Kingdom, Power, Glory: Burgundy (Magna Mundi Platinum)

A Dream Deferred: Medieval Burgundy​

A brief note on nomenclature: To avoid confusion, we will be using the term "Kingdom of Burgundy" only to refer to the modern kingdom created in 1480, not any of the earlier incarnations.

Middle Francia and Lotharingia​

The Burgundians were no more, but they continued to give a name to the land in which they had settled. They also left behind the idée fixe of a Middle Kingdom between France and Germany, which persisted for centuries despite the repeated failure of any attempt to realize it.

We can pass quickly over the Merovingian period and the time of Charlemagne and rejoin history in the mid-ninth century. Following the Treaty of Verdun (843), Lothair I, grandson of Charlemagne and son of Louis the Pious, ruled a great realm known as Middle Francia, stretching from the North Sea to Lombardy. To his second son, also named Lothair, he bequeathed (in 855) a kingdom close to what is now known as Burgundy Proper; this kingdom was known as Lotharingia (from the Latin Lotharii Regnum, the Kingdom of Lothair), a term which survives in the modern "Lorraine." Attempts to revive such a kingdom were a recurring feature in the early middle ages, but all proved short-lived.


Left: Middle Francia following the Treaty of Verdun, along with East Francia and part of West Francia, with borders highlighted in purple. Right: Lothair I, who ruled over the middle kingdom, including modern-day Burgundy

Division​

Following this period, what we now call the Kingdom of Burgundy was divided into a number of entities:

Lower Burgundy was located in what is now Southeast France, including Lyons, Marseilles, Nice, and Avignon. Of this area, only Lyons was ever part of the Kingdom of Burgundy, and that only from 1662-1829.

Upper Burgundy included what became known as Switzerland, as well as the Franche-Comté and its most important city, Besançon.

Both Upper and Lower Burgundy were part of the Holy Roman Empire. The majority of modern-day Burgundy Proper, including Dijon and Nevers, remained part of the French Kingdom, and will be discussed in greater detail below.

Upper Lorraine was the name of what become the modern-day Burgundian province of Lorraine, including Nancy, Metz, and Verdun – some of Burgundy's richest territory, and the ancestral homeland of the Royal House which has reigned over the country since 1698.

Lower Lorraine was the term for the Low Countries, some of which remains part of the Kingdom today, and some of which is now part of the Republic of the Netherlands. Some small areas in the former Lower Lorraine are also now parts of France or Germany.

The County of Burgundy​

What we know of today as Burgundy Proper once consisted of two sections: the Duchy of Burgundy in the west and the County of Burgundy (or the Franche-Comté) to the east. For a time, the county was the last real remnant of the older kingdoms; the duchy is a later creation, which we will discuss shortly. Unlike the duchy, the county was considered a part of the Holy Roman Empire.

A number of powerful women ruled over the county during its history. The countess Beatrice I married Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1156, and upon her death, Frederick administered it as part of his personal demesne. However, the House of Ivrea held the county for most of the period between 1000 and 1350. The various struggles over control of the province between its counts and the emperors led to the unique title of Free Count, and the county itself became known by its "nickname," the Free County, or the Franche-Comté.

A union between the Free County of Burgundy and the Duchy of Burgundy was attempted a number of times before it succeeded, as we will see in our longer study on the history of the duchy. Ultimately, the legal distinction between the two was abolished in 1513 by a decree of St. Philip, which united the two territories and definitively removed the former Free County from the Emperor's jurisdiction. However, the name Franche-Comté remains to this day.


As part of the struggle between Burgundy and the Empire, the "Two Burgundies" were united under St. Philip.

The Duchy of Burgundy​

It could be said that the story of Burgundy as we know it today begins with Richard the Justiciar (d. 921), younger brother of Boso of Provence (whom he defeated in battle at Vienne, fighting for Charles the Bald) and the first man to be given the title dux Burgundiae (c. 918), after gaining control of the majority of the French region. Richard proved a capable ruler, and his reign was a time of relative prosperity and stability for Burgundy.

