PHILIP THE BOLD (1342-1404), duke of Burgundy, fourth son of John II. of France and Bonne of Luxemburg, was born on Jan. 15, 1342. He earned his surname by his bravery on the field of Poitiers. He accompanied King John into captivity in England. In 136o he received the title of duke of Touraine, and in June 1363 was entrusted with the government of Burgundy, which John had united to the crown at the death of the last duke of the Capetian family, Philip of Rouvre, in 1361. In September 1363 John made Philip duke of Burgundy, and first peer of France. The donation was ratified at the accession of Charles V. of France; he took possession of the duchy at the end of 1364. Charles appointed him (in 1366) his lieutenant in Champagne and mar ried him in 1639 to Margaret, daughter and heiress of Louis of Male, count of Flanders, and widow of Philip of Rouvre.
Philip proved a faithful ally to Charles. He took part in the almost bloodless campaign against the duke of Lancaster, who had landed at Calais; in 1377 he took several towns in French Flan ders from the English ; and in 1379 relieved Troyes, which had been besieged by the English. On Charles's death Philip found him self, with his brothers, the dukes of Anjou and Berry, in charge of the government of France in the name of Charles VI., who was a minor; and in the absence of the duke of Anjou, who left France in 1382 to conquer the kingdom of Naples, Philip occu pied the most powerful position in the realm. He persuaded the young king to intervene in Flanders, where the citizens of Ghent, whose rebellious spirit had necessitated Philip's intervention in 1379, had again revolted under Philip van Artevelde and had ex pelled Louis of Male. On Nov. 27, 1382, the Franco-Burgundian chivalry crushed the rebels at Rosebecke, and on his return the duke of Burgundy took part in repressing the popular movements which had broken out in Paris and other French towns. In 1383 an insurrection in Flanders supported by England gave rise to another French expedition; but in January 1384 the death of Louis of Male made Philip master of the countships of Flanders, Artois, Rethel and Nevers; and in the following year the citizens of Ghent decided to submit. At this period Philip sought to in
gratiate himself with the emperor by giving two of his daughters in marriage to two princes of the house of Bavaria; he also took an important part in bringing about the marriage of a princess of the same family, Isabel, to King Charles VI.
Hostilities, however, were renewed between France and Eng land. A formidable expedition was prepared under the direction of the duke of Burgundy, and a fleet of 1,40o sail assembled at Sluys; but the enterprise failed owing to the dilatoriness of the duke of Berry. The fatiguing and inglorious expedition in the Nether lands weakened Philip's credit with his nephew, who on his return declared himself of age and confided the government to the ancient councillors of his father, the "Marmousets." The king's madness (1392) restored his uncles to power, and particularly Philip, who after assuring peace by treating with the duke of Brittany and by concluding a truce of twenty-eight years with England, made strenuous efforts to put an end to the Great Schism, visiting Pope Benedict XIII. at Avignon in 1395 in the hope of obtaining a voluntary resignation from him. For the dis cords in the king's council see CHARLES VI. For a brief period Philip was dispossessed of authority, but he regained it in 1402 and kept it till his death (April 27, 1404). The cathedral of St. Benigne at Dijon contains his remains, and his tomb (formerly in the Chartreuse of Dijon) is in the Hotel-de-ville. Philip appears to have governed his territories with sagacity and a cer tain moderation. He granted numerous privileges to the inhabi tants of Dijon, and created in 1386 two chambres des comptes, one at Dijon and the other at Lille. He was, in the phrase of a contemporary, "kindly and amiable to high and low and those of middle rank, liberal as an Alexander, noble and pontifical, in court and state magnificent." (R. P.; X.)