Burgundy

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Burgundy is a region in the east of France, which rose to prominence during the Hundred Years War. From the late fourteenth to early fifteenth centuries it became one of the major cultural centres of Europe. The region is also famous for its wines, in particular its reds.

History

Burgundy was part of the kingdom of Charlemagne. On his death it was allotted to to Charles the Bald as part of the kingdom of West Franks, which was to become France. The following centuries saw the power of the French crown alternately wax and wain in Burgundy. In the time of Phillip the Bold the Duchy of Burgundy was for all intents and purposes independent.

Tracking the history of Burgundy is complicated by the fact the the Duchy of Burgundy and the Kingdom of Burgundy are different things, the former of which survived, more or less, into the modern age while the latter dissappeared into France, Switzerland and Italy. The Kingdom of Burgundy (or Kingdom of Arles, or Burgundy Arelate - many names seem to have been used over the years) was the area East of the Rhone, including the Counties of Savoy, Provence and Burgundy.


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