War and Government in the French Provinces

This book is a detailed examination of war and government in Picardy.

David Potter (Author)

9780521431897, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 June 1993

412 pages, 10 maps
23.6 x 16.1 x 3.5 cm, 0.785 kg

'… the produce of outstandingly wide archival research. … he is superbly equipped to analyse the intricate dynamics of warfare, politics and administration … this study makes a very valuable contribution to our understanding of the development of the early-modern state.' Archives

Few studies of the history of provincial France have hitherto spanned the conventional medieval/early-modern divide, and David Potter's detailed examination of war and government in Picardy, a region of France hitherto neglected by historians, has much to say about the development of French absolutism. Picardy emerged as a province after the campaigns of 1470–1477, and its experience of the first period of absolutism provides an enlightening contrast with that of other, more outlying provinces: the Picard nobility was notable for the extent of its participation in the army, the court and the government of France. David Potter provides a detailed analysis of the organisation of French military power in the province, and its impact during the period of the Habsburg-Valois wars. The work concludes with Picardy about to enter a difficult period of civil war.

Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Notes on transcriptions of documents, units of money and measures
Introduction
1. Return to allegiance: Picardy and the Franco-Burgundian Wars, 1470–93
2. The provincial governors and politics
3. The governors' staff and household
4. The Picard nobility and royal service
5. Military organisation in Picardy during the Habsburg-Valois wars
6. 'Les fruictz que la guerre rapporte': the effects of war on the Picard countryside, 1521–60
7. War, taxation and the towns
8. Peace negotiations and the formation of the frontier in Picardy, 1521–60
Conclusion
Appendices
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]