Burgondes

The Burgondes are a Germanic people branch ostic, originating in Norway, then of the island of Bornholm ''), which took part in the invasions and migrations of the end of the Antiquité and the top Moyen-âge, period during which they are established durably in Gaulle.

History

Arrived in Poméranie as of IIè century, under the pressure of the first migratory wave of Goths towards the files pontic, at the end of migrations in Germanic and on the plate Bavarian, Burgondes is established around Mainz. Taken between the Alamans in the Frank south and the in north, threatened by the Huns in the east, their objective is to become one of the people " fédérés" of Rome but initially this company fails, the Romans seeing in the sedentarisation of Burgondes on the files Rhenish a potential danger. The task to defend the files Rhenish their cost however one century later at the time of the second migratory wave of the Vandals, Suèves and Alains towards Gaulle. Coming to support Jovin during rising into Germanic second, Burgondes receive a territory on the lower course of the Rhine than they constitute in small Kingdom with Worms like capital (beginning of the 5th century).

As of this period, royal clans burgondes convert with the orthodoxe Christianisme (Catholicisme) or with its alternative the Arianisme, but the people and the nobility remain however in great pagan majority, in contact with the Goths.

In 436/437, under the control of their king Gondichaire and benefitting from the anguish of the Roman Empire of Occident, Burgondes attack Belgium, they break then with the Romains and run up against the general Aetius who demolishes them grace in particular to his faithful quotas of riders huns. 20.000 warriors burgondes would have died in this combat with their king, the Gunther of the Nibelungen; the shock is terrible for the people burgonde, terrorized. A part of them are submitted to the king hun Attila and are established in Pannonia, while the others, certainly the majority and although overcome, are seen integrated like auxiliaries of the Roman army and are installed in Sapaudia (“ Pays of the Sapin S ”), area which covered the frontier territories between the the Alps and the the Jura left with the abandonment by Helvètes which had ebbed for a long time towards the German-speaking Switzerland. Rome makes sure thus of a strong quota of soldiers on one of the essential commercial axes de Gaulle towards Rome.

In 443 begins officially the kingdom of Burgondie with Geneva for principal capital and later the towns of Lyon, taken in 457, lost and taken again in 459, Dijon, Besancon, Autun, Langres (towards 460) and Vienna in (463). The people burgonde, one of the Scandinavian people fewer, divided into two groups and reduced by the hunnic and Germanic attacks of the previous decades (around 80.000 individuals at most), settle primarily around Geneva, on Northern bank of the Lac Léman, in Romandie, and in the valley of the the Saone. Military detachments as for them will be confined in some strategic points like in particular the fortress of Avignon and with Embrun; nothing a massive invasion of Gaulle. In 475, they reach the Durance and hope to reach the the Mediterranean. In 500/501, their extension is stopped by the Francs which beat them close to Dijon, on the Ouche.

In 451, Huns are demolished with the Catalauniques Fields by the army of federate of Rome under the control of Aetius with the reinforcement of the Burgondes quotas which enable him to carry it in the final stage of the combat. Attila, overcome, withdraws himself towards current Hungary.

As of 457, the close Gallo-Roman cities are voluntarily incorporated with the kingdom incipient Burgonde, the patrices make allegiance with Gondioc, brother-in-law of Ricimer, general-in-chief of the Roman army. Burgondes start to become impossible to circumvent as well as a Gaulle as in Rome. They seek to extend their kingdom towards the Mediterranean but do not manage to take Arles and Marseilles. Ricimer, of Suève origin, cannot reach imperial dignity, it requires of the assistance to Gondioc to take Rome, which sends his/her son Gondebaud to him. Ricimer must finally raise Olybrius with imperial dignity and be withdrawn. Gondebaud itself with died of Olybrius will try to carry out the dream of Ricimer while trying to impose itself but it must in its turn raise with the imperial dignity Glycérius whose origin remains obscure. Gondebaud is Master of the militia for Rome and Glycérius will not prevent its expansion.

