The kings, the dukes and the Arrageois: State building and identity in fifteenth-century Arras

206 Pages·2009·2.386 MB·English

by  Jessica J. Roussanov

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

The Kings, the Dukes and the Arrageois: State Building and Identity in
Fifteenth-Century Arras

A DISSERTATION

SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

for the degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Field of History

By

Jessica J. Roussanov

EVANSTON, ILLINOIS

December 2009
UMI Number: 3386472

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©Copyright 2009 by Jessica J. Roussanov
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ABSTRACT

The Kings, the Dukes and the Arrageois: State Building and Identity in
Fifteenth-Century Arras

Jessica J. Roussanov

In the mid-fifteenth century, Arras, the capital of the county of Artois, was in a politically
and geographically precarious position. Situated within the territory held by the Dukes of
Burgundy, most notably Philip the Good (1419-1467) and Charles the Bold (1467-1477), it was
ruled by lords with sovereign intentions whose realm included the duchy and county of
Burgundy, the Low Countries, and Artois and Flanders. But Arras was also located in the part of
the duchy that was ultimately subject to the Kings of France, Charles VII (1422-1461) and Louis
XI (1461-1483), who, themselves, were seeking to extend their sovereign powers and regain
areas lost during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Centered in a region of overlapping
jurisdictions, the commercially and strategically important Arras and its approximately eighteen
thousand inhabitants were thus participants in a political power struggle. They were not,
however, merely passive participants. They actively exploited the dual jurisdiction of Arras in
pursuit of their local interests. My dissertation explores the social complexities of Arras’
situation by providing a micro-historical analysis of three sets of events that exhibit the city’s
interactions with its rulers. The first group of events encompasses ceremonies, such as the
“joyous entries” staged by both the Burgundian dukes and French kings, as well as the public
spectacle surrounding the Congress of Arras. The second explores in depth the series of famous
witchcraft trials with special attention focused on the subsequent appeals processes afforded by
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the ducal and royal systems. Finally, the third set of events covers the defiance of the city to the
king and the resultant exile of local inhabitants and repopulation of Arras with individuals from
regions known for their fealty to the French throne. I use the evidence from these events to
evaluate several current theories of state building in late medieval Europe. I argue that in their
focus on the establishment of geographical and social boundaries between the emergent states
these theories underestimate the importance of local identity and fail to recognize the ability of
the communities to undermine the state-building efforts of rulers in pursuit of their local
interests.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My work was first conceived in 2004 as a result of an independent study with Professor Richard
Kieckhefer that focused on the emergence of a centralized appeals system in France and the
Arras witchcraft trials. This dissertation would not have been possible without his insightful
guidance and unflagging support. I am also grateful to Professors Edward Muir and William
Monter, my dissertation committee members, who provided me with many constructive
questions and helpful suggestions.

Many thanks to Professors Robert Lerner and William Paden, who offered me valuable help on
the Vauderie chapters. I am indebted to the librarians who helped me discover the few available
primary sources at the various locations: Archives départmentales Pas-de-Calais, Arras;
Archives départmentales du Nord, Lille; Archives nationales, Paris; Archives générales du
royaume, Brussels.

I would also like to recognize Axel Rosengart, M.D., and the staff at the Neurology Critical Care
Unit at the University of Chicago Medical Center. They saved my life in 2006.

Additionally I extend a special thanks to the staff at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and in
particular Richard Harvey, M.D., and Henrietta Boudros, Speech-Language Pathologist, for their
compassion and encouragement when I could not speak at all.

Finally, I thank my family who championed me and told me anything is possible.

