Burgundy: Encyclopedia - Burgundy

Burgundy

Burgundy (French: Bourgogne) is a historic region of France, inhabited in turn by Pre-Indo-European people, Celts (Gauls), Romans (Gallo-Romans), and various Germanic peoples, most importantly the Burgundians and the Franks. Burgundians gave their name to the region. Later in time, the region was divided between the duchy of Burgundy (west of Burgundy) and the county of Burgundy (east of Burgundy). The duchy of Burgundy is the most famous of the two, and the one which reached historical fame. Later, the duchy of Burgundy became the French province of Burgundy, while the county of Burgundy became the French province of Franche-Comté (literally meaning "free county"). This article is about the old united Burgundy, the duchy of Burgundy, the French province of Burgundy, and the current cultural area of Burgundy. For the county of Burgundy see relevant article. For the province and modern-day région of Franche-Comté, see relevant article.

Burgundy (duchy) makes up most of the modern-day administrative région of Bourgogne. See relevant article.

Burgundy - History

The Burgundians were one of the Germanic peoples who filled the power vacuum left by the collapse of the western half of the Roman empire. In 411, they crossed the Rhine and established a kingdom at Worms. Amidst repeated clashes between the Romans and Huns, the Burgundian kingdom eventually occupied what is today the borderlands between Switzerland, France, and Italy. In 534, the Franks defeated Godomar, the last Burgundian king, and absorbed the territory into their growing empire.

Its modern existence is rooted in the dissolution of the Frankish empire. When the dynastic dust had settled in 880s, there were three Burgundies: the kingdom of Upper Burgundy around Lake Geneva, the kingdom of Lower Burgundy in Provence, and the duchy of Burgundy in France. The two kingdoms of Burgundy were reunited in 937 and absorbed into the Holy Roman Empire under Conrad II in 1032, while the duchy of Burgundy was annexed by the French throne in 1004.

During the Middle Ages, Burgundy was the seat of some of the most important Western churches and monasteries, among them Cluny, Citeaux, and Vézelay.

During the Hundred Years' War, King Jean II of France gave the duchy to his younger son, rather than leaving it to his successor on the throne. The duchy soon became a major rival to the French throne, because the Dukes of Burgundy succeeded in assembling an empire stretching from Switzerland to the North Sea, mostly by marriage. The Burgundian Empire consisted of a number of fiefdoms on both sides of the (then largely symbolical) border between the French kingdom and the German Empire. Its economic heartland was in the Low Countries, particularly Flanders and Brabant. The court in Dijon outshone the French court by far both economically and culturally.

In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Burgundy provided a power base for the rise of the Habsburgs, after Maximilian of Austria had married into the ducal family. In 1477 the last duke Charles the Bold was killed in battle and Burgundy itself taken back by France. His daughter Mary and her husband Maximillian moved the court to Brussels and ruled the remnants of the empire (the Low Countries and Franche-Comté, then still a German fief) from there.

See also: Duke of Burgundy

Burgundy - Wine

Main article: Burgundy wine

Burgundy produces famous wines of the same name. The most well-known wines come from the Côte d'Or, although also viticulturally part of Burgundy are Beaujolais, Chablis, and Mâcon.

Burgundy - Geography

Highest point: Haut-Folin (901m) in the Morvan.

The Canal of Burgundy joins the Rivers Yonne and Saône, allowing barges to navigate from the north to south of France. Construction began in 1765 and was completed in 1832. At the summit there is a tunnel 3.333 kilometers long in a straight line. The canal is 242 kilometers long, with a total 209 locks and crosses two counties of Burgundy, the Yonne and Cote d'Or. The canal is now mostly used for riverboat tourism; Dijon, the most important city along the canal, has a harbor for leisure boats.

Burgundy - Culture

Famous Burgundian dishes include coq au vin and beef bourguignon.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Burgundy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki