The following is a list of the kings of the two kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations.

Kings of the Burgundians

* Gebicca (late 4th century – c. 407) *

Gundomar I Gundomar I (also Gundimar, Godomar, or Godemar) was according to legend the eldest son and successor of Gebicca, King of the Burgundians. He succeeded his father in 406 or 407 and reigned until 411. He was succeeded by his brother Giselher. In t ...

(c. 407 – 411), son of Gebicca * Giselher (c. 407 – 411), son of Gebicca *

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 ...

(c. 407 – 436), son of Gebicca ''

Flavius Aëtius Flavius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 21 September 454) was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (43 ...

moves the Burgundians into

Sapaudia Sapaudia or Sabaudia was an Alpine territory of Late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Name The name is a Latinisation of the local words for "forest" or "upland forest", although it is often glossed as "fir" from the roughly similar Lati ...

( Upper Rhône Basin)''. * Gunderic/Gundioc (436–473) opposed by **

Chilperic I Chilperic I ( 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Franks, Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund. Life Immediately after the death of his father in 561, he ...

, brother of Gundioc (443–c. 480) *division of the kingdom among the four sons of Gundioc: **

Gundobad Gundobad (; ; 452 – 516) was King of the Burgundians (473–516), succeeding his father Gundioc of Burgundy. Previous to this, he had been a patrician of the moribund Western Roman Empire in 472–473, three years before its collapse, suc ...

(473–516 in Lyon, king of all of Burgundy from 480), **

Chilperic II Chilperic II ( 672 – 13 February 721) was King of the Franks from 715 until his death. He was a son of Childeric II and his half-cousin wife, Bilichild, both of whom were assassinated, along with their eldest son Dagobert, in 675. Still a ...

(473–493 in Valence) ** Godomar I (473–486 in Vienne) **

Godegisel Godegisel (? – 501) was a Burgundian sub-king and son of the Burgundian king Gondioc. Godegisel was the educator and uncle of Clotilde, wife of the Frankish king Clovis I. Beginning in 463 he was a sub-king of Kingdom of the Burgundians. ...

(473–500, in Vienne and Geneva) *

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

, son of Gundobad (516–523) *

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 ...

or Gundomar, son of Gundobad (523–534)

Frankish kings in Burgundy

''Gradually conquered by the Frankish kings

Childebert I Childebert I ( 496 – 13 December 558) was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clo ...

and

Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" (French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire from the original French version, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. With his eldes ...

from 532–534''

Merovingian kings

, 534–558 (central parts) * Theudebert I, 534–548 (northern parts) *

, 534–561 (southern parts), eventually uniting the entire kingdom *

Guntram Saint Gontrand ( 532 in Soissons – 28 March 592 in Chalon-sur-Saône), also called Gontran, Gontram, Guntram, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He was the third-eldest and seco ...

(561–592) *

Childebert II Childebert II ( – 596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted son of his uncle Guntram. Childh ...

, 592–595 *

Theuderic II Theuderic II (also spelled Theuderich, Theoderic or Theodoric; in French, ''Thierry'') ( 587–613), king of Burgundy (595–613) and Austrasia (612–613), was the second son of Childebert II. At his father's death in 595, he received Guntram's ...

, 595–613 United with

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...

under one king, but a separate administration (613–751)

Carolingian kings in Burgundy

* Pippin the Younger, 751–768 * Carloman, 768–771 *

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

, 771–814 *

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

, 814–840 *

Lothair I Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...

, 840–855, king under his father after 817 The sons of

divided the Frankish kingdom in the treaty of

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

in 843. Burgundy was divided between the brothers. *

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

received the smaller part, west of the river

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 ...

. This entity was officially called ''regnum burgundiae'' (Kingdom of Burgundy), but since the king of France delegated administration to dukes, the territory became known as 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 ...

. *

received the larger part, east of the river Saône, which retained the name of Kingdom of Burgundy After Lothair's death in 855, his realm was divided between his sons. The Burgundian territories were divided between: *

Lothair II Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was a Carolingian king and ruler of northern parts of Middle Francia, that came to be known as Lotharingia, reigning there from 855 until his death in 869. He also ruled over Burgundy, holding from 855 just th ...

, who received the north, and *

Charles of Provence Charles of Provence or Charles of Burgundy (84525 January 863) was a Carolingian king and ruler of Provence and Lower Burgundy from 855 until his early death in 863. Charles was the youngest son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. ...

, who received the south, including

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and Vienne. His realm was called the ''regnum provinciae'' (

Kingdom of Provence 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 ...

Kings of Lower Burgundy

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 ...

(or Cisjurane Burgundy) was also known as the Kingdom of Provence. Its capital was initially Vienne, then

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

. *

(855–863)
''On his death, Provence divided between surviving brothers,

and the Emperor Louis II. The bulk goes to Louis.'' * Louis II (863–875), also

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

from 855
''On his death, as with his

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

, Louis's Provence goes to his uncle

.'' *

(875–877), also

from 875 *

Louis the Stammerer Louis the Stammerer (; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879) was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrud ...

