Philip the Bold

Philip the Bold (Philippe le Hardi), the founder of the second and last ducal House of Burgundy, was the fourth son of John the Good, king of France, and his wife Bonne of Luxemburg, and was born January 15, 1342. He was present at the battle of Poitiers (1356), and displayed such heroic courage, venturing his own life to save his father's, as earned him the epithet of le Hardi, or 'the Bold.' He shared his father's captivity in England, and on returning to France in 1360 received in reward of his bravery the duchy of Touraine, and on the death, without heirs, of Philippe de Rouvre (1363) also that of Burgundy, being created at the same time the premier peer of France. On the accession of his brother, Charles V., to the throne of France Philip had to resign Touraine, but, as a compensation, obtained in marriage Margaret, the heiress of Flanders, in 1369. In 1372 he commanded with success against the English, and in 1380 he helped to suppress the sedition of the Flemish towns against their count, his father-in-law. But the citizens of some of the populous places, especially Ghent, were possessed with such a fever of independence that they were only brought back to their allegiance after the bloody defeat of Rosbeck (November 27, 1382), where 26,000 Flemings were left on the field. Flanders, the county of Burgundy, Artois, Rethel, and Nevers fell to him by the death of the count in 1384, and his firm and wise government quickly won the affection and esteem of his new subjects. He encouraged judiciously arts, manufactures, and commerce, and his territory—a kingdom in extent—was one of the best governed in Europe. During the minority and subsequent imbecility of his nephew, Charles VI. of France, he was obliged to take the helm of affairs, and preserve the state from insurrection and sedition within and the attacks of the English without. He died April 27, 1404.