Editing Charles the Bold (section)

== Death ==

=== Battle of Nancy ===
{{Main|Battle of Nancy}}
[[File:The-Finding-of-the-body-of-Charles-the-Bold-after-the-Battle-of-Nancy-1865-Found-in-the-collection.jpg|alt=The naked corpse of Charles the Bold found after the Battle of Nancy|thumb|263x263px|Charles's corpse found after the [[Battle of Nancy]], [[Auguste Feyen-Perrin]], 1865, [[Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy|Musée des Beaux-Arts]], [[Nancy, France|Nancy]]]]

While Charles may have wanted to continue the war against the Swiss, his plans changed drastically when Nancy was reconquered by René II on 6 October.{{Sfn|Smith|De Vries|p=197|2005}} In need of money, Charles took a large loan from the [[Medici Bank|Medici bank]] with which he assembled 10,000 hastily gathered men.{{Sfn|Van Loo|2021|p=445}} The rest of his army consisted of the Italian mercenaries under the command of the {{Ill|Count of Campobasso|fr|Comte de Campobasso}}, the Burgundian garrison in Nancy, and 8,000 reinforcements from the [[Burgundian Netherlands|Netherlands]].{{Sfn|Vaughan|Paravicini|2002|p=419}} Charles arrived before Nancy at 11 October and by 22 October had begun bombarding the city walls. The siege continued throughout the harsh winter.{{Sfn|Smith|De Vries|2005|p=198}} Charles was hoping that he could enter the city before any of Rene's allies came to raise the siege.{{Sfn|Vaughan|Paravicini|2002|p=420}}

Meanwhile, René spent November and December negotiating with the Swiss to hire an army of mercenaries and with Louis XI to pay the Swiss. He was eventually successful with both and marched towards Nancy from Basel on 26 December with 9,000 Swiss mercenaries.{{Sfn|Dean|2014|p=40}} Between 31 December and 3 January 1477, the Count of Campobasso and his Italian mercenaries deserted the Burgundians.{{Sfn|Dean|2014|p=39}}{{Sfn|Walsh|2005|p=367}} They joined René and fought the Burgundians in the forthcoming battle.{{Sfn|Walsh|2005|p=367}}{{Efn|It is not clear what was Campobasso's position during the battle. One Neapolitan account reports that Charles found himself engaged in a duel with Campobasso during the battle.{{sfn|Walsh|2005|p=368}} According to Angelo de Tummmulilis, Charles had Campobasso at his mercy but spared him and told him to flee.{{sfn|Walsh|2005|p=399}}}}

On 5 January, in heavy snow, René and his army marched towards the Burgundian position.{{Sfn|Smith|De Vries|2005|p=199}} The snow obscured their movements, and they [[Flanking maneuver|outflanked]] the Burgundian army by marching around towards their front, where Charles had not placed pickets.{{Sfn|Dean|2014|p=41}} Around noon they attacked the Burgundians, whose artillery was too slow to engage with the quickly approaching army.{{Sfn|Smith|De Vries|2005|p=200}} Charles tried to rally his men, but to no avail, for the Burgundians were already fleeing from the battlefield.{{Sfn|Dean|2014|p=43}} Meanwhile, the Alsatian and Swiss infantry encircled Charles and his horsemen. In the [[Meurthe (river)|River Meurthe]] he fell from his horse, and was struck on his head with a [[halberd]], which pierced his helmet and went into his skull.{{Sfn|Dean|2014|p=43}} Half of the Burgundian army died during the battle or while retreating.{{Sfn|Dean|2014|p=43}} Only those who escaped the fifty kilometers to [[Metz]] survived.{{Sfn|Smith|De Vries|2005|p=200}}

=== Burial ===
[[File:René-II-Charles-téméraire.jpg|alt=Rene II standing before the body of Charles the Bold, who wears a golden crown|thumb|Duke René II of Lorraine holding the hands of the corpse of Charles the Bold, ''Chronique scandaleuse'' by Jean de Roye]]

