| Content from Wikipedia under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license ⇔ Maps from OpenStreetMap under the ODbL license |
Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy Duché de Bourgogne | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 880–1790 | |||||||||||||
 Flag
.svg) Coat of arms
| |||||||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||||||
 Territories of the House of Valois-Burgundy during the reign of Charles the Bold | |||||||||||||
| Status | Leading duchy of the Burgundian State | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Dijon | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Latin (official) Medieval French, Low Franconian, Franco-Provençal | ||||||||||||
| Religion | Catholic Church | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages and Early Modern period | ||||||||||||
• Founding of the duchy | 880 | ||||||||||||
• Death of Philip I of Burgundy | 1361 | ||||||||||||
| 1477 | |||||||||||||
• Annexed by France | 1482 | ||||||||||||
| 1526 | |||||||||||||
• Creation of the departments | 1790 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
County of Burgundy in the 14th century
The Duchy of Burgundy was a state of medieval Europe, independent between 880 and 1482. The fief of the Duke of Burgundy corresponded approximately to the French region of Burgundy. Thanks to its wealth and relatively extensive territory, the duchy was important both politically and economically, serving as the leading core of the so-called Burgundian State. They were nominally vassals of the King of France, but the dukes of Burgundy managed to maintain a policy of their own.
The initial dynasty of the dukes of Burgundy died out in 1026, with the death without descendants of the heir of the house, Duke Otto-William of Burgundy. But the duchy had already been annexed in 1016 by Henry I, who became Duke in 1016. Henry granted the duchy to his brother Robert, who founded the branch of the Capetian dynasty. From this line of descent came Alfonso VII of León, son of Raymond of Burgundy and of the Queen of León, Galicia and Castile Urraca, daughter and heiress of Alfonso VI of León. The nephew of Alfonso VII of León, Afonso Henriques, was the first King of Portugal. The last representative of the house was Philip of Rouvres, who died of plague in 1361. The duchy passed to the French Crown, and two years later John II of France granted the title to his youngest son, Philip. Philip married Margaret III of Flanders, and through this union the Duchy of Burgundy was joined to the County of Flanders, Artois, Nevers, Rethel and the duchies of Brabant and Limburg.
The last Duchess of independent Burgundy was Mary of Valois, who married Maximilian I of Austria. The marriage contract stipulated that her second son would be the one to inherit the maternal territories, but Mary died in a riding accident before that could happen. King Louis XI of France had seized the duchy from the Valois-Burgundy once Charles the Bold—Mary's father—died and the male line became extinct, and with it the appanage. Mary and Maximilian waged a war over the duchy that only ended when she died and the Peace of Senlis was signed. By it, the Duchy of Burgundy was incorporated into France, while the Low Countries passed to the House of Austria.
List of dukes
Bosonids
- 880-921: Richard I the Justiciar, first Duke of Burgundy (created by Louis III)
- 921-923: Rudolph I, son of the preceding. In 923, he became King of France and ceded the duchy to his brother.
- 923-952: Hugh the Black, brother of the preceding.
- 952-956: Gilbert of Chalon.
Robertians (Capetians)
- 956-965: Otto-Henry, son of Hugh the Great, married Gerberga of Chalon, heiress daughter of Gilbert of Chalon.
- 965-1002: Henry I the Great, brother of the preceding.
- 1002-1004: Otto-William, count palatine of Burgundy, grandson of the preceding.
Royal Domain (1004-1032)
Robert II the Pious, King of France, nephew of Otto-Henry and of Henry I. He conquered the Duchy of Burgundy and incorporated it into the royal domain.
He was succeeded by his son Henry, who, to put an end to the revolt of his brother Robert, granted him the Duchy of Burgundy, in a manner similar to an appanage, in 1032, in exchange for renouncing his claims to the French throne, thus giving rise to a junior branch of the Capetian dynasty, the House of Burgundy.
House of Burgundy (Capetians)
- 1032-1076: Robert I the Old, son of King Robert II the Pious and brother of King Henry I.
- 1076-1079: Hugh I, grandson of the preceding.
- 1079-1102: Odo I Borrel, brother of the preceding.
- 1102-1143: Hugh II the Peaceful, son of the preceding.
- 1143-1162: Odo II, son of the preceding.
- 1162-1192: Hugh III, son of the preceding.
- 1192-1218: Odo III, son of the preceding.
