John the Fearless: The Growth of Burgundian Power (Longman Paperback) [Paperback]

Richard Vaughan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Longman Paperback | Publication Date: June 1979

John the Fearless, second Duke of Burgundy, is one of the more dramatic and puzzling characters among medieval rulers. He inherited the newly created duchy from his father, and defended and developed its power ruthlessly during his ducal reign (1404-1419). In the process, he allied himself with the English party in France, with whom he was supposed to have made an 'infernal pact', and came to dominate French politics; his manoeuvres led directly to his assassination on the bridge of Montereau in the presence of Charles, dauphin of France, who may have been personally involved. Indeed, the main theme of the book is John the Fearless's activities in France, which are seen in the light of the continued need to exploit French resources for the benefit of Burgundy. John also continued to build on the administrative and financial structures created by his father, which were the mainstay of the ducal power, and he had to deal with the restlessness of the Flemish towns, only recently made part of the Burgundian state.More than any other Burgundian ruler, it is John's personality which determines the course of events: violent and unscrupulous, one quality which John the Fearless completely lacked was prudence. He was a masterful opportunist, who acted impulsively with speed and decision, on the spur of the moment. In the end it was one of his own favoured weapons, political assassination, which was turned against him.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This reissue of Vaughan's seminal series is welcome indeed. Nothing of this scale has been written before or since...on the Burgundian state.... Erudite but highly readable.... An attractive and timely repackaging of an unrivalled classic of Burgundian studies. MEDIUM AEVUM --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: Longman Group United Kingdom (June 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582490472
• ISBN-13: 978-0582490475
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,402,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Work Available Again At Last!, December 16, 2002

By 

Justin M Sturgeon (Monterey, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John the Fearless: The Growth of Burgundian Power (History of Valois Burgundy) (Paperback)

Vaughan's series of books on Valois Burgundy have long been a staple for anyone interested Burgundian history and culture. After a long stretch of being out of print, and very difficult to find, these new editions are sure to be welcomed by many historians. Added to Vaughan's work is a fantastic new introduction written for the 2002 edition by Malcolm Vale (another historian I would readily recommend).
While these works may be older, and more recent work has been done on Burgundy, Vaughan's scholarship is still first-rate. A must for the bookshelf of anyone interested in Valois Burgundy, or Northern Europe in the late 14th and 15th centuries.

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, solid history, August 26, 2011

By 

Caleb Hanson (Wilmington, MA, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John the Fearless: The Growth of Burgundian Power (History of Valois Burgundy) (Paperback)

The second volume of Vaughan's series on the dukes of Burgundy. John the Fearless usually comes across in history as something of a bad guy, but that's usually because the history in question is written as a history of *France*; Vaughan is writing a history of *Burgundy* (not just the duchy, but the whole collection of provinces cobbled together by the dynasty), and from that perspective John comes off a little better. Still a vain, greedy, manipulative, amoral, unfaithful, paranoid feudal dynast, but Vaughan would say he was no worse than any of his peers, just more successful that's all.

Not a history in the narrative sense: yes, it is mostly in chronological order, but Vaughan rather assumes that the reader knows the general sequence of events already, and something about the major players. Instead, it is analytic and institutional, concentrating more on how John administered and ruled his scattered and diverse holdings. The analysis is documented wonderfully well, with plenty of details and figures available thanks to the organized Burgundian bureaucracy, and lots of lengthy quotations from contemporary sources. On the other hand, after chapters full of carefully objective tone, with straightforward statements backed up by letters and figures, Vaughan can suddenly let drop some very subjective charges of hypocrisy and "palpable insincerity" without citing much of any proof at all except non-fulfillment. There's sometimes a drastic clash of tone, is what I'm saying.

Great, solid history writing, absolutely required for anyone studying the period in particular, but I would not recommend unreservedly it for the casual reader: it has more analysis than narrative, many more trees than forest.