The Women Who Ruled Medieval Burgundy, and Europe

Summary

Gone Medieval – The Women Who Ruled Medieval Burgundy, and Europe

Host: Dr. Eleanor (Eleanor) Jennica
Guest: Susan Abernathy, historian and author of Formidable Women of Burgundy
Date: March 31, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Gone Medieval explores the influential women who ruled the Duchy of Burgundy during the late Middle Ages—not merely as wives or political tokens, but as powerful rulers, regents, and diplomats in their own right. Host Dr. Eleanor Jennica and guest Susan Abernathy discuss how Burgundian women shaped European power politics, waged wars, negotiated alliances, and left lasting dynastic legacies. Through stories of individual duchesses and princesses, the conversation reveals how female rulership was expected, respected, and at times, even deemed inevitable in Burgundy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Medieval Burgundy: A Political Powerhouse

[04:23–06:51]

• Burgundy's Status: Often thought of as just a wine region, medieval Burgundy was a conglomeration of the Low Countries, parts of northern France, and parts of the Holy Roman Empire—arguably an "empire" in scope.
• Wealth and Sophistication: The region's economic drivers included the wool and linen industries, making cities like Ghent and Bruges cultural and financial hotspots.
• Centralization & Courtly Life: The Valois dukes centralized administrative functions and flaunted their wealth through extravagant court spectacles.
• Quote:

  “Burgundy was an economic and a cultural powerhouse. This area, especially the Low Countries, kind of served as the breadbasket to Europe with their grain exports… They produced a lot of materials, tapestries and clothing.” – Susan Abernathy [06:51]

2. Political Fragility and Cohesion

[09:05–10:35]

• Diverse Territories: Each principality had its own culture and preferred style of governance. Keeping the empire together required constant diplomacy—and often, war.
• Risks of Disintegration: Frequent rebellions (e.g., the independent-minded Flanders guilds, Guelders' resistance) and external claims from the French and Holy Roman Emperors made unity precarious.

3. Central Role of Women in Burgundian Power

[10:35–12:36]

• Women as Essential Rulers: Women weren’t just marriage pawns; they were autonomous leaders.
• Inheritance Rights: The absence of Salic law meant women could inherit and rule outright.
• Quote:

  “The Valois dukes could not have done this without the women. And I think they did recognize their importance…they did everything they could to highlight the Valois heritage.” – Susan Abernathy [10:41]

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Notable Burgundian Women and Their Influence

Margaret of Male

[12:36–17:53]

• Marriage as Power Move: Her marriage to Philip the Bold combined crucial territories—Flanders, Rethel, Nevers, the County and Duchy of Burgundy—laying the foundation for the Burgundian "empire."
• Autonomous Rule: She oversaw her own lands and governed in Philip’s absence.
• Matriarchal Legacy:

  “I think that’s one of the things that gets thrown around about her a lot. I think it’s apt, personally [to call her matriarch].” – Dr. Eleanor [16:16]

Catherine of Burgundy

[17:53–21:13]

• Diplomatic Dynamism: Married to the Duke of Austria, ruled the County of Ferrette, and deftly managed her own affairs—including treaties and minor wars.
• Her Secret Second Marriage: After her first husband’s death, married Maximilian Smashman without family sanction, demonstrating personal agency.
• Quote:

  “She made diplomatic and economic treaties… she fell in love… she made a marriage… without telling anyone.” – Susan Abernathy [19:00]

Margaret of Bavaria

[24:49–33:36]

• Experienced Rulership: Older than her teenage husband John the Fearless, ran affairs while he waged war or crusaded, and managed administration and even military preparations.
• Avenging John the Fearless: After John’s assassination (1419), she became an avenger seeking justice—using diplomatic networks to pursue retribution.
• Dynastic Networking: Married her daughters deep into European nobility; e.g., House of Brittany, Cleves, Guelders, Scotland, and France.

Memorable Anecdote:

“She was not happy with her husband taking her money and her property from her. And so she conspired with her son to kick her husband off his ducal throne, and she was successful.” – Susan Abernathy [31:58]

Isabel of Portugal

[34:04–38:50]

• International Diplomacy: Married Philip the Good in her 30s, unusual for the time, bringing Portuguese and Anglo connections to the Burgundian court.
• Peacemaker: Brokered treaties between England, France, and Burgundy, instrumental in ending the Hundred Years War and internal Burgundian conflicts.
• Direct Trust:

  “They insisted on dealing with Isabel. That shows you how much power she had.” – Susan Abernathy [37:23]

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The Waning of Burgundian Independence

Margaret of York and Mary of Burgundy

[41:02–45:06]

• Margaret of York: English princess married to Charles the Bold; wielded power particularly after his death, orchestrating concessions to appease rebellious provinces.
• Mary of Burgundy: Maintained her title after the Duchy was seized; her marriage to Maximilian of Habsburg shifted Burgundian lands to Habsburg control and ended its autonomy.
• Raising Charles V: Margaret of York played a significant role in raising the future Holy Roman Emperor.