Richard's son and heir Rudolf rose to the throne of Western Francia shortly after the former's death. Rudolf was succeeded as Duke by his brother Hugh the Black (r. 923-952), then by his brother-in-law Gilbert (r. 952-956). In this later period, the old prosperity gave way to war with the neighboring Robertian Dynasty, ancestors of the Capetians.

The Robertian Dynasty and the First Succession Crisis​

Gilbert was forced to do homage to Hugh the Great, Count of Paris, whose son Otto married Gilbert's daughter and became the first Duke (r. 956-965) of the Robertian line. When Otto expired, he was succeeded by his brother, Otto Henry (r. 965-1002), commonly called the Great or the Venerable, who came out of his life in the Church to take up statecraft. He married twice but, like his elder brother, left behind no legitimate issue when he died.

Thus at the dawn of the second Christian millennium, two men claimed lordship over the duchy. The first was Otto Henry's stepson by his marriage to Gerbega of Macon, Otto William (962-1026), who held the County of Burgundy as a vassal to the Emperor. He was the son of Gerbega and Adalbert II, King of Italy. The other was Henry's nephew King Robert II (the Pious) of France (972-1031), who claimed the duchy by proximity of blood and by his rights as Otto Henry's lord.

A long war broke out between the two. Though the riches of Burgundy were important enough, the conflict can also be seen as a chapter in the great struggle between France and the German Empire. Had Otto William won the contest, the two Burgundies would have been united as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire, a devastating blow to the French kings, and history would have certainly proceeded differently. But this did not happen; Robert emerged the victor, and the duchy remained within the French sphere of influence for several more centuries.


King Robert II of France, who won the struggle for Burgundy.

Under the Capetian Kings​

King Robert, unable to administer war-torn Burgundy effectively, gave the duchy to his son Henry (1008-1060) in 1016. Upon Robert's death in 1031 Henry became Henry I of France. Henry was not a strong ruler, however, and was compelled to ensure the loyalty of his brother Robert (1011-1076) by bestowing Burgundy to him in 1032. Thus did Duke Robert I, sometimes known as Robert the Old, found the House of Burgundy.


Before becoming King Henry I of France, Henry Capet was Duke Henry I of Burgundy. Nearly seven centuries after Henry I's death, a new king of Burgundy was crowned Henry II.

The House of Burgundy​

Robert I was neither a capable nor a moral man, and exercised what little power he had by plundering the remaining wealth of the duchy. He died unlamented in 1076. Robert's eldest son Henry had died in 1071. Burgundy passed first to Henry's eldest son, Hugh I (r. 1076-1079), who soon abdicated, fought in Iberia against the Moors, and finally returned to take monastic vows. His brother Odo I (the Red) took his place, ruling until 1103 and distinguishing himself only by attempting to rob Saint Anselm and by establishing a stable line of succession.


During his conflict with the English King Henry I, St. Anselm of Canterbury was travelling through Burgundy on his way to Rome when Duke Odo the Red and his men attempted to rob him. Odo was overcome by Anselm's piety, however, and did not take anything from him.


Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, was the son of Odo the Red's youngest brother, Henry, who left Burgundy for Iberia and eventually became Count of Portugal.

Odo the Red's descendents ruled over Burgundy for many years. Among the more notable rulers of this dynasty we may count Hugh III (r. 1162-1192), enemy of Philip Augustus (against whom he instigated a disastrous rebellion) but trusted friend of Richard the Lionheart (alongside whom he fought against Saladin). It was Hugh who first moved the ducal court to Dijon. He died in Acre.

Hugh's son Odo III (r. 1192-1218) was a loyal servant to King Philip, fighting against the Emperor and the English, and organizing a Crusade against the Cathar heretics.

