Editing Burgundians (section)

===Kingdom===
{{Main|Kingdom of the Burgundians}}

====Rhineland====
In 411, the Burgundian king [[Gunther|Gundahar]] (or ''Gundicar'') set up a puppet emperor, [[Jovinus]], in cooperation with [[Goar]], king of the [[Alans]]. With the authority of the [[Gallo-Roman culture|Gallic emperor]] that he controlled, Gundahar settled on the left (Roman) bank of the Rhine, between the river [[Lauter (Rhine)|Lauter]] and the [[Nahe (Rhine)|Nahe]], seizing [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], [[Speyer]], and [[Strassburg]]. Apparently as part of a truce, the Emperor [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]] later officially "granted" them the land,<ref>Prosper, a. 386</ref> with its capital at the old Celtic Roman settlement of Borbetomagus (present [[Worms, Germany|Worms]]).

{{Main|Burgundian Revolt of Gunther}}
Despite their new status as ''foederati'', Burgundian raids into Roman Upper [[Gallia Belgica]] became intolerable and were ruthlessly brought to an end in 436, when the Roman general [[Flavius Aëtius|Aëtius]] called in [[Hun]] mercenaries, who overwhelmed the Rhineland kingdom in 437. Gundahar was killed in the fighting, reportedly along with the majority of the Burgundian tribe.<ref>Prosper; ''Chronica Gallica 452''; Hydatius; and Sidonius Apollinaris</ref>

The destruction of Worms and the Burgundian kingdom by the Huns became the subject of heroic legends that were afterwards incorporated in the ''[[Nibelungenlied]]''—on which [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] based his [[Ring Cycle]]—where King Gunther (Gundahar) and Queen [[Brünnehilde|Brünhild]] hold their court at Worms, and [[Sigurd|Siegfried]] comes to woo Kriemhild. (In Old Norse sources the names are ''Gunnar'', ''Brynhild'', and ''Gudrún'' as normally rendered in English.) In fact, the ''Etzel'' of the ''Nibelungenlied'' is based on [[Attila the Hun]].

====Settlement in eastern Gaul====
[[File:Karte Koenigreich Burgund DE.png|thumb|right|230px|The Second Burgundian Kingdom between 443 and 476]]

For reasons not cited in the sources, the Burgundians were granted ''foederati'' status a second time, and in 443 were resettled by [[Flavius Aëtius|Aëtius]] in [[Sapaudia]]{{Refn|group=n|The territory, which has no modern counterpart, was perhaps bounded by the rivers Ain and Rhône, [[Lake Geneva]], the Jura and the Aar, though historians differ, and there seems to be insufficient evidence.<ref>Norman H. Baynes, reviewing A. Coville, ''Recherches sur l'Histoire de Lyon du Ve au IXe Siècle (450–800)'' in ''The English Historical Review'' '''45''' No. 179 (July 1930:470 474) p 471.</ref>}}, part of the Gallo-Roman province of [[Maxima Sequanorum]].<ref>''Chronica Gallica 452''</ref>  Burgundians probably even lived near ''Lugdunum'', known today as [[Lyon]].<ref>Wood 1994, Gregory II, 9</ref> A new king, [[Gundioc]] or ''Gunderic'', presumed to be Gundahar's son, appears to have reigned following his father's death.<ref name="Drew, p. 1">Drew, p.&nbsp;1</ref> The historian Pline{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} tells us that Gunderic ruled the areas of Saône, Dauphiny, Savoie and a part of Provence. He set up [[Vienne, Isère|Vienne]] as the capital of the kingdom of Burgundy. In all, eight Burgundian kings of the house of Gundahar ruled until the kingdom was overrun by the Franks in 534.

As allies of Rome in its last decades, the Burgundians fought alongside Aëtius and a confederation of Visigoths and others against [[Attila the Hun|Attila]] at the [[Battle of Châlons]] (also called "The Battle of the Catalaunian Fields") in 451. The alliance between Burgundians and Visigoths seems to have been strong, as Gundioc and his brother Chilperic I accompanied [[Theodoric II]] to Spain to fight the Sueves in 455.<ref>Jordanes, ''Getica'', 231</ref>

====Aspirations to the empire====
Also in 455, an ambiguous reference ''infidoque tibi Burdundio ductu''<ref>[[Sidonius Apollinaris]] in ''Panegyr. Avit''. 442.</ref> implicates an unnamed treacherous Burgundian leader in the murder of the emperor [[Petronius Maximus]] in the chaos preceding the sack of Rome by the [[Vandals]]. The Patrician [[Ricimer]] is also blamed; this event marks the first indication of the link between the Burgundians and Ricimer, who was probably Gundioc's brother-in-law and [[Gundobad]]'s uncle.<ref>John Malalas, 374</ref>

In 456, the Burgundians, apparently confident in their growing power, negotiated a territorial expansion and power sharing arrangement with the local Roman senators.<ref>Marius of Avenches</ref>

In 457, Ricimer overthrew another emperor, [[Avitus]], raising [[Majorian]] to the throne. This new emperor proved unhelpful to Ricimer and the Burgundians. The year after his ascension, Majorian stripped the Burgundians of the lands they had acquired two years earlier. After showing further signs of independence, he was murdered by Ricimer in 461.

