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History of the Kingdom of the Burgundians. Burgundians Burgundians tribe

History of the Kingdom of the Burgundians. Burgundians Burgundians tribe

-Hafel) in the west. Thus, the Burgundians lived in what is now Eastern Pomerania and partly in the territory of Brandenburg. Perhaps the Burgundians were pushed away from the Baltic coast by the Rugs, moving to the Warta and Vistula.

Archaeological excavations of Burgundian settlements are associated with the Oksyw archaeological culture, widespread in the territory of Brandenburg, Eastern Pomerania and the Lusatian region itself, east of the Vistula. In Sarmatia, south of the Goths, according to Ptolemy, lived the Frugundians, possibly a branch of the Burgundians who joined the Goths for fear of the Vandals. The historian Zosima (5th century) mentions the Urugund people, who in the past lived on the Danube, and during the time of Gallienus (253-268 AD) plundered the regions of Italy and Illyricum. We must proceed from the fact that not entire peoples migrated, but only small groups, which, if successful, created unions with a name going back to the main or more well-known core, such as the Goths, Burgundians, etc. H. Wolfram suggests that such large tribal associations arose only as a result of military clashes with the Roman Empire.

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Clash with the Roman Empire

Wars with the Alemanni

Information from Ammianus Marcellinus

To top it all off, Valentinian was able to recapture Mainz, a major city on the Rhine, from the Alemanni, and once again established an episcopate there.

Crossing the Rhine

After the withdrawal of the main forces of the Roman army beyond the Rhine in 401, the road to the empire was open. The crossing of the Rhine near Mainz on December 31, 406 by the Burgundians probably suggested the colonization of the northern territories of the Alemanni to the lower region of the Neckar mountain. The remaining Roman troops and the Franks who served them were swept away by a powerful wave of advance by the Vandals, Suevi and Alans. During the second wave of migration, when the Vandals, Suevi and Alans passed through Roman territories, the empire realized that it was not able to defend its borders on its own.

Having moved to the left bank of the Rhine, the Burgundians did not move further into Gaul like other peoples, but settled in the Mainz area and there is an assumption that, like the Alamanni and Franks, the Burgundians entered into an allied treaty with the Roman usurper in Britain, Constantine III (407-411).

Kingdom of Worms

Apparently, in order not to disturb the peace, Emperor Honorius later officially recognized these lands as belonging to the Burgundians. However, this issue still remains in doubt. There are scant indications of the Burgundian kingdom on the Rhine only in the notes of Prosper Tiron of Aquitaine, when he speaks under 413 about the settlement of the Burgundians on the Rhine. At the same time, the treaty of alliance was apparently renewed and the Burgundians became official federates of Rome on the Rhine border.

For about 20 years, Rome and the Burgundians coexisted peacefully, and the Western Roman Empire was secure along the entire course of the Rhine.

The defeat of the kingdom by the Huns

New Kingdom in Geneva

Under Gundioch

Some of the Burgundians remained dependent on the leader of the Huns, Attila, who was located in Pannonia, while the majority, although defeated, was settled by Aetius in 443 as federates in western Switzerland and the territory of present-day Savoy, in which lived the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii, who had been devastated by the Alemanni side. Aetius thus created a buffer against the Alemanni. The Burgundians were saved from destruction and absorption by the Huns. Thus arose the kingdom of the Burgundians in Sabaudia, with its capital in Geneva.

Gundioch's internal policy was aimed at a strict separation of army posts, which were occupied exclusively by the Burgundians, and internal political administration, entrusted to the local population. Pope Gilarius calls King Gundiochos, despite the fact that he was an Arian, “our son.”

Ricimer replaced Majorian with Livius Severus (461-465). But this candidacy, as well as the murder of Majorian, aroused the disapproval of the emperor of the Eastern Empire Leo I and the governor of Gaul Aegidius (?-464/465). After the death of Severus in 465, Ricimer did not appoint a new emperor for eighteen months and held the reins of government himself; but the danger from the Vandals forced him in 467 to enter into an alliance with the Eastern Roman Empire and accept the new Roman emperor appointed by the Byzantine court, the patrician Procopius Anthemius (467-472). The latter married his daughter to Ricimer, but soon an open struggle arose between them: Ricimer recruited a large army of Germans in Milan, went to Rome and, after a three-month siege, took it (July 11, 472); the city was given over to the barbarians for plunder, and Antemius was killed. At the same time, Ricimer asks his brother-in-law Gundiokh for help, who sends him warriors led by his son Gundobad (?-516). Gundobad apparently personally beheaded Emperor Anthemius.

From this time on, Burgundy became a real power not only in Gaul, but throughout the entire empire. The Burgundians tried to expand their state to the Mediterranean Sea, but were unable to take Arles and Marseille. Among the Burgundians, who settled among the Gallo-Roman population, tribal relations gradually died out, and the foundations of feudalism emerged.

In 472-474, Burgundian troops, together with the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, defended Auvergne from the attack of the Visigoths.

Under Chilperic I

In 473, King Gundioch dies, Gundobad decides to return to his homeland so as not to lose his position in Burgundy. All power and the title of magister militum (literally: commander-in-chief of the allied army) passes to Chilperic. At the same time, Gundobad bore the title of master militum praesentialis, imperial commander. In fact, power in the kingdom was shared by Chilperic and his nephews, the sons of Gundioch Chilperic II (Valence), Godomar I (Vienne), Gundobad (Lyon) and Godegisel (Geneva). However, their relationship remains unclear. This certainly had a negative impact on the influence of Burgundy in Rome. It fades away with the departure of Gundebad, where already in June 474 his protege Glycerius was removed. The nephew of the wife of the Eastern Emperor Leo, Julius Nepos (474-475), became the new emperor.

From about 474, the Burgundians gradually advanced north of Lake Geneva, pushing back the Alemanni. Chilperic continued the fight against the Visigoths, supporting his nephew Gundobad in 474, when he fell into disgrace as a supporter of Emperor Glycerius by the Roman Emperor Julius Nepos. Helperic led negotiations, during which Julius Nepos extended the treaty under which the Burgundians remained federates of Rome, defended not only the independence of Burgundy, but also the possessions of the province of Finnensis (Rhônetal) captured earlier. However, these provinces were still lost in 476.

In 491, Gundobad killed Chilperic II with a sword, ordered his wife to be thrown into the water with a stone around her neck, then condemned his two daughters to exile: the eldest Crona (she went to a monastery) and the younger Chrodehilda (Clotilda). They fled to another uncle, Godegisel. In 493, Chrodehilda married the Frankish king Clovis I. Clovis often had to send envoys to Burgundy, where they met the young Chrodechild. Noticing her beauty and intelligence, and learning that she was of royal blood, they notified the king. Clovis immediately sent an envoy to Gundobad to ask Chrodechild as his wife. He, not daring to refuse, gave her into the hands of the messengers, and Clovis married her. Although the royal house of Burgundy was of the Arian confession, Chrodechild, under the influence of her mother, had already converted to the Catholic faith. This subsequently led to civil war in Burgundy.