“If you leave [the Habsburgs] alone for five seconds, they will just absorb your land. That’s an unfortunate truth about Habsburgs.” – Dr. Eleanor [44:18]

• Political Mischief: Margaret of York’s support for the English pretender Perkin Warbeck was both personal and strategic, rooted partly in her lost trade rights and family ties.

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Broader Significance and Patterns

Regency and Rule Passed Through Generations

[47:26–49:13]

• Savoy and Milan: Burgundian daughters like Mary and her progeny became essential rulers in places like Savoy and Milan, sustaining a tradition of female regency and rule.
• Canonized Saint: Jean, daughter of Anne of Savoy, founded a monastery and was later canonized after being forced into marriage.

Women’s Agency—Both Victims and Bullies

[49:24–50:13]

• The episode discusses a spectrum of agency: women who were bullied or forced into roles, and women who used their power to dominate political landscapes.
• Quote:

  “Bullying the women, that’s one of the big ones. There’s several women that get bullied in this book.” – Susan Abernathy [49:54] “I like the women who bully a little bit more, I’m afraid.” – Dr. Eleanor [50:13]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s a lot of places where they don’t care [about male preference] at all. It’s like, that might be something that happens at the French court, but we’re not all French, buddy.” – Dr. Eleanor [17:09]
• “You can make a really great pin board with string that shows you where all these Burgundian women end up. And, I mean, this is just networking par excellence.” – Dr. Eleanor [32:55]
• “It’s a really, really difficult kind of road to hoe. You’re right in the middle of the two most powerful guys in Europe and they make this work. But, you know, Margaret of Male is making this work.” – Dr. Eleanor [15:01]
• “What matters is are you a good statesperson, and Isabella is.” – Dr. Eleanor [38:10]

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Suggested Listen

• Episodes on the Hundred Years War and Joan of Arc for complementary context.

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Summary Takeaways

• The legacy of Burgundy’s powerful women disproves the notion that medieval politics was only a man’s game—here, female leadership was both sanctioned by law and expected by society.
• Through regency, direct rule, diplomatic marriages, and war, these women shaped the destinies of France, the Holy Roman Empire, England, Spain, Scotland, Milan, and beyond.
• Their lives intertwined across Europe, making the Burgundian court a true nexus of late medieval power.

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For further reading, check Susan Abernathy’s Formidable Women of Burgundy.

Transcript

[Matt Lewis]

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[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Hello, I'm Dr. Eleanor Jennica, and welcome to Gone Medieval from History Hit, the podcast that delves into the greatest millennium in human history. We uncover the greatest mysteries, the gobsmacking details, and the latest groundbreaking research. From the Vikings to the Normans, from Kings to Popes to the Crusades, we delve into the rebellions, plots, and murders that tell us who we really were and how we got here. If I say the word burgundy to you, it's likely that the first thing that comes to mind is wine. That's Fine. You should probably keep thinking that. However, for medieval historians, Burgundy is more than just a great glass of red. It was one of the most powerful duchies in the Middle Ages. And by the late medieval period, it managed to transform itself into what many would argue was an actual empire. The Burgundian throne was populated by the House of Valois, who you may remember as the cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, and the rulers of France as well. Indeed, many of the rulers of Burgundy are big names who we've discussed on Gone Medieval in the past. This includes people like Duke Philip the Bold or John the Fearless. They enjoyed life in one of the wealthiest and most sophisticated courts in Europe, patronizing artists and musicians, writers and bookmakers. But behind the big names and the flashy court, there was an even more impressive Burgundian legacy. Its women. Today on Gone Medieval from History hit, I'm joined by Susan Abernathy, historian and author of the Formidable Women of Burgundy, to talk about the remarkable legacy of the Duchesses de Bergon. We will consider the power and prestige of these women who not only made kings and emperors, but waged war, made connections, and ruled huge swaths of land in their own right and name. Susan, welcome to Gone Medieval.

[Susan Abernathy]

Hi, Eleanor. Thanks for having me.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I am so excited to have you today because I loved your book and also I love the women that we are about to talk about today. And indeed, from a really nerdy standpoint, which is the only standpoint that I have, I am really interested in this political polity. So I'm going to start us off with the question that I think is going to need answering for a lot of people. When we say Burgundy in the late Middle Ages, what are we actually talking about here?

[Susan Abernathy]

Well, the historians have argued over what to call this. Like, is it an empire or is it a state? Because it's just such an amalgamation of different territories. But I prefer empire because I love these Valois dukes, and I think that they're. They're fantastic and they did an amazing job. All these territories were carved out by these dukes, and it was comprised of the Low Countries, parts of Northern France, and parts of the Holy Roman Empire. And Philip the Bold started out with Flanders, Rethel Nevers, among others. And through purchase, inheritance, marriages, outright war, he added so many other entities to his empire. And by the time of his grandson, Philip the Good, the largest acquisition that would be made would be Luxembourg. And he gained this by bullying the Duchess Elizabeth of Gorlitz. That's how he gained Luxembourg.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Well, I agree with you completely. Because for me, I think an empire is when you have people of varying cultures and languages that are amalgamated underneath one particular ruler. And so I do think that Burgundy kind of counts. Right. And of course, I'm going to say that because I'm a Holy Roman imperial historian. So, you know, if that's how we're dividing empire, that's how we're dividing empire. The Anguins have an empire, the Burgundians have an empire. Right. And so I think that it's really difficult for people to understand how powerful this particular part of the world is, especially in the 15th century. Can you talk about what makes this particular amalgamation tick?

