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Philip the Good, after a Roger van der Weyden of c. 1450

Philip the Good or Philippe le Bon (July 31, 1396 – June 15, 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty (the then Royal family of France). During his reign Burgundy reached the height of its prosperity and prestige and became a leading center of the arts. Philip is known in history for his administrative reforms, patronage of Flemish artists such as Jan van Eyck, and the capture of Joan of Arc. During his reign he alternated between English and French alliances in an attempt to improve his dynasty's position.

Coat of arms of Philip the Good

Born in Dijon, he was the son of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria-Straubing. On the 28th of January 1405, he was named Count of Charolais in appanage of his father and probably on the same day he was engaged to Michele of Valois (1395–1422), daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. They were married in June of 1409. Philip subsequently married Bonne of Artois (1393–1425), daughter of Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, and also the widow of his uncle, Philip II, Count of Nevers, in Moulins-les-Engelbert on November 30, 1424. The latter is sometimes confused with Philip's biological aunt, also named Bonne (sister of John the Fearless, lived 1379 - 1399), in part due to the Papal Dispensation required for the marriage which made no distinction between a marital aunt and a biological aunt.

His third marriage, in Bruges on January 7, 1430 with Isabella of Portugal (1397 - December 17, 1471), daughter of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, produced three sons:

• Antoine (September 30, 1430, Brussels – February 5, 1432, Brussels), Count of Charolais
• Joseph (April 24, 1432 – aft. May 6, 1432), Count of Charolais
• Charles (1433–1477), Count of Charolais and Philip's successor as Duke

Philip also had some eighteen illegitimate children, including Antoine, bastard of Burgundy, by twenty four documented mistresses [1]. Another, Philip of Burgundy (1464-1524) was a fine amateur artist, and the subject of a biography in 1529.

Philip became duke of Burgundy, count of Flanders, Artois and Franche Comté when his father was assassinated in 1419. Philip accused Charles, the Dauphin of France and Philip's brother-in-law of planning the murder of his father which had taken place during a meeting between the two at Montereau. In 1420 Philip allied himself with Henry V of England under the Treaty of Troyes. In 1423 the alliance was strengthened by the marriage of his sister Anne to John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England.

In 1430 Philip's troops captured Joan of Arc at Compiègne and later handed her over to the English who orchestrated a heresy trial against her, conducted by pro-Burgundian clerics. Despite this action against Joan of Arc, Philip's alliance with England was broken in 1435 when Philip attacked Calais and, under the terms of the Treaty of Arras, recognized Charles VII as king of France. This alliance was broken in 1439, and in 1440 he supported the revolt of the French nobles (an event known as the Praguerie) and sheltered the Dauphin Louis.

Philip signed the Treaty of Arras, which completely revoked the Treaty of Troyes, for a variety of reasons. His desire to be recognised as the Premier Duke in France has been suggested as one motive.

Philip generally was preoccupied with matters in his own territories and seldom was directly involved in the Hundred Years' War, although he did play a role during a number of periods such as the campaign against Compiegne during which his troops captured Joan of Arc. He incorporated Namur into Burgundian territory in 1429 (March 1, by purchase from John III, Marquis of Namur), Hainault and Holland, Frisia and Zealand in 1432 (with the defeat of Countess Jacqueline in the last episode of the Hook and Cod wars); inherited the duchy of Brabant and Limburg and the margrave of Antwerp in 1430 (on the death of his cousin Philip of Saint-Pol); and purchased Luxembourg in 1443 from Elisabeth of Bohemia, Duchess of Luxembourg. Philip also managed to ensure his illegitimate son, David, was elected Bishop of Utrecht in 1456. It is not surprising that in 1435, Philip began to style himself "Grand Duke of the West". In 1463 Philip returned some of his territory to Louis XI. That year he also created an Estates-General based on the French model. The first meeting of the Estates-General was to obtain a loan for a war against France and to ensure support for the succession of his son, Charles I, to his dominions. Philip died in Bruges in 1467.

