And all this time, close at hand and
watchful, there was a mighty State, called "The Burgundies," whose
dominions were ever stretching farther and farther.
At last a day came when a certain Count of Flanders died, leaving no
heir male, and a Duke of Burgundy, called Philip the Hardy, married a
Flemish Princess, and obtained possession of Flanders. Gradually after
that the Dukes of Burgundy became rulers of all the country which we
now call Belgium, except the Principality of Liege, which remained
independent under its Bishop-Princes till recent times.
The last Duke of Burgundy was Charles the Bold, a brave warrior, but
very fierce and cruel. He was killed in a battle, and his daughter,
Mary of Burgundy, married an Austrian Archduke called Maximilian; and
then Flanders, Brabant, and the other places we have spoken of, passed
under the Austrian Royal Family, which is called the House of
Hapsburg.
Maximilian and Mary had a son, called Philip the Handsome, who married
Joanna the Mad, daughter of King Ferdinand of Spain. The son of this
marriage was Charles V., who was neither mad nor handsome, but one of
the most famous men in history.
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