The reasons that prompted Gundobad to kill his brother are unclear. According to some texts, Chilperic was the king of Lyon, not Valence. Then, if we also take into account the fact that he was a co-ruler during his father’s life, Chilperic II was the eldest son of Gundiochus. In addition, he was apparently close to the nominally high king of Burgundy, his uncle Chilperic I (?-480), since the latter's wife, Caraten, raised his children in the Catholic faith. Often the texts call Caratena the wife of not the first, but the second Chilperic.

After the murder of his brother, Gundebad expels the Alemanni from the territory of what is now Switzerland. Around the same period, he suppressed the attempts of Bishop Avitus of Vienna (490-525) to spread Catholicism in Burgundy. True, the bishop himself was not harmed, but the Burgundians remained in their previous positions, between Arianism and paganism. In addition, Avit was part of the king’s inner circle, which consisted of enlightened Romans.

Since Theodoric of Ostrogoth did not lack female family members, he was able to honor the Burgundian royal house by intermarrying with it. In 494/6, Theodoric's daughter from one of the concubines, Ostrogoth, was given in marriage to the Burgundian prince Sigismund. However, constant tension remained between the Ostrogothic and Burgundian kingdoms.

Apparently the relationship between the two remaining brothers was also far from ideal, since Godegisel, having openly accepted his nieces, clearly made it clear that he did not support his brother. Both kings begin to seek support against each other from the king of the Fraks, Clovis, whose influence in Gaul is becoming stronger.

Clovis takes the side of Godegisel, who promised annual tribute and territorial concessions. In 500, the Battle of Dijon took place near the Houche River. Clovis, Gundobad and Godegisel each set out with their own army. Having learned about Clovis's approach, Gundobad invited his brother to unite against the external enemy. Godegisel agreed, but in the decisive battle of Dijon (at the Ouch River), Godegisel goes over to the side of the Franks and Gundobad is defeated. Godegisil marches on Vienne, and Gundobad flees to Avignon, where he was besieged by Clovis. But under pressure from the Visigothic king Alaric II and subject to annual tribute, Clovis lifts the siege and retreats to his possessions. After which, violating the agreement with Clovis, Gundobad besieged his brother in Vienne (501). When food shortages began to be felt in the city, many civilians were expelled, including “the foreman who was entrusted with the care of the water supply. Indignant at the fact that he was expelled along with the others, he, seething with anger, came to Gundobad and showed how he could penetrate the city and take revenge on his brother. Under his command, an armed detachment headed along the water canal, and many walking in front had iron crowbars, since the water outlet was blocked by a large stone. On the instructions of the master, they, using crowbars, rolled away the stone and entered the city. And so they found themselves in the rear of the besieged, while they were still shooting arrows from the walls. After the trumpet signal was heard from the center of the city, the besiegers captured the gates, opened them and also entered the city. And when the people in the city found themselves between two detachments and they began to be exterminated on both sides. Godegisil took refuge in the church of heretics, where he was killed along with the Arian bishop. The Franks who were at Godegisil all gathered in one tower. But Gundobad ordered not to cause any harm to any of them. When he captured them, he sent them into exile to Toulouse to King Alaric.” However, Clovis did not react to this.

By 502, under King Gundobad, Burgundy had reached the height of its power. The kingdom extended to the entire Lyon region and the Dauphine region. Gundobad eliminated his three brothers, concentrating all royal power in his hands. He is credited with the authorship of the Burgundian Truth, which combined Gallo-Roman legislation with the customs of the Burgundians. The first half of the law was created in the period 483-501, the second - 501-516 and ended with the death of Gundobad.

The Burgundians were quickly assimilated by the Romanesque population. Their resettlement did not cause a significant change in the language of the local population. The Burgundian Truth in its original edition is a collection of Burgundian law, compiled under the strong influence of Roman law. Like the Visigoths, the Burgundians compiled a special collection of Roman laws (Lex Romana Burgundionum) for the Romans. As in other Germanic kingdoms founded on Roman territory, the Burgundians applied a personal principle in the field of law, according to which the members of each tribe lived according to their own tribal customs and laws. Thus, the right was not territorial, but personal. Each representative of the Burgundian tribe was tried according to the laws of his tribe, wherever he lived, while the Roman was tried according to Roman laws.

The division of land between the Romans and the Burgundians initially weakened large-scale land ownership, but at the same time contributed to the disintegration of ancient communal-tribal relations among the Burgundians, the development of private property and class differentiation among them. The mobilization of land and landlessness among the Burgundians began to threaten their entire military system so acutely that they caused the king to prohibit the Burgundians from selling their allotments (sortes) in cases where, in addition to the allotment being sold, the Burgundian no longer had land elsewhere.

Burgundian truth already knows three classes among the free Burgundians (ingenui, faramanni): nobility, people of average wealth who owned full allotments, and the lower free, landless, in the service of the upper classes. In addition, colons, slaves and freedmen were known. Thus, the class differentiation of the Burgundians has already reached significant development.

The formation of a layer of large landowners from among the Burgundians did not lead to the merger of this layer with the large Roman landowners-senators. National strife was not eliminated, complicated by religious strife between the Roman Catholics and the Burgundian Arians, although the latter were distinguished by religious tolerance. This discord, weakening the Burgundian kingdom, contributed to its further conquest by the Franks.

In 507 there was a war with the Visigoths. The Franks set out on a campaign in the direction of Tours in the spring. Linking up with a Burgundian column under the command of Sigismund, son of King Gundobad, Clovis marched towards [Poitiers]. On the plain

Burgundians, Germanic tribe. Kingdoms were formed: in the Rhine basin - at the beginning of the 5th century (conquered by the Huns in 436), in the Rhone basin - in the middle of the 5th century (conquered by the Franks in 534). The Burgundians experienced a short but stormy fate, leaving behind a rich mythology and epic tradition, as the “Song of the Nibelungs” recalls. They came from the south of what is now Norway, from the island of Bornholm, and were distinguished by their tall stature and red hair and beards. In 417, the Burgundians, led by Giebich's three sons - Gundahar, Giselher and Godomar (Giebich, Gunther, Giselcher and Gernot "Songs of the Nibelungs") - reached the Rhine and occupied the Roman province of Germania Prima. Worms became the center of their possessions. Rome was forced to recognize them as federates, bestow Roman titles on Gibikh’s heirs, and supply food annually.

Burgundians in the Song of the Nibelungs
Interrogation of Hagen by King Attila and Kriemhild, Donato Giancola

Burgundians in the Song of the Nibelungs
Kriemhild shows Gunther's head to Hagen, artist Heinrich Füssli

In 435, dissatisfied with the delay in supplies, the Burgundians decided to occupy the province of Belgica and were defeated by the Roman army, on the side of which were the Huns, led by Attila (Etzel of the Nibelung epic). In that fateful year, Gundahar and his brothers died, which became the main idea of the tragedy “The Song of the Nibelungs”. After this defeat, the Burgundians were resettled in the lands around Lake Geneva, centered in Lyon. According to the Roman tradition of tertius, they, as billeted soldiers, were allocated two-thirds of the land, one-third of the property and slaves.

