Mary of Burgundy (French: Marie de Bourgogne; * 13 February 1457 in Brussels; † 27 March 1482 in Bruges) was the only child and sole heiress of Duke Charles the Bold.
After the death of her father in January 1477, she became Duchess of Burgundy and had to defend her inheritance rights against the claims of King Louis XI of France.
To strengthen her position, she married Maximilian I Archduke of Austria on 19 August 1477, who became iure uxoris Duke of Burgundy, thus claiming the Burgundian heritage of Charles the Bold.
Jean Wauquelin presenting his book to Philippe le Bon (Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy as Philip III, 1396 -1467) in the presence of Charles le Téméraire (Charles the Bold 1433 – 1477), Nicolas Rolin and Jean Chevrot. Miniature des Chroniques de Hainaut. Rogier van der Weyden. Conservé à Bruxelles, Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, Manuscrits, MS.9242.
The Hainaut Chronicles is an illuminated manuscript in three volumes which traces the history of Hainaut County until the late fourteenth century.
Three weeks after a fall from a horse at a falconry Maria died in a miscarriage. With her death in March 1482 her inheritance fell to the Habsburgs, leading to lengthy and serious conflicts with France resulted.
Her successor in the Netherlands was her son Philip the Fair. She was the grandmother of Emperors Charles V and Ferdinand I.
Source: Histoire de La Belgique. Troisième Edition, Entièrement refondue et Augmentèe, etc. par Théodore Juste (1818-1888).
