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Burgundians
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. This kingdom is the source of much later names related to the region of Burgundy, including medieval entities such as the Duchy of Burgundy.
In earlier periods, peoples with the same name were reported by Roman sources to have lived in different parts of what is now Germany and Poland, and there are believed to be connections between at least some of these groups. For one thing, the kingdom's core group were followers of the Gibichung dynasty, who had previously led them as foederati in Roman territory on the Rhine border, probably near Worms in present day Germany. They left the Rhine after the Romans and their Hun allies killed many of the Burgundians along with their king Gundahar in 436, accusing them of rebellion. 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 Lyon as a new capital. The entire kingdom was incorporated into the Frankish empire in 534.
Although they used Germanic language and customs when they arrived in Sapaudia, the non-Roman people led by the last Gibichungs had diverse origins. There are indications in Greco-Roman accounts that their forerunners, the Rhine Burgundians, saw themselves as descendants of Roman soldiers who had once manned Roman border defences in what is now southern Germany, east of the Rhine. Older Roman sources described Burgundians living in that region from the third century, initially as invaders and raiders, living near the Main river. 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. It was in the fourth century that the Burgundians became allies of the Romans in their conflicts against the Alemanni. In about 406, during a period of wider crisis, when large numbers of armed Alans and Vandals moved into the area from Pannonia, the Gibichung-led Burgundians crossed the Rhine and settled within the empire.
Greco-Roman writers also reported that there were still earlier Burgundians, who lived between the first and third century far to the east of the Main, near the Vistula river in present day Poland. The Romans reported that in the early third century these Burgundians suffered devastating defeats against the eastern European Gepids and Goths, and scholars today believe this may have induced some of them to move west in this period, closer to the empire. Some of these Burgundians may have migrated to the Main in the third century, and helped found the Burgundians of that region in the third century.
There are also indications that the early medieval inhabitants of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm were also called Burgundi, although there is no indication that they were ever called Burgundiones. In the past, some historians have proposed a connection between these islanders and the continental Burgundi known to the Romans, although the shared name could also have a more topological explanation. A more speculative theory traces the origins of the Burgundi to what is now Norway, where similar placenames are relatively common. These origin stories are influenced not only by name similarities, but also by a tradition among medieval scholars, according to which many Germanic peoples originally migrated south from Scandinavia. All these placenames and ethnonyms appear to share a similar etymology, indicating that the places or peoples were high or elevated in some way.
The ethnonym "Burgundians" is commonly used in English to translate the Latin ethnonym Burgundiones, or less commonly Burgundi, to refer to a people or peoples during the Roman era. In English the term "Burgundians" can also refer to inhabitants of various much later medieval or modern polities and regions called Burgundy, which derive their names from the Roman era kingdom. In modern times the only area still referred to as Burgundy (French: Bourgogne) is in France, and it derives its name from the medieval Duchy of Burgundy and County of Burgundy, which are now both within the modern French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. This region is in the north of the old kingdom's territory at its largest extent, and does not correspond to the original core of the early medieval kingdom, near Lake Geneva. In the context of the Late Middle Ages the term "Burgundian" can also refer to the institutions and culture of the Burgundian Netherlands, especially in present-day Belgium, where the Valois Dukes of Burgundy often held court.
Both the main Latin forms of the names appeared throughout the Roman era, and are believed to have the same Germanic etymology, with the main stem *burgund- meaning "high", from earlier Proto-Indoeuropean *bʰérǵʰ with the grammatical suffix *-onts making an adjective. It is probable that the Burgundians were named after a high place or area which was referred to with this name, although their name might have also been describing the Burgundians as high or elevated in some other sense. The long and short forms have different Germanic suffixes, -ja- or -jan-, which are typically used to form nouns for types of people.
Some scholars have argued that the less common short forms of the name are more associated with the small number of references to the "eastern" Burgundians near the Vistula, in the texts of Claudius Ptolemy, Jordanes, and Latin panegyric "11" of 291. Notably, the panegyric even uses the short forms when seeming to refer to eastern events, and the long form for western events. Scholars who have seen this as a sign that these are two distinct peoples have historically included Otto Maenchen-Helfen and Johann Kaspar Zeuss. However, major exceptions to the pattern include Ammianus Marcellinus, who always used the short form to refer to the Rhine Burgundians in the west (which he expressly describes as a name with a local origin). Furthermore, Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy both use the long form in eastern contexts.
