Editing Charles the Bold (section)

=== Legislation ===
[[File:Plechtige openingszitting van het Parlement van Mechelen.jpg|alt=Assembly of forty four gentlemen dressed in scarlet red in the Parliament of Mechelen, with Charles the Bold sitting in the centre, presiding the event|thumb|476x476px|''Solemn opening session of the Parliament of Mechelen under Charles the Bold'', Jan Coessaet, 1587, {{Interlanguage link|Museum Hof van Busleyden|nl|Museum Hof van Busleyden}}]]

Upon his ascension as duke in 1468, Charles sought to dismantle the jurisdiction of the [[Parlement of Paris]] as the highest juridical power within his country. The cities and institutions in Burgundy relied on the parlement for challenging legal decisions. This irritated the Dukes of Burgundy who detested any reliance on France. Philip the Good had established an itinerant, but less powerful, court of justice that travelled all across the country.<ref>{{harvnb|Schnerb|2008|p=451}}; {{harvnb|Van Loo|2021|page=416}}</ref> Charles established a [[Great Council of Mechelen|central sovereign court]] in [[Mechelen]] under his 1473 ordinance of [[Thionville]]. The city would house the new [[Court of Auditors (France)|Court of Auditors]], which previously resided in Lille and Brussels. The language of this parliament was French, with two-thirds of its personnel being Burgundian.{{Sfn|Vaughan|Paravicini|2002|pp=186–187}} The Mechelen parliament only held authority in the [[Low Countries]]. In the Burgundian mainlands, Charles established another parliament whose seat moved between [[Beaune]] and [[Dole, Jura|Dole]].{{Sfn|Van Loo|2021|p=417}}

In Charles's own words, the proper administration of justice was "the soul and the spirit of the public entity."{{Sfn|Schepper|2007|p=187}} He was recognised as the first sovereign to make a serious effort to impose peace and justice upon the Low Countries, and he was regarded as "a prince of Justice" by historian Andreas van Haul, a century after his death.{{Sfn|Van Loo|2021|p=418}} However, [[Georges Chastellain]] criticized Charles for his lack of mercy while imposing justice.{{Sfn|Golubeva|2013|p=42}} Charles damaged his relations with his people by inspecting and regulating every aspect of their lives, and he was unnecessarily harsh.{{Sfn|Kontler|Somos|2017|p=403}} Charles wanted to reduce the influence of the local aldermen, who were viewed by the commoners as the local court, and he undermined the Mechelen parliament.{{Sfn|Van Loo|2021|p=418}} To both increase his grip on the seats of justice and to fill up his treasury, Charles dismissed the aldermen and sold their offices to the highest bidders; only the wealthiest subjects came to hold those positions.{{Sfn|Van Loo|2021|p=418}} Many institutions protested against these practices, but Charles persisted because he constantly needed to fund his armies.{{Sfn|Blockmans|Pervenier|1999|p=193}}