The corpse of Charles the Bold was found two days after the battle, when it was found lying on the ice-bound river, with half of his head frozen.{{Sfn|Dean|2014|p=43}} It took a group consisting of Charles's Roman [[valet]], his Portuguese personal physician, his chaplain, [[Olivier de la Marche]], and two of his bastard brothers to identify the corpse through a missing tooth, ingrown toenail, and long fingernails.{{Sfn|Monter|2007|p=23}} His body was moved to Nancy with full honours, where it was displayed for five days.{{Sfn|Dean|2014|p=43}} René buried him in the Saint-George [[collegiate church]] of Nancy.{{Sfn|Salet|1982|p=343}} In Artois, people refused to believe he was dead; they believed he had escaped to Germany to undergo seven years of penance, and would reappear again.{{Sfn|Monter|2007|p=23}}

Margaret of York, Charles's wife, requested the return of his body, but René refused.{{Sfn|Salet|1982|p=343}} Over 70 years after Charles's death, on 22 September 1550, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] exhumed the body and brought it to [[Luxembourg City|Luxembourg]] to strengthen his claim over Burgundy. Three years later, Charles's bones were again exhumed to their final resting place, the [[Church of Our Lady, Bruges]], beside his daughter, Mary of Burgundy.{{Sfn|Salet|1982|p=343}} In 1559, [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] ordered the construction of a monument over the tomb of Charles, which was completed in 1563.{{Sfn|Salet|1982|p=343}} Philip would hold [[Mass (liturgy)|masses]] for the repose of the soul of Charles and [[Death anniversary|commemorated the date of his death]], 5 January.{{Sfn|Salet|1982|p=344}}

=== Aftermath ===
{{Main|War of the Burgundian Succession}}
[[File:Map France 1477-en.svg|thumb|240px|Burgundian territories (orange/yellow) and limits of France (red) after the [[Burgundian Wars]].]]

Louis XI learned of Charles's death even before it reached Burgundy; he took advantage of the lack of leadership to invade Burgundy through Picardy, Artois, and [[Mâcon]] only three weeks after the Battle of Nancy.{{Sfn|Blockmans|Pervenier|1999|p=195}} Ghent rose in rebellion, executing two of Charles's closest collaborators, [[William Hugonet]] and [[Guy of Brimeu]].{{Sfn|Schnerb|2008|p=455}} Charles's former conquests, Liége and Guelders, rapidly sought their independence, and in Luxembourg a struggle broke out about whether to recognize Mary of Burgundy as Charles's successor.{{Sfn|Blockmans|Pervenier|1999|p=195}} Sigismund of Austria and the Swiss vied for [[Franche-Comté]]; Holland, Zeeland, Frisia, and Hainault were claimed by the Count Palatine and the Duke of Bavaria.{{Sfn|Knecht|2007|p=104}}

Mary, the sole child of Charles, and Margaret of York, his widow, were confronted by a crisis. To secure her legitimacy as ruler, Mary signed the [[Great Privilege]] on 11 February 1477 and restored powers to the States General in [[County of Flanders|Flanders]], [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]], [[County of Hainaut|Hainaut]], and [[County of Holland|Holland]].{{Sfn|Koenigsberger|2001|p=42}} To secure an alliance with the Habsburgs, Mary married Maximilian, son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, in August 1477.{{Sfn|Schnerb|2008|p=455}} Maximilian used a combination of diplomacy and military strength to defend and regain territories from Louis XI, though France kept the geographic Duchy of Burgundy; he also quelled several internal revolts to preserve a great deal of the Burgundian State.{{Sfn|Blockmans|Pervenier|1999|p=195}} Mary died on 27 March 1482, and passed her lands and the title of Duke of Burgundy to her son and heir, [[Philip the Handsome|Philip]].{{Sfn|Blockmans|Pervenier|1999|p=199}}