[Susan Abernathy]

Sure. Burgundy was an economic and a cultural powerhouse. This area, especially the Low Countries, kind of served as the breadbasket to Europe with their grain exports. The Low Countries were known for their weaving and their wool and linen. So they produced a lot of materials, tapestries and clothing. The Valois dukes were really good at centralizing their government. They kind of brought all of these different territories together and collected a lot of wealth by doing that. And they used this wealth to put on a good show at their court. So the Burgundian court was known for its extravagance.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

This is one of my favorite things. I'm really drawn to a good court life. I can't help it. I'm such a sucker for it. Right. If Eleanor of Aquitaine is doing it, I'm there. When the Burgundians are doing it, I'm there. And I suppose it's because, for me, you know, if I was a rich person in the Middle Ages, this is how I would expend my cultural capital. Sure. And indeed, these people have it. Right. It's, I think, hard for us to kind of get ourselves in the headspace of medieval people. And, you know, understanding that woolen cloth is incredibly important, but, you know, if you don't have central heating, you're going to be really interested in wearing wool all the time. It's one of those things. So, you know, this is what makes, you know, hent. This is what makes Bruges. This is. Places like that are. Are built because of the cloth industry, and that money is going straight into the coffers of the Valois.

[Susan Abernathy]

Exactly.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Essentially, I'm thinking of.

[Susan Abernathy]

There's a picture from one of the medieval manuscripts of Philip the Good inducting his son Charles the Bold, into the Order of the Golden Fleece. And that, to me, is just like. That's what the Burgundian court was like.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Yes. Can you tell US a little bit about the Order of the Golden Fleece.

[Susan Abernathy]

Well, when Philip the Good married Isabella Portugal, it was his first international success, diplomatic success. And so for the wedding, he founded the Order of the Golden Fleece, which was a chivalric order on the lines of the English one.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Knowing about the Order of the Golden Fleece will completely change the way that you relate to historical portraits for the rest of your life. Because when you see the gentlemen, they're always wearing their little Order of the Golden Fleece pin or necklace or something like that. It's a very important flex, I think as important as these particular regions are. It's true though, that this is a conglomeration that is brought about through politics and warfare, just as you say. And it's sort of always in danger of falling apart as well, isn't it?

[Susan Abernathy]

Yes, yes. The risks were huge because each principality had its own culture and view of how it wanted to be governed. Perhaps the best example of this would be the Duchy of Gelders, which didn't even want to join the empire. And it didn't until the reign of Charles the Bold. And the people of Guelders wanted to maintain their independence. In fact, there was a long war fought for many, many years and they wanted this independence no matter the cost. The Holy Roman Empire also had a claim to Luxembourg and they would fight to maintain that. Flanders had some very independent minded guilds full of laborers who would regularly rebel. Brabant, which is now Belgium, had an estate that just didn't like answering to the Burgundian duke. So it took a lot to hold this empire together.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

How central are women to the existence of this particular empire, do you think?

[Susan Abernathy]

Well, I state this very at the front of the book that the Valois dukes could not have done this without the women. And I think they did recognize their importance. And I have to admire the dukes for allowing the women to have and hold the power. So there's a lot of good examples of this, and perhaps my favorite is Margaret of Austria. She ruled as regent of the Netherlands for her nephew, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. And she certainly recognized her power and she did everything she could to highlight the Valois heritage of the Burgundian Empire.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I think one of the things your book does really well and one of the reasons that we're having this conversation at all is that it really highlights the fact that these women are not just wives. I think that there's this tendency to think that, okay, sure, you have a good marriage and women are sort of a bargaining chip in terms of marital alliances. But that's a really reductive way of thinking about how power is wielded by women. You know, I just think that it goes a long way. All you have to do is really look at how Burgundy is run to realize that these are not just pawns, these are the women who are actually running these areas politically. And it's not seen as strange either. It's seen as basically what happens in Burgundy.

[Susan Abernathy]

Yes, yes. It's kind of, like, inevitable. One good example is, like, Margaret of Mayle. She was the ruler of Flanders, Wrethel and Nethers. And so they expected her to rule. They didn't expect her husband to rule. So she was the governor of those realms.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Could we talk a little bit about Margaret of Mayle in particular? Who is she? How does she come into view in Burgundy?

