Burgundian Rule on the Upper Rhine and its Aftermath, c. 1468–77
The third case study examines the role of associative structures and dynamics on the Upper Rhine in a series of episodes which brought profound upheaval to this region: the acquisition of an archipelago of lordships and jurisdictions by the duke of Burgundy, Charles ‘the Bold’, in 1468, the controversial style of government of his administrators which culminated in a revolt in 1474, and the local and Empire-wide wars against Burgundy that followed in 1474–7. In this time of growing consolidation within the community that formed the Holy Roman Empire, interactions between political actors continued to be mediated through alliances and other contractual ties, and negotiation remained centred on Tage. Heavy-handed Burgundian governors clashed with the loose configuration of principalities like Outer Austria, and stimulated the creation of anti-Burgundian coalitions on the Upper Rhine and across the Empire which combined traditional associative formats with a new rhetoric of German nationhood.