For a Long Century of Burgundy. The Court, Female Power and Ideology

G Small

doi:10.18352/bmgn-lchr.7219

Abstract

For a Long Century of Burgundy: The Court, Female Power and IdeologyOn the evidence of the recent publications under discussion here, historians are beginning to break free from the constraints of the traditional chronological boundaries applied to Burgundian history, and are finding new and valuable ways of exploring political culture either side of the divide that was once thought to have been created by the events of 1477. But progress remains uneven: we know more about the court, the centre of political life, before 1477 than we do for the period that came after; with honourable exceptions, we know more about female political agency and power after 1477 than we do about the period before; and we know too little, still, about political ideologies, a burgeoning area of interest which has much to yield.

Highlights

On the evidence of the recent publications under discussion here, historians are beginning to break free from the constraints of the traditional chronological boundaries applied to Burgundian history, and are finding new and valuable ways of exploring political culture either side of the divide that was once thought to have been created by the events of 1477
Progress remains uneven: we know more about the court, the centre of political life, before 1477 than we do for the period that came after; with honourable exceptions, we know more about female political agency and power after 1477 than we do about the period before; and we know too little, still, about political ideologies, a burgeoning area of interest which has much to yield
We commonly look for sources and formative influences of ideologies in books: those owned by Flemish councillors of the dukes of Burgundy, for example, or in the works read by ‘sage and prudent’ advisors to English kings.[33]

Summary

For a Long Century of Burgundy

On the evidence of the recent publications under discussion here, historians are beginning to break free from the constraints of the traditional chronological boundaries applied to Burgundian history, and are finding new and valuable ways of exploring political culture either side of the divide that was once thought to have been created by the events of 1477. Economic developments have not been neglected, but it is above all the political history of municipalities which stands out, producing major studies of communities like Ghent, Lille or Leiden.[4] Conflict between the court-dominated state and the powerful cities of the Burgundian lands have a special place in narratives of Burgundian state formation, but there is a growing interest in more peaceable – no less interesting – forms of interaction between the courtly and civic sphere, facilitated by such things as membership of elite groups like shooting confraternities and rhetoricians’ guilds, or participation in civic processions and religious confraternities which brought city and court together, sometimes in unexpected ways.[5] Into this unfolding landscape of Burgundian historiography the eight new studies listed below have emerged Together they reveal a marked willingness to extend the chronological scope of the Burgundian period into the sixteenth century, and in important respects they develop our understanding of the court, female power and ideology

The century of Burgundy

Continuities in political culture

The court

Conclusions small

List of reviewed publications