Europe in 1300
Burgundy
The history of Burgundy in our period is perhaps the most dramatic of all the narratives, for in 1300 this was a political entity that was fragmented and unimportant. It rose steadily, though, becoming hugely important by the mid-15th century, only to be struck down, split asunder, and absorbed by the powers around it by 1500. I won't try to narrate that story here!
The story is really even more remarkable, for prior to our course another name for the area was the Kingdom of Arles, a survival (mostly in theory only) of the breakup of the Roman Empire. It existed as a kingdom under the Carolingians, but even then was split into two. Burgundy formed part of the so-called Middle Kingdom of the Carolingian Empire, the other two being Germany and France. These still persisted in 1300 as the Duchy of Burgundy (centered around Dijon) and the County of Burgundy (centered around Besançon).
The rulers of Burgundy during our period were intimately associated with the French royal house. By marriage they acquired territories in the Low Countries, with the result that you will later read about the "Burgundian Netherlands". The complicated history of Burgundy during our period also plays directly into the acquisition of the Low Countries by the Habsburgs, but that didn't happen until a little after 1500. Suffice it to say that Burgundy was, over the span of our course, increasingly involved in the politics of central and western Europe.