If the 30's were Burgundy's Critical Decade, the 40's were...less critical. But that's not to say that nothing happened, over the course of the 40's Philip the Good and his government continued to work on centralizing the Burgundian State and bringing it's component pieces into alignment.

Time Period Covered: 1438-1450

Notable People: Philip the Good, Nicolas Rolin, Hugh de Lannoy, William de Lalaing, Jean de Lannoy, Frank van Borselen, Reinoud van Brederode, Goeswijn de Wilde, Bengaert Say

Notable Events/Developments: Creation of the Rekenkamer in Holland, Reform of the Burgundian Council, Rise of the Middle Class in the Burgundian Administration, Creation of the Epargne

And 116 years later, the Hundred Years War comes to an End.

Time Period Covered: 1448-1453

Notable People: Charles VII of France, Henry VI of England, John of Orleans Count of Dunois, Arthur de Richemont Constable of France, John Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury, Edmund Beaufort Duke of Somerset

Notable Events/Developments: Seizure of Fougeres, Breakdown of the Truce of Tours, Norman Campaign (1449-1450), Battle of Formigny, Gascon Campaign (1450-1451), Battle of Castillon

Believe it or not, the Hundred Years War is still going on, but now it's become a bit on-again-off-again. The Truce of Tours, agreed to in 1444, gave both sides the chance to take a breath and prepare for the future, whatever that might hold.

Time Period Covered: 1440-1448

Notable People: Charles VII of France, Henry VI of England, Philip the Good, Isabella of Portugal, Louis XI of France, Antoine de Chabannes, Thibaud de Neuchatel, Alienor de Poitiers

Notable Events/Developments: Truce of Tours, French Military reforms of the 1440s, Handover of Maine

In the mid-1440s, Frederick III the King of Germany and Duke Philip the Good entered into negotiations over the prospect of giving the Duke a crown. While Frederick pictured simply elevating one of Philip's territories from Duchy to Kingdom, the Duke of Burgundy was more ambitious and attempted to resurrect the old Frankish Kingdom of Lotharingia.

Time Period Covered: 1440-1457

Notable People: Philip the Good, Frederick III, Duke Adolph IV of Cleves, Duke John I of Cleves, Adolph of Cleves Lord of Ravenstein, Count Freidrich IV of Mors, Dietrich of Mors Archbishop of Cologne, Arnold of Egmond Duke of Guelders, Duke Adolph of Julich-Berg, Duke Gerhard of Julich-Berg, Rene of Anjou, Antoine Count of Vaudemont, Ferry of Vaudemont, Charles VII of France, Louis XI of France

Notable Events/Developments: Soest Feud, Münster Diocesan Feud, Battle of Saint Hubert's Day, Siege of Metz (1444)

After adding the Duchies of Brabant and Limburg and the Counties of Hainault, Holland, Zeeland, and Namur to his domains, Philip the Good set his sights on the Duchy of Luxembourg. But the Duke of Burgundy wasn't the only with designs on the Duchy.

Time Period Covered: 1436-1443

Notable People: Philip the Good, Elizabeth of Gorlitz, Ladislaus the Posthumous, William III of Saxony, Rupert of Virneburg, Ernst of Gliechen, Frederick III, Jacob von Sierck, John of Nevers, Cornille of Burgundy, Anthony of Burgundy

Notable Events/Developments: Burgundian Acquisition of Luxembourg

After the Kingships of Rudolf and Albert, the Habsburg's fortunes on the Imperial Stage diminished, but the family was still one of the leading Houses in the Holy Roman Empire, and their story is far from over.

Time Period Covered: 1290-1440

Notable People: Albert II of Habsburg, Rudolf IV of Habsburg, Leopold III of Habsburg, Frederick of the Empty Pockets, Ernst the Iron, Albert V of Habsburg, Frederick III

Notable Events/Developments: Birth of the Old Swiss Confederacy, Battle of Mortgarten, Battle of Sempach, Habsburg Acquisition of Carinthia and Carniola, Habsburg Acquisition of Tyrol, Privilegium Maius

When the Electors of the Holy Roman Empire chose Rudolf of Habsburg to be the new King of Germany, they were hoping that he'd be someone they could control. But Rudolf, despite being a minor Count from Swabia, would prove to be nobody's puppet, and over the course of his reign he transformed the fortunes of his family, and the Empire as a whole.

Time Period Covered: 1250-1330

Notable People: Rudolf I of Germany, Albert I of Germany, Ottokar II of Bohemia, Frederick the Fair, Ludwig the Bavarian

Notable Events/Developments: Great Interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire, Election of Rudolf I, The Battle on the Marchfeld, Establishment of Landvogts, Habsburg acquisition of Austria, Election of Adolf of Nassau, Election of Albert I, Double Election of Frederick the Fair and Ludwig the Bavarian

The Hanseatic League was a major player in Northern Europe for centuries, it dominated trade in the North and Baltic Seas, fought wars with rival powers, and dictated terms to princes. But the League was not a state, proto-state, or quasi-state, it was a collection of Merchants, Guilds, and Towns.

Time Period Covered: 1143-1441

Notable Events/Developments: Founding of Lubeck, Formation of the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic Boycotts of Bruges (1280-1282, 1358-1360, 1388-1391), Danish-Hanseatic War, The Confederation of Cologne, Dutch-Hanseatic War

Throughout the later 1430s, Charles I Duke of Bourbon found his influence at the court of Charles VII falling day after day. Bourbon was not content to take his sidelining laying down, and so he began to plot, and when that failed he plotted again, and when that failed...

Time Period Covered: 1435-1442

Notable People: Charles VII of France, Charles of Anjou Count of Maine, Charles I Duke of Bourbon, John Bastard of Orleans Count of Dunois, John II Duke of Alencon, Louis XI of France, Jean Louvet, Arthur de Richemont Constable of France

Notable Events/Developments: Bourbon's 1437 Plot, The Praguerie, Assembly of the Princes in Nevers (1442)

When Philip the Good signed the Treaty of Arras, he hoped that he would be able to put all the years of war and strife behind him. However, the ill will built up over the years of Anglo-Burgundian alliance would be hard to surmount and the Duke of Burgundy is now on the lookout for allies at the French Court.

Thank you to Emmanuel Dubois from the La Fayette, We Are Here! Podcast for reading one of Charles of Orleans poems.

I will be speaking at the Intelligent Speech conference on February 8. Check out intelligentspeechonline.com for details and tickets!

Time Period Covered: 1436-1440

Notable People: Philip the Good, Isabella of Portugal Duchess of Burgundy, Charles VII of France, Charles Duke of Orleans, John of Luxembourg Count of Ligny, Louis of Luxembourg Count of Saint-Pol, Hugh de Lannoy, Cardinal Henry Beaufort

Notable Events/Developments: Anglo-French Negotiations at Calais (1439), Rise of the Ecocheurs, Return of Charles of Orleans to France, Death of John of Luxembourg, Intercursus of 1439