Ep. 218 – Hedgehogs and Herons, The War that Made the Habsburgs

<p>By 1477 the rules of war that had been enshrined in the laws of chivalry are gone. The contest between the French and the Habsburgs over the inheritance of the Grand Dukes of the West gives us a foretaste of the things to come. </p><p>This war isn’t just fought between the opposing armies lining up for the decisive battle, but include wholesale starving out of the population, funding local uprisings and using propaganda and bribery to incite rebellions on the enemy’s homefront. </p><p>No one in 15th century Northern Europe is better at this new game than the industrious spider, king Louis XI of France. But a plucky 18-year old Austrian duke who had arrived in Ghent with not much more than the clothes on his back, abundant energy and a budding military genius gave him a run for his huge amounts of money, until tragedy struck. </p><p>Lots of deception, drama and devastation today…. </p><p>The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or s...