[gothic-l] Re: Burgundians.

[dirk at SMRA.CO.UK]

--- In gothic-l at y..., Leonardo Hernandez-Cortez <leonardo_hc at y...>
wrote:
> I've been wondering about something for a time now,
> namely that, if the Burgundians did really come from
> Bornholm, suggesting that it's their island hence
> Burgundarholm as some tend to write it.
> I don't know, but it seems a bit farfetched.
> Did they really come from Bornholm, and if not, from
> where ?
> I've read as many times that they were west-germanic
> as they were east-germanic, what were they originally
> because maybe they with time blended with other
> tribes.
> Their language, was it really called Burgundian ?
> If so, are there any writings left in Burgundian ?
> And it's never been very clear(too many confusing
> sources sometimes, mainly encyclopedias)but when did
> they really cease to exist as an ethnic group/culture,
> meaning, when did they really blend up completely with
> the rest of France ?
>
>
> Thank you in advance.
>
> Yours Sincerely
> Leonardo.


Hi Leonardo,

The Burgundians or Burgundiones are first mentioned by Plinius as
living in the Oder-Neetze area. They are usually counted as East
Germanic people although it should be noted that there is no firm
dividing line between these groups. Archaeologically the Burgundians
are customarily identified with a cultural group in East Brandenburg,
the Upper and Lower Lausitz in Germany and North-West Silesia in
Poland. These cultures buried their dead fully armed like the
Vandili-Lugians, but in contrast with the Gothic/Wielbark culture
people. A fact that most likely reflects different cultic beliefs or a
different concept of the after-life. A characteristic weapon among
'Burgundian' graves of this time is said to be a small battle axe,
which was otherwise only popular among Franks. The Germanic settlement
of Klein Koeris (East of Berlin) is a good example where in particular
fibulae styles from Burgundian and Thuringian areas mixed and
overlapped.

Emperor Probus defeated a group of Burgundians, Vandals and Alamanns
at the Lech river in the late 3rd century. From the 4th century the
main parts of the Burgundians moved west-wards, possibly after the
Gepids had inflicted a crushing defeat on them. There centre was
temporarily the Lausitz area in Germany from there the Burgundians
moved to the Main/Rhine area reaching the Rhine in 369AD and crossing
the Rhine together with Vandals, Alans and Suevi near Mainz, in Winter
406AD. In the Rhine/Main area they are archaeologically hardly
identifiable; only two grave fields (Rossgarthen and Lampertheim) have
been discovered so far with clear relationships to the Oder area. One
of the interesting features is that the Burgundians like their
one-time neighbours the Thuringians adopted the Hunnic practice of
skull deformation.

The Nibelungenlied seem to have preserved the knowledge of a
Burgundian kingdom under Gunthahar/Gunthar at Worms or Mainz. Attempts
to expand the kingdom were thwarted by Aetius who employed the help of
the Huns to destroy the kingdom at Worms in 436AD. The surviving
Burgundians were allowed to settle in the Sapaudia to help keeping the
expanding Alamanns in check. There first capital there was likely
Genf. In 451AD they fought on the Roman side against the Huns,
Ostrogoths and Gepids and ever since regarded themselves as defenders
of the Roman empire. The Burgundian kings from Gundowech/Gundioc
onwards held the title of magister militum. Gundowech had three sons:
Gislarhar (Giselher of the Nibelungenlied), Chilperich and Gundobad.
Gundobad finally prevailed and under his son Sigismund the Burgundians
started to adopted Catholicism. Sigismund was killed in Frankish
captivity after upsetting both the Franks and the Ostrogoths. Under
his son Gundomar a short period of consolidation followed until the
Burgundians were totally defeated by the Franks and the kingdom turned
into a Frankish dukedom (about 530s).

The Burgundians had sought complete integration with the local
Romano-Celtic population and it is not likely that a distinct tribal
identity continued to exist past the time of Gundomar. The
archaeologist Max Martin estimated that only some 10,000 to 20,000
Burgundians re-settled from the Worms region to the Sapaudia, which
accounted for only about 5% of the local population.

As for your question about Borgundarholm/Bornholm. I only know that it
is mentioned by Snorri in the early 13th century. If the name
Borgundarholm does derive from the Burgundians it is a remarkable
long-term survivor but should not necessarily mean that they came from
their. Other explanations are just as possible. For example, after the
defeat by the Gepids some Burgundian groups may have fled to Bornholm
or Burgundians in general may have expanded to Bornholm at some stage.
The Franks, for example expanded from the Rhineland westwards and
eastwards. Their eastern acquisitions are now known as Francia, which
does not mean that it is there origin.

cheers,
Dirk





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