Kingdom of the Burgundians

Origins

The Burgundians crossed the Rhine in the early 5th century, and in 411 their king Gundahar set up a realm on the Rhine, traditionally placed around Worms, as Roman allies. In 436 the general Aetius had them crushed by Hunnic troops, a disaster remembered in the Nibelungenlied. In 443 the survivors were resettled in Sapaudia, around Geneva.

Rule and society

From there they spread across the Rhône and Saône valleys, ruling from Lyon and Geneva. King Gundobad issued a law code for his Burgundian subjects and another for Romans, and Burgundians and Gallo-Romans shared land. The kings were Arians, but Sigismund converted to Catholic Christianity.

Decline and legacy

Clovis' sons attacked them in 523 and captured Sigismund, who was put to death in 524. After a final defeat in 534 King Godomar disappeared and the land became part of the Kingdom of the Franks, later the Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy. The name Burgundy has endured for fifteen centuries.