Upper Burgundy
Encyclopedia
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
, that together with the western County of Burgundy
County of Burgundy
The Free County of Burgundy , was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comté, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf...
from 868 formed the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy, encompassing both sides of the Jura mountains range. The adjective "upper" refers to its location further up the Rhone Valley as distinct from Lower Burgundy
Lower Burgundy
Lower Burgundy was a historical kingdom in what is now southeastern France, so-called because it was lower down the Rhone Valley than Upper Burgundy. Lower Burgundy is sometimes called the Kingdom of Arelat or the Kingdom of Cisjurane Burgundy...
(Cisjurania) and also from the Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
west of the Saône
Saône
The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....
river. Upper Burgundy was reunited with the Kingdom of Lower Burgundy in 933 (see Kingdom of Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...
), and merged into the Kingdom of Arles
Kingdom of Arles
The Kingdom of Arles or Second Kingdom of Burgundy of the High Middle Ages was a Frankish dominion established in 933 from lands of the early medieval Kingdom of Burgundy at Arles...
(Arelat).
Its area corresponds largely to western Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
(the parts west of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line
Brünig-Napf-Reuss line
The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line forms a geographical boundary in traditional Swiss culture . Running from the Brünig Pass along the Napf region to the Reuss River , it partly separates western and eastern varieties of High Alemannic, although some places east of the line belong to the western dialect...
, including the Romandy, the cantons of Berne
Canton of Berne
The Canton of Bern is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the Canton of Jura and the Canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the Canton of Neuchâtel, the Canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south...
, Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...
and Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
) and French région
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
, as well as adjacent parts of French départements Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...
and Ain
Ain
Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation...
, and the Aosta Valley which is now in Italy.
History
- Lothair IILothair II of LotharingiaLothair II was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga, daughter of Boso the Elder. He is the namesake of the Lothair Crystal, which he probably commissioned, and of the Cross of Lothair, which was made over a century after his death but...
, King of LotharingiaLotharingiaLotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...
(855–869)
Transjurania originally was a duchy of the Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...
and part of Middle Francia
Middle Francia
Middle Francia was an ephemeral Frankish kingdom created by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, which divided the Carolingian Empire among the sons of Louis the Pious...
under Emperor Lothair I
Lothair I
Lothair I or Lothar I was the Emperor of the Romans , co-ruling with his father until 840, and the King of Bavaria , Italy and Middle Francia...
after the partition by the 843 Treaty of Verdun
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun was a treaty between the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious, the son and successor of Charlemagne, which divided the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms...
. Upon Emperor Lothair's death in 855, his son Lothar II subsumed his portion of Upper Burgundy into his Kingdom of Lotharingia and when his brother Charles of Provence
Charles of Provence
Charles of Provence was the Carolingian King of Provence from 855 until his early death in 863.Charles was the youngest son of Holy Roman Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours....
died in 863, also gained some northern districts of the deceased's kingdom. Transjurania was then ruled by Hucbert
Hucbert
Hucbert was a Frank and son of Boso the Elder. Therefore he was a Bosonid. His sister was Teutberga, who married Lothair II, a prince of the Carolingian dynasty, the imperial family of Francia...
, a scion of the Bosonid dynasty, the younger son of Count Boso the Elder
Boso the Elder
Boso the Elder was a Frank from the Bosonid dynasty. He was married to Engeltrude and died around 855. His family, the Bosonids were a dynasty of Franks that produced counts, dukes, abbots and bishops during the Carolingian Age...
of Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, and through his sister Teutberga
Teutberga
Teutberga was a Frank and daughter of Boso the Elder. Therefore she was a Bosonid. She married Lothair II, a prince of the Carolingian dynasty, the imperial family of Francia...
brother-in-law to Lothair II. Hucbert however fell out of favour after Lothair II divorced Teutberga, was defeated at the Battle of Orbe
Orbe
Orbe is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the former district of Orbe and is now part of the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.-History:Orbe is first mentioned about 280 as Urba. In 1179 it was mentioned as versus Orbam....
in 864 and replaced by Count Conrad II of Auxerre
Conrad II, Duke of Transjurane Burgundy
Conrad II the Younger was the Count of Auxerre from 864 until his death. He was a son of Conrad I of Auxerre, and Adelaide; an older brother of Hugh the Abbot; and a member of the Bavarian branch of the Welfs....
from the Elder House of Welf
Elder House of Welf
The Elder House of Welf was a dynasty of European rulers in the 9th through 11th centuries to 1055. It consisted of two groups, a Burgundian group and a Swabian group. It is disputed whether the two groups formed one dynasty or whether they shared the same name by coincidence only.-Burgundian...
, who from 866 ruled Transjurania as a margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
. When Lothair II died in 869, his realm was divided between his uncles Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
and Louis the German
Louis the German
Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...
by the 870 Treaty of Meerssen
Treaty of Meerssen
The Treaty of Meerssen or Mersen was a partition treaty of the Carolingian Empire concluded on 8 August 870 by the two surviving sons of Emperor Louis the Pious, King Charles the Bald of West Francia and Louis the German of East Francia, at Meerssen north of Maastricht, in the present-day...
.
- Emperor Charles the FatCharles the FatCharles the Fat was the King of Alemannia from 876, King of Italy from 879, western Emperor from 881, King of East Francia from 882, and King of West Francia from 884. In 887, he was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and possibly Italy, where the records are not clear...
