Who is Charles the Bold?

Charles the Bold was one of the most powerful and one of the wealthiest princes in Europe during the late Middle Ages. He was full of contradictions – which makes him so fascinating today. He loved display and extravagance, contracted clever marriage-alliances, and launched cruel and merciless campaigns and wars.

A Chivalrous Knight with a Love for Grandeur

To document and enhance his power, Charles went to incredible lengths in the splendour and extravagance of his court. The treasures amassed by this knight with a love for grandeur are brought together and presented at the Kunsthistorisches Museum for the first time. They include the “Burgundian Booty”, perhaps the greatest spoils of war ever captured by a victorious army. Preserved in Swiss collections, it offers a complete picture of the prince and the period in which he lived.

The last Burgundian

As the last Burgundian, Charles the Bold marks the beginning of the Habsburg’s rise to become a great power. The marriage of his sole daughter, Mary, and Maximilian of Habsburg was meant to secure the imperial crown for Charles the Bold. However, his untimely death in the Battle of Nancy meant that the rich Burgundian inheritance fell to the House of Habsburg. Only two generations later, the Duke’s great-grandson, Charles V, would rule an empire in which “the sun never set”.

A Cruel and Merciless Commander

Charles the Bold greatly enlarged his domains in bloody campaigns against his neighbours before dying in the Battle of Nancy. His expansionist wars had filled his coffers with sumptuous treasures that help transport us back to a period celebrated for a great flowering of culture and art.