Ten years later, in 472, Ricimer–who was by now the son-in-law of the Western Emperor [[Anthemius]]–was plotting with Gundobad to kill his father-in-law; Gundobad beheaded the emperor (apparently personally).<ref>''Chronica Gallica 511''; John of Antioch, fr. 209; Jordanes, ''Getica'', 239</ref> Ricimer then appointed [[Olybrius]]; both died, surprisingly of natural causes, within a few months. Gundobad seems then to have succeeded his uncle as Patrician and king-maker, and raised [[Glycerius]] to the throne.<ref>Marius of Avenches; John of Antioch, fr. 209</ref>

In 474, Burgundian influence over the empire seems to have ended. Glycerius was deposed in favor of [[Julius Nepos]], and Gundobad returned to Burgundy, presumably at the death of his father Gundioc. At this time or shortly afterwards, the Burgundian kingdom was divided among Gundobad and his brothers, Godigisel, Chilperic II, and Gundomar I.<ref>Gregory, II, 28</ref>

====Consolidation of the kingdom====
[[File:Conquests of Clovis.png|thumbnail|Kingdom of the Burgundians in around 500]]

According to [[Gregory of Tours]], the years following Gundobad's return to Burgundy saw a bloody consolidation of power. Gregory states that Gundobad murdered his brother Chilperic, drowning his wife and exiling their daughters (one of whom was to become the wife of [[Clovis I|Clovis]] the [[Franks|Frank]], and was reputedly responsible for his conversion).<ref>Gregory, II, 28. Gregory's chronology of the events surrounding Clovis and Gundobad has been questioned by Bury, Shanzer, and Wood, among others. Gregory was somewhat of a Frankish apologist, and commonly discredited the enemies of Clovis by attributing to them some fairly shocking acts. As with Godegisel, he also commonly refers to the treachery of Clovis' allies, when in fact Clovis seems to have bought them off (e.g., in the case of the Ripuarians).</ref> This is contested by, e.g., Bury, who points out problems in much of Gregory's chronology for the events.

In c. 500, when Gundobad and Clovis were at war, Gundobad appears to have been betrayed by his brother Godegisel, who joined the Franks; together Godegisel's and Clovis' forces "crushed the army of Gundobad".<ref>Marius a. 500; Gregory, II, 32</ref> Gundobad was temporarily holed up in Avignon, but was able to re-muster his army and sacked Vienne, where Godegisel and many of his followers were put to death. From this point, Gundobad appears to have been the sole king of Burgundy.<ref>e.g., Gregory, II, 33</ref> This would imply that his brother Gundomar was already dead, though there are no specific mentions of the event in the sources.

Either Gundobad and Clovis reconciled their differences, or Gundobad was forced into some sort of vassalage by Clovis' earlier victory, as the Burgundian king appears to have assisted the Franks in 507 in their victory over [[Alaric II]] the Visigoth.

During the upheaval, sometime between 483 and 501, Gundobad began to set forth the ''Lex Gundobada'' (see below), issuing roughly the first half, which drew upon the ''Lex Visigothorum''.<ref name="Drew, p. 1"/> Following his consolidation of power, between 501 and his death in 516, Gundobad issued the second half of his law, which was more originally Burgundian.

====Fall====
[[File:Map Burgundian Kingdom 2 EN.png|thumb|right|230px|Burgundy as part of the Frankish Empire between 534 and 843]]

The Burgundians were extending their power over eastern [[Gaul]]—that is western Switzerland and eastern France, as well as northern Italy. In 493, [[Clovis I|Clovis]], king of the Franks, married the Burgundian princess [[Clotilde|Clotilda]] (daughter of Chilperic), who converted him to the Catholic faith.

At first allied with [[Clovis I|Clovis']] [[Franks]] against the [[Visigoths]] in the early 6th century, the Burgundians were eventually conquered at [[Battle of Autun (532)|Autun]] by the Franks in 532 after a first attempt in the [[Battle of Vézeronce]]. The Burgundian kingdom was made part of the [[Merovingian]] kingdoms, and the Burgundians themselves were by and large absorbed as well.