Burgundian-Frankish Wars
The Burgundian-Frankish Wars were a series of conflicts in the early 6th century that stemmed from a combination of expansionist ambitions, familial rivalries, and religious motivations. The Franks, led by King Clovis, initiated the wars following his marriage to Clotild, a Burgundian princess seeking revenge for her father’s murder by her uncle, King Gundobad. The Franks, newly converted to Catholicism, were also motivated to invade the Arian-ruled Burgundian territory on religious grounds.
The conflict began around 500 AD, with Clovis supporting Godegisel against Gundobad, resulting in the latter's temporary defeat. After a series of battles, including significant encounters at the River Ouche and near Agaune, the Franks managed to conquer Burgundy by 534 AD, solidifying their control. The Burgundian kingdom became part of the Frankish realm, eventually being ruled by Clotard's son, Guntram. Despite this integration, Burgundy retained its cultural identity throughout the years, contributing to the rich historical tapestry of what would later become France.
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Burgundian-Frankish Wars
At issue: The control of Burgundy
Date: 500-534
Location: Southeastern Gaul
Combatants: Franks vs. Burgundians
Principal commanders:Frankish, Clovis (c. 466-511) and his sons Chlodomer (d. 524), Childebert (495?-588), and Chlotar (c. 497-561); Burgundian, Gundobad (474-516) and his sons Sigismund (d. 524) and Gundimar II (d. 534)
Principal battles: River Ouche, Agaune, Vézeronce, Autun
Result: Frankish conquest of Burgundy
Background
The Burgundian-Frankish Wars were the product of a strange mix of expansionism, familial revenge, and religious pretext. The two groups had long been territorially active in Gaul, but the intertwining of the royal families introduced a feud-like aspect to their relationship. The Frankish king Clovis married the Burgundian princess Clotild, who appears to have wanted vengeance for the slaying of her father by her uncle. Additionally, the newly converted Catholic Franks were encouraged to invade Arian Burgundy on religious grounds. The leading churchmen of Burgundy, who were Catholic, although not subject to persecution, appear to have acted as a type of fifth column for Frankish invasion.
Action
In 500, Clovis, having secured his northern borders against the Alamanni, looked to the southeast for conquest. The Burgundian king, Gundobad, having killed one of his brothers, was claiming the title of patricius Galliae and fostering designs on all Gaul. Gundobad’s surviving brother, Godegisel, naturally feeling threatened, appears to have contracted with Clovis for military aid. The end result was a Frankish invasion of Burgundy that ended in Gundobad’s defeat at the River Ouche (500).
Godegisel was installed at the capital of Vienne with 5,000 Frankish troops garrisoned there to reinforce his rule. Gundobad was pinned in Avignon and had to bargain hard with Clovis to escape death. As soon as Clovis’s main body left for the north, Gundobad rallied and succeeded in retaking Vienne and executing Godegisel. Clovis, occupied with his northern borders and the Visigothic presence to the southwest, apparently accepted the failure of this campaign and even made an alliance with Gundobad when initiating hostilities against the Visigoths in 507.
After Clovis’s death in 511 and Gundobad’s in 516, Burgundian-Frankish relations seem to have taken a vengeful twist. Clovis’s widow, Clotild, was a Burgundian princess who saw her father executed by Gundobad. Additionally, her uncle Godegisel had sheltered her in the years before her marriage to Clovis. She reportedly urged her sons, Chlodomer, Childebert, and Chlotar, now kings in their own right in the partitioned Francia, to invade Burgundy. In 523, they complied. No doubt the somewhat ineffective rule of Sigismund and his brother Gundimar and the eroding support for these Arian kings among their Catholic populace made the campaign attractive.
In a decisive battle near Agaune (523), the Frankish royal brothers crushed the Burgundians, took Sigismund prisoner, and chased Gundimar into exile. Once again, the Franks returned north only to see Gundimar rally his supporters and win back his kingdom. The furious Chlodomer executed his hostage, Sigismund, and stormed back into Burgundy. At Vézeronce (524), just outside Vienne, Chlodomer routed the Burgundians again, only to lose his own life in the combat. Instead of following up on the victory, the surviving royal Frankish brothers scrambled to get Chlodomer’s inheritance, allowing the resilient Gundimar to return yet again from defeat to govern Burgundy. Finally in 532, the issue was settled. That year, Chlotar and Childebert invaded Burgundy and by besieging Autun (532), forced Gundimar to permanently relinquish his throne and flee to Italy.
Aftermath
Burgundy was effectively conquered and, in 534, became a part of the Frankish royal patrimony, passing in 561 to Chlotar’s son Guntram who ruled it for thirty-two years. Although a part of what was to become France, Burgundy has maintained culturally distinct over the centuries.
Bibliography
Currier, John W. Clovis, King of the Franks. Milwaukee, Wis.: Marquette University Press, 1997.
Drew, Katherine Fischer. The Burgundian Code. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972.
James, Edward. The Origins of France. London: Macmillan, 1982.
Thorpe, Lewis. Gregory of Tours: The History of the Franks. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1974.