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Burgundians
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. This kingdom is the source of much later names related to the region of Burgundy, including medieval entities such as the Duchy of Burgundy.
In earlier periods, peoples with the same name were reported by Roman sources to have lived in different parts of what is now Germany and Poland, and there are believed to be connections between at least some of these groups. For one thing, the kingdom's core group were followers of the Gibichung dynasty, who had previously led them as foederati in Roman territory on the Rhine border, probably near Worms in present day Germany. They left the Rhine after the Romans and their Hun allies killed many of the Burgundians along with their king Gundahar in 436, accusing them of rebellion. 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 Lyon as a new capital. The entire kingdom was incorporated into the Frankish empire in 534.
Although they used Germanic language and customs when they arrived in Sapaudia, the non-Roman people led by the last Gibichungs had diverse origins. There are indications in Greco-Roman accounts that their forerunners, the Rhine Burgundians, saw themselves as descendants of Roman soldiers who had once manned Roman border defences in what is now southern Germany, east of the Rhine. Older Roman sources described Burgundians living in that region from the third century, initially as invaders and raiders, living near the Main river. 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. It was in the fourth century that the Burgundians became allies of the Romans in their conflicts against the Alemanni. In about 406, during a period of wider crisis, when large numbers of armed Alans and Vandals moved into the area from Pannonia, the Gibichung-led Burgundians crossed the Rhine and settled within the empire.
Greco-Roman writers also reported that there were still earlier Burgundians, who lived between the first and third century far to the east of the Main, near the Vistula river in present day Poland. The Romans reported that in the early third century these Burgundians suffered devastating defeats against the eastern European Gepids and Goths, and scholars today believe this may have induced some of them to move west in this period, closer to the empire. Some of these Burgundians may have migrated to the Main in the third century, and helped found the Burgundians of that region in the third century.
There are also indications that the early medieval inhabitants of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm were also called Burgundi, although there is no indication that they were ever called Burgundiones. In the past, some historians have proposed a connection between these islanders and the continental Burgundi known to the Romans, although the shared name could also have a more topological explanation. A more speculative theory traces the origins of the Burgundi to what is now Norway, where similar placenames are relatively common. These origin stories are influenced not only by name similarities, but also by a tradition among medieval scholars, according to which many Germanic peoples originally migrated south from Scandinavia. All these placenames and ethnonyms appear to share a similar etymology, indicating that the places or peoples were high or elevated in some way.
The ethnonym "Burgundians" is commonly used in English to translate the Latin ethnonym Burgundiones, or less commonly Burgundi, to refer to a people or peoples during the Roman era. In English the term "Burgundians" can also refer to inhabitants of various much later medieval or modern polities and regions called Burgundy, which derive their names from the Roman era kingdom. In modern times the only area still referred to as Burgundy (French: Bourgogne) is in France, and it derives its name from the medieval Duchy of Burgundy and County of Burgundy, which are now both within the modern French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. This region is in the north of the old kingdom's territory at its largest extent, and does not correspond to the original core of the early medieval kingdom, near Lake Geneva. In the context of the Late Middle Ages the term "Burgundian" can also refer to the institutions and culture of the Burgundian Netherlands, especially in present-day Belgium, where the Valois Dukes of Burgundy often held court.
Both the main Latin forms of the names appeared throughout the Roman era, and are believed to have the same Germanic etymology, with the main stem *burgund- meaning "high", from earlier Proto-Indoeuropean *bʰérǵʰ with the grammatical suffix *-onts making an adjective. It is probable that the Burgundians were named after a high place or area which was referred to with this name, although their name might have also been describing the Burgundians as high or elevated in some other sense. The long and short forms have different Germanic suffixes, -ja- or -jan-, which are typically used to form nouns for types of people.
Some scholars have argued that the less common short forms of the name are more associated with the small number of references to the "eastern" Burgundians near the Vistula, in the texts of Claudius Ptolemy, Jordanes, and Latin panegyric "11" of 291. Notably, the panegyric even uses the short forms when seeming to refer to eastern events, and the long form for western events. Scholars who have seen this as a sign that these are two distinct peoples have historically included Otto Maenchen-Helfen and Johann Kaspar Zeuss. However, major exceptions to the pattern include Ammianus Marcellinus, who always used the short form to refer to the Rhine Burgundians in the west (which he expressly describes as a name with a local origin). Furthermore, Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy both use the long form in eastern contexts.
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