- 1218-1272: Hugh IV, son of the preceding.
- 1272-1306: Robert II, son of the preceding.
- 1306-1315: Hugh V, son of the preceding.
- 1315-1349: Odo IV, brother of the preceding.
- 1349-1361: Philip I of Rouvres, grandson of the preceding.
Royal Domain (1361-1363)
Upon the premature death of Duke Philip I without issue, he was succeeded by his cousin John II the Good, King of France, according to proximity of blood, since according to primogeniture it would have fallen to Charles II of Navarre, but the Burgundian nobility also weighed the alliances and influence of both in the Hundred Years' War. In 1363, John II granted it in appanage to his son Philip.
House of Valois
- 1364-1404: Philip II the Bold, son of King John II of France.
- 1404-1419: John I the Fearless, son of the preceding.
- 1419-1467: Philip III the Good, son of the preceding.
- 1467-1477: Charles I the Bold, son of the preceding.
- 1477-1482: Mary of Burgundy, daughter of the preceding.
After 1477
After the death of Charles the Bold at the Battle of Nancy without male issue, King Louis XI seized the Duchy of Burgundy and annexed it to the royal domain, on the grounds that appanages had been regulated in such a way that, when the male line was exhausted, they were to be incorporated into the Crown. But Mary, the daughter of Duke Charles the Bold, married the future emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg to defend her inheritance, and did not accept the loss of the duchy, thus keeping the title of Duchess of Burgundy, as her descendants the kings of Spain also did, owing to the prestige that being Grand Master and Sovereign Head of the Order of the Golden Fleece conferred on its holder. So much so that in the Peace of Cambrai (1529) Emperor Charles V renounced the specific territory of the Duchy of Burgundy but not the title.
Titular dukes of Burgundy (Habsburg title)
The Habsburgs continued to claim the Duchy of Burgundy, in vain, and acknowledged its loss (Peace of Cambrai (1529), Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559), Treaty of Nijmegen (1678)). They continued to style themselves titular dukes.
- 1477-1482: Mary of Burgundy, titular Duchess of Burgundy, Countess of Flanders and Duchess of Brabant with sovereignty, and who claimed rights over the Low Countries, daughter of Charles the Bold, and wife of Maximilian I of Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1482-1506: Philip I the Handsome, King of Castile, sovereign Count of Flanders and sovereign Duke of Brabant, last titular and sovereign Duke of Burgundy (he renounced the French part, kept Artois), with possessions in the Low Countries, son of the preceding.
- 1506-1555: Charles I of Spain, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Spain and titular Duke of Burgundy, sovereign of Flanders, Brabant and the Low Countries, son of the preceding.
- 1555-1598: Philip II of Spain, King of Spain and Portugal, lord of the Indies, titular Duke of Burgundy (in reality only the Franche-Comté remained to him), sovereign of Flanders, Brabant and the Low Countries, son of the preceding.
- 1598-1621: Isabella Clara Eugenia and Albert of Austria, titular dukes of Burgundy (Flanders, Brabant, the Low Countries, Artois and the Franche-Comté, having little to do with historical Burgundy), daughter and son-in-law of the preceding.
- 1621-1665: Philip IV of Spain, King of Spain and Portugal, Lord of the Indies of America and titular Duke of non-French Burgundy, nephew of the preceding and grandson of Philip II.
- 1665-1700: Charles II of Spain, King of Spain and titular Duke of Burgundy, son of the preceding. After the Peace of Nijmegen, the territorial inheritance of the Burgundian Valois was definitively dismantled (the Franche-Comté passed to the French royal domain, the Low Countries became independent under the leadership of Holland. Flanders and Brabant-Namur-Luxembourg remained with the Austrian Habsburgs until their independence in 1830).
- The kings of Spain, as successors, continued to keep the title as a mere matter of prestige.
Duke of Burgundy (French title)
Title of the Ancien Régime
The title was granted by the King of France to princes, and a priori to the firstborn sons of the Dauphin:
- 1682-1711: Louis of France (1682-1712), Duke of Burgundy, son of Louis of France, called the Grand Dauphin, and grandson of Louis XIV. He was the father of Louis XV and became Dauphin in 1711.
- 1751-1761: Louis of France (1751-1761), Duke of Burgundy, firstborn son of Louis of France, dauphin, and grandson of Louis XV. He was the elder brother of Louis XVI.
See also
External links
