Families and Frontiers

Book excerpt: As put forth by Edwards, the eastern duchy and the western county of Burgundy constituted a frontier society from the death of Charles the Bold in 1477 until 1540. Through detailed case studies and family reconstructions of elites from the Saône River valley, specifically the cities of Dijon, Dole, and Besançon, this book examines the social, cultural, political, and economic relationships of the Burgundians on a local level. Edwards successfully challenges the national models still frequently used in modern historiography and offers a provocative alternative to better understand this anomalous area and the creation of pre-modern regional identity.