31 - A Luckless Legate in Liège

History of the Netherlands

At the beginning of 1468, after having crushed a second uprising in Liège in the space of two years, Charles the Bold set about the all-important task of figuring out to whom he was going to marry. At the same time, he was once again being dragged into affairs in France as petulant nobles there began once more to grumble militarily about his nemesis, French king, Louis XI. Although Charles and Louis’ enmity stretched back to before either of them had taken the reigns of power, it had become focused on the region of the Somme towns, which Charles’ father had remarkably ceded to Louis before his death, but which Charles had re-taken possession of in the treaty of Conflans. While preparing to go to war against France once again, Liège erupted once more into revolt. A papal legate named Onofrio de Santa Croce was sent to Liège in order to try to find a peaceful resolution to this on-going social unrest, and although he did a remarkable job in trying to find a pathway through the murkiness, in the end he was unsuccessful. On October 30, 1468, Charles the Bold, accompanied by a no doubt unhappy French King, Louis XI, would begin a final sack of Liège which would see the city burn for 7 weeks.

With thanks to Stefan Campmans, Paul Trufasu and Matthew Kocian for their Patreon support.

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