In the Shadow of Burgundy

In recent years the study of medieval courts has become a flourishing field. The courts of kings and popes, or of the Burgundian dukes, have usually attracted most attention. This book offers by contrast a wide-ranging study of a little-known, medium-sized court - that of Guelders in the Low Countries. Guelders offers an excellent vantage point for the study of European late medieval court culture. It was surrounded by the vast territories of the dukes of Burgundy, and it felt the growing power of the Valois dukes, yet the duchy managed to remain independent until 1473. Rich archival sources - including a long and virtually unbroken series of ducal accounts - reveal much about the rise of territorial or ‘proto-national’ awareness and about the role of the court in this process. The book also conveys the striking cultural and political richness of the court, poised between French and German spheres of influence.

• A wholly original in-depth study of a culturally diverse medium-sized court of the later middle ages • Presents in a European context a court culture which has been overlooked in research in favour of the courts of kings and popes or of the Burgundian dukes • Contains material on court culture, art, literature, music, and all the other manifestations of an aspiring court culture

Foreword; Brief chronology of the history of the counts and dukes of Guelders; Introduction; Part I. Court: 1. The social framework: functions and functionaries; 2. A medium-sized court on its travels; 3. Finances at the court: in search of money; 4. The ideal prince; Part II. The Arts: 5. Music and musicians; 6. Literature: the written and the spoken word; 7. Books: readers, writers and illuminators; 8. Visual and applied arts; Part III. Court Culture: 9. Construction and consolidation: the duke and his court; 10. Construction and consolidation: the dukes and the wider context; 11. Court culture and the forming of a ‘territorial’ consciousness; Appendix: Reconstruction of the book collection of Duke Arnold and Duchess Catherine; Sources and bibliography.