During the redistribution of land, a hereditary right of ownership of the plot (sors) was formed. However, Roman land ownership did not cease to exist. The relationship between patronage and colonate has been preserved. The tribal leaders of the Burgundians were given equal rights with Roman officers. Kings until 476 bore the title "magister militurn". Roman influence affected the recording of customary law in the so-called “Burgundian Truth”, compiled under King Gundobad (474 - 516).
Dod Evgeniy Vyacheslavovich biography of a successful chairman.

In particular, it contained articles about colons, about slaves placed on peculium, and about patronage agreements. The stamp of Romanization also bears on the system of legal protection of persons belonging to different strata. Thus, the murder of a noble (optimates, nobiles) was punishable by a fine of 300 solids, the murder of a person of average status (mediocres) - 200 solids, the murder of an unnoble, a person of low birth (minores, inferiores) - 150 solids. In 517, under King Sigismund, the Burgundians adopted Catholicism, which, however, remained the property of the tribal elite. In 534, the Burgundians submitted to the Franks. The name Burgundy comes from the Burgundians.

In the Middle Ages, various state and territorial entities bore the name Burgundy. The barbarian kingdom of Burgundy, centered in Lugdunum (Lyon), was formed at the end of the 5th century in territories captured by the Germanic Burgundian tribe. In 534, the kingdom was conquered by the Franks, but remained as an integral territorial entity under its own name within the Frankish Kingdom.

The second Burgundian kingdom was created by Gontran, son of Clothar I; it included Arles, Sens, Orleans and Chartres. Under Charles Martel it was annexed to Austrasia. During the collapse of the Frankish kingdom, two kingdoms were formed on the territory of Burgundy, the border between which was the Jurassic Range: Upper Burgundy and Lower Burgundy, united in 933 into a single kingdom, also called Burgundy, with its center in Arles.

BURGUNDY

(Latin Burgundii, Burgundiones), a tribe of East Germans. In the first centuries AD. e. B. (who originally lived, presumably, on the island of Bornholm) penetrated the continent. In 406 they founded a kingdom on the Rhine with its center in Worms (destroyed in 436 by the Huns). In 443 they were settled as Roman federates on the territory of Savoy. Taking advantage of the weakening of the empire, B. occupied the river basin in 457. Rhone, where they formed a new kingdom centered in Lyon - one of the first “barbarian” kingdoms on the territory of the disintegrating Western Roman Empire. Among the Gallo-Romans who settled among the Gallo-Romans, clan ties quickly disintegrated, and the emergence of feudal relations began on the basis of a synthesis of the institutions of Gallo-Roman (slaveholding) and so-called barbarian societies (with a large preponderance of the late Roman element). Of great importance for the process of feudalization in Byelorussia was the seizure and division of the lands of the Gallo-Romans (this was carried out especially widely in the late 5th and early 6th centuries under King Gundobad). The most important source for studying the social system of Belgium in the 6th century. - the so-called Burgundian truth. At the beginning of the 6th century. B. converted to Catholicism (before that they were Arians). In 534, the kingdom of Byelorussia was finally annexed to the Frankish state. Subsequently, B. became part of the emerging southern French nation.

Lit.: Gratsiansky N.P.. On the division of lands among the Burgundians and Visigoths, in his book: From the socio-economic history of the Western European Middle Ages, M., 1960; Serovaysky Ya. D., Changes in the agrarian system in the territory of Burgundy in the 5th century, in the collection: Middle Ages, c. 14, M., 1959. See also lit. at Art. Germans.

Ya. D. Serovaisky.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB. 2012

Wars with the Alemanni

Information from Ammianus Marcellinus

To top it all off, Valentinian was able to recapture Mainz, a major city on the Rhine, from the Alemanni, and once again established an episcopate there.

Crossing the Rhine

After the withdrawal of the main forces of the Roman army beyond the Rhine in 401, the road to the empire was open. The crossing of the Rhine near Mainz on December 31, 406 by the Burgundians probably suggested the colonization of the northern territories of the Alemanni to the lower region of the Neckar mountain. The remaining Roman troops and the Franks who served them were swept away by a powerful wave of advance by the Vandals, Suevi, Alans and Burgundians fleeing the Hun offensive [ ] . During the second wave of migration, when the Vandals, Suevi and Alans passed through Roman territories, the empire realized that it was not able to defend its borders on its own.

Kingdom of Worms

For about 20 years, Rome and the Burgundians coexisted peacefully, and the Western Roman Empire was secure along the entire course of the Rhine.

The defeat of the kingdom by the Huns

New Kingdom in Geneva

Under Gundioch

Some of the Burgundians remained dependent on the leader of the Huns, Attila, who was located in Pannonia, while the majority, although defeated [by whom?] in 443 it was settled by Aetius as federates in western Switzerland and the territory of present-day Savoy, in which lived the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii, who were subjected to devastation by the Alamanni. Aetius thus created a buffer against the Alemanni. The Burgundians were saved from destruction and absorption by the Huns. Thus arose the kingdom of the Burgundians in Sabaudia, with its capital in Geneva.

In 472-474, Burgundian troops, together with the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, defended Auvergne from the attack of the Visigoths.

Under Chilperic I

The Burgundian kings maintained good relations with the basileus of Byzantium, nominally confirming their submission while receiving the title (starting with Gundiochos) magister militum (literally: commander-in-chief of the allied army).

Under Sigismund

There was no good agreement between the Gothic father-in-law and the Burgundian son-in-law. Nevertheless, peace reigned on the border on both sides for almost 15 years.

The Burgundians subsequently became part of the French people and gave the name to the province of Burgundy.

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Notes

Literature

// A. R. Korsunsky, R. Gunther. Decline and death of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of the German kingdoms (until the middle of the 6th century). M., 1984.
Hans Hubert Anton, Burgundians. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. In: Dictionary of Real Germanic Antiquities. Bd. 4 (1981), pp. 235-248. Volume 4 (1981), p. 235-248.
Justin Favrod: Histoire politique du royaume burgonde. Lausanne 1997.
Reinhold Kaiser: Die Burgunder. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2004. ISBN 3-17-016205-5.

Excerpt characterizing the Burgundians

- Yes. Wait... I... saw him,” Sonya said involuntarily, not yet knowing who Natasha meant by the word “him”: him - Nikolai or him - Andrey.
“But why shouldn’t I say what I saw? After all, others see! And who can convict me of what I saw or did not see? flashed through Sonya's head.
“Yes, I saw him,” she said.
- How? How? Is it standing or lying down?
- No, I saw... Then there was nothing, suddenly I see that he is lying.
– Andrey is lying down? He is sick? – Natasha asked, looking at her friend with fearful, stopped eyes.
- No, on the contrary, - on the contrary, a cheerful face, and he turned to me - and at that moment as she spoke, it seemed to her that she saw what she was saying.
- Well, then, Sonya?...
– I didn’t notice something blue and red here...
- Sonya! when will he return? When I see him! My God, how I’m afraid for him and for myself, and for everything I’m afraid...” Natasha spoke, and without answering a word to Sonya’s consolations, she went to bed and long after the candle had been put out, with her eyes open, she lay motionless on the bed and looked at the frosty moonlight through the frozen windows.