[Susan Abernathy]

I really like her story a lot. She was the daughter of Louis, Count of Flanders, Rethel and Nevers, and her mother was Margaret of Brabant, and she was the second surviving daughter of the Duke of Brabant. And so through Margaret of Mayle's father's mother, there was also a claim to the Franche Comte, or the county of Burgundy, the Free county of Burgundy, as opposed to the Duchy of Burgundy. And so Philip the Bold had been given the Duchy of Burgundy by his brother, King Charles V of France, and he harbored an ambition to combine the county and Duchy of Burgundy. And to do this, he had to marry Margaret of Mayle. So this is where you have the germination of the Burgundian Empire. So this is what he started out with the Duchy, the County, Flanders, Rethel and Nevers. And he recognized all these claims too, especially the claim to the Duchy of Brabant. He was very interested in that.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

And I think this is such an interesting combination of power, because this means that we see the territory that Burgundy is controlling kind of become a bit of a wiggly snake, you know, so it goes out from Burgundy that's like in the middle of central France, kind of like near Dijon these days. But it also means that we've got Flanders and Rethel and Nevers, and it's kind of in a bit of a snake that goes all the way around. Bunch of the royal duchies of France, which is funny. So it's kind of like enclosing these little bits that the. The King of France owns. And also it causes problems, a bit of a headache for the Holy Roman Empire, because the Holy Roman Empire thinks the Low Countries are in the Holy Roman Empire, you know, it is very, very clear about that fact. So this is a headache for the two major state powers in Europe at the time.

[Susan Abernathy]

I would say you have kind of a little tension between the King of France, the Duke of Burgundy and the Holy Roman Emperor that's going on the whole time.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

And it's just such a difficult. It's a really, really difficult kind of road to hoe. You're right in the middle of the two most powerful guys in Europe and they make this work. But, you know, market of mail is making this work. Right. With this incredible influence that she has because she's the Countess of Flanders and the Duchess of Burgundy. Can you tell us a little bit about what that means in practice for her?

[Susan Abernathy]

Well, she kind of had two jobs. One was to rule her own properties, which was Flanders, Wrethel and Nethers. And then her husband allowed her to rule in his stead whenever he was away in France dealing with his mad king nephew, King Charles vi. So she had a lot on her plate. And something that I found interesting was that the people of Flanders wanted her to live in Flanders. They said, you are our ruler, you should live in Flanders. And she kind of balked at that and would live in Picardy instead. So that was pretty.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Let's split the difference.

[Susan Abernathy]

Yeah, it was pretty interesting. But sometimes she would live in Dijon, sometimes she'd live in Boone. She'd live in different parts of. Of the empire while she was ruling for her husband.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Do you think that it's fair to call her the matriarch of Burgundy? You know, I think that that's one of the things that gets thrown around about her a lot. I think it's apt, personally.

[Susan Abernathy]

I think so. I mean, not just because of her children and their marriages and what happened with them, but just the fact that she was the one that started the Burgundian empire.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Yeah. And I mean, fundamentally, if you start this empire through this marriage and you see a woman who is controlling these incredible swaths of land by popular acclaim, Right. Then everyone's going to say, oh, yeah, that's what happens there. Right. Like, that's just how we started things out. So everyone just kind of accepts it and it sort of branches out from there.

[Susan Abernathy]

There was no Salic law in this area, so women could inherit and women could rule. So, you know, it was expected.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I think that. That that's, you know, one of these things where you tend to. There's. There is an assumption about the way that power works in the Middle Ages and. Sure, yeah. I think a lot of the time, kings would prefer to have a son. It just makes things easier. But there's a lot of places where they don't care about that at all. It's like that might be something that happens at the French court, but we're not all French, buddy. Right? Now, you have just hinted at this a little bit. Margaret's daughters with Duke Philip, they go on to have really exceptional power in varying places in Europe, but particularly Catherine of Burgundy, and she ends up ruling the county of Ferrette, which is in modern day Switzerland. Right. Can you tell us a little bit about Catherine?

[Susan Abernathy]

Yeah, because she's my favorite. I just have to admit it. And everybody I talk to, you know, she's the one that comes to the fore, because I've just never experienced anyone like her in all of my studies of medieval women. Her father married her to the Duke of Austria when she was a baby, basically. But of course, she stayed, you know, with her parents until she was of age, and she eventually went to Austria and lived with her husband, and it was actually a very successful marriage. We have evidence that her husband treated her very kindly. The only thing was, they didn't have any children, which was a big disappointment. But her father had refused to pay her dowry. And so she went to her husband and she said, hey, look, my dad's not paying my dowry. What can you do for me? And he actually allowed her to rule the county of Faret, and this gave her an income, but it also allowed her to basically rule on her own. Now, she kind of acted as a diplomat for her brother and her nephew, John the Fearless and Philip the Good, and for her husband, but she ruled on her own. She even started petty wars. She made diplomatic and economic treaties with different parts of the Holy Roman Empire. So I think she's just fantastic. But the really interesting part of her story is there was a man at her father's court, Maximilian Smashman. He was an Austrian nobleman. His mother actually was Burgundian, and so she knew him from a young age, but he offered to help her when she was ruling for it. I don't know, he must have been pretty handsome and charming. And they fell in love. And she made a marriage to Maximilian after her husband died. She did not tell her brother. She did not tell anyone that she made this marriage. And so her brother said, you know, he didn't stop it. He didn't say, you know, let's done all this thing, or whatever. He just told her to come back to Burgundy. But I'm just stunned that she did this without telling anyone. Eventually, Philip the Good intervened and he got the marriage annulled because he didn't want any trouble from Farette.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Typical fellow.