Robert II (r. 1271-1306), fearful at the fragmentation of the ducal demesne, instituted a policy of strict primogeniture inheritance, thus keeping the duchy intact and the dukes powerful.

The Free County and the Duchy were united under Odo IV (r. 1315-1350), through his marriage to Countess Joan III. This victory proved to be but momentary.

Upon his death, his three-year-old grandson Philip became Duke Philip I (the boy's father, Philip of Auvergne, had died four years previously when a horse kicked in his skull). All of his family's dreams seemed to be realized in the promising young duke. Through his grandmother he had inherited the Free County and Artois; from his mother, Auvergne. He was, furthermore, betrothed to Margaret of Dampierre, and upon their marriage he would come into the lordship of Nevers and great tracts of the low countries. In fine, he would have grown to become one of the most powerful men in Europe. But he was cut down by the plague in 1361 at the age of fifteen; his widow went home to Flanders, not knowing that she would one day return to Burgundy, and his various possessions passed into the hands of different owners once more. Thus ended the Burgundian dynasty, which had ruled over Burgundy for more than three centuries.


Margeret of Dampierre, or Countess Margaret III of Flanders, who played a crucial role in Burgundian history in the fourteenth century and helped established the borders of Burgundy that we know today.

The Second Succession Crisis and the Birth of Valois Burgundy​

Once more, two pretenders claimed the right to rule Burgundy. And once more, one was the King of France – this time John II (1319-1363). The other was Charles II, King of Navarre (1332-1387). The latter was the great-grandson of Duke Robert II through his eldest daughter; the former was grandson through his youngest. Both men had equally good claims.

The matter was resolved through political, not legal, reasoning. The kingdom was now mired in the Hundred Years' War, and the lesser nobility of Burgundy were in this period still by and large loyal to the French cause. Charles, however, was an ally of England. Thus, the nobles nearly all found reasons to support John's claim. Charles, with so little support, was forced to put away his ambition. King John II of France now also became Duke John of Burgundy.


John II of France, whose eventful life included winning the title of Duke of Burgundy and establishing Valois rule over the duchy. Incidentally, he is also known as "John the Good" – the first Duke of Burgundy to have an epithet, which over time has became a unique convention of all the Burgundian monarchs.

Conclusion​

John would eventually give Burgundy to his youngest son, Philip the Bold, creating a cadet branch of the Valois dynasty that would revive the dream of an independent kingdom. We will tell that story another day.

Before we do, however, we will take a look at one more aspect of medieval Burgundy. This section has gone on long enough, so our next chapter will serve as a (much smaller) addendum to this one. There we will cover the great monastic revival that swept across Burgundy in the tenth and eleventh centuries, and consider its impact on later events and even the present day.

Thanks! Another update coming soon... I'm too sick to do anything more productive with my time right now so I figured I'd make the most of it.

Saeculum Obscurum​

The Cadaver Synod, the most infamous symbol of the Catholic Church's degradation during the ninth and tenth centuries.

In 1506, while still a Catholic theology student, Albert Becker underwent a pilgrimage to Rome. Nothing written by him at the time still exists, unfortunately, but many years later, he wrote of the experience to his great protégé Alf Eriksson:

"The things I witnessed ought not to be communicated even in private. So many foul deeds – of violence, of lust, of insatiable greed – assaulted my every sense so that I grew ill and very nearly died, but that the Lord saw fit to spare me. The pope's so-called priests cavorted in the streets with their harlots, their various hangers-on crowding them, throwing gold at them and demanding favors, and all the while Christ's poor were driven like vermin into the alleys so their gilded processions might pass by. It was a sight to open even the dullest of eyes. I tell you it was then that I swore to avenge Christ against Satan's synagogue in Rome, when I saw the depths of depravity to which that city had fallen."

