Compte rendu de Enzyklopädie des Mittelalters, éd. G. MELVILLE, M. STAUB

in Moyen Age (Le) (2011), CXVII

Compte rendu de Risque, sécurité et sécurisation maritimes depuis le Moyen Âge

in Moyen Age (Le) (2010), CXVI

La stratégie des chiffres : Boucicaut et la révolte de Gênes au travers du compte KK40 des Archives nationales

Scientific conference (2009, November 27)

Les tribulations du Grand Bâtard Antoine de Bourgogne en Italie (1475)

in Publication du Centre Européen d'Etudes Bourguignonnes (2009), XLIX

During his Italian journey, which aimed at confirming to Ferrante of Aragon, king of Naples, his elevation to the title of knight of the Golden Fleece, the Bastard Antoine multiplied the visits, the ... [more ▼]

During his Italian journey, which aimed at confirming to Ferrante of Aragon, king of Naples, his elevation to the title of knight of the Golden Fleece, the Bastard Antoine multiplied the visits, the contacts, in Savoy, in Milan twice, in Naples, in the papal court, in Florence, in Venice and in Ferrare. He revealed himself a very pleasant person everywhere he stayed and, in return, was welcomed with the greatest consideration. Whatever may have been, in the name of his brother, the diplomatic relations struck up by the Bastard with the Italian sovereigns, and whatever design they had, either creating an irrepressible strike force against France, or stirring up the most stunning of coalitions against its king by the conclusion of a most politically profitable marital union or by the gift of the Golden Fleece, even if Antoine was able to recruit a few soldiers and weapons, since they took place while the siege of Neuss was dragging on miserably, all these attempts remained in vain in fine. In 1482, the Estates of Burgundy fell to a child and Marie de Bourgogne left behind her a political situation as delicate as the one who prevailed before Sixte IV offered Antoine, by legitimizing him, the dynastic capacity to reign. [less ▲]

Compte rendu de Signes et couleurs des identités politiques. Du Moyen Âge à nos jours, éd. D. TURRELL et alii

in Moyen Age (Le) (2009), CXV

Compte rendu de C. BERGUERAND, Le duel d'Othon de Grandson (1397). Mort d'un chevalier-poète vaudois à la fin du Moyen Âge

in Moyen Age (Le) (2009), CXV

Compte rendu de Faire l'évènement au Moyen Âge, éd. C. CAROZZI, H. TAVIANI-CAROZZI

in Moyen Age (Le) (2008), CXIV

La Paix de Fexhe, de sa rédaction à la fin de la principauté de Liège

in Bulletin de la Commission Royale des Anciennes Lois et Ordonnances de Belgique (2006), XLVII

The Peace of Fexhe has always been seen by the Liegeois as a constitutional treaty of paramount importance as it provided the principality of Liège with a representative assembly. Yet, this text, enacted ... [more ▼]

The Peace of Fexhe has always been seen by the Liegeois as a constitutional treaty of paramount importance as it provided the principality of Liège with a representative assembly. Yet, this text, enacted in 1316, remained in use until the end of the State of Liège. The present article focuses therefore on its history in order to determine the role it actually played in the political life of Liège at the end of the Middle Ages and during the Modern Times. What emerges is that, signed in a context of tension, the Peace of Fexhe really was a compromise signed between two parties exhausted by famine, not the victory of one over the other. Even though the treaty seems to record several claims of the opponents to the prince-bishop Adolphe de La Marck, it really is the latter who, in spite of what numerous historians believed, continued to direct the political game of Liège. Indeed, his arbitrators managed to counter the claims of their opponents through the insertion of clauses preventing any real upheaval within the principality. For Adolphe, this treaty is therefore a break in his quest for a total sovereignty. Following him, the prince-bishops of Liège strove in defence of their power, contravening if need be the text of 1316. The Liégeois appeared to us to have been perfectly aware of the limits of the Peace of Fexhe but they endeavoured to gloss over these in order to make the text an absolute reference in the domain of political claims and a revered rallying symbol. Then, it will be through the constant reminder of this treaty that various political claims arose, making it de facto the source of the “Liegian constitution”. Afterwards, the Liegeois had recourse to the Peace of Fexhe in order to legitimate their political options. However, it was absolutely not a general rule since several politicians close to the people, such as Thierry de Perwez or Raes de Heers did not make use of the text. On the contrary, it was within more “cultivated” circles, such as the municipal magistrates and the burgomasters, that the text was the less rarely used, whether it be at the time of the promulgation of the decisions of the Council of Trente or at the eve of the Liegian Revolution. Moreover, it is by its almost uninterrupted presence in the Liegian politics that the Peace of Fexhe asks the question of the administration of law in the principality. In spite of a common objective, punishing the abuse of power of the episcopal officers, it was in opposition over the question of the procedure with the Peaces of the XXII . Yet the Court of the XXII considered itself to be in charge of the defence of the Peace of Fexhe. Similarly, the capitulations of the prince-bishops swore to the respect of the text and court without fear of a contradiction that no one seemed to have wanted to highlight. This shows how deep it was rooted in the Liegian legal culture, even though the real action of the Peace of Fexhe through the centuries left few traces. In conclusion, the Peace of Fexhe owes its prestige to its recuperation by different political forces that used it as a battle flag, adapting it, contradicting it sometimes, to their claims. Thus, event though its exact stipulations were forgotten as soon as the end of the 16th century and it was then progressively completed, it survived in the imagination and built up its prestige on the additional meaning its utilisations provided it with, for, in Liège, who defends Fexhe defends the good right. [less ▲]

La guerre des Awans et des Waroux

Master's dissertation (2004)