[Susan Abernathy]

He wanted to keep Farette, so he had the marriage annulled. And I honestly think that she died of a broken heart.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Oh. I mean, I just think that her story is so interesting because it shows us that women do have these ways of pushing forward what they want. So, you know, just saying, well, obviously, listen, I am a Burgundian woman. Where's my county to rule? Like, let's. Let's be having it right in the first place, and then in the second place, just, you know, get near marriage and, you know, okay, yeah, you can be forced to annul it. That's something that happens. But she got that for a while, and it's more than a lot of women can say for themselves.

[Susan Abernathy]

For sure.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Good for her. Catherine.

[Susan Abernathy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just think it's a great story.

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[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Can we talk a little bit about Margaret of Bavaria? Because I think this is. This is one of these ones where it's like, ooh, the Avenger. No?

[Susan Abernathy]

Yeah, for sure. She was the daughter of Albert I, Duke of Bavaria, Strabing, Count of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland, and Lord of Friesland. So he ruled a good part of the Low Countries. And her mother was Margaret of Lignis, and she was from the House of Piast and had family relationships with many of the ruling houses of Central Europe, including Brunswick, Brandenburg, as well as the Bohemian and the Czech royal families. There you go. Makes Eleanor happy day.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

She's just really incredible, right, because she makes this very great match to John the Fearless, but when they get married, he's only 13 and she's 22. That's a bit odd for the medieval period.

[Susan Abernathy]

Well, I actually found a couple of other examples. The Louis, Count of Flanders, who was the father of Margaret of Mayle. His wife, Margaret of Brigbaugh, was seven years older than he was. I kind of liken it to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. It was kind of similar to that situation. And then Joan of Brabant, who was the sister of Margaret of Brabant when she was 25, her father made A marriage to Wenceslaus, Duke of Luxembourg, when he was 10 years old. So.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Ah, well, you know, listen, the House of Luxembourg and the Wenceslaus is therein, what could I say, really? They're a catch, aren't they? They're a catch. Right. Obviously. Not that I'm biased or anything like that, but I do think that that's an important point because, you know, these are not love matches. Right. These are political matches. And also, if we are talking about women who are expected to run huge areas of one of the most important political powers in Europe. Yeah. We kind of want them to be a little bit older. No one cares. It's like, yeah, like get a 22 year old in. Great. Fantastic. She can start working right now. You know, we don't have to worry about training a 16 year old. Right, right. And this ends up becoming really good because John, he gets super involved in the crusade of Nicopolis. Right. And then he gets involved in the Burgundian Armagnac war over in France. Right. And this makes these big opportunities for Margaret to really take center stage.

[Susan Abernathy]

Right?

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Yes.

[Susan Abernathy]

Because she was pretty much left on her own by the time her son Philip the Good, you know, was older. He was available to help, but she ran things. I mean, like you say, she was older, she was more experienced, she even would help gear up for war against some of Jon's enemies. That's just how good she was administratively

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

at ruling Fair play too, because she ends up becoming soul ruler sooner than she would like. Right. You know, she actually ends up seeing Jon fully assassinated. Like not. Not killed, assassinated in about 1419, right?

[Susan Abernathy]

Yes, yes. And I know that this is mentioned a lot in the book because this is one of those incidences in history that had a ripple effect and it went out throughout Europe. And that's what you see in the book and how it affected the lives of these women and these different entities. She ended up, like, declaring revenge on the Armagnacs. And she swore in writing that the Dauphin, the future King Charles VII of France, had caused her husband's death. And she used every administrative skill and all of her considerable energy to pursue this revenge. She started out by sending letters demanding punishment for the murderers, and she would follow that with embassies and then a contingency of her counselors. She sent wine to the French court, she sent ambassadors to her son, insisting on vengeance. Contacts went out to the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor, the King of Navarre, the Duchess of Bourbon, the Duchess of Lorraine, other entities and ecclesiastics in the Holy Roman Empire. She had astrologers contacted and lawyers and secretaries were employed in placing the treasons, the machinations, and the evil deeds on record. However, as hard as she tried, none of this really worked because eventually the Dauphin became King Charles vii and he had the power to protect, you know, the people that were responsible.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I think that this is a really interesting story, though, because I think when we talk about the end of the Hundred Years War, we get so wrapped up in the romance, for example, around Joan of Arc, that we don't really see why some people might have a real problem with Charles VII and why the Treaty of Troyes had happened in the first place. And the big part of the reason the Treaty of Troy happens, and, you know, like Henry V is put forward as the King of France, is because of Margaret of Bavaria pushing these contacts. So it's not as easy as just saying, oh, well, there is a rightful path, path of succession. All of this makes sense. You know, there are huge amounts of political intrigue swirling around this at. At all times.

[Susan Abernathy]

Oh, definitely.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I mean, she also does a great line in pushing her daughters and granddaughters out into the various courts around Europe as well. Right. Which you would think would help cement this claim to getting Charles off of the French throne. But unfortunately for her, not so much. After these particular marriages, though, what houses do we see have Burgundian women marry into them?

