Burgundy

The ancient German tribe called the Burgunds or Burgundians or Burgundii, to use the Romans' term, are thought to have originated on the island of Bornholm (possibly Borgundholm) in modern Denmark, some emigrating between 150 and 100 BC. Their language was of the eastern German family, like that of the Goths. They are first mentioned in history by Pliny who reports that they lived between the Oder and Vistula Rivers. Apparently they defeated other Germanic tribes, including the Vandals. They in turn were defeated by the Goths and wound up in the Brandenburg area during the third and fourth centuries. Eventually they moved to the upper and middle Main River, coming into conflict with the Germanic Alemanni tribe as well as the Romans. After AD 260 they were working with the Alemanni trying to settle in Roman territory.

Their king at this time was one Gundahar who as Günther has a starring role in the epic the Die Nibelungenlied as well as in Wagner's opera Götterdämmerung. In 413 they concluded an agreement with the emperor granting them "Gaul nearest the Rhine". They probably converted from paganism to the Arian Christian heresy during that time. However they tried to also penetrate into the territories of modern Belgium which in 436 brought them into battle with the Romans of the general Aetius and his Hunnish mercenaries. Reportedly 20,000 Burgundians were lost, including their king. In 443 Aetius settled them in the western half of what is now Switzerland, hoping to use them against other, more dangerous tribes. They helped fight Attila in 451 and another German tribe, the Sueves (Swabians) in Spain in 456. On their return from this expedition they helped themselves to more territory around Lyons and just kept expanding. By 495 their kingdom stretched from Champagne to the maritime Alps, the king living in Lyons, the heir in Geneva.

Their language survived until the seventh century and the feeling of being a Burgundian lasted strongly into the ninth before becoming subsumed into the empire of Charlemagne. Burgundian names for settlements survive today in the suffixes -ingos, -ans and -ens. It continued as the name of a kingdom for long, even to the time of Joan of Arc and the 15th century. It also remains the name of a region, formerly a county, in France, variously called Bourgogne (French), Burgundy (English) or Burgund (German).

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The region is also well known for a rich, deep red wine. So synonymous with the region is it that it also is called burgundy. And has come to be made not only in Burgundy, but throughout the world, in California, for example.

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The reddish purple color of this wine has also proved popular enough that it too has received the name burgundy, finding use in carpets, wallpaper and leather goods.

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From ancient Denmark to modern California, it is a name that has certainly traveled a long and unexpected path.
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