Soon after Christmas, Nikolai announced to his mother his love for Sonya and his firm decision to marry her. The Countess, who had long noticed what was happening between Sonya and Nikolai and was expecting this explanation, silently listened to his words and told her son that he could marry whomever he wanted; but that neither she nor his father would give him his blessing for such a marriage. For the first time, Nikolai felt that his mother was unhappy with him, that despite all her love for him, she would not give in to him. She, coldly and without looking at her son, sent for her husband; and when he arrived, the countess wanted to briefly and coldly tell him what was the matter in the presence of Nicholas, but she could not resist: she cried tears of frustration and left the room. The old count began to hesitantly admonish Nicholas and ask him to abandon his intention. Nicholas replied that he could not change his word, and the father, sighing and obviously embarrassed, very soon interrupted his speech and went to the countess. In all his clashes with his son, the count was never left with the consciousness of his guilt towards him for the breakdown of affairs, and therefore he could not be angry with his son for refusing to marry a rich bride and for choosing the dowryless Sonya - only in this case did he more vividly remember what, if things weren’t upset, it would be impossible to wish for a better wife for Nikolai than Sonya; and that only he and his Mitenka and his irresistible habits are to blame for the disorder of affairs.
The father and mother no longer spoke about this matter with their son; but a few days after this, the countess called Sonya to her and with cruelty that neither one nor the other expected, the countess reproached her niece for luring her son and for ingratitude. Sonya, silently with downcast eyes, listened to the countess’s cruel words and did not understand what was required of her. She was ready to sacrifice everything for her benefactors. The thought of self-sacrifice was her favorite thought; but in this case she could not understand to whom and what she needed to sacrifice. She could not help but love the Countess and the entire Rostov family, but she also could not help but love Nikolai and not know that his happiness depended on this love. She was silent and sad and did not answer. Nikolai, as it seemed to him, could not bear this situation any longer and went to explain himself to his mother. Nikolai either begged his mother to forgive him and Sonya and agree to their marriage, or threatened his mother that if Sonya was persecuted, he would immediately marry her secretly.
The countess, with a coldness that her son had never seen, answered him that he was of age, that Prince Andrei was marrying without his father’s consent, and that he could do the same, but that she would never recognize this intriguer as her daughter.
Exploded by the word intriguer, Nikolai, raising his voice, told his mother that he never thought that she would force him to sell his feelings, and that if this was so, then this would be the last time he spoke... But he did not have time to say that decisive word, which, judging by the expression on his face, his mother was waiting in horror and which, perhaps, would forever remain a cruel memory between them. He did not have time to finish, because Natasha, with a pale and serious face, entered the room from the door where she had been eavesdropping.
- Nikolinka, you are talking nonsense, shut up, shut up! I’m telling you, shut up!.. – she almost shouted to drown out his voice.
“Mom, my dear, this is not at all because... my poor darling,” she turned to the mother, who, feeling on the verge of breaking, looked at her son with horror, but, due to stubbornness and enthusiasm for the struggle, did not want and could not give up.
“Nikolinka, I’ll explain it to you, you go away - listen, mother dear,” she said to her mother.
Her words were meaningless; but they achieved the result she was striving for.
The countess, sobbing heavily, hid her face in her daughter's chest, and Nikolai stood up, grabbed his head and left the room.
Natasha took up the matter of reconciliation and brought it to the point that Nikolai received a promise from his mother that Sonya would not be oppressed, and he himself made a promise that he would not do anything secretly from his parents.
With the firm intention, having settled his affairs in the regiment, to resign, come and marry Sonya, Nikolai, sad and serious, at odds with his family, but, as it seemed to him, passionately in love, left for the regiment in early January.
After Nikolai's departure, the Rostovs' house became sadder than ever. The Countess became ill from mental disorder.
Sonya was sad both from the separation from Nikolai and even more from the hostile tone with which the countess could not help but treat her. The Count was more than ever concerned about the bad state of affairs, which required some drastic measures. It was necessary to sell a Moscow house and a house near Moscow, and to sell the house it was necessary to go to Moscow. But the countess’s health forced her to postpone her departure from day to day.
Natasha, who had easily and even cheerfully endured the first time of separation from her fiancé, now became more excited and impatient every day. The thought that her best time, which she would have spent loving him, was being wasted in such a way, for nothing, for no one, persistently tormented her. Most of his letters angered her. It was insulting to her to think that while she lived only in the thought of him, he lived a real life, saw new places, new people that were interesting to him. The more entertaining his letters were, the more annoying she was. Her letters to him not only did not bring her any comfort, but seemed like a boring and false duty. She did not know how to write because she could not comprehend the possibility of truthfully expressing in writing even one thousandth part of what she was accustomed to express with her voice, smile and gaze. She wrote him classically monotonous, dry letters, to which she herself did not attribute any meaning and in which, according to Brouillons, the countess corrected her spelling errors.
The Countess's health was not improving; but it was no longer possible to postpone the trip to Moscow. It was necessary to make a dowry, it was necessary to sell the house, and, moreover, Prince Andrei was expected first in Moscow, where Prince Nikolai Andreich lived that winter, and Natasha was sure that he had already arrived.
The Countess remained in the village, and the Count, taking Sonya and Natasha with him, went to Moscow at the end of January.

