The Promised Lands: The Low Countries under Burgundian Rule, 1369-1530 (review)

180 Reviews Blockmans, W i m and Walter Prevenier, The Promised Lands: The Low Countries under Burgundian Rule, 1369-1530, trans. Elizabeth Fackelman, ed. Edward Peters, Philadelphia, Perm State University Press, 1999; pp. xiii, 285; R.R.P. US$42.50 (cloth), US$19.95 (paper). This short history of the Burgundian period of the history of the Low Countries was first published in 1988; ten years later it was substantially updated to incorporate a decade of important n e w research and translated into English to f i l l a gaping hole in general texts on the area for an English speaking audience. The publishers, sensitive to the general ignorance of an international audience of the basic historical facts concerning the Low Countries in the period, with the encouragement of the authors, persuaded Edward Peters to modify the text by introducing valuable factual material which elucidates material in a w a y which would be superfluous for a Netherlands audience. The result is a highly readable text with a persuasive argument which encapsulates the studies of the two most influential historians of the period. The result is a smooth narrative which draws on social, artistic and cultural evidence to illuminate the political, diplomatic and administrative history which is the principal focus of the work. The core of the story is the ways in which the dynasty of Philip the Bold developed an integrated state from a group of disparate duchies and counties, a state which was, however, not destined to survive as a single entity. The authors pay due attention to the resistance to centralisation put up by the city authorities, craftsmen and peasants in an area which was for the time highly urbanised with intensive agriculture being practised by a farming population which represented only 2:3 compared to 1:2 in most of Europe. Foreign policy was closely followed by merchants and tradesmen w h o depended on imports for the raw materials they used and the food they ate and they were not slow to bring pressure to bear on a ruler whose policies threatened their livelihood. Managing these wealthy and powerful individuals with their intensely local patriotism required a sophisticated strategy and considerable powers of persuasion. The ideal was to turn them into clients for w h o m the ruler, as patron, provided benefits, such as marriages arranged between leading townsmen and influential courtiers through which mutual interests might develop. While the older offices were not abolished, they were side-lined with n e w administrative, legal and Reviews 181 financial institutions which provided an alternative route for disputes and a more efficient overview of the ruler's dominions. It also provided a new career path for functionaries outside their o w n state of origin. This central administration was riddled with weaknesses but even so i t was essential to the Burgundian dukes. Fraud and maladministration were common problems which could not be eliminated but which were held in control by continuous supervision and occasional crackdowns. The importance of customary law in the different states and cities meant that no unified system could be imposed, but flexible management and the increasing acknowledgement of underlying principles of justice enabled a reasonable balance to be maintained. The establishment of the Great Council in the mid-fifteenth century, both as a court of first instance for ducal matters and as an appeal court for regional councils, saw a process of integration begin. The introduction of a c o m m o n silver coin provided a basis for a c o m m o n economic approach. The states retained their individual languages but the Francophone bias of the ducal court was making the area one in which the linguafranca needed in all areas was French even though Dutch remained a major literary language and bilingualism was an important aspect of the rhetorical presentation of the Burgundian 'natural prince'. The authors also provide an analysis of the financial situation of the states, their wealth, the resources of the princes and the way in which they handled them. Since the princes themselves had difficulties in knowing what income they could expect and routinely undermined attempts at...