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Becker's life, and Rome in the age of Innocent VIII, will be discussed in detail in the appropriate place. We mention this now by way of comparison. Whatever Becker saw in Rome would have paled compared to the situation of the 800s and 900s. Once the greatest city in the world, Rome had become a shadow of its former self, and its bishops mere pawns in the struggles between the various noble families which strove for power in the ruins.

The disease was not merely of the head, but of the whole body. Throughout Europe, lay lords of dubious piety (to put it mildly) held complete control over both the diocesan church structures and monastic life. The monasteries that had once done so much to preserve both knowledge and Christian teaching had succumbed nearly everywhere to laxity and corruption. The crisis of the Catholic Church in this period was every bit as acute as, if not more so than, the one which led to the separation of the Beckerite churches in the sixteenth century. Christendom was spared a premature division due to the efforts of reformers within the Church – and the center of this movement was in southern Burgundy.

"Second Only to Rome": Cluny​

In 910, Duke William I of Aquitaine established a monastery on grounds that had once been his hunting preserve, and which now lie in Burgundy, south of Dijon. Nothing was extraordinary about this – it was a common practice for nobility to construct monasteries. But these monasteries were typically subject to the lord's interference. Cluny, on the other hand, was specifically given near-total independence from William and his family – its only requirement was to include them in the monks' prayers.

Cluny became a center of renewal in liturgy. Unlike earlier Benedictine monasteries, it focused less on manual labor and more on laus perinnis, or "unceasing prayer." This helped feed the great wave of popular, devotional piety which swept across Europe around the turn of the millennium.

All this was unusual enough, but perhaps most importantly of all, Cluny established many monastic "colonies" throughout Europe, all of which remained subordinate to Cluny itself. In the past, all monasteries had been locally governed and thus answerable primarily to the local landholder. With this new organizational structure, that problem was sidestepped. By the twelfth century, Cluny was, in the words of the Catholic Encyclopedia, "second only to Rome as the chief centre of the Christian world," and it had effected a major change in the nature of Western Christianity. Its influence was such that its monks have been compared to the Jesuits in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries: Cluniac clergy held sway over kings, and several of them became popes, including Gregory VII and Urban II.


Mostly destroyed during the Revolutionary Wars, the abbey at Cluny was rebuilt and still stands today.

The Cistercian Reform​

Religious icon depicting the three great figures of the early days of the abbey at Cîteaux: Alberic of Cîteaux, Robert of Molesme, and Stephen Harding.

The Cluniac Reforms were vast, but they did not include a strict ascetic component. Cluny's monks lived fairly comfortable lives for the period. In 1098, seeking a stricter monastic life, a group of monks left the Cluniac daughter-house in Molesme, also in modern-day Burgundy, and established a new monastery named Cîteaux, located, like Cluny, in the area south of Dijon.

Cîteaux became the mother-house of a new order, which was less centralized and more rigorous in its observances than Cluny's, but otherwise structured along similar lines. Like the Cluniac order, these Cistercians became influential figures and occasionally rose to the rank of pope. Perhaps the most famous Cistercian of all time was St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the son of a powerful Burgundian noble house who became one of the central figures of his age.


St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the great Cistercian abbot and now one of the patron saints of Burgundy. His influence on Burgundy can be seen throughout later history. A number of colonial towns were named in his honor, most importantly the one in modern-day Côte d'Ivoire, which is now that country's second largest city. Burgundians also established the city of Cîteuax on the island of Tidore, in what is now Indonesia.

The Medieval Reformation's Effect on the Burgundian Imagination​

The influence of Cluny and Cîteaux over the Church in the High Middle Ages led to a flowering of both piety and intellectual activity; they paved the way for the mendicant orders like the Franciscans and Dominicans, who used more revolutionary techniques to complete the work of reform. The Church experienced something of a Golden Age in the thirteenth century – one which eventually gave way to schism and to new plagues of corruption such as that witnessed by Becker in Rome.