Pierre, after the matchmaking of Prince Andrei and Natasha, without any obvious reason, suddenly felt the impossibility of continuing his previous life. No matter how firmly he was convinced of the truths revealed to him by his benefactor, no matter how joyful he was during that first period of fascination with the inner work of self-improvement, which he devoted himself to with such fervor, after the engagement of Prince Andrei to Natasha and after the death of Joseph Alekseevich, about which he received news almost at the same time - all the charm of this former life suddenly disappeared for him. Only one skeleton of life remained: his home with his brilliant wife, who now enjoyed the favors of one important person, acquaintance with all of St. Petersburg and service with boring formalities. And this former life suddenly presented itself to Pierre with unexpected abomination. He stopped writing his diary, avoided the company of his brothers, began to go to the club again, began to drink a lot again, again became close to single companies and began to lead such a life that Countess Elena Vasilievna considered it necessary to make a stern reprimand to him. Pierre, feeling that she was right, and in order not to compromise his wife, left for Moscow.
In Moscow, as soon as he entered his huge house with withered and withering princesses, with huge courtyards, as soon as he saw - driving through the city - this Iverskaya Chapel with countless candle lights in front of golden vestments, this Kremlin Square with untrodden snow, these cab drivers and the shacks of Sivtsev Vrazhka, saw old Moscow people who wanted nothing and were slowly living out their lives, saw old women, Moscow ladies, Moscow balls and the Moscow English Club - he felt at home, in a quiet refuge. In Moscow he felt calm, warm, familiar and dirty, like wearing an old robe.
Moscow society, everyone, from old women to children, accepted Pierre as their long-awaited guest, whose place was always ready and not occupied. For Moscow society, Pierre was the sweetest, kindest, smartest, cheerful, generous eccentric, absent-minded and sincere, Russian, old-fashioned gentleman. His wallet was always empty, because it was open to everyone.
Benefit performances, bad paintings, statues, charitable societies, gypsies, schools, subscription dinners, revelries, Freemasons, churches, books - no one and nothing was refused, and if not for his two friends, who borrowed a lot of money from him and took him under their custody, he would give everything away. There was no lunch or evening at the club without him. As soon as he slumped back in his place on the sofa after two bottles of Margot, he was surrounded and conversations, arguments, and jokes ensued. Wherever they quarreled, he made peace with one of his kind smiles and, by the way, a joke. Masonic lodges were boring and lethargic without him.
When, after a single dinner, he, with a kind and sweet smile, surrendering to the requests of the cheerful company, got up to go with them, joyful, solemn cries were heard among the youth. At balls he danced if there was no gentleman available. Young ladies and young ladies loved him because, without courting anyone, he was equally kind to everyone, especially after dinner. “Il est charmant, il n"a pas de sehe,” [He is very cute, but has no gender], they said about him.
Pierre was that retired good-natured chamberlain living out his days in Moscow, of which there were hundreds.
How horrified he would have been if seven years ago, when he had just arrived from abroad, someone had told him that he didn’t need to look for anything or invent anything, that his path had been broken long ago, determined from eternity, and that, no matter how he turn around, he will be what everyone else in his position was. He couldn't believe it! Didn’t he want with all his soul to establish a republic in Russia, to be Napoleon himself, to be a philosopher, to be a tactician, to defeat Napoleon? Didn’t he see the opportunity and passionately desire to regenerate the vicious human race and bring himself to the highest degree of perfection? Didn't he establish schools and hospitals and set his peasants free?
And instead of all this, here he is, the rich husband of an unfaithful wife, a retired chamberlain who loves to eat, drink and easily scold the government when unbuttoned, a member of the Moscow English Club and a beloved member of Moscow society. For a long time he could not come to terms with the idea that he was the same retired Moscow chamberlain whose type he so deeply despised seven years ago.
Sometimes he consoled himself with thoughts that this was the only way he was leading this life; but then he was horrified by another thought, that so far, how many people had already entered, like him, with all their teeth and hair, into this life and into this club, and left without one tooth and hair.
In moments of pride, when he thought about his position, it seemed to him that he was completely different, special from those retired chamberlains whom he had despised before, that they were vulgar and stupid, happy and reassured by their position, “and even now I am still dissatisfied “I still want to do something for humanity,” he said to himself in moments of pride. “Or maybe all those comrades of mine, just like me, struggled, were looking for some new, their own path in life, and just like me, by the force of the situation, society, breed, that elemental force against which there is no a powerful man, they were brought to the same place as I,” he said to himself in moments of modesty, and after living in Moscow for some time, he no longer despised, but began to love, respect and pity, as well as himself, his comrades by fate .
Pierre was not, as before, in moments of despair, melancholy and disgust for life; but the same illness, which had previously expressed itself in sharp attacks, was driven inside and did not leave him for a moment. "For what? For what? What is going on in the world?” he asked himself in bewilderment several times a day, involuntarily beginning to ponder the meaning of the phenomena of life; but knowing from experience that there were no answers to these questions, he hastily tried to turn away from them, took up a book, or hurried to the club, or to Apollo Nikolaevich to chat about city gossip.
“Elena Vasilievna, who has never loved anything except her body and is one of the stupidest women in the world,” thought Pierre, “seems to people to be the height of intelligence and sophistication, and they bow before her. Napoleon Bonaparte was despised by everyone as long as he was great, and since he became a pathetic comedian, Emperor Franz has been trying to offer him his daughter as an illegitimate wife. The Spaniards send up prayers to God through the Catholic clergy in gratitude for the fact that they defeated the French on June 14th, and the French send up prayers through the same Catholic clergy that they defeated the Spaniards on June 14th. My brother Masons swear on blood that they are ready to sacrifice everything for their neighbor, and do not pay one ruble each for the collection of the poor and intrigue Astraeus against the Seekers of Manna, and are busy about the real Scottish carpet and about an act, the meaning of which is not known even to those who wrote it, and which no one needs. We all profess the Christian law of forgiveness of insults and love for one’s neighbor - the law, as a result of which we erected forty forty churches in Moscow, and yesterday we whipped a fleeing man, and the servant of the same law of love and forgiveness, the priest, allowed the cross to be kissed by a soldier before execution.” . So thought Pierre, and this whole, common, universally recognized lie, no matter how accustomed he was to it, as if it were something new, amazed him every time. “I understand these lies and confusion,” he thought, “but how can I tell them everything that I understand? I tried and always found that deep down in their souls they understand the same thing as me, but they just try not to see it. So it must be so! But for me, where should I go?” thought Pierre. He experienced the unfortunate ability of many, especially Russian people - the ability to see and believe in the possibility of good and truth, and to see too clearly the evil and lies of life in order to be able to take a serious part in it. Every area of labor in his eyes was associated with evil and deception. Whatever he tried to be, whatever he undertook, evil and lies repulsed him and blocked all paths of activity for him. Meanwhile, I had to live, I had to be busy. It was too scary to be under the yoke of these insoluble questions of life, and he gave himself up to his first hobbies just to forget them. He traveled to all sorts of societies, drank a lot, bought paintings and built, and most importantly read.
He read and read everything that came to hand, and read so that, having arrived home, when the footmen were still undressing him, he, having already taken a book, read - and from reading he passed on to sleep, and from sleep to chatting in the drawing rooms and club, from chatter to revelry and women, from revelry back to chatter, reading and wine. Drinking wine became more and more a physical and at the same time a moral need for him. Despite the fact that the doctors told him that, given his corruption, wine was dangerous for him, he drank a lot. He felt quite good only when, without noticing how, having poured several glasses of wine into his large mouth, he experienced a pleasant warmth in his body, tenderness for all his neighbors and the readiness of his mind to respond superficially to every thought, without delving into its essence. Only after drinking a bottle and two wines did he vaguely realize that the tangled, terrible knot of life that had terrified him before was not as terrible as he thought. With a noise in his head, chatting, listening to conversations or reading after lunch and dinner, he constantly saw this knot, from some side of it. But only under the influence of wine did he say to himself: “It’s nothing. I will unravel this - so I have an explanation ready. But now there’s no time—I’ll think about it all later!” But this never came afterwards.
On an empty stomach, in the morning, all the previous questions seemed just as insoluble and terrible, and Pierre hastily grabbed the book and rejoiced when someone came to him.
Sometimes Pierre recalled a story he had heard about how in war soldiers, being under cover fire and having nothing to do, diligently find something to do in order to make it easier to endure danger. And to Pierre all people seemed to be such soldiers fleeing from life: some by ambition, some by cards, some by writing laws, some by women, some by toys, some by horses, some by politics, some by hunting, some by wine, some by state affairs. “Nothing is insignificant or important, it’s all the same: just to escape from it as best I can!” thought Pierre. - “Just don’t see her, this terrible one.”

