The history of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

stretches back to the times when the region was inhabited in turn by

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

, Romans (

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

s), and in the 5th century, the Roman allies the

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

, a Germanic people perhaps originating in

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

(Baltic Sea), who settled there and established the

Kingdom of the Burgundians The Kingdom of the Burgundians, or First Kingdom of Burgundy, was established by Germanic Burgundians in the Rhineland and then in eastern Gaul in the 5th century. History Background The Burgundians, a Germanic tribe, may have migrated from the ...

. This Burgundian kingdom was conquered in the 6th century by another Germanic tribe, the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, who continued the kingdom of Burgundy under their own rule. Later, the region was divided between the

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...

(to the west) and the

County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the ''Free County''), and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to th ...

(to the east). The Duchy of Burgundy is the better-known of the two, later becoming the French province of Burgundy, while the County of Burgundy became the French province of

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

, literally meaning ''free county''. The situation is complicated by the fact that at different times and under different geopolitical circumstances, many different entities have gone by the name of 'Burgundy'. Historian

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a British and Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Profes ...

has commented that " w subjects in European history have created more havoc than that summarized by the phrase 'all the Burgundies'." In 1862,

James Bryce James Bryce may refer to: * James Bryce (geologist) (1806–1877), Irish naturalist and geologist * James Bryce (footballer) (1884–1916), Scottish footballer * James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce (1838–1922), British jurist, historian and politicia ...

compiled a list of ten such entities, a list which Davies himself extends to fifteen, ranging from the first Burgundian kingdom founded by

Gunther Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther () or Gunnar (), was a historical King of the Burgundians in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they crossed the Rhine ...

in the fifth century, to the modern French '' région'' of

History

The first recorded peoples of the area now referred to as Burgundy were various tribes of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

, the most prominent of which were the

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic tribe dwelling in what is now the region of Burgundy during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman Empire, Roman period. The Aedui had an ambi ...

. Under a chief magistrate known as a Vergobret, the Aedui maintained a semi-republican form of government, but were eventually absorbed into the expanding Roman Empire. Following several revolts, the Aedui leadership was invited to join the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

, becoming the first Gauls to receive such an offering, after which

Gallo-Roman culture Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely ...

flourished in the region. The

, who migrated into the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

as it collapsed, are generally regarded as a

Germanic people The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

, possibly originating in

(modern Denmark). (A

fringe theory A fringe theory is an idea or a viewpoint that differs significantly from the accepted scholarship of the time within its field. Fringe theories include the models and proposals of fringe science, as well as similar ideas in other areas of schola ...

suggests that the Burgundians may have been the Βουρουγουνδοι ''Bourougoundoi'' later alluded to by the Aeolian historian

Agathias Agathias Scholasticus (; Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 23–25582/594) was a Greek poet and the principal historian of part of the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I between 552 and 558. Biography Agathias was a native of Myrina ( ...

, as a component of

Eurasian steppe The Eurasian Steppe, also called the Great Steppe or The Steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Manchuria, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Siberia, Europea ...

peoples, namely the "

Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

" and, by implication,

Turkic peoples Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members ...

like the

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic peoples, Turkic Nomad, semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centu ...

). While they were dominated by the Huns for a time and adopted some of their cultural practices, Agathias may have confused or conflated the Burgundians with the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

, who apparently had more significant ties to the Huns and Bulgars. Hyun Jin Kim, ''The Huns, Rome and the Birth of Europe'', Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 151–2. In 411, the Burgundians crossed the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and established a kingdom at

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

. Amidst repeated clashes between the Romans and

, the Burgundian kingdom eventually occupied what is today the borderlands between

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, France, and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 534, the

defeated

Godomar Godomar II (also spelled Gundomar), son of king Gundobad, was king of Burgundy. He ruled Burgundy after the death of Sigismund, his elder brother, in 524 until 534. Life According to Gregory of Tours, Sigismund married the daughter of the O ...

