History & Civilization
The Duchy of Burgundy was a feudal territory once existing within the Kingdom of France. It roughly conforms to the modern Bourgogne. Existing between 843 and 1477, the Duchy was ruled by a succession of Dukes, whose extinction with the death of Charles the Bold in 1477 led to the Duchy being absorbed into the French crown by King Louis XI.
-
The origins of the Duchy lie in the far older Kingdom of Burgundy. The kingdom had evolved from the territory ruled over by the Burgundians, a Scandic people who settled in Gaul in the late 4th century. This first Kingdom of Burgundy would be annexed to the dominions of the Merovingian Kings of the Franks in the era of Clovis and his sons.
-
Aided by the collapse of Carolingian centralism and the division of the Frankish domains brought about by the Partition of Verdun in 843, both the Duchy of Burgundy and the County of Burgundy emerged.
-
The last two Dukes to directly rule the Duchy, Philip the Good and Charles the Bold, attempted to secure the independence of their Duchy from the French crown. The endeavor failed however, when Charles the Bold died in battle without sons, prompting Louis XI of France to absorb the territory into the French crown.
-
In 1525, Emperor Charles V was restored the title and territory by the French King Francis I, as part of the Treaty of Madrid. But Francis repudiated the Treaty as soon as he was able to, and Charles never managed to secure the Duchy.
-
The territory of Burgundy remained part of France from then onwards. The title was occasionally resurrected for French princes, for example the grandson of Louis XIV and the grandson of Louis XV.