Burgundians

Quick Facts: Who was Burgundians?

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Burgundians

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Germanic people of the Roman era who established a kingdom in modern Switzerland/France.

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Origins & Early Life

The Burgundians (Latin: Burgundiones or less commonly Burgundii) were a Germanic people of the Roman imperial era, who established the powerful Kingdom of the Burgundians within the Roman empire in what is now western Switzerland and south-eastern France. Burgundian rule of the kingdom ended when it was incorporated into the Frankish empire in 534, but they are the source of later names related to the nearby region now known as Burgundy, including medieval entities such as the Duchy of Burgundy. In earlier periods, Burgundians were also reported by Roman sources to have lived in regions now within Germany and Poland, and there are probably connections between these and the later Burgundian kingdom. The kingdom's core group were non-Roman soldiers under the leadership of the Gibichung dynasty, who had previously held a kingdom as foederati in Roman territory on the Rhine border, probably near Worms in present day Germany. The kingdom on the Rhine was destroyed when the Romans and their Hun allies killed many of the Burgundians along with their king Gundahar in 436, accusing them of rebellion.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

The death of Gundahar at the hands of the Huns became a central theme in medieval Germanic heroic legend, including the Nibelungenlied (where he is “Günther”) and the Völsunga saga (where he is “Gunnar”). After the remnants resettled in Sapaudia near Lake Geneva in about 443, their territory expanded to include the regional Roman capital of Lyon, which subsequently became the new Burgundian capital. The Burgundians are one of the so-called "disappearing and reappearing tribes" listed by historian Peter Heather, appearing in early Roman records in one place, only to reappear much later in another place. The earliest Burgundians mentioned by Greco-Roman writers lived near the Vistula river in present day Poland, between the first and third century. Roman panegyrics reported that in the late third century these Burgundians suffered devastating defeats against the eastern European Gepids and Goths, and modern scholars believe this may have induced some of them to move west in this period, closer to the empire, including those who lived near the Main in the third century.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Although they used Germanic language and customs when they arrived in Sapaudia, the non-Roman soldiers led by the last Gibichungs had diverse origins. There are also indications in Greco-Roman accounts that the forerunners of their core group, the Rhine Burgundians, had seen themselves as descendants of Roman soldiers who had once manned Roman border defences in what is now southern Germany, east of the Rhine. In contrast, older Roman sources described Burgundians living in the region near the Main river only from the third century, initially as invaders and raiders. Both they and their neighbours the Alemanni were previously unattested in this region, much of which had been under Roman control. Archaeological evidence suggests that both these peoples included newcomers from the east, and once they arrived they ruled over populations which were partly Romanised, and partly made up of Germanic tribes who had lived in the same area previously.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Burgundians

True or False: “The Burgundians were always described by Roman sources as originating from the region near the Vistula River in Poland.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While early mentions place some groups near the Vistula, later core groups settled closer to the Rhine and Lake Geneva.

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