About the year 502, then into full apogee under their king Gondebaud, Burgondes extended their domination towards the west and the south and their kingdom from now on are centered on the Lyonnais and the Dauphiné. Gondebaud knew to eliminate his/her three brothers to concentrate the capacity between its hands, thus reinforcing the royal capacity. He is the author of the compilation of a whole of laws putting at foot equality his subjects Gallo-Roman S and burgondes, (law celebrates it known as Gombette ), authorizing the mixed marriages in particular but always holding the political and military high positions with only the burgondes, he is also known as being the uncle of the catholic wife of Clovis, Clotilde.

His/her son Sigismond succeeds to him in 516. He gives up soon officially the Arianisme and becomes an enthusiastic sincere catholic, piles and in his faith, vainly trying to bring his people in his faith. He had already founded towards 515 the Abbaye of Saint-Maurice d' Agaune and made of it a place of Pèlerinage. The queen Clothilde, her aunt, intrigues near her Clodomir son in order to put Burgondie under the cut of the frank kingdom and to avenge it for dead for her parents. Clodomir invades Burgondie and fact Sigismond prisoners, his wife and her children in Orleans. Godomar, the brother of Sigismond, arrives in Burgondie with reinforcements and massacres the franque garrison left by Clodomir, which makes carry out Sigismond, his wife and her children. With its death, the kingdom burgonde, already weakened since the death of Gondebaud and pressed by the Francs, Alamans and the Ostrogoths of Italy, is considerably reduced. But thanks to their victory with the Battle of Vézeronce over the frank king Clodomir, killed with the combat, Burgondes and their new king Godomar III will save a time the remainders of the kingdom.

In 532, the Burgonde kingdom is attacked by the brothers of Clodomir, with the battle of Autun. In 534, Burgondie is cut up and annexed by the Francs Mérovingiens, the wire of Clovis and Clothilde (Burgonde princess) divide the grounds of them: Théodebert receives the north which will become the Franche-Comté, Childebert receives the Lyonese to Savoy, to Clothaire falls it Provence until the Durance. In the wire of the succession of the frank kings, Burgondie is gradually incorporated in the frank kingdom although it remains regarded as an entity. Thus, Dagobert 1st is king of the Francs and king de Burgondie.

Burgondes will not oppose the resistances supported vis-a-vis the Francs. It could however keep a time their laws and their habits until the middle of the 7th century and will mix with the autochtones. However, the memory of this transitory kingdom burgonde and these Scandinavian people remained a long time in the spirits and it left with their direct descendants (but also with the autochtones), a national feeling extremely which will cause conflict many in all the Moyen-âge, as of the time mérovingienne with attempts of creation of Burgondie independent and well later opponent kings Capétiens with the Germanic emperors until the time of the king Louis XI and at Charles Bold the. As for the law Gombette, it remains in force, held for the only nobility of ascent burgonde according to the personalization of the laws. It will be removed at the beginning of the 9th century with the efforts in particular of Agobard, archbishop of Lyon, which considered this personalization of the laws unjust compared to the remainder of the population, less favoured.

Current the Burgundy perpetuates still nowadays by its name, the memory of this first royaume.

List kings burgondes

Quotations

Here how the burgondes are described by Sidoine Apollinaire, noble a arvenne Petri of Latin culture, in 469:

Who? me to sing the hymen in do worms fescennins when I live in the middle of the hairy hordes, deafened by the sounds of the German language, obliged to seem to sometimes rent what sings, well repu, Burgonde with the lubricated hair of a rancid butter? Do you want to know what breaks my quadrant? Frightened by the raucous accents of the Barbarians, Thalie scorns the worms of six feet since she sees of the owners who have Heureux Sept. your eyes of them, happy your ears, happy even your nose! because it does not feel ten times the morning the empestée odor of garlic or onion. You do not have to receive before the day, as if you were the old father of their father, or the husband of their nurse, these giants to which would be enough hardly the kitchen to Alcinoüs. But my MUSE is keep silent and stopped, after this small number of hendécasyllabes, for fear, in these worms airspeed indicators, somebody will still not find a satire.
(XII Dyed with carmine.)

See too

Burgondes (Great invasions) | King of Burgondes
Geography: Sapaudie | Burgondie
Kingdoms burgondes: War of Burgondie (523-524) - Battle of Vézeronce (524)
late Antiquity

Generic articles

External bonds

Burgondes
Lex romana burgundionum (towards 500)
very complete History

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