(877–879)
''With the death of Louis the Stammerer, the nobles of Provence refused to elect his two sons and instead elected one of their own, Boso, as king. Boso married Ermengard, daughter of Louis II, to strengthen his and his son's claim.'' * Boso (879–887) * Louis the Blind (887–928), also

from 901 to 905
''Louis's kingdom did not pass to his children, but instead to his brother-in-law, the husband of his sister, Hugh, who had acted as his regent since 905. Hugh never used the royal title in Provence.'' *

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

(911–933)
''In 933, Provence ceases to be a separate kingdom as Hugh exchanged it with Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy for the

Iron Crown of Lombardy The Iron Crown (in Italian, Latin, and Lombard: ''Corona Ferrea''; ) is a reliquary votive crown, traditionally considered one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. It was made in the Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and j ...

, that is, rule of Italy.''

Kings of Upper Burgundy

, 855–869 Lothair subsumed his portion of Burgundy into the Kingdom of

Lotharingia Lotharingia was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era, from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. It was established in 855 by the Treaty of Prüm, a ...

and at his brother

's death, gained some northern districts from his kingdom. When

died in 869, his realm was divided between his uncles

and

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

in the Treaty of Mersen. On the death in 888 of Emperor

Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...

, who until 884 had united all Frankish kingdoms except for

, the nobles and leading clergy of Upper Burgundy assembled at St Maurice and elected Rudolph, count of Auxerre, from the Elder Welf family, as king. At first, he tried to reunite the realm of

, but opposition by

Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894, and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor, ...

forced him to focus on his Burgundian territory. * Rudolf I (888–912) *

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

(912–937) In 933 Rudolph ceded his claims to the Kingdom of Italy to

Hugh of Arles Hugh of Italy ( 880/885 – April 10, 948), known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until 947, and regent in Lower Burgundy and Provence from 911 to 933. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign in ...

in return for the

, thus reuniting the two territories. * Conrad I (937–993) * Rudolph III (993–1032) In 1032, 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 ...

was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire as a third kingdom, with the Germn king as the king of Burgundy. From the 12th century it was often referred to as Kingdom of Arles.

Kings of Burgundy (Arles) within the Holy Roman Empire

Salian (Frankish) dynasty

* Conrad II, king 1032–1039, emperor after 1027 * Henry III, king 1039–1056, emperor 1046–1056 * Henry IV, king 1056–1105, emperor 1084–1105 *

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

, king 1105–1125, emperor 1111–1125

Supplinburger

* Lothar III, king 1125–1137, emperor 1133–1137

Staufen (or
Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
dynasty)

* Conrad III, king 1138–1152 *

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

, king 1152, emperor 1155–1190 * Henry VI, king 1190, emperor 1191–1197 *

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

, king 1198–1208 * Otto IV of Brunswick (

House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...

), king 1208–1215, emperor 1209–1215 * Frederick II, king 1212, emperor 1220–1250 * Conrad IV, king 1237–1254 (until 1250 under his father)

Rectors of Burgundy

Under Conrad I and Rudolph III, royal power weakened while local nobles, such as the

counts of Burgundy This is a list of the counts of Burgundy, i.e., of the region known as Franche-Comté, not to be confused with the Duchy of Burgundy, from 982 to 1678. House of Ivrea (982–1184) House of Hohenstaufen (1190–1231) House of Andechs ( ...

, gained prominence. Empress Agnes granted the

Duchy of Swabia The Duchy of Swabia (; ) was one of the five stem duchy, stem duchies of the medieval Kingdom of Germany, German Kingdom. It arose in the 10th century in the southwestern area that had been settled by Alemanni tribes in Late Antiquity. While th ...

to Rudolf von Rheinfelden and also conferred on him the regal powers over Burgundy. Rudolf was elected

anti-king An anti-king, anti king or antiking (; ) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, 2" The OED does not give "anti-king" its own entry ...

, however, and in 1079 Henry IV stripped him of his powers and delegated them to the

prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

s of

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

and

Sitten Sion (, ; former ; ) is a Swiss town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Valais and of the district of Sion. it had a population of (known as ''Sédunois(es)''). On 17 January 1968, the former municipality of Bramois merged i ...

. When Count William III of Burgundy was assassinated in February 1127, King Lothar III supported the claims of William's uncle Duke Conrad of Zähringen, grandson of Rudolf von Rheinfeld, to the countship, and conferred on him the regal powers over Burgundy. Lacking a proper title, the Zähringer called themselves ''dukes and rectors of Burgundy'', to give themselves the status of the dukes of Burgundy. The royal chancellory, however, consistently avoided this term and the effective power of the '' rector'' (in Roman law, a generic term for provincial governor) was restricted to the possessions of the Zähringer east of the Jura. Any attempts to enforce the Zähringer's claims and to extend royal authority into the western and southern parts of the kingdom failed, most notably a military campaign in 1153. After these failures, Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

gained a firm hold of the western districts in 1156 by marrying Countess Beatrice I of Burgundy. This confined the Zähringer between Jura and Alps, where they used their regal powers to expand their possessions. In 1218, Duke Berthold V of Zähringen died without issue. King Frederick II then conferred the title of the rector of Burgundy on his young son

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, to keep the Zähringer heirs from the regal powers associated with that title. This appointment was of only momentary importance, and after Henry had been elected

king of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

in April 1220, the title disappeared for good. The decline of royal power inside the

also remained irreversible.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{Germanic monarchs *

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. ...