[Susan Abernathy]

Yeah, well, Margaret's oldest daughter, Margaret of Nevers, she. She was married to The Dauphin, Charles VI's son, Louis, Duke of Guyenne. However, because her father had the Cabotian rebellion in 1413 and killed the Duke of Orleans in 1407, Louis was not really happy with his father in law, and so he got his marriage to Margaret Arnauld. However, she did end up marrying the Count of Richemont, who was the brother of the Duke of Brittany. So she married into the House of Brittany. Her daughter, Mary a Burgundy, married into the House of Cleves, so she was the Duchess of Cleves. Two of her daughters made really good marriages. Catherine married the Duke of Gelders, and she. Oh, boy, she had a great story because she was not happy with her husband taking her money and her property from her. And so she conspired with her son to kick her husband off of his ducal throne, and she was successful. So.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Oh, I love that.

[Susan Abernathy]

Isn't that a great story?

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

It's my favorite.

[Susan Abernathy]

Yeah.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Oh, it's my favorite. I absolutely love it when women kill their husbands off the throne, unfortunately, just

[Susan Abernathy]

because they didn't give them their money

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

and then Listen, pay your wife. Pay your wife, and it won't happen. Okay?

[Susan Abernathy]

And another important match was Catherine's daughter, Mary. Her oldest daughter, Mary would be sent to the Burgundian court under Isabella Portugal's guidance, and she married James ii, King of Scots. So she married into the Stuart house, and then Catherine's daughter, Marie. Isabella Portugal arranged for the release of Charles, Duke of Orleans, from being a prisoner of war in England over 20 years. She got him released, and she married him to Marie of Cleves, and her son became Louis xii, King of France.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

It's just incredible.

[Susan Abernathy]

I love all of these connections you

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

can make a really great pin board with string that shows you where all these Burgundian women end up. And, I mean, this is just networking par excellence. Right. By the time you have this many relatives in varying courts, it just means that you can pull strings really, really well at varying points. You know, you can always get somebody on side because there are just these familial relationships, and that is how this stuff works. So it's incredible planning on her part.

[Susan Abernathy]

Yes. I had so much fun doing the family trees in the back of the book. Just this one.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

This one. This one.

[Bleacher Report Announcer]

Yeah.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Edmit. I had to stare at them for a really long time because they're so complex that it is very difficult to just kind of take them in at first glance. But I think in and of itself, that tells you everything you need to know, especially just about the force of will that Margaret had. I mean, yeah, she doesn't get her way with picking the king of France as she would like, but also, she gets pretty close. I mean, come on. Like, she's almost a kingmate.

[Susan Abernathy]

She is, yes.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

No, listen, we've been dancing around her. You've referred to her repeatedly. Can we talk about Isabel of Portugal? I love Isabel of Portugal. She, for me, is one of the most exciting rulers that we see in late medieval, medieval Europe.

[Susan Abernathy]

She's actually the person that got me into the Valois dukes of Burgundy, because I read a biography of her by Aileen S. Taylor, and I got to her because she is a grand. A great granddaughter of King Edward III of England. Her father was John I of Portugal, and her mother was Philippa of Lancaster, the daughter of John of Gaunt. And so when I learned about her and she married Philip the Good when she was in her 30s. This is astonishing.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I love it.

[Susan Abernathy]

This is astonishing. And then I found out about her son, who I think was mentally ill. You know, this got me started in the Valois dupes, and, I mean, she's

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

really the first kind of connection into Burgundy that brings the empire up onto, like, really the international stage. I mean, by the time you're marrying, you know, Portuguese princesses, that. That puts you on the map. Yeah, right.

[Susan Abernathy]

He had. He had first married Michelle of France, the daughter of King Charles vi, because he was trying to have a, you know, an alliance with France during the Hundred Years War. And then when she died, he married one of his cousins, Bonave Artois, but she died, like, several months after the marriage, so it didn't last very long. So then Philip sent these ambassadors to Portugal. And I have a description in there of the ambassadors going to Portugal and meeting with the king and his sons and Madame Isabel. And it's really, really quite intriguing, but this indicated that Burgundy was on the map as a major political player in Western Europe. And then when all of these nieces and nephews went to the Burgundian court and were under Isabel, the. This was a pretty big deal. And another indication is Isabel brokered the marriage from Mary of Guelders to James II of Scotland. So we're talking about international diplomacy now.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Yeah, I think that this is a really important point because it does tend to be that people, if they're not at the royal level, and even when they are at the royal level, they marry the people next door. Right. They marry people in their particular sphere of power, because that's who you want to call on.

[Bleacher Report Announcer]

Right.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

You know, it helps if someone attacks you if you've got the county next door on your side. Right? Because you can just say, hey, can you help us out? But by the time we're marrying people from the Iberian Peninsula, it just shows how much power the Burgundians have, because it's like saying, well, we might have interests down there as well. You know, we might need, who knows, to put the French in a pincer movement from the south. This sort of thing, you know, it's. It's kind of a statement of intent in a way, I feel. Well, can we talk a little bit about the influence that Isabella has? You know, she's got, yes, this incredible knack of matchmaking, but she also, very specifically, is really good at brokering peace treaties. Right.

