13 h 54 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 54 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can stop a duke with Europe's richest lands, a powerful army, and a kingdom in his sights?
Charles the Bold rules a patchwork of duchies, counties, and wealthy towns stretching from the Low Countries to Burgundy. He wants to bind them into one kingdom. In Ruth Putnam's biography, his ambition meets a stubborn world: cities defend their rights, diplomats weigh their moves, and his cousin Louis XI of France stands in his way.
Putnam follows Charles from his birth at Dijon into the court, rivalries, and wars that shape his reign. His father, Philip the Good, brings together lands through marriage, inheritance, and purchase. Charles seeks something more united. The question is how far wealth, military discipline, and sheer drive can carry a ruler whose towns are used to governing themselves.
What you’ll discover
- A court of riches Enter the Burgundian court and meet the family behind Charles's vast inheritance.
- Two cousins at odds Follow Charles and Louis XI through a rivalry at the heart of this life.
- Cities that resist princes Meet Ghent, Bruges, and Liège, where old rights stand against a duke's demands.
- An army with rules See how Charles uses ranks, pay, and discipline to pursue his larger ambition.
- The dream of kingship Explore the drive to build a middle kingdom between France and Germany.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like the late Middle Ages, royal rivalries, castles and sieges, and biography built from letters and eyewitness scenes. It suits anyone who asks why great plans fail.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A child knighted in the cradle
- Ghent's revolt shows how ducal power works
- The Feast of the Pheasant promises an impossible crusade
- A guest dauphin divides father and son
- The War of Public Weal tests the young count
- Dinant and Liege pay for defiance
- Louis walks into Peronne and walks out again
- A mortgage, a marriage and a crown that never comes
- The Swiss and Hagenbach bring the first great defeats
- Nancy ends the duke and the dream of a middle kingdom
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Carlo l’Ardito, ultimo duca di Borgogna
by Ruth Putnam · 1908
A duke admitted to the Golden Fleece at twenty days old spends his life chasing a crown between France and Germany.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
Learn a language with medium classicsSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseHow we measure levels
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In short
What becomes of a boy admitted to the Golden Fleece at twenty days old? Charles of Burgundy, born in Dijon in 1433, grows up believing he is made for greatness.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A child knighted in the cradle
Charles is born at Dijon in 1433, the only surviving legitimate heir of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Twenty days later he is carried into a room of the Order of the Golden Fleece and listed as a knight. His parents take the oath for him.
Philip founded the Order to honor chivalry, yet it became a circle of loyal followers who voted as their chief wished. He even admitted his illegitimate sons, though the rules forbade it. The infant knight is simply the boldest case of a court that bends its own rules.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1908
- Language
- Italiano
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Putnam, Ruth. Charles the Bold, Last Duke of Burgundy. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/charles-the-bold-last-duke-of-burgundy.
Putnam, R. (2026). Charles the Bold, last duke of Burgundy. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/charles-the-bold-last-duke-of-burgundy (Original work published 1908)
Putnam, Ruth. Charles the Bold, Last Duke of Burgundy. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/charles-the-bold-last-duke-of-burgundy.
@book{putnam2026charles,
author = {Putnam, Ruth},
title = {Charles the Bold, Last Duke of Burgundy},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/charles-the-bold-last-duke-of-burgundy},
note = {First published 1908}
}
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What is Charles the Bold about?
It tells the life of Charles, last Duke of Burgundy, from his birth in 1433 to his death at Nancy in 1477. It follows his wars, his rivalry with Louis XI and his failed plan to build a kingdom between France and Germany.
Why was Charles called the Bold or the Rash?
Putnam keeps the old English name Bold, but says she would prefer Rash, the word his contemporaries used in French. It fits his hot temper and his habit of rushing into battles and sieges.
Who was Louis XI and why does he matter?
Louis XI was the French king who once lived as a guest at Philip the Good's court. He becomes Charles's chief rival, using patience, money and secret deals as well as armed conflict to undermine the duke.
The author
Ruth Putnam
1856–1931 · American historian
Ruth Putnam (1856–1931) was an American academic and writer who lived in the United States. She wrote books on European history. Her biography of William the Silent appeared in 1895. She also wrote Charles the Bold, Last Duke of Burgundy, which was published in 1908.
More by Ruth Putnam
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