But while the effects were temporary, the memory lasted much longer, and later Burgundian historians looked back on this era as the first of several times when Burgundy "saved the Church from itself," which they saw as part of Burgundy's "special place" in the divine order of history.

Whatever one's religious outlook, one can't help but be struck by the repeating themes in Burgundy's history. Certainly the Kingdom's relationship with the Church offers several examples, as we will see as we progress through the ages. Next, we will pick up where we left off last time, with an overview of Valois Burgundy before Charles the Great, including the Hundred Year's War, the Burgundian-Armagnac War, the Treaty of Arras, and the beginning of the war against England over Calais.

Thanks; when I was in college, my thesis adviser was the lady who wrote this book, so she would be glad to know I've retained at least a little!

John the Good was now both King of France and Duke of Burgundy, thanks to the support of the Burgundian nobility. In exchange for their fealty, however, the nobles made it clear to John that they would not brook any attempt on his part to absorb the duchy into the royal demesne, as John had certainly hoped to do. Matters were too precarious for John to do anything but acquiesce to his subjects' demands.

John's eldest son Charles V (1338-1380) inherited the kingdom upon his father's death in 1364. He might have inherited Burgundy as well. However, John dearly loved his youngest son, Philip (1342-1404), who earned the epithet "the Bold" while fighting at Poitiers at the age of 14. As a reward for Philip's services, John gave Burgundy to him in 1363, shortly before his death. In retrospect, this was one of history's great mistakes. As had happened in the eleventh century, the French Crown had won direct possession over Burgundy only to let the duchy slip from its grasp.


Left: King Charles V of France. Right: His brother, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.

But we must not judge John's decision too harshly. The Burgundian nobility's steadfast insistence upon a continued duchy separate from the crown probably could not have been overcome even by a great ruler, which John was not. The situation in France was now critical. The kings of England claimed the French crown and held vast tracts of French land. Elsewhere there was unrest and open revolt among the peasantry, and among the nobility, intrigue and treason.

In 1369, Duke Philip took a wife: none other than Margaret of Dampierre, Philip I's widow, still only nineteen years old. The hopes of House of Burgundy were realized under the Valois. In addition to Burgundy, Philip was, jure uxoris, ruler of much of the Netherlands, a country rich in great cities and fabulous wealth, driven by its textile industry. The duke was becoming wealthier than his nominal lord.

Charles V died in 1380, having ably prosecuted the war against the English. He left the throne of France to his son, Charles VI, only twelve years old. In the young king's minority, a council of regents governed France, or that part of it which was still under the control of the Valois family. Philip was the most prominent member of this cabinet, and for eight years largely governed the kingdom's fortunes. Though there was no formal peace until 1389, very little warfare was conducted during this time, as England was likewise distracted by the troubles under Richard II.


The coronation of the young Charles VI as King of France.

In 1388 Charles VI came into power in his own right and began to heed the advice of his own advisers, the "Marmousets," over that of Philip. But in 1392, as Charles, accompanied by Philip and a host of other nobles, was undertaking an expedition against Brittany, the king was seized by a madness which affected him intermittently for the rest of his life. Philip took control of the situation. He appointed himself regent and was the de facto ruler of France for most of the period until his death in 1404.

During this period Philip made an enemy of his nephew, the king's brother, Louis I, Duke of Orléans, who grew jealous of Philip's power, believing that as the king's closest relative, he should be the man running France. When Philip died, his son, John the Fearless, inherited his land, his power, and his enemies.


Duke John the Fearless (left) ordered the murder of Louis I, Duke of Orleans (depicted right), and afterwards publicly celebrated the fact. He would eventually pay the price for the murder.

The new Duke John (1371-1419, r. 1404-1419), like his father, earned his nickname from his prowess in a losing battle – in his case, against the Turks at Nicopolis (1396). He entered into open conflict with Louis, gaining the support of the queen. Despite agreeing to a truce, he had Louis assassinated in the streets of Paris, a fact which he did not try to hide. Although he had to flee the city at first, he eventually regained royal favor and was absolved of his deed. Louis's son Charles, the new Duke of Orléans, pledged to reconcile with him, and the matter seemed to be over.

