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.

The borders of Lower Burgundy were the Mediterranean Sea to the south, Septimania to the southwest, Aquitaine to the west, the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy to the north, and the Kingdom of Italy to the east.

The West Frankish King Louis the Stammerer died on 10 April 879 and was survived by two adult sons, Louis and Carloman. Boso, Count of Arles renounced allegiance to both brothers and in July claimed independence of the Kingdom of Provence. On 15 October 879, the bishops and nobles of the region around the rivers Rhône and Saône assembled in the Synod of Mantaille and elected Boso king as successor to Louis the Stammerer, the first non-Carolingian king in Western Europe in more than a century. This was the first "free election" of a king among the Franks, without regard to royal descent, though his mother was a Carolingian. The Kingdom of Provence comprised the ecclesiastical provinces of the archbishops of Arles, Aix, Vienne, Lyon (without Langres), and probably Besançon, as well as the dioceses of Tarentaise, Uzès, and Viviers.

Burgundy

Burgundy (French: Bourgogne, IPA: [buʁ.ɡɔɲ]) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of east-central France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Burgundy comprises the following four departments: Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne and Nièvre.

Historically, "Burgundy" has referred to numerous political entities, including kingdoms and duchies spanning territory from the Mediterranean to the Low Countries.

Name

Burgundy takes its name from the Burgundians, a Germanic people.

History

Burgundy was inhabited in turn by Celts, Romans (Gallo-Romans), and in the 4th century, the Romans who were then allied with the Burgundians, a Germanic people possibly originating in Bornholm (Baltic Sea), who settled there and established their own kingdom. However, Agathias identifies Burgunds (Βουρουγουνδοι) and Ultizurs as Bulgaric people of Hunnic circle tribes, near relatives of Cotrigurs and Utigurs. This Burgundian kingdom was conquered in the 6th century by another Germanic tribe, the Franks, who continued the kingdom of Burgundy under their own rule.

Ulmus parvifolia 'Burgundy'

The Chinese Elm cultivar Ulmus parvifolia 'Burgundy' is a small American development.

Description

The tree rarely exceeds 6 m in height, and has a broad, rounded form. The leaves are relatively large, dark-green, turning a deep burgundy in autumn. The exfoliating mottled bark is a rich orange-brown.

Pests and diseases

The species and its cultivars are highly resistant, but not immune, to Dutch elm disease, and completely unaffected by the Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola .

Cultivation

'Burgundy' is not known to be in cultivation beyond North America.

Etymology

Presumably named for the colour of its autumn foliage.

Accessions

North America

Nurseries

North America

(Widely available)

External links

County of Burgundy

The Free County of Burgundy (French: Franche Comté de Bourgogne; German: Freigrafschaft Burgund) was a medieval county (from 982 to 1678) of the Holy Roman Empire, within the traditional province and modern French region of Franche-Comté, whose very name is still reminiscent of the title of its count: Freigraf ('free count', denoting imperial immediacy, or franc comte in French, hence the term franc(he) comté for his feudal principality). It should not be confused with the more westerly Duchy of Burgundy, a fiefdom of Francia since 843.

History

The area once formed part of the Kingdom of the Burgundians, which had been annexed by the Franks in 534 and incorporated into the Kingdom of the Franks. The Empire was partitioned in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun, with the area west of the Saône river being allotted to West Francia as the French Duchy of Burgundy, while the southern and eastern parts of the former Burgundian kingdom fell to Middle Francia under Emperor Lothair I. This Middle Frankish part became the two independent entities of southern Lower in 879 and northern Upper Burgundy under King Rudolph I in 888, of which the County of Burgundy formed the western part.