Source: National Archives & Historic Records of Duchy of Brabant (Belgium)
Politics • Historical Archive • 🇧🇪 Belgium • 5 views

Mary of Burgundy 🇧🇪

Marie de Bourgogne / Maria van Bourgondië (Known as "Mary the Rich")
Duchess of Burgundy, Sovereign of the Low Countries, Signer of the Great Privilege
Born Feb 13, 1457 🇧🇪 Brussels (Coudenberg Palace), Belgium
Passed Away Mar 27, 1482 Bruges, County of Flanders (Belgium)
Lifespan 25 years old
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Notice / Correction
"My heart belongs to the good people of Flanders, whose ancient liberties I swore to defend with my life."

Archival Overview

Sovereign Duchess of Burgundy whose marriage to Archduke Maximilian of Austria brought the Low Countries into the Habsburg sphere, preserving Netherlandish territorial integrity against King Louis XI of France.

Biographical Record

Upon the sudden death of her father Charles the Bold in 1477, the twenty-year-old Mary faced French invasion and rebellion from Flemish cities. To secure urban support, she signed the historic Great Privilege, restoring municipal liberties and provincial parliaments.

Her marriage to Maximilian of Habsburg in Ghent united Netherlandish commerce with imperial Austrian power, defeating French incursions. Her untimely death from a hunting fall in 1482 threw Flanders into years of regency disputes under her young son Philip the Handsome.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk)
Bruges, Belgium
GPS: 51.2047, 3.2244
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