Burgundy, once an independent kingdom of wide extent, and later a French province (Fr. Bourgogne). The ancient Burgundians (Burgundii or Burgundiones) were originally a German tribe settled on the banks of the Oder and the Vistula, who afterwards extended themselves to the Rhine and the Neckar, and in 406 penetrated into Roman Gaul. In 437 they sustained a defeat from the Huns, and placed themselves under the supremacy of the Romans, by whom they were settled in the modern Savoy. From their seat there they extended their dominion in the confusion attendant on the downfall of the Roman empire till it embraced nearly the whole Rhone valley, with the exception of Provence. Their conversion to Christianity took place in the course of eight days! They adopted a brief Arian confession of faith, and were baptised. The Burgundian kingdom was, however, unable to maintain itself against the Franks, and in 534 it was conquered by that people.
The weak government of the later Carlovingian kings allowed Burgundy once more to assert an independent existence under Boso of Vienne in 832. Boso's realm, known as Cisjuran Burgundy, or, from its capital, the kingdom of Arelate (Arles), lay mainly in the basin of the Rhone. A second Burgundian state arose about the same time in the country between the Saone and the Reuss, and was known as Transjuran or Upper Burgundy. These states, united in 930, were for a time powerful and famous; but in 1038, on the extinction of the royal dynasty, Burgundy became part of the German empire, and continued to form a part of it for nearly three centuries. It was afterwards broken into several fragments, nearly all of which were gradually absorbed by France.
In medieval times the name of Burgundy is better known as associated with the dukedom founded by Richard, Count of Autun, a brother of the Boso above mentioned. The nucleus of the dukedom was in Lower Burgundy, the region which afterwards became the French province of Burgundy, to the north and west of the other Burgundian realms. Its brilliant period began when John of France in 1363 conferred the dukedom on his son Philip the Bold. By his marriage with Margaret, heiress of the Count of Flanders, Philip added to his dukedom a great part of the Low Countries, and was appointed regent of France during the insanity of Charles VI. of France. The quarrels of the rival dukes of Burgundy and Orleans at this period, and during the English invasions of Henry V., made a great noise in France, and were most fatal to its prosperity. In 1435 their feuds were arranged by the treaty of Arras, which led to great increase in the possessions of Burgundy. Charles the Bold (1467-77) was one of the most powerful princes in Christendom, and had a gorgeous court. The possession of the flourishing cities of Flanders made him the wealthiest monarch of Europe, and by this time the House of Burgundy had acquired almost the entire Netherlands. His power was shattered by the victories of the Swiss at Granson and Murten, and he was slain at Nancy (1477). After that Burgundy no longer played a great rôle as an independent state. Louis XI. of France, as overlord, appropriated the dukedom. Mary, daughter and heiress of Charles, marrying Maximilian of Austria, transferred to that house the rest of her dominions; and they passed to Maximilian's grandson, the emperor Charles V. The final result was, that the domains of Burgundy properly so called were incorporated with France, while its possessions in the Low Countries remained with the House of Hapsburg. The portion of Burgundy that fell to the Hapsburgs, together with the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands, formed, from 1512 till the rebellion of the Netherlands, one of the ten 'circles' of the German empire. Ultimately they went to constitute modern Belgium. See CHARLES THE BOLD, HOLLAND, PHILIP THE BOLD, PHILIP THE GOOD.—A later Duke of Burgundy (1682-1712), grandson of Louis XIV. of France, is known as the unworthy pupil of the great Fénélon.
The county of Burgundy corresponded to Franche-Comté (q.v.). The French province of Burgundy, as constituted in 1477, comprised what are now the departments of Ain, Côte-d'Or, Saone-et-Loire, and Yonne, with parts of adjoining departments; and among its towns were Dijon, Macon, Autun, Châlon-sur-Saone, and Bourg.
See also FRANCHE COMTÉ; Dubois, La Bourgogne depuis son Origine (2 vols. 1867).