Preface
PREFACE
Grand Collar of the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece, established in 1430 by Philippe III, Duke of Burgundy, in order to celebrate his third marriage to Princess Isabel of Portugal. Having fallen out of disuse during the rule of Philippe's son Charles, the order was later revitalised by Philippe's grandson-in-law, Maximilian of Austria (husband to Emma of Burgundy, his granddaughter and eventual suo jure ruler of the Burgundian State)
Grand Collar of the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece, established in 1430 by Philippe III, Duke of Burgundy, in order to celebrate his third marriage to Princess Isabel of Portugal. Having fallen out of disuse during the rule of Philippe's son Charles, the order was later revitalised by Philippe's grandson-in-law, Maximilian of Austria (husband to Emma of Burgundy, his granddaughter and eventual suo jure ruler of the Burgundian State)
The early years of Henry VI of England's minority were marked by England's strong connections to the Duchy of Burgundy - first by the two marriages of John, Duke of Bedford (one of the uncles to the young king) - and then by the king's own marriage to the Duke of Burgundy's niece, Marie of Bedford (John's daughter by his first wife, Anna of Burgundy). The closeness with Burgundy saw Henry VI earn his much-needed peace with France, ending the Hundred Years' War and beginning a new phase of Henry's life - bringing to mind a second Henry III, as contemporaries later put it. But in 1459, two key players would enter the stiff, royal world: Emma of Burgundy (Philippe's granddaughter) and Maximilian of Austria (the future Holy Roman Emperor), whose marriage in August 1477 would usher a new golden age for Europe.
