Isabel of Burgundy

by Aline S. Taylor

When the powerful Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, took a Portuguese princess as his third wife, he found he had married a woman who not only had large ambitions, but also the ingenuity and determination to attain them. For more than twenty-five years after her marriage in 1429, Isabel wielded considerable influence in the domestic and foreign affairs of Burgundy, a small, strategically placed duchy battling to maintain its independence and prosperity in a triangular struggle with England and France. First as a mediator and then as a negotiator who was recognized as speaking with the full authority of Burgundy during her husband's absences, Isabel faced Charles VII of France across the bargaining table, fought to secure Burgundy's economic future and political sovereignty, and helped maintain domestic equilibrium during civil rebellions. In tracing Isabel's career, one follows a court's descent from opulence to dissolution; from the Burgundian forces' capture and betrayal of Joan of