Most of all, I would like to thank my mom. She is my hero.
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DEDICATION

To my tight-knit amazing family.
I love you.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract................................................................................................................................3

Acknowledgments................................................................................................................5

Dedication............................................................................................................................6

Chapter One: Introduction...................................................................................................8

Chapter Two: Arras and the Emergence of the Sovereign State.......................................15

Chapter Three: Ceremony and Ritual: Seeking Allegiance...............................................46

Chapter Four: The Vauderie Witches: The Drama Unfolds..............................................75

Chapter Five: The Vauderie Trials: Enter the King.........................................................116

Chapter Six: Exile in Arras..............................................................................................150

Chapter Seven: Conclusion..............................................................................................187

Selected References .......................................................................................................195

Appendix A......................................................................................................................204

Appendix B......................................................................................................................205
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Chapter One

Introduction

The emergence of the “modern state” in Europe, a phenomenon that involved the
sustainable integration and organization of diverse and often competing political entities
answerable to sovereign prerogatives, has been a recurrent topic of discussion and dispute among
historians and political theorists. Typically, definitions of the “modern state” include similar
lists of criteria: generally a clearly bounded geographical territory, a standing army, and an
administrative bureaucracy that imposes taxes and exercises judicial review in accordance with
the privileges of a centralized authority. The circumstances and processes that would enable a
“modern state” to emerge varied throughout Europe not only prior to but also in the wake of the
Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Political designs and allegiances created a patchwork of
contending interests. This was the case with the county of Artois. With the geographically well-
positioned and economically vibrant city of Arras as its capital, Artois answered to the dukes of
Burgundy and to the kings of France. The county’s dual jurisdictional status made it a place rife
with the potential for conflict. The circumstances of governance within Arras were even more
complex by reason of the physical division of the city and the strong presence of the Church.
The fifteenth-century battle for monopolistic control over the Franco-Burgundian region raises
two inextricably related questions. First, what were the geopolitical circumstances and
maneuvers that ultimately led to the successful emergence of the Kingdom of France as a
sovereign state and, second, why did the duchy of Burgundy, that under Philip the Good (r.1419-
67) and Charles the Bold (r.1467-77) had an army and an advisory council with administrative
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duties, fail to attain that status?1 This dissertation considers these questions by focusing on
Arras, a city that while economically powerful and strategically placed was also plagued by
particularly contentious interactions between the Kingdom of France and the duchy of Burgundy.
The dates of the Congress of Arras in 1435, the notorious witchcraft trials that began in 1459 and
ended in 1491, and the banishments of 1477-1482 set as the chronological parameters of this
examination.
Studies concerned with the emergence and the divergent trajectories of the “modern
state” during this period have tended to focus on the various mechanisms used by powerful
political entities to gather and hold territories and people together in cohesive ways. Yet as
events in Arras demonstrate, the processes of state building in this region involved more than just
the two rivals of France and Burgundy. Fully cognizant of the power struggle between the kings
of France and the Valois dukes of Burgundy, the people of Arras tested the elements of the
“modern state,” alternately using the formal infrastructures of the kingdom and the duchy to their
advantage and leveraging their allegiance in ways that seemed expedient. In other words, the
Arrageois did not passively observe the political schemes of their lords. They attempted to exert
some influence on the royal and ducal actions affecting their lives. Thus rather than concentrate
solely on the maneuverings of the principal contenders in this struggle, this dissertation expands
the discussion to include those affected by royal and ducal actions.

1 Richard Vaughan, Valois Burgundy (London: Allen Lane, Penguin Books; Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1975);
Richard Vaughan, Philip the Good: The Apogee of Burgundy (1970: Woodbridge, Boydell and Brewer Ltd., 2004).
As several scholars including Jens Bartelson A Genealogy of Sovereignty (Cambridge University Press, 1995);
Hendrik Spruyt The Sovereign State and Its Competitors (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994); and Joon
Suk Kim, “Making States Federatively: Alternative Routes of State Formation in Late Medieval and Early Modern
Europe,” (PhD dissertation, University of Chicago, December 2005).have pointed out, sovereignty has tended to be
viewed as if it had clearly definable principles that functioned like directives. In fact, Jean Bodin (1530-1596) was
the first to articulate the concept of final and unitary sovereignty.