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'His appclalion ‘the Bold' is not a mistranslation of tlić igth-ccntury French historians’ lahel 7c Tfmfraire' (‘the rash’), but is in fact what he was callcd during his lifetimc: ‘Charles le Hardi'.

Territories of Valois Burgundy. The heavy linę shows the approximate borders of the Empire. A: Lands acquircd by Duke Philip the Bold. B: Lands acąuired by Duke John the Fearless. C: Lands acąuired by Duke Philip the Good. D: Lands acąuired by Duke Charles thp Bold. E: Lands of the junior branch of the Valois dukes. F: Bishoprics under Burgundian control. G: Tcrritory under Burgundian influence.

Charles the Bold hated Louis and was convinced that lic intended to invade Burgundy. Louis thought Charles was mad; although hc liimself was one of the ugliest of Frcnch kings, hc was fond of imitating Charles’s maniacal gestures!

Charles¹ was the most military-minded of the dukes and loved the rigours of campaigning. His favourite reading was the works and lives of the great classical generals such as Julius Caesar,

Alexander the Great and Hannibal, and it was he who completcly restructured Burgundy’s army, making it a model for almost all European armies for well over a century after his death.

Organisation

It is ofcourse wrong to imagine a single Burgundian amfy. The State of Burgundy was not only surrounded by potentially aggrcssive ncighbours, but was split in four geographically, from east to west by the Duchy of Lorraine, and from north to south by the frontier between France and the Empire (see map). For although the dukes of Burgundy longed to wear a regal crown, they—in theory at least—owed allegiance to the king of France for their lands to the west of the frontier, and to the Emperor for all that lay to the east.

These rifts in the Burgundian statc, together with the Valois dukes’ aggressive political ambitions, necessitated from early times not only a main army, but one or morę secondary armies, not to mention the maintenance of morę or less substantial garrisons in towns and fortresses.

Until 1471, Burguncly’s armies were reeruited from four sourccs: nobles and their numerous followers; the ducal guard (household troops); town militia; and foreign mercenaries. These, following the French model, were divided into:

(1)    Heavy cavalry, consisting of armoured men-at-arms, mostly nobles, forming the nucleus of the army.

(2)    Light cavalry, drawn from the followers that most men-at-arms were required to bring with them: mounted archers, crossbowmen, and swords-men, whose task was to harass the enemy before the main engagement, and to support the men-at-arms.

(3)    Infantry, which formed but a smali proportion of the army, and consisted of pikemen, archers and crossbowmen. It should however be noted that what we cali ‘cavalry’ usually dismounted to fight, and most battles in this period were ultimately battles of infantry.

(4) The ‘taskforce’: usually overlooked, but absolutely vital to any medieval army, and although never included in the numbers of combatants, could be counted by hundreds if not

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