he was
in the field against the French. The ducal couple travelled in convoy until
they reached Châtillon-sur-Seine. Isabella told Nicolas Rolin;
‘Be aware that your lady
duchess demands that you always be in attendance to her advising her in the
affairs of your lord. Further, in all the affairs of my lord and his lands, you
will consult and advise me because I desire to use all my ability in the employ
[of my lord] and to accomplish all the good I can.’[iii]
She was to
find the men, supplies and money for Philip’s army.
It was not
to be an easy task as Dijon’s economy was dictated by the needs of the great
merchant families settled there. The French were continuously attacking the duchy,
which impeded Isabella’s progress in dealing with the mayor, guilds and
merchant families who controlled Dijon.
Finances
 |
| Dole |
Isabella was
able to obtain a loan from Odet Molain, who was Philip’s official salt
merchant. She then called a meeting of the Estates of Dijon who grudgingly
agreed to pay 4,000 francs[iv] to repair the city’s
fortresses. Isabella ordered cannon from Ghent to place on the earthen ramparts
that guarded Dijon.
Isabella
managed to scrounge 1/20th of the city’s financial contributions
towards Philip’s army from the controller of the mint. The town of Dôle gave her 23,000 francs[v] while Mâcon threatened to refuse her request. In return she threatened them with her
personal attention. By the autumn Isabella had rallied the city’s defences.
 |
| Chartreuse de Champmol (1686) |
Isabella had
her last child Charles on 10th November 1433, he
was born in Dijon. Within days, fearful that she would lose this third son of
hers, Isabella had Charles consecrated to the Blessed Sacrament. Philip arrived in Dijon later in the month to attend
his son’s baptism; the boy’s godfather was Charles of Nevers[vi]. Philip made his son Count of Charolais and inducted him into the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Isabella’s
natural devotion to the church was intensified by her fear of losing Charles,
lavishing gifts on the Chartreuse de Champmol. In the spring of 1434, when Philip
returned to his campaigning, Isabella and Charles took refuge from the plague
in the fortress of Talant. To avoid entering the plague-ridden
city of Dijon to raise money to support Philip’s army, Isabella sold off many
of the gifts she had been endowed with by the towns and cities of Philip’s
domains.
Journeying North
 |
| Nevers |
By early
1435 the danger of plague had passed and in April Isabella convoked the Dijon
Estates to inform them that she and Charles were joining her husband in the
north. Philip’s 1434 campaigning season had been a success and now he was meeting
with the French king at Nevers.
Isabella
left Dijon to the news that both English and French representatives were to
join Philip at Arras for a congress between the warring parties Isabella and Charles arrived in
Arras on 5th May. They did not stay there long as the party
travelled on, arriving at Coudenberg on June 4th.
 |
| Arthur de Richemont |
Isabella and
her party returned to Arras on August 3rd where Isabella’s English
uncle Cardinal Henry Beaufort, the Bishop of Winchester, was to represent the English in
negotiations. The two main French representatives were two of Philip’s
brother-in-law’s; Arthur Count of Richemont and Charles Duke of Bourbon.
Philip
wanted his wife to act as a behind the scenes lobbyist for Burgundian interests
at the congress. There were about 5,000 visitors in the town[vii]. The English and the
French spent most of their time denouncing one another[viii], refusing to meet in
the same room or attend divine service at the same time. Eventually the English
flounced out of town on 6th September, it having become clear to
them that the French were only interested in detaching the Burgundians from
their English allies.
Negotiating for Peace
In the
summer of 1436 Flanders burst out into rebellion against her overlord. The
civic militia were demanding payment for their services in Calais. Isabella was
forced to find 2,400 livres[ix] to fund the defence of
the Flemish coast against English attacks. Isabella found herself meeting with
the members of the Four Estates of Flanders without her husband.
 |
| Isabella (R) |
Philip
placed Isabella on the Financial Review Commission for all his territories on
25th October 1437. Philip was not interested in the administrative
side of ruling; he preferred campaigning and enjoying the life of the
super-rich. With the assistance of Hue de Lannoy Isabella was to become adept
at winkling out the abuses within the duchy’s financial administration.
On 8th
May 1438 Isabella attended a ceremony in Bruges to forgive those who had
revolted against their overlord. Philip had refused to return to Bruges unless
he was in the company of a greater prince than himself, difficult as Philip was
the foremost noble in the region.
Isabella
enjoyed her new duties, but she was perceived as ‘moody; overbearing and unreasonably jealous’ by the court where Isabella had tried so hard to fit
in. When she first arrived Isabella’s clothes had been considered provincial
and ugly; now her wardrobe glittered with the rich costumes fashionable in
Burgundy.
Isabella had
become suspicious of Philip’s dalliances with women, normal for a man of his
position at the time. Every time Isabella treated Philip to a tirade, accusing
him of manifest iniquities he loaded her with more responsibilities, thus
increasing the divide between the two.
Isabella
found herself increasingly isolated from her husband’s court and dependent on
the advice of Hue de Lannoy and upon the love of her son. From
1437 Isabella increased her contributions to church foundations, including the Poor Clares.
Bibliography
The Hundred
Years War – Alfred Burne, Folio Society 2005
The Reign of
Henry VI – RA Griffiths, Sutton Publishing Ltd 1998
Europe:
Hierarchy and Revolt 1320-1450 – George Holmes, Fontana 1984
The
Fifteenth Century – EF Jacob, Oxford University Press 1997
Prince Henry
– Peter Russell, Yale University Press 2000
Isabel of
Burgundy – Aline S Taylor, Madison Books 2001
Philip the
Good – Richard Vaughan, Boydell Press 2014
Charles the
Bold – Richard Vaughan, Boydell Press 2002
www.wikipedia.en
[iii]
Isabel of Burgundy - Taylor
[iv]
In 2015 the relative: labour cost of that project is £24,050,000.00 economic cost of that project is £1,491,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[v]
In 2015 the relative: labour cost of that project is £138,300,000.00 economic cost of that project is £8,570,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[vi]
Later accused of witchcraft in an attempt to supplant Charles as Philip’s heir
[vii]
France alone sent 28 heralds and poursuivants while Bishop
Beaufort had 800 horse in his train and he was only one of the English
representatives
[viii]
They were fighting for the control of Paris
[ix]
In 2015 the relative: labour cost of that project is £14,810,000.00 economic cost of that project is £1,160,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
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