The Burgundians

 This weighty volume (500+ pages) by Bart Van Loo caught my eye in our local Oxfam bookshop. My knowledge of the Burgundians (other than their wine😏) is limited chiefly to Charles the Bold, whose army opens George Gush's book on Renaissance armies, which got me into the period. However, the Burgundians existed as a state for 1111 years, and the subtitle A Vanished Empire seems appropriate. 

The Burgundians probably originated in Scandinavia and moved into central Europe in the 2nd to 3rd century. They moved closer to the territory we associate with them in the 4th century, and became Roman foederati. The Romans resettled them in eastern France in the 5th century, and they converted to Arian Christianity. Their new kingdom was based in Geneva, Lyon and Vienna. The early Kings had some wonderful names, starting with the mythical Gebicca, and included my favourite, Gundobad. In the 6th century, they were conquered by the Merovingians, but retained a strong regional identity. 

The high point of the Burgundians came in the Middle Ages. The Valois Dukes of Burgundy created one of Europe’s wealthiest and most influential states. Burgundy became a major centre of art, music, monastic reform (Cluny, Cîteaux), and courtly culture. Much of this was funded by their expansion into Flanders, a region of prosperous towns engaged in manufacturing and trade. This formerly swampy region was drained, allowing cities like Ghent to develop. Their town militias were also feared on the battlefield.

Yes, there is a Balkan link! John of Burgundy was one of the French-Burgundian leaders responsible for the disaster at Nicopolis in 1396. Instead of using the experienced Transylvanian troops in the vanguard, the western knights impetuously charged and crumbled to Ottoman firepower, as they had against the English longbow. Burgundy was an English ally at various points during the Hundred Years' War.

Burgundy, as an independent state, reached its high point and then its crash under Charles the Bold, or Charles the Rash, as he is also known. Charles was a vassal of both the King of France and the Holy Roman Emperor, but he developed a centralised independent state with a standing army. However, he didn't use this force effectively, and it all came crashing down against the Swiss at the battles of Grandson, Murten, and Nancy in 1476-77. Charles was killed at Nancy, leaving no male heir. 

It is a long book to tell a long story. Translations are not always easy reads, but the author has an engaging writing style; his background in theatre probably helped make this readable. 

I don't have a specific Burgundian army, but in the medieval period, they would look like any other knights.