At the beginning of winter, Prince Nikolai Andreich Bolkonsky and his daughter arrived in Moscow. Due to his past, his intelligence and originality, especially due to the weakening at that time of enthusiasm for the reign of Emperor Alexander, and due to the anti-French and patriotic trend that reigned in Moscow at that time, Prince Nikolai Andreich immediately became the subject of special respect from Muscovites and the center of Moscow opposition to the government.
The prince grew very old this year. Sharp signs of old age appeared in him: unexpected falling asleep, forgetfulness of immediate events and memory of long-standing ones, and the childish vanity with which he accepted the role of head of the Moscow opposition. Despite the fact that when the old man, especially in the evenings, came out to tea in his fur coat and powdered wig, and, touched by someone, began his abrupt stories about the past, or even more abrupt and harsh judgments about the present, he aroused in all his guests the same feeling of respectful respect. For visitors, this entire old house with huge dressing tables, pre-revolutionary furniture, these footmen in powder, and the cool and smart old man himself from the last century with his meek daughter and pretty French girl, who revered him, presented a majestically pleasant sight. But the visitors did not think that in addition to these two or three hours, during which they saw the owners, there were another 22 hours a day, during which the secret inner life of the house took place.
Recently in Moscow this inner life has become very difficult for Princess Marya. In Moscow she was deprived of those best joys - conversations with God's people and solitude - which refreshed her in Bald Mountains, and did not have any of the benefits and joys of metropolitan life. She did not go out into the world; everyone knew that her father would not let her go without him, and due to ill health he himself could not travel, and she was no longer invited to dinners and evenings. Princess Marya completely abandoned hope of marriage. She saw the coldness and bitterness with which Prince Nikolai Andreich received and sent away young people who could be suitors, who sometimes came to their house. Princess Marya had no friends: on this visit to Moscow she was disappointed in her two closest people. M lle Bourienne, with whom she had previously been unable to be completely frank, now became unpleasant to her and for some reason she began to move away from her. Julie, who was in Moscow and to whom Princess Marya wrote for five years in a row, turned out to be a complete stranger to her when Princess Marya again became acquainted with her in person. Julie at this time, having become one of the richest brides in Moscow on the occasion of the death of her brothers, was in the midst of social pleasures. She was surrounded by young people who, she thought, suddenly appreciated her merits. Julie was in that period of the aging society young lady who feels that her last chance for marriage has come, and now or never her fate must be decided. Princess Marya remembered with a sad smile on Thursdays that she now had no one to write to, since Julie, Julie, from whose presence she did not feel any joy, was here and saw her every week. She, like an old emigrant who refused to marry the lady with whom he spent his evenings for several years, regretted that Julie was here and she had no one to write to. Princess Marya had no one in Moscow to talk to, no one to confide in her grief, and much new grief had been added during this time. The time for Prince Andrei's return and his marriage was approaching, and his order to prepare his father for this was not only not fulfilled, but on the contrary, the matter seemed completely ruined, and the reminder of Countess Rostova infuriated the old prince, who was already out of sorts most of the time . A new grief that had recently increased for Princess Marya was the lessons that she gave to her six-year-old nephew. In her relationship with Nikolushka, she recognized with horror the irritability of her father. No matter how many times she told herself that she shouldn’t allow herself to get excited while teaching her nephew, almost every time she sat down with a pointer to learn the French alphabet, she so wanted to quickly and easily transfer her knowledge from herself into the child, who was already afraid that there was an aunt She would be angry that at the slightest inattention on the part of the boy she would flinch, hurry, get excited, raise her voice, sometimes pull him by the hand and put him in a corner. Having put him in a corner, she herself began to cry over her evil, bad nature, and Nikolushka, imitating her sobs, came out of the corner without permission, approached her and pulled her wet hands away from her face, and consoled her. But what caused the princess more grief was her father’s irritability, which was always directed against his daughter and had recently reached the point of cruelty. If he had forced her to bow all night, if he had beaten her and forced her to carry firewood and water, it would never have occurred to her that her position was difficult; but this loving tormentor, the most cruel because he loved and tormented himself and her for that reason, deliberately knew how not only to insult and humiliate her, but also to prove to her that she was always to blame for everything. Lately, a new feature had appeared in him, one that tormented Princess Marya most of all - it was his greater rapprochement with m lle Bourienne. The thought that came to him, in the first minute after receiving news of his son’s intentions, that if Andrei marries, then he himself would marry Bourienne, apparently pleased him, and he stubbornly lately (as it seemed to Princess Marya) only in order to insult her, he showed special affection to m lle Bourienne and showed his dissatisfaction with his daughter by showing love for Bourienne.
Once in Moscow, in the presence of Princess Marya (it seemed to her that her father had done this on purpose in front of her), the old prince kissed M lle Bourienne's hand and, pulling her towards him, hugged her and caressed her. Princess Marya flushed and ran out of the room. A few minutes later, M lle Bourienne entered Princess Marya, smiling and cheerfully telling something in her pleasant voice. Princess Marya hastily wiped away her tears, walked up to Bourienne with decisive steps and, apparently without knowing it herself, with angry haste and outbursts of her voice, began shouting at the Frenchwoman: “It’s disgusting, low, inhumane to take advantage of weakness...” She didn’t finish. “Get out of my room,” she shouted and began to sob.
The next day the prince did not say a word to his daughter; but she noticed that at dinner he ordered the food to be served, starting with m lle Bourienne. At the end of dinner, when the barman, according to his previous habit, again served coffee, starting with the princess, the prince suddenly flew into a rage, threw his crutch at Philip and immediately made an order to hand him over as a soldier. “They don’t hear... I said it twice!... they don’t hear!”
“She is the first person in this house; “she is my best friend,” the prince shouted. “And if you allow yourself,” he shouted in anger, turning to Princess Marya for the first time, “once again, like yesterday you dared... to forget yourself in front of her, then I will show you who’s boss in the house.” Out! so that I don’t see you; ask her for forgiveness!”
Princess Marya asked forgiveness from Amalya Evgenievna and her father for herself and for Philip the barman, who asked for spades.
At such moments, a feeling similar to the pride of a victim gathered in Princess Marya’s soul. And suddenly, at such moments, in her presence, this father, whom she condemned, either looked for his glasses, feeling near them and not seeing, or forgot what was just happening, or took an unsteady step with weak legs and looked around to see if anyone had seen him weakness, or, worst of all, at dinner, when there were no guests to excite him, he would suddenly doze off, letting go of his napkin, and bend over the plate, his head shaking. “He is old and weak, and I dare to condemn him!” she thought with disgust for herself at such moments.

