The illegitimate son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, David was made bishop by his father in an attempt to enforce more centralised Burgundian control over the Netherlands.

The opposition against him remained and therefore David left Utrecht in 1459 to settle in the newly acquired Wijk bij Duurstede, where he resided for the rest of his life.

He appointed the schout, wrested criminal jurisdiction from the council, controlled the tolls and lessened the influence of the city on the farmlands.

David of Burgundy was an art lover; he attracted artists to his court and gave a powerful impulse to the construction of the Dom Church in Utrecht.

David's last years were focussed on restoring the financial situation that had been ruined by the civil war of 1481–83, and balancing the influence of the Habsburgs, who had by then come to possess Holland, and Guelders.