(884–888)
Emperor Charles the Fat, son of Louis the German, by 884 had once again reunited all Carolingian territories, except for the Lower Burgundian Kingdom of Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
established by Boso
Boso of Provence
Boso was a Frankish nobleman from the Bosonid-family, who was related to the Carolingian dynasty, who rose to become King of Provence ....
in 879. When Charles was deposed and died in 888, the nobles and leading clergy of Upper Burgundy assembled at St Maurice and elected Count Rudolph of Auxerre
Rudolph I of Burgundy
Rudolph I was King of Burgundy from his election in 888 until his death.Rudolph belonged to the elder Welf family and was the son of Conrad, Count of Auxerre, from whom he inherited the lay abbacy of St Maurice en Valais, making him the most powerful magnate in Upper Burgundy - present-day...
, son of Margrave Conrad II from the House of Welf, as king.
- Rudolph IRudolph I of BurgundyRudolph I was King of Burgundy from his election in 888 until his death.Rudolph belonged to the elder Welf family and was the son of Conrad, Count of Auxerre, from whom he inherited the lay abbacy of St Maurice en Valais, making him the most powerful magnate in Upper Burgundy - present-day...
, King of Upper Burgundy (888–912)
At first, Rudolph tried to reunite the Lotharingian realm of Lothair II, but strong opposition by Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...
, King of East Francia, and his son Zwentibold
Zwentibold
Zwentibold was the illegitimate son of the Carolingian Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia. In 895 his father, then king of East Francia, granted him the Kingdom of Lotharingia, which he ruled until his death.After his death he was declared a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church.- Life :Zwentibold...
forced him to focus on his territory of Transjurania and the western Franche-Comté
County of Burgundy
The Free County of Burgundy , was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comté, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf...
. After his death in 912, his widow Guilla
Guilla of Provence
Guilla of Provence or of Burgundy was an early medieval Frankish queen in the Rhone valley.It is certain that she was firstly consort of king Rudolf I of Upper Burgundy and later since 912 consort of Hugh of Arles, border count of Provence, who in 926 became king of Northern Italy.Everything else...
(Willa) married Hugh of Arles
Hugh of Italy
Hugh of Arles was King of Italy from 924 until his death. He was a Bosonid. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to establish a relationship with the Byzantine-Roman Empire...
, King of Lower Burgundy.
- Rudolph IIRudolph II of BurgundyRudolph II was king of Upper Burgundy , Lower Burgundy , and Italy . He was the son of Rudolph I, king of Upper Burgundy, and it is presumed that his mother was his father's known wife, Guilla of Provence...
King of Upper Burgundy (912–933), King of Burgundy (933–937)
Rudolph II in 922 campaigned in the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
The Kingdom of Italy was a political entity under control of Carolingian dynasty of Francia first, after the defeat of the Lombards in 774. It was finally incorporated as a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 962....
, defeated Berengar of Friuli
Berengar I of Italy
Berengar of Friuli was the Margrave of Friuli from 874 until no earlier than 890 and no later than 896, King of Italy from 887 until his death, and Holy Roman Emperor from 915 until his death.Berengar rose to become one of the most influential laymen in the empire of Charles the Fat before he...
and was crowned Italian king. His rule was however contested by insurgent nobles, they summoned his stepfather Hugh of Arles, who expelled Rudolph and gained the Iron Crown of Lombardy
Iron Crown of Lombardy
The Iron Crown of Lombardy is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe. The crown became one of the symbols of the Kingdom of Lombards and later of the medieval Kingdom of Italy...
at Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
in 926. In 933 Rudolph finally ceded all claims to Italy in favour of Hugh and in return gained the Lower Burgundian kingdom, thus reuniting the two territories. Under the rule of Rudolph's descendants from the Elder House of Welf
- Conrad the PeacefulConrad of BurgundyConrad the Peaceful was the king of Burgundy from 937 until his death. He was the son of King Rudolph II, the first king of a united Burgundy and Bertha of Swabia...
, King of Burgundy (937–993) - Rudolph III, King of Burgundy (993–1032)
the Burgundian kingdom became known as the Kingdom of Arles
Kingdom of Arles
The Kingdom of Arles or Second Kingdom of Burgundy of the High Middle Ages was a Frankish dominion established in 933 from lands of the early medieval Kingdom of Burgundy at Arles...
, which upon the extinction of the line in 1032 was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
as a third kingdom after Germany
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
and Italy, with the Kings of Germany
King of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
and Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
s assuming the title of a King of Burgundy.
See also
- Burgundy (disambiguation)Burgundy (disambiguation)- Places :*Burgundy , is a historical region and cultural area in Western Europe, which has existed in several different forms with widely varying boundaries:**Burgundy , French region, a modern-day French administrative région,...
- Lower BurgundyLower BurgundyLower Burgundy was a historical kingdom in what is now southeastern France, so-called because it was lower down the Rhone Valley than Upper Burgundy. Lower Burgundy is sometimes called the Kingdom of Arelat or the Kingdom of Cisjurane Burgundy...
- Kings of Burgundy
- County of BurgundyCounty of BurgundyThe Free County of Burgundy , was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comté, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf...
- Duchy of BurgundyDuchy of BurgundyThe Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...