File:A history of France (1892) (14590196110).jpg

Identifier: historyoffranc02kitc (find matches)
Title: A history of France
Year: 1892 (1890s)
Authors: Kitchin, G. W. (George William), 1827-1912
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Publisher: Oxford : Clarendon Press
Contributing Library: PIMS - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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ty of Flanders,with its Peerage; the County of Artois, and all other landsand lordships that he held in France. The Netherland part ofthe Dukes lands was fairly solid and coherent: Flanders, Bra-bant, Hainault, and Gelderland, in spite of the turbulent vigourof the commercial cities, formed the true heart of his territorialpower, with Brussels for their capital. The great blunder ofCharles lay in this, that he oppressed and bled these wealthyand compact slates in order to carry out his grand ideas in theeast; that in fact he aimed at making Nanci the capital andcentre of his chain of states, instead of being content with aless ambitious and more secure power in the west and north-west of the Empire. His was naturally the headship of theLow Dutch branch of the Germanic peoples: but he threwaway that fine position, that he might grasp at a shadow,and fall^ ^ Commines (ed, 1785), Preuves de la Preface, i. pp. 240, 242. ^ This is the place lor a summary of his territories. On the death of
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A.D. 1467. TERRITORIES OF CHARLES THE BOLD. 59 By far the largest part of his lands, then, were German:and consequently the Duke, though French by origin, seemedlong to waver between a French or a German policy. Therewere yet before him two problems: both he doubtless hopedto solve in course of time; but which should be taken first ?The two problems were:—Shoiild he keep down the Kingof France by a combination of princes all round his frontiers,so carrying on the policy of the league of the Public Wealand increasing his own power? or. Should he consolidatehimself to the north and east, and build up an Empire ofthe Rhine ? The former, the French policy, was one of coali-tion ; the latter, the German, of consolidation: the formerfeudal, the latter monarchical, even imperial. On the oneside we have his famous sarcasm, I love so well the King-dom of France, that for one king there I would gladly seesix; on the other side we have his speech at Nanci, in which Philip of Rouvres, last Duke

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