.svg.png)
Coat of arms of the Free County of Burgundy until the 13th century.
Coat of arms of the Free County of Burgundy after the 13th century.
The 'Free County of Burgundy', in German 'Freigrafschaft Burgund', was a
medieval county, within the traditional province and modern French region
Franche-Comté, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count:
Freigraf ('free count', or ''franc comte'' in French, hence the term ''franc(he) comté'' for his feudal principality). It should not be confused with the more westerly
Duchy of Burgundy.
History
The region has been inhabited since the
palaeolithic age and was occupied by the
Gauls. Little touched by the
Germanic migrations, it was part of the territory of the
Alamanni in the
5th century, then the
Kingdom of Burgundy from
457 to
534. It was
Christianized after the development of
monasticism and through the influence of
St. Columbanus. In 534, it became part of the
Frankish kingdom, before being set apart to provide a crown for Guntrum, the third son of
Clotaire I in
561, as a Merovingian Kingdom of Burgundy. In
613 Clotaire II ordered the assassination of
Sigebert II of Burgundy and Austrasia, and the kingdom was directly controlled thereafter by Merovingians and Carolingians.
The Kingdom of Burgundy was refounded as an independent entity in
888, at the time of the collapse of the
Carolingian Empire. The kingdom itself collapsed among
feudal anarchy in the
11th century, and the
Duchy of Burgundy was founded by a cadet branch of the
Capetian dynasty. The county passed under the control of the
Holy Roman Empire, with its capital at
Dole. The development of commercial routes across the
Jura and the development of
salt mines assured the prosperity of the county, and its towns preserved their freedom and neutrality in feudal conflicts.
The comital family was a collateral branch of the Burgundian dynasty, descended from
Hugh the Black, a
10th century brother of king
Raoul, and from Hugh's son-in-law Gilbert. The first count,
Otto-William (died
1027), was the son of
Adalbert of Lombardy and
Gerberge of Dijon.
Imperial influence began at the end of the
11th century, when emperor
Henry III elevated the
Archbishop of Besançon to the dignity of
archchancellor and conferred upon Besançon the rank of
Reichsstadt 'imperial city' under the Emperor's direct patronage.
Guy of Burgundy, brother of
Renaud II, later became
pope and negotiated the
Concordat of Worms with emperor
Henry V.
In the
12th century, imperial protection allowed for the development of Besançon, but in
1127, after the assassination of
William III, his cousin
Renaud III shook off the imperial yoke. Burgundy was from then on called "Franche-Comté," the "free county."
Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa re-established imperial influence, took prisoner the brother of Count
William IV. He extended his influence by marrying William IV's niece and heir,
Beatrice, the daughter of Renaud III, when William IV died. When Frederick died, his younger son
Otto I, received the county of Burgundy and assumed the rare (unique?) title
archcount. He was succeeded by his son-in-law
Otto II, duke of
Méranie, then Otto II's children, and finally his daughter Alice of Méranie, wife of Hugh of Chalon, great-grandson of William IV.
The counts for many years had to share power with the greater feudal families of the county, notably with the family of Chalon, which was descended from the Stephen III, count of
Auxonne, grandson of William IV and Beatrice of Thiern, the heir of the
county of Chalon. The authority of the counts was re-established only by the marriage of Hugh of Chalon with Alice, daughter and heir of Otto II. However, this did not prevent a younger son, John of Chalon-Arlay, from taking control of the vassal states.
Otto IV, son of Hugh and Alice, was the last of the feudal counts of Burgundy. He married first the daughter of the
Count of Bar, then the grandniece of
Louis IX of France, countess
Mahaut of Artois. This marriage brought the county under French influence. The daughters of Otto IV and Mahaut, Jeanne and Blanche, married respectively
Philip V of France and Charles IV of France, sons of
Philip IV. Jeanne became Queen of France after having been one of the heroines in the affair of the "daughters-in-law of the king" . In that same affair Blanche was found guilty of adultery and was imprisoned for the rest of her life. These events are retold in the historical novel
The Accursed Kings by
Maurice Druon.
After quarreling with his barons, and after a new revolt against the French carried out by John of Chalon-Arlay, Otto IV ceded the county to his daughter as a dowry and designated the King of France as administrator of the dowry in
1295. By marrying their daughter and heir Jeanne,
Eudes IV,
Duke of Burgundy finally reunited Burgundy.
This union was broken only on the death of
Charles the Bold in
1477, when
Louis XI seized the county. Wishing to be free of conflicts over the county in order to intervene in
Italy,
Charles VIII ceded it to
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in
1493. The county was not finally incorporated with France until the
Treaty of Nijmegen (
1678).
See also
★
Burgundy
★
Kingdom of Burgundy
★
King of Burgundy
★
Duchy of Burgundy
★
Duke of Burgundy
★
County of Burgundy
★
Count of Burgundy
★
Dukes of Burgundy family tree
External link
★ The History Files:
Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy
.svg)
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
