Antoine de Bourgogne (1421 – 5 May 1504), known to his contemporaries as the Bastard of Burgundy or ''Le grand bâtard'' ("the Great Bastard"), was the natural son (and second child) of
Philip III, Duke of Burgundy
Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reig ...
, and one of his mistresses, Jeanne de Presle. He was comte de La Roche (Ardenne), de Grandpré, de Sainte-Menehould et de Guînes, seigneur de Crèvecoeur, Beveren et Tournehem, and chevalier of the
Golden Fleece.
Life
Born in 1421, possibly at
Lizy in
Picardy
Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
, he was brought up in the Burgundian court with his younger
half-brother
A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child.
While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised ...
, the Count of
Charolais, later
Charles the Bold
Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...
, last of the
Valois Dukes of
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
, to whom he grew very close. Together with his older illegitimate half-brother
Corneille of Burgundy (died 1452), he was the favourite amongst the many natural children of Philip the Good. In 1459, he married Marie de la Viesville by whom he had five children.
Anthony fought for his father on several campaigns, from at least 1451 onwards, and in 1464 left for a
crusade
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
against the Moors when he helped raise the siege of
Ceuta
Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...
. In 1456 he was awarded the prestigious
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...
, held by only 29 others at that time. He took part in the
Battle of Montlhéry
The Battle of Montlhéry was fought between Louis XI and the League of the Public Weal on 16 July 1465 in the vicinity of Longpont-sur-Orge. It had no clear winner and therefore did not decide the war.
Insurgency of the Vassal countries
Philip t ...
(1465), when he is said to have saved the life of his half-brother, Charles, after he was separated from his men and wounded in the neck. In 1466, he was present with Charles at the siege of
Dinant
Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...
, and in the same year he was invited by
King Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
for a stay in England during which he jousted against
Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers
Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (c. 144025 June 1483), was an English nobleman, courtier, bibliophile and writer. He was the brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville who married King Edward IV. He was one of the leading members of the Woodvi ...
, the queen's brother, in a famous contest which spread over two days. During this visit, which extended into the summer of 1467, Anthony's father, Philip the Good, died, and Anthony had to hurry back across the channel.
After the death of his father, Anthony participated in nearly every campaign led by the new duke, his half-brother
Charles the Bold
Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...
, starting with the
Liège campaign of 1467, when he commanded the largest contingent of 1,353 men. In 1468, Charles appointed him first
Chamberlain, head of 99 other chamberlains and thirteen
chaplains
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a ho ...
.

In contrast to his rather ascetic younger half-brother Charles, it seems that Anthony inherited his father's sexual proclivities: at the chapter of the
Golden Fleece held in 1468, he was castigated for his
fornication
Fornication generally refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people who are not married to each other. When a married person has consensual sexual relations with one or more partners whom they are not married to, it is called adu ...
and
adultery
Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...
, in spite of his "valour, prowess and prudence and several other good habits and virtues". But Charles trusted Anthony implicitly, and Anthony served his half-brother militarily and diplomatically with considerable success right up to the time of Charles' dramatic death at the
Battle of Nancy
The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive battle of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy on 5 January 1477 by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, against René II, Duke of Lorraine, and the Swiss Confederacy.
René's ...
in 1477. This loyalty was never called into question even when in 1473 he was accused by Charles of accepting a monetary gift of 20,000 gold
écus from Charles' sworn enemy,
Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
.
At the disastrous siege of
Beauvais
Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris.
The Communes of France, commune o ...
in 1472, Antoine reportedly lost his best jewels. In 1475, he was again sent as a diplomat to the King of England, the Duke of
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, the Kings of
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
,
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
and
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, and to
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and the
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
, who received him with great honour. In the middle of these travels, he managed to find time to call in at the
siege of Neuss, and later that year he participated in the conquest of the
Duchy of Lorraine
The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...
.
In 1476–1477, he fought alongside Charles the Bold at the three great battles of
Grandson,
Murten
Murten (German language, German, ) or Morat (French language, French, ; ) is a bilingual Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and a city in the See (district of Fribourg), See district of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Fribourg (can ...
and
Nancy, and was taken hostage at the end of the latter by
René II, Duke of Lorraine
René II (2 May 1451 – 10 December 1508) was Count of Vaudémont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar from 1483 to 1508. He claimed the crown of the Kingdom of Naples and the County of Provence as the Duke of Calabria ...
, and delivered to the King of France, who was anxious that Burgundy should never again rebel. But Antoine had no interest in making trouble, and he offered Louis his services to help stabilize the precarious political situation. He was instrumental in arranging the marriage of
Duchess Mary, his niece and only child and successor of Charles the Bold, to
Maximilian of Austria.
He was a significant collector of
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
s, mostly newly commissioned from the best Flemish illuminators and scribes. He had at least forty-five volumes, of which it is estimated that about thirty were contemporary illuminated volumes. Many volumes with his inscription of ownership survive in various libraries, notably an illustrated
Froissart
Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: ''Jehan''; sometimes known as John Froissart in English; – ) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meli ...
in four volumes. Like many other major patrons, Anthony has had an unknown illuminator he commissioned named for him – the "
Master of Anthony of Burgundy" was first named in 1921, and worked in Bruges in the 1460s and 1470s for many leading bibliophiles.
[T Kren & S McKendrick (eds), Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe, Getty Museum/Royal Academy of Arts, 2003, p.69 & passim, ]
The young King
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable (; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13. His elder sister Anne acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Du ...
legitimized Anthony in 1485 and awarded him the
Order of Saint Michael
The Order of Saint Michael () is a French dynastic order of chivalry, founded by King Louis XI of France on 1 August 1469, in response to the Order of the Golden Fleece founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, Louis' chief competitor fo ...
. He died at
Tournehem near
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
in 1504.
Arms
File:Blason fr Antoine bâtard de Bourgogne.svg, Arms of Antoine of Burgundy: arms of Bourgogne under Philip III, brisé by a cotice en barre argent.
File:Pieter Coustens - Coat-of-Arms of Anthony of Burgundy - WGA05542.jpg, Arms of Antoine of Burgundy as painted by Pierre Coustain in St. Salvator's Cathedral in 1478.
Notes
References
* Vaughan, Richard. ''Charles the Bold: The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy''.
Longman
Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC.
Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...
Group, London 1973.
* Vaughan, Richard. ''Philip the Good: The Apogee of Burgundy''.
Boydell & Brewer
Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Martlesham, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, editio ...
, London 2004.
*
Philippe de Commynes. ''Memoires 1464–1474''. Josephe Calmette, 1964.
*
Olivier de la Marche
Olivier de la Marche (1425–1502) was a courtier, soldier, chronicler and poet in the last decades of the independent Duchy of Burgundy. He was close to Charles the Bold, and after his death held the important position of maître d'hotel to his ...
. ''Memoires d'Olivier de la Marche''. ed. H. Beaune & J. d'Arbaumont, Paris 1888
{{Authority control
Nobility of the Burgundian Netherlands
People from the Burgundian State
House of Valois-Burgundy
1421 births
1504 deaths
Arts in the court of Philip the Good
Knights of the Golden Fleece
Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy)
Book and manuscript collectors
Sons of dukes
Sons of counts