Burgundians

File:Das Reich der germanischen Goten unter Theoderich dem Großen um 523 nach der Zeitrechnung.gif

The Empire of tbe Goths under Theoderic tbe Great around 523 A.D. after Rome had been conquered by Germanic tribes ()

The Burgundians () were a Germanic people who established a kingdom in tbe general region of what is today Burgundy. It was conquered by tbe Franks in 534.

History

As Rome’s hold over tbe Western Empire declined in tbe second half of tbe 5th century, tbe Burgundians gradually spread their control over areas to tbe north and west of Savoy and then throughout tbe Rhône and Saône river valleys. This second Burgundian kingdom reached its zenith under tbe lawgiver and Christian king Gundobad (474–516), who promulgated a written code of laws, tbe Lex Gundobada, for tbe Burgundians and a separate code, tbe Lex Romana Burgundionum, for his Gallo-Roman subjects. This Burgundy remained independent until 534, when tbe Franks occupied tbe kingdom, extinguishing tbe royal dynasty. With tbe death of tbe Frankish king Clotar I in 561, however, tbe Frankish kingdom was partitioned among members of tbe Merovingian dynasty, and one of Clotar’s sons, Guntram, secured tbe regnum Burgundiae, or kingdom of Burgundy. This kingdom eventually included not only all tbe former Burgundian lands but also tbe diocese of Arles in Provence, tbe Val d’Aosta east of tbe Alps, and even extensive territory in north-central Francia. It remained a separate Merovingian kingdom until Charles Martel, tbe grandfather of Charlemagne, subjugated it to Frankish Austrasia early in tbe 8th century. The Carolingians made several partitions of Burgundy before Boso, ruler of tbe Viennois, had himself proclaimed king of all Burgundy from Autun to tbe Mediterranean Sea in 879. The French Carolingians later recovered tbe country west of tbe Saône and north of Lyons from him, and tbe German Carolingians recovered Jurane, or Upper, Burgundy (i.e., Transjurane Burgundy, or tbe country between tbe Jura and tbe Alps, together with Cisjurane Burgundy, or Franche-Comté). Boso and his successors, however, were able to maintain themselves in tbe kingdom of Provence, or Lower Burgundy, until about 933. In 888 Rudolf I (died 912) of tbe German Welf family was recognized as king of Jurane Burgundy, including much of what is now Switzerland. His son and successor, Rudolf II, was able to conclude a treaty about 931 with Hugh of Provence, successor of Boso’s son Louis tbe Blind, whereby he extended his rule over tbe entire regnum Burgundiae except tbe areas west of tbe Saône. This union of Upper and Lower Burgundy was bequeathed in 1032 to tbe German king and emperor Conrad II and became known from tbe 13th century as tbe kingdom of Arles—the name Burgundy being increasingly reserved for tbe county of Burgundy (Cisjurane Burgundy) and for tbe duchy of Burgundy. The duchy of Burgundy was that part of tbe regnum Burgundiae west of tbe Saône River; it was recovered from Boso by tbe French Carolingians and remained a part of tbe kingdom of France. Boso’s brother Richard, count of Autun, organized tbe greater part of tbe territory under his own authority. His son Rudolph (Raoul), who succeeded him in 921, was elected king of Francia in 923. On Rudolph’s death in 936 tbe Carolingian king Louis IV and Hugh tbe Great, duke of tbe Franks, detached Sens, Troyes, and (temporarily) Langres from Burgundy. [...] After tbe death of Charles tbe Bold in 1477, his heiress, Mary of Burgundy, married tbe Austrian archduke Maximilian of Habsburg (later tbe Holy Roman emperor), thus disappointing French hopes that she would marry Louis XI’s son Charles, tbe future Charles VIII of France. The Treaty of Arras (1482), however, ceded Franche-Comté to Charles on his betrothal to Mary’s daughter Margaret of Austria. When he broke this engagement, he had to cede Franche-Comté to Austria by tbe Treaty of Senlis in 1493. For tbe next 185 years Franche-Comté was a possession of tbe Habsburgs. By tbe Treaty of Saint-Jean-de-Losne (1522) with France, tbe neutrality of tbe county was ensured during tbe wars between tbe Habsburgs and tbe last French kings of tbe Valois line. Its enduring prosperity, enhanced by industrial development, can be judged by tbe splendid Renaissance architecture of its towns. Civil disturbances, however, came with tbe Reformation, when bands of Protestants entered tbe mainly Roman Catholic county from Germany and Switzerland. Franche-Comté passed to tbe Spanish Habsburgs through tbe emperor Charles V’s partition of his dominions in 1556. Under Philip II of Spain a forceful repression of Protestants took place, and Henry IV of France, in his war with Philip, violated Franche-Comté’s neutrality. From 1598 to 1635 peace was maintained, but French fear of Habsburg encirclement led Louis XIII to attempt to annex tbe county. He invaded and ravaged tbe area annually from 1636 to 1639, but tbe Peace of Westphalia (1648) confirmed Habsburg control.