Rogier van der Weyden miniature 1447-8. Philip dresses his best, in an extravagant chaperon, to be presented with a History of Hainault by the author, flanked by his son and Nicolas Rolin

Philip's court can only be described as extravagant. Despite the flourishing bourgeois culture of Burgundy, which the court kept in close touch with, he and the aristocrats who formed most of his inner circle retained a world-view dominated by knightly chivalry. He declined membership in the English Order of the Garter in 1422, which could have been considered an act of treason against the King of France, his feudal overlord. Instead in 1430 he created his own Order of the Golden Fleece, based on the Knights of the Round Table. He had no fixed capital and moved the court between various palaces, the main urban ones being Brussels, Bruges, or Lille. He held grand feasts and other festivities, and the knights of his Order frequently travelled throughout his territory participating in tournaments. In 1454 Philip planned a crusade against the Ottoman Empire, launching it at the Feast of the Pheasant, but (fortunately) this plan never materialized. In a period from 1444-6 he is estimated to have spent a sum equivalent to 2% of Burgundy's main tax income over the period, the recette génerale, with a single Italian supplier of silk and cloth of gold, Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini.^[1]

His court was regarded as the most splendid in Europe, and became the accepted leader of taste and fashion, which probably helped the Burgundian economy considerably, as Burgundian (usually Netherlandish) luxury products became sought by the elites of other parts of Europe. During his reign, for example, the richest English commissioners of illuminated manuscripts moved away from English and Parisian products to those of the Netherlands, as did other foreign buyers. Philip himself is estimated to have added six hundred manuscripts to the ducal collection, making him by a considerable margin the most important patron of the period.^[2]

Philip was also a considerable patron of other arts, commissioning many tapestries (which he tended to prefer over paintings), pieces from goldsmiths, jewellery, and other works of art. It was during his reign that the Burgundian chapel became the musical center of Europe, with the activity of the Burgundian School of composers and singers. Gilles Binchois, Robert Morton, and later Guillaume Dufay, the most famous composer of the 15th century, were all part of Philip's court chapel.

In 1428 Jan van Eyck travelled to Portugal to paint King John I's daughter Isabella for Philip in advance of their marriage. With help from more experienced Portuguese shipbuilders Philip established a shipyard in Bruges. Roger van der Weyden painted his portrait twice on panel, of which only copies survive, wearing the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The only original van der Weyden of Philip to survive is a suberb miniature from a manuscript (above right).^[2]

Philip the Good was entitled to the following coats of arms of his fiefs.

Coat of arms of Philip the Good

County of Artois

County of Flanders

County of Hainaut

Margraviate of Namur

County of Holland

County of Zeeland

Duchy of Brabant

Duchy of Lothier

Duchy of Limbourg

Duchy of Luxembourg

County of Nevers

County of Rethel

County of Burgundy

Duchy of Burgundy

• Dukes of Burgundy family tree

1. ^ National Gallery Catalogues: The Fifteenth Century Netherlandish Paintings by Lorne Campbell, 1998, ISBN 185709171
2. ^ ^{a b} T Kren & S McKendrick (eds), Illuminating the Renaissance - The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe, Getty Museum / Royal Academy of Arts, 2003, p. 68, ISBN 19033973287

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Burgundy

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Philip III Duke of Burgundy

• Brief Profile - Contains a short biography of Philip, from "The Best of Dijon".
• EHistory page - Short sketch of the Duke's life, from E-History.com.
• The Funeral of Duke Philip the Good - Text by Edward A. Tabri, from the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia.
• The tomb of Philip the Good - Article and photo from "The Best of Dijon".
• Joan of Arc's First Letter to Philip - Mention of a letter dictated by Joan of Arc to Duke Philip in June of 1429, translated by Allen Williamson.
• Joan of Arc's Second Letter to Philip - Translation by Allen Williamson of a letter dictated by Joan of Arc to Duke Philip on 17 July 1429.
• Philip III - Article from the Web Gallery of Art.
• Philip the Good in the 1911 Encycopedia Britannica at 1911encyclopedia.org
• Burgundy in the 1907 Catholic Encycopedia at BibleWiki
• Burgundy in the 1913 Catholic Encycopedia at NewAdvent.org