[Susan Abernathy]

And, I mean, Philip trusted her, you know, implicitly. He would send her on these missions. And so Isabel ended up making peace treaties between England, France and Burgundy and essentially ending the Hundred Years War. And with the marriage of Charles of Orleans and Marie of Cleves, she kind of ended that, you know, the Armagnac Burgundian conflict that's like a combination of those two. Like I said, he trusted her implicitly. And actually, when she would be at these congresses, the people that were there to negotiate, they didn't want to deal with Philip because he had. He had betrayed them so many times. They insisted on dealing with Isabel. That. That shows you how much power she had.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

And it just shows how people really do understand that she's a steady political hand on the tiller. You know, like the English are saying, not Philip again. Absolutely not. We need to deal with a reasonable person who. Whose word can be kept. And, you know, if that's a woman, that's a woman. Right. It doesn't necessarily matter what your gender is. What matters is are you a good statesperson and Isabella is. You know, I think that it's a lot more difficult to negotiate peace than it is to be an idiot and keep blundering in to war over and over again. That's easy, right? It's very, very easy to annoy people.

[Susan Abernathy]

Sure.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

And also I think that it's quite interesting because really, the last part of the Hundred Years War, it is. You know, the Burgundians are as involved against France as anybody else, and we tend to look at it now as a conflict of England versus France, and that's just not the case. And also, I feel like that's really spitting in the face of poor Margaret of Bavaria. Right. She would want you to think this is a Burgundian conflict. You know, Go on. Right.

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[Matt Lewis]

Land a Viking longship on island shores, scramble over the dunes of ancient Egypt, and avoid the poisoner's cup in Renaissance Florence. Each week on Echoes of History, we uncover the epic stories that inspire Assassin's Creed. We're stepping into Feudal Japan in our special series Chasing Shadows, where samurai warlords and shinobi spies teach us the tactics and skills needed not only to survive, but to conquer. Whether you're preparing for Assassin's Creed shadows or fascinated by history and great stories, listen to echoes of history a Ubisoft podcast brought to you by History Hits. There are new episodes every week,

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But

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I think also we have to talk about obviously Margaret of York. Of course, can't get out of a conversation without talking about Margaret of York. And indeed around History Towers in particular in the gone medieval dungeon. There is a lot of discussion of Margaret of York because of the incredible power that she wields and also her dalliances with annoying the English court. But yes, can you tell us a little bit about her and how she's this interesting representation not only of the, you know, French and Burgundian claims, but English ones?

[Susan Abernathy]

Sure. Margaret was the daughter of Richard Dick of York and Cecily Neville. And her brothers were King Edward IV of England and Richard iii. Her marriage to Charles the Bold was probably one of the most brilliant matches in English history. And I have to say Isabella Portugal was instrumental in making this match. She wanted this match for her son. For the first few years of her marriage, she was not heavily involved in the government of Burgundy. It was only later that she started taking on a lot more responsibilities, especially when Charles was away waging war, which is what he did. And then she started pretty much to manage the entire empire. And along with this, she and Charles's daughter, Mary of Burgundy, had a very close relationship. It was like mother, daughter, even though she was a stepdaughter, but she considered her her daughter. One of the things that Margaret did during her reign as duchess is she went to England for I think about four months on a trade mission at her brother's court, Edward iv. So that shows you she has was starting to get into managing things and taking on responsibility.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

You talk a little bit about her role after Charles the Bold dies because, you know, we talk lots about Charles the Bold and quite rightly because, you know, he's one of the most influential men in Europe. But it doesn't really stop her from taking over at all. You know, she's just like, oh, yeah, well, he's dead anyway.

[Susan Abernathy]

Actually, I think this is when she came to the forefront. This is just my personal opinion, but I think that the way that things were handled after Charles's death, I have to attribute it to her. She arranged for concessions to a lot of the estates in the Low Countries that Mary of Burgundy made. There was a charter, a huge charter, where some freedoms were given back to these entities in the Low Countries because they kind of balked at what Charles the Bold was doing because he was kind of heavy handed in the way he ruled. And so I think she was key she was totally key. Mary of Burgundy was allowed to keep the title of Duchess of Burgundy, even though Louis XI had seized the Duchy of Burgundy. So she wasn't really ruling that any longer, but she was allowed to keep the title. And I think that also Margaret arranged for the marriage of Mary of Burgundy to Maximilian, the son of the Holy Roman Empire. And so this is where the end of the Burgundian Empire starts, is with that marriage.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Yeah. Because it does end up sort of just getting absorbed into the Habsburg conglomeration at that point. Right. I mean, the Habsburgs, if you leave them alone for five seconds, they will just absorb your land. That's an unfortunate truth about Habsburgs. But I will say that within this, Margaret plays an absolute blinder because she's super instrumental in bringing up her grandson who will become Charles V, the ruler of the largest European mass the world had seen up to that point.

[Susan Abernathy]

Yes.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

And I mean, yeah, he. He becomes the Holy Roman Emperor par excellence. Right. And Margaret plays no small part in his education and getting him ready to. To be that person.

[Susan Abernathy]

That's right. That's right.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

We never get to talk about Charles V around here because he's technically. Since he's technically early modern. But I'm super interested in this.

[Susan Abernathy]

Oh, yeah.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Bless him. I love it. You know, the man is. He's born in the Lowlands, he controls Spain. Don't worry about it. He's a polyglot.

