PHILIP THE GOOD (1396-1467), duke of Burgundy, son of John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, and Margaret of Bavaria, was born at Dijon on June 13, 1396, and succeeded his father on Sept. f o, 1419. The assassination of John the Fearless (q.v.) drove his successor to the English side. In 1419 Philip signed with Henry V. of England the treaty of Arras, by which he recog nized Henry as regent and future heir of the kingdom of France, and in 1420 gave his adherence to the treaty of Troyes. Early in December 1420 Philip entered Paris with the king of England, and subsequently took part in the defeat of the French at Mons• en-Vimeu. By a treaty concluded by Philip at Amiens in April 1423 with the dukes of Brittany and Bedford, John, duke of Bedford, married Philip's sister Anne, and Arthur of Brittany, earl of Richmond, became the husband of Philip's sister Mar garet. A few years later discord arose among the allies. When the duke of Bedford besieged Orleans the inhabitants offered to surrender, but to the duke of Burgundy; whereupon Bedford retorted that "he did not beat the bushes for others to take the birds." When this speech reached Philip's ears he withdrew his troops in dudgeon, and concluded a truce with France (1429). Bedford succeeded in conciliating him and in 143o Philip took part in the campaign against Compiegne.
But another conflict arose between the duke of Burgundy and the English. Jacqueline, countess of Hainaut (see JACOBA) the divorced wife of the duke of Brabant and the heiress of Hol land and Zeeland, had married the duke of Gloucester, who attempted to take forcible possession of his wife's territories. Philip claimed Brabant as a bequest from his cousin Philip, the late duke, with the result that the Burgundians repulsed the troops of the duke of Gloucester, and Jacqueline was forced to recognize the duke of Burgundy as her lieutenant and heir. More over, the duchess of Bedford had died in 1433. Charles VII., who in spite of the efforts of the cardinal of Ste-Croix had hither to refused to return to France, finally decided to take part in the conferences which were opened at St. Vaast d'Arras on Aug. 6, 1435. Philip agreed to recognize the king of France as his legit imate sovereign on condition that he should not be required to pay him homage during his lifetime. Charles solemnly craved
pardon for the murder of John the Fearless and handed over to the duke the counties of Macon, Auxerre, Bar-sur-Seine and Ponthieu, and the towns on and near the Somme (Roye, Mont didier, Peronne), reserving the option of redeeming the Somme towns for 400,000 gold crowns. Philip faithfully served the king, aiding him in re-entering Paris and preparing an expedition against Calais, which, however, failed through the of his Flemish subjects (1436). In 144o he paid the ransom of Charles of Orleans and married him to Mary of Cleves. In 1442 Philip conspired to give the duke of Orleans a larger share in the affairs of the kingdom.
Philip was frequently disturbed by the insubordination of the Flemish communes. He had to quell seditions at Liege (1430), Ghent (1432 and 1448), Antwerp (1435) and Bruges (1438). Shortly after the final defeat of the citizens of Ghent at Gavre (1453) Philip vowed that he would lead a crusade against the Turks, who had seized Constantinople. The expedition, however, did not take place, and was but a pretext for levying subsidies. In 1459 Philip sent an embassy under the duke of Cleves into Italy to take part in the conferences preparatory to a fresh expedition against the Turks, but this enterprise likewise fell to the ground. In 1456 the duke of Burgundy had given an asylum to the Dauphin Louis (afterwards Louis XI.), who had quarrelled with his father and had been forced to leave France. Louis repaid his protector by attempting to sow discord in the ducal family of Burgundy, and then retired to the castle of Genappe in Brabant. At Charles VII.'s death, however, Philip was one of the first to recognize the new king, and accompanied him to Paris. During the jour ney Louis won over the seigneurs of Croy, the principal counsel lors of the duke of Burgundy, and persuaded Philip to allow him to redeem the Somme towns for the sum stipulated in the treaty of Arras. This proceeding infuriated Philip's son Charles, count of Charolais, who prevailed upon his father to break his pledge and declare war on the king of France. On April 12, 1465, Philip handed over to his son the entire administration of his estates. The old duke died at Bruges on June 15, 1467.