However, Charles soon formed a party (the Armagnacs, led by his father-in-law Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac) against John. Civil War broke out in France. We cannot here go into the details of this long and devastating conflict. Eventually the fighting converged with the Hundred Years War, with the Burgundians siding with the English and the Armagnacs with the French king (this despite earlier Armagnac attempts to court the English). The French troops at Agincourt in 1415 were largely supporters of the Armagnac party; Duke John stayed neutral in this phase of the great war. Charles of Orleans was taken captive by the English in the battle and remained a prisoner for 25 years in England, where he lived comfortably and became a renowned poet.


A depiction of the Battle of Agincourt. Although its impact on the Hundred Years War is well known, its indirect importance to Burgundian history is less recognized. It was a major disaster for the Armagnac party, and thus was welcome news for Burgundy.

In 1414, the Armagnacs took control of Paris, but the Burgundians recaptured it in 1418. Two weeks later, Bernard and many of his supporters were slaughtered by a mob. Now master of much of France, but his resources exhausted, John sought peace. The Dauphin Charles VII sought to win him back over the French side, and he seemed amenable to the proposition. However, while in Montereau-Fault-Yonne to meet with the Dauphin, John was assassinated by Armagnac supporters. It is all but certain that Charles himself was complicit in the deed, which made relations between Burgundy and France sour further.


Duke Philip the Good, father of Charles the Great. Philip's maneuverings did much to prepare the way for an independent kingdom.

His son and successor, Philip III (the Good) (1396-1454), favored England. He signed the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, denouncing Charles VII as illegitimate; Henry V of England was crowned King of France. This was France's lowest point in the war.

Joan of Arc changed the course of history when she blazed the path to Reims, where Charles VII was crowned King of France. Joan, of course, did not last long. Burgundian troops captured her in 1430 at Compiègne. She was imprisoned for a while in Vermandois and Arras, then sold to the English, who executed her the next year at Rouen, in Normandy. This episode is generally considered a black mark against Burgundy, although through the nineteenth century Joan was depicted quite negatively by Burgundian writers.


Joan of Arc was captured and executed, but the Anglo-Burgundian alliance could not undo what she had done. In modern times, some French Catholics have urged the Vatican to declare her a saint, but this has not been done yet, likely due to Burgundian influence.

Charles VII did not intervene in his savior's fate, to his everlasting discredit. His attentions were more focused on shattering the Anglo-Burgundian alliance. At the Congress of Arras (1435), he succeeded. Philip acknowledged Charles as the rightful king, and in turn, Charles exempted Philip from paying homage to him and promised to punish those responsible for his father's murder. It was a great diplomatic victory for France, from which English fortunes never recovered. From this point on, France steadily began to overtake English possessions on the continent.

However, Arras also marked the beginnings of a practically independent Burgundy. Further movement in this direction was slow at first, and was not really undertaken for the rest of Philip the Good's reign. Instead, he threw himself into increasing his territory even further. In the early 1430s, he expanded his holdings greatly in the northern Netherlands. In 1441, he purchased the right to inherit Luxemburg from its duchess, Elizabeth, but grew tired of waiting for her death and conquered the province in 1443. Then, in the summer of 1453, as France was defeating England in Gascony, Philip invaded the last uncontested English holdout in Europe, Calais, allegedly in support of France.


The war against England begins.

He hoped to seize the town quickly, but the garrison, resupplied by English ships, held out for a year before surrendering to the inevitable. England refused to accept defeat, however, and began raising troops and making plans to invade the Low Countries. And so matters stood in December of 1454, when Philip the Good died suddenly at the age of 58.

With the ascension of his son Charles, our story is ready to begin in earnest.


The fall of Calais in 1454.