An inheritance left to a child again

Mary dies in 1482 after a hunting accident. Her son Philip is still a child. Maximilian attempts to act as regent, but must negotiate and fight with the towns and estates of the Low Countries. Family continuity offers no guarantee of a peaceful transfer. Agreements with France divide and redistribute the inheritance. In 1493, the Treaty of Senlis returns Artois and the County of Burgundy to Philip’s inheritance. The Duchy of Burgundy remains in French hands. A reduced collection of Charles the Bold’s territories survives, sustained by institutions and court traditions that Mary’s family will make their own.

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Mary of Burgundy

Heir to Charles the Bold from 1477 and titular Duchess of Burgundy. Her marriage to Maximilian of Habsburg linked his house to the Burgundian Netherlands. Disputes with France over the duchy, Franche-Comté and Artois mean that the entire inheritance cannot be presented as territory she governed continuously.

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Maximilian I

Habsburg emperor whose marriage policy laid the foundations of his house’s extraordinary dynastic expansion across Europe.

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Philip I of Castile

The son of Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian of Habsburg, he inherited the Low Countries and, after Senlis in 1493, Franche-Comté and Artois. He retained the ducal title of Burgundy although the duchy was under the French crown. His marriage to Joanna I brought him to Castile and transmitted distinct inheritances to Charles V.

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