King John “The Good” of France was captured at the battle of Poitiers by the hated English in 1356 but not before his young son Philip who at just 14 at the time fought bravely at his side to defend his father. As a reward John gave his son the title Duke of Burgundy.

Philip “The Bold” was a loyal ally of France supporting her in her wars, the French did like wise for the Burgundians. This relationship changed dramatically when Philip died in 1404 and John “the Fearless” became duke of Burgundy he was more than interested in becoming King of France. For the Next seventy years Burgundy become along with England France’s biggest threat.

Not until 1477 could the King of France rest easy when the last Duke of Burgundy Charles “the Bold” also known as Charles “the Rash” was hacked to death at the battle of Nancy by rampaging Swiss troops. With no male heir his kingdom was carved up between France and the Holy Roman Empire.

The Burgundians were much admired for the skills at war, you would find them fighting in many of the armies of Europe. Their hand Gunners and Pike men were in especially high demand.

The army shown was made up using Mirliton Figures for the Knights and a mix of Feudal and Essex for the foot troops, there is a singe Museum foot knight hidden in there for good measure. The flags can be found on the Warflag website another good source for flags is the Mirliton web site.

Useless Facts:

In 1471 the payment of the army was as follows…

Conducteur (Captain of a Company) 100 Francs Man at Arms 15 Francs Mounted Archer 5 Francs Hand gunner & Crossbowman 4 Francs Pike Man 2 Patars A good Read

Armies of Medieval Burgundy 1364-1477 (Osprey Publishing) Armies of the middle Ages, Volume 1 (Wargames Research Group)