Ligue du Bien public

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the Ligue du Bien public ( League for the common good ), under the leadership of Charles the Bold , then Count of Charolais , a group of French barons came together, which between March and October 1465 against King Louis XI. revolted. The aristocratic revolt was directed against the policy of Ludwig, who wanted to push back the power of the feudal lords in favor of kingship.

background

With the Treaty of Arras , the then French King Charles VII gave the Burgundian Duke Philip the pledge of some cities on the Somme . Charles's son Ludwig, the French king since 1461, aimed at weakening the great aristocratic houses and triggered, among other things, the pledge over the Somme cities. Charles the Bold opposed Ludwig's approach and found support from other high nobles, who also saw their rights curtailed by royal policy. In the league:

In a manifesto published on March 10, 1465, they said they wanted to oppose a disorderly and pathetic government . They intended to install a regent in place of the king who would be none other than the only 18-year-old Charles de Valois, duc de Berry , the king's brother. The king replied on March 16 with a counter manifesto.

The military conflict in contemporary sources

Louis XI. turned to Francesco Sforza for help and proposed an alliance against the common enemy to Liege , which was then signed on June 17th. The king, who also benefited from the effective support of Gaston IV , Count of Foix and Béarn , had an army of 30,000 men at his disposal. Immediately after the outbreak of hostilities, that is already in March, he marched into the Bourbonnais , then turned on a train in the direction of Paris against Francis II, Duke of Brittany, and Charles the Bold.

At Montlhéry there was a battle on July 16, 1465 , which ended in a draw, but allowed each side to claim victory for themselves. The league then tried to negotiate with Paris in order to pull the other cities with it by positioning the most important city in an anti-royal manner. Louis XI. came before the league and moved to Paris. According to Philippe de Commynes (1447–1511), the king gave the people of Paris new strength and placed 2,000 armed men in the city. He did not use any violence during the occupation and did not take revenge on anyone.

The peace

With three treaties peace was made and the common good was privatized after an apt remark by Philippe de Commynes : "le bien publicque estoit converti en bien particulier".

Louis XI. appointed his brother Karl Duke of Normandy ; he gave back the cities on the Somme to Charles the Bold and ceded Boulogne , Guînes , Roye , Péronne and Montdidier to him ; he gave the cities of Mouzon , Sainte-Menehould and Neufchâteau to John of Lorraine ; the Duke of Brittany received Montfort and Étampes , the Duke of Bourbon several dominions in the Auvergne ; the Duke of Nemours became governor of Paris and Île-de-France , the Count of Armagnac got several castles in the Rouergue ; he made Tanneguy du Chastel a grand stable master and the Count of Saint-Pol a connétable . A commission of 36 members, chaired by Dunois, was supposed to remedy the maladministration. The conditions that Louis XI. on the other hand, he paid no attention after a while.

Pardon and reprisals

  • Antoine I. de Croÿ , Minister Conducting Duke Philip III. (Charles the Bold's father) had - bribed by the French king - initiated the return of the cities on the Somme; after Charles's reconciliation with his father, Croy was charged on March 12, 1465 and fled to France with all of his relatives, who had previously held influential offices.
  • Johann II of Bourbon was appointed Constable in 1483 .
  • Pierre d'Amboise was punished for his participation in the league - Louis XI. had Chaumont's castle ravaged - but pardoned him four years later and contributed financially to the costs of the reconstruction.
  • In 1468 Charles de Melun , governor of Paris and the Bastille , was executed at Le Petit-Andely for his ties to the League ; his property was confiscated and given to Antoine de Chabannes .
  • The Duke of Nemours, who had refused full pardon several times, was besieged in 1475 after another betrayal in Carlat Castle, captured, taken to the Bastille , condemned and beheaded in a public square in Paris in 1477 .

literature

  • Philippe de Commynes: Mémoires de Philippe de Commynes . Ed .: Bernard de Mandrot. tape 1 . A. Picard, Paris 1901 ( online ). ( Middle French )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Commynes: Mémoires de Philippe de Commynes . 1901, p. 48 f .
  2. ↑ Commynes: Mémoires de Philippe de Commynes . 1901, p. 62–64 ( ..., il arriva en la ville de Paris en l'estat qu'on doit venir pour reconforter le peuple; car il y vint en très grande compaignie, et mist bien deux mille hommes d'armes en la ville , ... ).
  3. ↑ Commynes: Mémoires de Philippe de Commynes . 1901, p. 81 .
  4. ↑ Henri Forgeot: Jean Balue cardinal d'Angers, 1421 -1491? . E. Bouillon, Paris 1895, p. 46 f . ( on Gallica ). (French)