In 1811, in Moscow there lived a French doctor who quickly became fashionable, huge in stature, handsome, as amiable as a Frenchman and, as everyone in Moscow said, a doctor of extraordinary skill - Metivier. He was accepted into the houses of high society not as a doctor, but as an equal.
Prince Nikolai Andreich, who laughed at medicine, recently, on the advice of m lle Bourienne, allowed this doctor to visit him and got used to him. Metivier visited the prince twice a week.
On Nikola’s day, the prince’s name day, all of Moscow was at the entrance of his house, but he did not order to receive anyone; and only a few, a list of which he gave to Princess Marya, he ordered to be called to dinner.
Metivier, who arrived in the morning with congratulations, in his capacity as a doctor, found it appropriate to de forcer la consigne [to violate the prohibition], as he told Princess Marya, and went in to see the prince. It so happened that on this birthday morning the old prince was in one of his worst moods. He walked around the house all morning, finding fault with everyone and pretending that he did not understand what they were saying to him and that they did not understand him. Princess Marya firmly knew this state of mind of quiet and preoccupied grumbling, which was usually resolved by an explosion of rage, and as if in front of a loaded, cocked gun, she walked all that morning, waiting for the inevitable shot. The morning before the doctor arrived went well. Having let the doctor pass, Princess Marya sat down with a book in the living room by the door, from which she could hear everything that was happening in the office.
At first she heard one voice of Metivier, then the voice of her father, then both voices spoke together, the door swung open and on the threshold appeared the frightened, beautiful figure of Metivier with his black crest, and the figure of a prince in a cap and robe with a face disfigured by rage and drooping pupils of his eyes.
- Do not understand? - the prince shouted, - but I understand! French spy, Bonaparte's slave, spy, get out of my house - get out, I say - and he slammed the door.
Metivier shrugged his shoulders and approached Mademoiselle Bourienne, who had come running in response to the scream from the next room.
“The prince is not entirely healthy,” la bile et le transport au cerveau. Tranquillisez vous, je repasserai demain, [bile and rush to the brain. Calm down, I’ll come by tomorrow,” said Metivier and, putting his finger to his lips, he hurriedly left.
Outside the door one could hear footsteps in shoes and shouts: “Spies, traitors, traitors everywhere! There is no moment of peace in your home!”
After Metivier left, the old prince called his daughter to him and the full force of his anger fell on her. It was her fault that a spy was allowed in to see him. .After all, he said, he told her to make a list, and those who were not on the list should not be allowed in. Why did they let this scoundrel in! She was the reason for everything. With her he could not have a moment of peace, he could not die in peace, he said.
- No, mother, disperse, disperse, you know that, you know! “I can’t do it anymore,” he said and left the room. And as if afraid that she would not be able to console herself somehow, he returned to her and, trying to assume a calm appearance, added: “And don’t think that I told you this in a moment of my heart, but I am calm, and I have thought it over; and it will be - disperse, look for a place for yourself!... - But he could not stand it and with that embitterment that can only be found in a person who loves, he, apparently suffering himself, shook his fists and shouted to her:
- And at least some fool would marry her! “He slammed the door, called m lle Bourienne to him and fell silent in the office.
At two o'clock the chosen six persons arrived for dinner. The guests—the famous Count Rostopchin, Prince Lopukhin and his nephew, General Chatrov, the prince’s old comrade in arms, and young Pierre and Boris Drubetskoy—were waiting for him in the living room.
The other day, Boris, who came to Moscow on vacation, wished to be introduced to Prince Nikolai Andreevich and managed to gain his favor to such an extent that the prince made an exception for him from all the single young people whom he did not accept.
The prince’s house was not what is called “light,” but it was such a small circle that, although it was unheard of in the city, it was most flattering to be accepted into it. Boris understood this a week ago, when in his presence Rostopchin told the commander-in-chief, who called the count to dinner on St. Nicholas Day, that he could not be:
“On this day I always go to venerate the relics of Prince Nikolai Andreich.
“Oh yes, yes,” answered the commander-in-chief. - What he?..
The small company gathered in the old-fashioned, tall, old-furnished living room before dinner looked like a solemn council of a court of justice. Everyone was silent and if they spoke, they spoke quietly. Prince Nikolai Andreich came out serious and silent. Princess Marya seemed even more quiet and timid than usual. The guests were reluctant to address her because they saw that she had no time for their conversations. Count Rostopchin alone held the thread of the conversation, talking about the latest city and political news.
Lopukhin and the old general occasionally took part in the conversation. Prince Nikolai Andreich listened as the chief judge listened to the report that was being made to him, only occasionally declaring in silence or a short word that he was taking note of what was being reported to him. The tone of the conversation was such that it was clear that no one approved of what was being done in the political world. They talked about events that obviously confirmed that everything was going from bad to worse; but in every story and judgment it was striking how the narrator stopped or was stopped every time at the border where the judgment could relate to the person of the sovereign emperor.
During dinner, the conversation turned to the latest political news, about Napoleon's seizure of the possessions of the Duke of Oldenburg and about the Russian note hostile to Napoleon, sent to all European courts.
“Bonaparte treats Europe like a pirate on a conquered ship,” said Count Rostopchin, repeating a phrase he had already spoken several times. - You are only surprised at the long-suffering or blindness of sovereigns. Now it comes to the Pope, and Bonaparte no longer hesitates to overthrow the head of the Catholic religion, and everyone is silent! One of our sovereigns protested against the seizure of the possessions of the Duke of Oldenburg. And then...” Count Rostopchin fell silent, feeling that he was standing at the point where it was no longer possible to judge.
“They offered other possessions instead of the Duchy of Oldenburg,” said Prince Nikolai Andreich. “Just as I resettled men from Bald Mountains to Bogucharovo and Ryazan, so he did the dukes.”
“Le duc d"Oldenbourg supporte son malheur avec une force de caractere et une resignation admirable, [The Duke of Oldenburg bears his misfortune with remarkable willpower and submission to fate," said Boris, respectfully entering into the conversation. He said this because he was passing through from St. Petersburg had the honor of introducing himself to the Duke. Prince Nikolai Andreich looked at the young man as if he would like to say something to him about this, but decided against it, considering him too young for that.
“I read our protest about the Oldenburg case and was surprised at the poor wording of this note,” said Count Rostopchin, in the careless tone of a man judging a case well known to him.
Pierre looked at Rostopchin with naive surprise, not understanding why he was bothered by the poor edition of the note.
– Doesn’t it matter how the note is written, Count? - he said, - if its content is strong.
“Mon cher, avec nos 500 mille hommes de troupes, il serait facile d"avoir un beau style, [My dear, with our 500 thousand troops it seems easy to express ourselves in a good style,] said Count Rostopchin. Pierre understood why Count Rostopchin was worried about the edition of the note.
“It seems that the scribblers are pretty busy,” said the old prince: “they write everything there in St. Petersburg, not just notes, but they write new laws all the time.” My Andryusha wrote a whole lot of laws for Russia there. Nowadays they write everything! - And he laughed unnaturally.
The conversation fell silent for a minute; The old general drew attention to himself by clearing his throat.
– Did you deign to hear about the latest event at the show in St. Petersburg? How the new French envoy showed himself!
- What? Yes, I heard something; he said something awkwardly in front of His Majesty.
“His Majesty drew his attention to the grenadier division and the ceremonial march,” continued the general, “and it was as if the envoy did not pay any attention and seemed to allow himself to say that in France we do not pay attention to such trifles.” The Emperor did not deign to say anything. At the next review, they say, the sovereign never deigned to address him.
Everyone fell silent: no judgment could be expressed on this fact, which related personally to the sovereign.
- Daring! - said the prince. – Do you know Metivier? I drove him away from me today. He was here, they let me in, no matter how much I asked not to let anyone in,” said the prince, looking angrily at his daughter. And he told his whole conversation with the French doctor and the reasons why he was convinced that Metivier was a spy. Although these reasons were very insufficient and unclear, no one objected.