, the last Burgundian king, and absorbed the territory into their growing empire. During and after the dissolution of the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

a number of polities existed at different times and covering different areas. During the late 9th century there were three Burgundies: #the Kingdom of Upper (Transjurane) Burgundy around

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

, #the Kingdom of

Lower Burgundy Lower Burgundy (; ) was a historical region in the early medieval Burgundy, and a distinctive realm known as the ''Kingdom of Lower Burgundy'', that existed from 879 to 933, when it was incorporated into the reunited Kingdom of Burgundy. During t ...

in Provence, #the

west of the

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

. The two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Burgundy were reunited in 933 as the

Kingdom of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various successive Monarchy, kingdoms centered in the historical region of Burgundy during the Middle Ages. The heartland of historical Burgundy correlates with the border area between France and Switze ...

. This kingdom in turn was absorbed into the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

under Conrad II in 1032, and known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles. The Duchy of Burgundy was annexed by the French throne in 1004. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Burgundy was the seat of some of the most important Western churches and

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

, among them

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...

, Cîteaux, and

Vézelay Vézelay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Yonne in the north-central French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is a defensible hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and its 11th-century Ro ...

. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the County of Burgundy emerged from the area previously within the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy. It became known as the Free County of Burgundy or Franche-Comté. During the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, King

John II of France John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...

gave the duchy to his youngest son,

Philip the Bold Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip was th ...

, rather than leaving it for his successor on the French throne. Following a personal union between the Duchy and the County of Burgundy, the "Two Burgundies" soon became a major rival to the French throne. The Dukes of Burgundy succeeded in assembling an empire stretching from

to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, in large part by marriage. This

Burgundian State The Burgundian StateB. Schnerb, ''L'État bourguignon'', 1999 ( ; ) was a composite monarchy ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy from the late 14th to the late 15th centuries, and which ultimately comprised not only the Duchy of Burgundy, Duchy and ...

consisted of a number of fiefdoms on both sides of the (then largely symbolic) border between the Kingdom of France and the

. Its economic heartland was in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, particularly

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and Brabant. The Burgundian court outshone the French court both economically and culturally. In

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and in the south of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, the expression "Burgundian lifestyle" is still used to denote enjoyment of life, good food, and extravagant spectacle. Military flag of the Burgundian state under Duke Charles the Bold

Military flag of the Burgundian state under Duke Charles the Bold

In 1477, at the

battle of Nancy The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive battle of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy on 5 January 1477 by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, against René II, Duke of Lorraine, and the Swiss Confederacy. René's ...

during the

Burgundian Wars The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a conflict between the Burgundian State and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the battlefield in th ...

, the last duke

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

was killed in battle, and the Duchy itself was annexed by France. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the other Burgundian territories provided a power base for the rise of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

s, after Maximilian of Austria married the surviving daughter of the ducal family, Mary. After her death, her husband moved his court first to

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

and later to the palace at

Coudenberg The Palace of Coudenberg (; ) was a royal residence situated on the Coudenberg or Koudenberg (; Dutch for "Cold Hill"), a hill in what is today the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. For nearly 700 years, the Castle and then Palace of Couden ...

, Brussels, and from there ruled the remnants of the empire, the Low Countries (

Burgundian Netherlands The Burgundian Netherlands were those parts of the Low Countries ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy during the Burgundian Age between 1384 and 1482. Within their Burgundian State, which itself belonged partly to the Holy Roman Empire and partly t ...

) and

, then still an imperial fief. The latter territory was ceded to France in the Treaty of Nijmegen of 1678. With the French Revolution in the end of the 18th century, the administrative units of the regions disappeared, but were reconstituted during the Fifth Republic in the 1970s. The modern-day administrative ''région'' includes most of the former duchy.

References

External links

Burgundy in the 1913 ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' at BibleWiki

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20190629224855/http://burgundyeye.com/ Burgundy Tourism
Départements, arrondissements & cantons of Burgundy
( INSEE site) * {{in lang, fr}
Netbourgogne, site sur la Bourgogne

History

See also

References

External links