What do you think?
Rate this book
Charles The Bold AND Italy, (1467-1477): Politics And Personnel
Charles the Bold in Italy, 1467-1477 is the definitive study of the last reigning Duke of Burgundy's relations with the Italian states. Charles's dealings with Italy have been studied previously, but this book€”bolstered by Richard Walsh's extensive research in European archives€”is by far the most comprehensive examination of Charles the Bold's military, diplomatic, and economic relations with the subcontinent. Charles the Bold in Italy will be indispensable to scholars of French and Italian history and diplomacy.
504 pages, Hardcover
First published May 30, 2005
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 1, 2008
My Review from Amazon:
Dr. Richard Walsh's monumental work is an absolutely vital addition to the library of any student of the Court of Valois Burgundy, and any student of the last Valois Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold.
The book covers the Italian influence in Charles the Bolds court, as well as the major diplomats and the Italian exiles and adventurers, who helped shape the ultimate form of the Burgundian army of the Ordinances, and of course explores the political course of Burgundy in the Italian peninsula, offering evidence for a more effective diplomatic strategy than has generally been acknowledged or recognized by previous scholarship.
The only critique I can add as a student of the Companies of the Ordinances of Charles the Bold, is a slight confusion as to the Italian condottiere captains tenure (sometimes brief, as the captains of companies were appointed or dismissed on an annual basis, and sometimes more often as necessity dictated) as captains of ordinance companies that existed prior to the Italian captains entering Burgundian service. Many of these existed both before and after the Italian captains tenures,which confuses the nature of the ethnic origins of the personnel of some companies with the Italian lances brought into Burgundian service in 1473. The author does address this in one example, but insufficiently in my understanding of the subject.
For a scholarly work, the book is eminently readable. If a student of Valois Burgundy could only have four authors works as the basic foundation of a library on the subject, they would include Walsh's book, alongside of Vaughn's four volumes, John Foster Kirk's Charles the Bold, and Blockman and Preveniers.
A must read for any student of the subject.
Dr. Richard Walsh's monumental work is an absolutely vital addition to the library of any student of the Court of Valois Burgundy, and any student of the last Valois Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold.
The book covers the Italian influence in Charles the Bolds court, as well as the major diplomats and the Italian exiles and adventurers, who helped shape the ultimate form of the Burgundian army of the Ordinances, and of course explores the political course of Burgundy in the Italian peninsula, offering evidence for a more effective diplomatic strategy than has generally been acknowledged or recognized by previous scholarship.
The only critique I can add as a student of the Companies of the Ordinances of Charles the Bold, is a slight confusion as to the Italian condottiere captains tenure (sometimes brief, as the captains of companies were appointed or dismissed on an annual basis, and sometimes more often as necessity dictated) as captains of ordinance companies that existed prior to the Italian captains entering Burgundian service. Many of these existed both before and after the Italian captains tenures,which confuses the nature of the ethnic origins of the personnel of some companies with the Italian lances brought into Burgundian service in 1473. The author does address this in one example, but insufficiently in my understanding of the subject.
For a scholarly work, the book is eminently readable. If a student of Valois Burgundy could only have four authors works as the basic foundation of a library on the subject, they would include Walsh's book, alongside of Vaughn's four volumes, John Foster Kirk's Charles the Bold, and Blockman and Preveniers.
A must read for any student of the subject.
Displaying 1 of 1 review