Josh Zucker

Grand Dukes of the West: A History of Valois Burgundy

History EN ↓ 81 episodes

The story of Valois Burgundy is one of the most exciting of the Late Middle Ages. The four Valois Dukes of Burgundy used political intrigue, calculated splendor, economic power, and good old-fashioned violence to forge a state out of the many Duchies and Counties between France and the Holy Roman Empire. During Burgundy's height its Dukes were seen by many as the equals of Kings and Emperors and their court was at the center of Western Europe's cultural and political development. And then it all fell apart. Please join me as I explore the history and legacy of this forgotten kingdom.

Author

Josh Zucker

Episodes

Episode 6: Two Philips, Two Charles, and Many Jacques 08.08.2022 27:44

1356 was a year of disaster for the French Crown. The Battle of Poitiers saw King John captured and taken to England, the French army significantly weakened, and central authority collapse. Back in France, John's oldest son the Dauphin Charles was struggling to hold it all together. English raids, peasant revolt, and Norman rebellion all caused headache after headache for the Dauphin while Joh...

Episode 5: The Hundred Years War 25.07.2022 34:40

The Hundred Years war did not arise from a vacuum. The 12th and 13th centuries had seen near constant conflict between the English and French Crowns. As both kingdoms began to grow stronger and richer the wars between the two would also grow in intensity. In 1337 tensions boiled over yet again and war was declared. Brutal raids devastated the French countryside, disastrous battles loomed destroyed...

Episode 4: Flanders and the Rise of Towns 11.07.2022 35:24

If there was one good that dominated medieval commerce it was cloth, and if there was one region that dominated the production and trade of cloth it was Flanders. Flanders, tucked right between France, The Holy Roman Empire, and England, was the commercial center of medieval Northern Europe. It's cities were rich and powerful and at times brought the flower of French Chivalry to their knees. ...

Episode 3: The House of Burgundy 27.06.2022 25:18

Before there were Valois, there were Capetians, both in France and in Burgundy. The Capetian House of Burgundy ruled the Duchy for over three centuries and transformed it from a collection of territories to a single political unit. These dukes set the stage for their Valois successors to rise to great heights. Time Period Covered: 1016-1350 Notable People: Hugh Capet, King Robert II, Duke Odo IV N...

Episode 2: From Kingdom to Duchy 13.06.2022 25:50

In this episode we're covering the centuries between King Clothair's conquest of the Kingdom of Burgundy and King Robert II's conquest of the Duchy of Burgundy. A lot changed in that period and we're going to look at the decline of the Merovingians, the rise and fall of the Carolingians, the rise of Feudalism, some of the big events of Frankish History, and how Burgundy became a Duchy. I hope you'...

Episode 1: The Burgundians and Their Kingdoms 30.05.2022 24:15

Welcome to Grand Dukes of the West! This episode begins with an introduction to the show and continues with a history of the Late Antique kingdoms of the Burgundians. The Burgundians were not the most famous of the Germanic Tribes that menaced the Roman Empire in its twilight days, but they did leave a lasting legacy. Time Period Covered: 406-534 Notable People: Gundahar, Aetius, Gundabad, Clovis...