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

Description

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 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.