BURGUNDY- a large Germanic tribe belonging to the Suevi. At first they lived in the region of Netsa and Warta, in the 3rd century. BC. moved to the upper reaches of the Vistula, from where they were driven out by the Gepids, and they settled north of the lands inhabited by the Allemans, in the Main region. From here the Burgundians made a trip to Gaul with other Germanic tribes, but in 277 AD. were defeated by the Romans. In 400 the Burgundians invaded Italy and Gaul and in 413, by agreement with Rome, settled on the left bank of the Rhine. They formed a state with their king Gunther and with its capital in Worms (information about this event is reflected in Tales of the Nibelungs).

In 437, the Burgundians rebelled against the Romans, their king Gundikar fell and the Burgundian state on the Rhine ceased to exist (historical grain Tales of the Nibelungs). Under the Burgundian king Gundioch, the rest of the people were expelled by Aetius to Savoy. Here they founded a new Burgundian state in the Rhone region. In 473 it was divided into three parts among the sons of Gundioch. The main cities of these three state entities were the cities of Lyon, Vienna and Geneva. The eldest of the brothers, Gundobad, exterminated his younger brothers and expanded his state to the Mediterranean Sea, so that the entire Rhone region belonged to him. He published a book of laws (la Gundobada) and restored peace between the Arian Burgundians and the Catholic Romans. Gundobad's successor, Godomar, submitted to the Franks in 532, and the Burgundian state united with western France (Neustria). But the Burgundians still retained their old laws and rights. Then the state was either independent or united with parts of separate parts of France - Neustria and Austrasia. During the collapse of the Frankish state under Charles Tolstoy in 880, Count Bozo of Vienna forced recognition of himself as the king of the Burgundians and Provence. This is how the cis-Jurasian Burgundian state arose, also called the Kingdom of Arelat thanks to the main city of Arles. It occupied the Rhone region below Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea and the southeastern part of Languedoc. After the death of Bozo, his widow and her minor son Louis swore allegiance to Emperor Charles the Tolstoy and received this region as fief from him. The Burgundians were in the same position in relation to the Emperor Arnulf. King Louis became the Lombard king in 899 and emperor in 901. But Berengar the Hebrew (950-964) blinded him and drove him back to Burgundy.

Already in 887, Rudolf I of Guelph, nephew of the French king Hugo, united the lands between the Jura Mountains and the Apennine Alps into one kingdom, i.e. western Switzerland and Franche-Comté. This kingdom (Trans-Jurasian or Upper Burgundy) was a fief of Emperor Arnaulf. In 930 both kingdoms united to form the Kingdom of Burgundy, also called Arelate. It suffered from attacks by the Hungarians, internal strife and robberies of nobles. Rudolf III concluded a hereditary treaty with Emperor Henry II, according to which in 1034 Burgundy united with the German Empire. But Rudolf of Habsburg tried in vain to hold on to the country suffering from internal strife, and his son Albrecht abandoned these attempts. Although Emperor Charles IV was crowned in Arles in 1364, this did not help him retain the country. So Burgundy broke up into several small possessions, which mostly went to France. Only the imperial county of Upper Burgundy or Franche Comté remained a fief of Germany for a long time.

The Duchy of Burgundy (Bourgogne), founded in 884 by Bozo's brother, Richard of Autun, should be distinguished from the Kingdom of Arelat. It extended from Chalons on the Saone to Chatillon on the Seine and passed to the Capetians. The French king John gave it in 1363 to his son Philip the Bold of Valois, who received Upper Burgundy as a German fief from Emperor Charles IV, which again marked the beginning of the independent state of Burgundy.

By his marriage to the Flemish heiress Margaret, Philip (1363–1404) acquired a densely populated region, remarkable for its wealth, trade and flourishing cities, and soon became the “center of gravity” of the new state. During the illness of the French king Charles VI, he was the real regent of France, so he met a fierce opponent in the person of the king's brother, Duke Louis of Orleans.

After Philip's death, the lands passed to his son John the Fearless (1404–1419). Standing at the head of the Bourguignon party, he had decisive influence in France, but was in constant enmity with the Armagnacs, whose leader, the Duke of Orleans, he ordered to kill; in 1419 he was supposed to reconcile with the Dauphin Charles VII on the Montero Bridge, but here the Dauphin's companions killed him. His son, Philip the Good (1419–1467) went over to the side of the English. In 1435, the Peace of Arras was concluded between Philip and Charles VII. Then Philip acquired Namur, Brabant and Limburg, the counties of Holland, Zeeland and Gennegau and Luxembourg, so that the Burgundian state occupied an important position, especially since it had many flourishing cities, famous for trade and crafts, its court was distinguished by pomp and chivalry. Philip the Good was succeeded by his son, Charles the Bold in 1467. He harshly suppressed all uprisings, especially in Lüttich, took possession of Geldern and Zutphen and received Alsace. Louis XI, the Emperor and the Swiss formed an alliance against him.

Having captured Lorraine, Charles moved against the Swiss, but was defeated in 1476 at Grançon, Murten and Nancy the following year 1477; in the last battle he was killed. His heir was Maria of Burgundy, who married Archduke Maximilian of Austria.

Meanwhile, Louis XI took possession of the French fief duchy of Burgundy, Franche Comté and part of Flanders. In 1482 France had to give Flanders and Franche Comté to Maximilian. After the death of Philip the Fair in 1506, the country passed to his youngest son Charles (later Emperor Charles V). After his election as emperor in 1519, he demanded the Duchy of Burgundy from Francis I. The Netherlands province and Upper Burgundy became almost independent in 1548 and soon completely separated from the German Empire, although from 1512 they formed its Burgundy region. In 1555 this Burgundian region passed to the Spanish Habsburg line and lost all contact with Germany thanks to the Dutch Revolt. Franche Comté also passed to France from Spain in 1678, so that France took possession of all of Burgundy.

History of the Kingdom of the Burgundians. Burgundians Burgundians tribe

Story

Clash with the Roman Empire

Wars with the Alemanni

Information from Ammianus Marcellinus

Crossing the Rhine

Kingdom of Worms

The defeat of the kingdom by the Huns

New Kingdom in Geneva

Under Gundioch

Under Chilperic I

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what BURGUNDY is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

Wars with the Alemanni

Information from Ammianus Marcellinus

Crossing the Rhine

Kingdom of Worms

The defeat of the kingdom by the Huns

New Kingdom in Geneva

Under Gundioch

Under Chilperic I

Under Sigismund

see also

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Notes

Literature

Excerpt characterizing the Burgundians