[Susan Abernathy]

And America, too.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Yeah. Like an. Absolutely. I mean, now there's an emperor. Okay. Like, that's. Say what you will about the. The Holy Roman Empire. I don't. I don't care what Voltaire has to say. This is. This is an empire. The major reason we end up talking about Margaret of Yorkround here is because she is also a huge supporter of the pretender to the throne, Perkin Warburg.

[Susan Abernathy]

Yes.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Who I, and most people maintain steadfastly was a pretender to the throne. But some people around here are big fans of Richard III and like to pretend that Perkin Warburg is really sorry. I'm laughing too hard. I love to make fun of Matt. He likes to believe that Perkin Warbeck is actually a claimant to the English throne because that lets him think that the princess didn't die in the tower. Which is very sweet. But one of the arguments that he makes here is, well, why would Margaret support him otherwise? And I'm like, because she's incredibly powerful and it's very funny to mess with the Tudors.

[Susan Abernathy]

Well, there's something else you can. Anything Else too involved. Her brothers Edward and Richard had given her grants for trade, and she was receiving income from that. And when Henry VII took over, he took that away.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

And it's just not that hard. Fundamentally, she's got the cash to throw behind a pretender. She could go, yeah, like, let's. Let's see how this boils down. And if it works out, great, she's got her trade agreements back again. It's not that much of an ask on her part, and the upshot is huge. So of course she's going to support this guy. Right.

[Susan Abernathy]

But she did end up writing Henry a letter apologizing, saying she would no longer interfere.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

So she shouldn't have apologized. In my opinion. She did nothing wrong. Give it a. Give it a go.

[Susan Abernathy]

Really?

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I think. I think it's very, very funny to. To mess with the Tudors. Personally. I think that's. It's a good thing, and we should see more of it. Susan, do you have any favorite Burgundian women that we haven't gossiped about yet this time?

[Susan Abernathy]

Yes, we do, because Philip the Bold daughter Mary married the Duke of Savoy, and I have to tell you, Savoy has a really, really intriguing history. And her son Louis married Anne of Lusignan, and they had, like, 13 kids. I mean, that survived, which was highly unusual. But one of her daughters, Charlotte, married King Louis XI of France. She was 9 years old, and he was 28.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Oh, wow.

[Susan Abernathy]

But it actually worked out. And then she had the daughters, Anne de Beaujeu, who ruled France for eight years as the regent, of course, and also her daughter Jean, who was born with disabilities. Louis forced Louis, the Duke of Orleans, the future King Louis xii, to marry his disabled daughter. I mean, this. You can't make this stuff up. It's just a great story. But he ended up divorcing her. And then she started a monastery and was eventually made a saint. Another one of Anne and Louis daughters was Bonn or Bona of Savoy. She married the Duke of Milan, the crazy Duke of Milan, and she actually ruled Milan for a while as regent for her son. So the regency thing is, I say in the book that Catherine of Burgundy was kind of the Duchess of Austria and the Countess of Ferret, she was kind of the first one to kind of rule on her own. And so this tradition of having regents in the Low Countries and in other places like Milan started with her. But anyway, those women, I just. I just love those women. Women of civil rights. They're great.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Anything else that you want to talk about that I haven't prodded you into yet?

[Susan Abernathy]

I don't think so. But I think if you read the book, you will become as intrigued with the Valois dukes of Burgundy and their women as I became.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I cannot recommend this book enough. It's a real, real page turner and it really explicates the realities of ruling a sophisticated political conglomeration in the late medieval period. There are a lot of people who think that medieval succession is just very by the book. It's very dull. It's men talking about men. And I think your book and Burgundy show that that is simply not the case.

[Susan Abernathy]

Yes, that's what makes it so intriguing. Just the way that they amassed all these territories in different ways. Marriages, war. It's just fantastic. Bullying the women, that's one of the big ones. There's several women that get bullied in this book.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

I like the women who bully a little bit more, I'm afraid. But you know, on the other hand, that is, that is no shade at the ones who do get bullied. It's a, it is a bit of a, of a snake pit to walk into. Gotta have your wits about you if you're going to be one of the ruling women. What can I say?

[Susan Abernathy]

Yes, for sure.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

This has been an absolute delight. Thank you so much for coming on to talk to us. And please write another one about all the other women you've covered.

[Susan Abernathy]

It's just like you read, okay, this woman had these daughters and then these daughters did this and oh man, it's fantastic.

[Dr. Eleanor Jennica]

Thank you so much to Susan once again for joining me and thank you for listening to Gone Medieval from History Hit. If you were interested in some of the topics we mentioned in this episode. Episode, you might want to go back and check out our past episodes on the Hundred Years War and Joan of Arc. Remember, you can enjoy unlimited access to award winning original TV documentaries, including my recent documentary on the trials of Joan of ARC, and ad free podcasts. By signing [e-mail] subscription, you can follow Gone Medieval on Spotify, where you can leave us comments and suggestions or wherever you get your podcasts and tell all your friends and family that you've gone medieval. Until next time,

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The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports I can follow the teams I care about. Get real time. Scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.