Burgundy

There were various bits to the Duchy of Burgundy. One was Burgundy, in France (very nice wine). Alongside Burgundy were various other French lands. These were lost to the French by Charles the Bold (or Rash) in 1477. (That's him, in the armour.)

The other bit of the Duchy was the Burgundian Netherlands. These are also called the Low Countries, and might even be called Flanders - so look out!

Duke Charles the Bold (1467-77) married, as his second wife, Margaret of York in 1468. Charles had major ambitions to expand the Duchy, but he failed, and was killed in battle in 1477 (his corpse was discovered the next day, half-eaten by wolves).

Margaret of Burgundy (d.1503) was implacably opposed to Henry VII. She was Edward IV and Richard III's sister, and could not bear to see this Tudor usurper on the throne. She supported Lambert Simnel, Perkin Warbeck and any de la Pole who came her way.

In 1477, Charles' daughter (Maggie's step-daughter) Mary (1477-82) succeeded as Duchess of Burgundy. (That's her, to the right, reading a book of hours.) She married Maximilian von Hapsburg, the Holy Roman Emperor. She died in a riding accident.

Her son Philip (1482-1506) married Joanna the Mad of Castile, and they had Charles V. But he's another story.