Signing of the Great Privilege
- When
- 1477
- Where
- Unknown
- Episodes
- 2
On 11 February 1477, Mary of Burgundy signed the Great Privilege, restoring local and communal rights to Flemish and other Low Countries provinces that had been abolished by previous dukes.
Episodes
- Urgent Meeting of the States General
The States General convened an urgent meeting on 3 February 1477 to present demands to the new Duchess.
- Signing of the Great Privilege
Mary of Burgundy signed the Great Privilege on 11 February 1477, reconfirming privileges for the States General.
Background and detail
Political Context. Following the death of Charles the Bold at the Battle of Nancy on 5 January 1477, his daughter Mary succeeded as Duchess. The States General convened an urgent meeting on 3 February 1477 to address grievances regarding centralized authority.
The Signing. Mary of Burgundy signed the Great Privilege on 11 February 1477, just five weeks after becoming Duchess. This instrument reconfirmed privileges for the States General of the Netherlands, addressing the demands and complaints raised by the States.
Restored Rights. The agreement allowed provinces and towns in Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, and Holland to recover local and communal rights. These rights had been abolished by decrees from Philip the Good and Charles the Bold during their attempts to centralize the Low Countries.
People involved
- Mary of Burgundy · Signatory and Duchess
- States General of the Netherlands · Beneficiary and political body
Sources
- Great Privilege Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-03
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.