The Comte
de Montbeliard passed as a dowry to the house of Wuertemberg in 1397, and
remained an appanage of that kingdom till the French Revolution. The
power of the aristocracy was considerably diminished at this time, and
feudalism broken down by the establishment of the Roman law.
XII. Austrian period, 1477-1556. On the death of Charles le Temeraire,
Louis XI. occupied Franche-Comte with a military force, also Burgundy,
under the pretext of defending the rights of Marie of Burgundy, daughter
of Charles. On the marriage of this princess with Maximilian of Austria,
the French were expelled from Franche-Comte. Louis XI., however,
re-occupied it; Vesoul, Gray, and Dole were pillaged and burnt. On the
death of that King, his successor, Charles VIII., was recognised as
sovereign of Franche-Comte by virtue of his proposed marriage with
Marguerite, daughter of Marie of Burgundy, wife of Maximilian. He
married, however, Anne of Brittany, instead, and the Franc-Comtois thus
considered themselves freed from their allegiance to the French crown.
Besancon opened its gates to Maximilian, and, in a treaty concluded
between the French King and the Emperor, Burgundy reverted to the
former, whilst Franche-Comte remained in the hands of the latter.
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