(1457-1482)
Mary of Burgundy was born in Brussels on 13 February 1457, the daughter and sole child of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy. On her father's death (January 1477), King Louis XI of France sought to annex the Low Countries. To forestall such a move and gain the assistance of Brabant and the other provinces, she granted the Great Privilege (February 1477), which restored the liberties of the provincial Estates abrogated by her father and grandfather. Her marriage to Maximilian of Austria (18 August 1477), who had hastened to her assistance with an army, brought Hapsburg rule to the Netherlands and initiated the long rivalry between Austria and France. Mary died in a fall from a horse in Bruges on 27 March 1482.
See also Burgundian Regime.
Historical Dictionary of Brussels. Paul F. State.