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Kingdom of Arles

Coordinates: 43°41′N 4°39′E / 43.68°N 4.65°E / 43.68; 4.65
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Kingdom of Burgundy
Regnum Burgundiae (Latin)
Kingdom of Arles
Regnum Arelatense (Latin)
933–15th century
The Kingdom of Burgundy within Europe at the beginning of the 11th century
The Kingdom of Burgundy within Europe at the beginning of the 11th century
Burgundy in the 12th–13th century:
  Kingdom of Arles
  French Duchy of Burgundy
  Ducal dependencies
Status
CapitalArles
GovernmentMonarchy
King 
• 912–937 (first)
Rudolph II
• 1410–1437 (last)
Sigismund
Historical eraHigh Middle Ages
• Union of Upper and Lower kingdoms
933
• Rudolph III pledged succession to King Henry II of Germany
May 1006
• Rudolph III died without issue; kingdom inherited by Emperor Conrad II
6 September 1032
1361
• Dauphin Charles made Imperial Vicar of Burgundy
7 January 1378
• Disestablished
15th century
27 April 1803
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Upper Burgundy
Lower Burgundy
County of Burgundy
Comtat Venaissin
Principality of Orange
County of Savoy
Landgraviate of Burgundy
Dauphiné
County of Provence
Today part of
Not to be confused with Kingdom of the Burgundians.

The Kingdom of Burgundy (Latin: Regnum Burgundiae), also known as the Kingdom of Arles (Latin: Regnum Arleatense),[1] was a realm established in 933 by the unification of Lower Burgundy with the Upper Burgundy. As an independent kingdom, it was ruled by monarchs from the Elder House of Welf until 1032, when it was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire, becoming one of the empire's three constituent realms, together with the Kingdom of Germany and the Kingdom of Italy.[2] By the 13th century it went through the process of feudal fragmentation, and since the 14th century the imperial rule over the kingdom became mainly nominal, weakening further during the 15th century.[3]

Its territory stretched from the Mediterranean Sea in the south to the High Rhine in the north, and from the Western Alps in the east to the Rhône basin in the west, thus encompassing almost all of the historical Burgundian lands, and roughly corresponding to the present-day French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes and Franche-Comté, as well as western Switzerland.

Name

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As an independent state (933-1032), the realm was known as the Kingdom of Burgundy, keeping the same name within the Holy Roman Empire, but also becoming known as the Kingdom of Arles, in reference to its capital city of Arles. Thus in sources, as well in historiography, it is referred to in various contexts as the Second Kingdom of Burgundy in order to distinguish the realm created in 933 from the First Kingdom of Burgundy (411-534), while the term Kingdom of Arles (also Arelat, or Kingdom of Arles and Vienne) is commonly used for the later period, after 1032.[4]

Post-Carolingian kingdoms in Burgundy

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The three Burgundian polities, c. 900:
Main articles: Upper Burgundy and Lower Burgundy

Since the middle of the 9th century, the Carolingian Empire went through a series of crisis and divisions. In 843, by the Treaty of Verdun, the Empire was divided in three parts, with much of Burgundian lands becoming part of Middle Francia, which was allotted to emperor Lothair I (Lotharii Regnum), while the north-western Burgundian regions (later Duchy of Burgundy, the present-day Bourgogne), went to Charles the Bald, king of West Francia. King Louis the German received East Francia, comprising the territory east of the river Rhine.

In 855, by the Treaty of Prüm, the Middle Francia was divided, allotting Upper Burgundy to Lothair's second son Lothair II (d. 869), and also designating Lower Burgundy with Provence to Lothair's younger son Charles the Young (d. 863). Upon the death of Charles in 863, his domains were divided between his brothers: emperor Louis II took Provence, while Lothair II received the rest. In 869, Lothair II died without legitimate children, and in 870 his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German concluded the Treaty of Meerssen and partitioned his territory: much of the Upper Burgundy, the territory around of the Jura mountains, went to Louis the German. The western regions went to Charles the Bald, while emperor Louis II kept Provence and parts of Lower Burgundy. In 875, the emperor died, and his domains in Lower Burgundy and Provence were taken by Charles the Bald and incorporated into his domains.[5][6]

In the confusion after the death of Charles' son, the West Frankish king Louis the Stammerer in 879, one of his most powerful nobles, count Boso of Provence (d. 887) refused to submit to Louis' heirs. At the Synod of Mantaille, Boso was proclaimed king,[7][8] thus establishing a distinctive kingdom in the regions of Lower Burgundy and Provence, centered at Vienne and Arles, but his realm was much reduced by 882.[9][10] His son and heir, king Louis the Blind (d. 928) succeeded to restore and consolidate the realm in 890, and even managed to capture northern Italy, becoming the emperor in 901. Blinded in 905, he gradually transferred the governance to his cousin, count Hugh of Arles.

In the meanwhile, a separate kingdom was created in Upper Burgundy. In 888, upon the death of the Emperor Charles the Fat, count Rudolph, from the Elder House of Welf, founded the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy, centered at Saint-Maurice which included the Upper-Burgundian lands on both sides of the Jura mountains. In 912, he was succeeded in Upper Burgundy by his son Rudolph II.[11][12]

Welfish Kingdom of Burgundy

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In 933, king Hugh of Italy ceded Lower Burgundy to king Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy in return for Rudolph relinquishing his claim to the Italian throne. Rudolph merged both Upper and Lower Burgundy to form the united Kingdom of Burgundy, stretching from the Jura mountains to the coasts of Provence.

In 937, Rudolph was succeeded by his son, king Conrad the Peaceful. Inheritance claims by king Hugh of Italy were rejected, with the support of emperor Otto I. The kingdom was simultaneously invaded by Magyar and Arab raiding parties in 954. Conrad sent envoys to both parties to attack one another, and also sent expeditions to Provence in raiding Arab settlements in the 960s.[13]

In 993, Conrad was succeeded by his son, king Rudolph III, who had no heirs, and thus in 1006 he was forced to sign a succession treaty in favor of the future emperor Henry II. Rudolph attempted to renounce the treaty in 1016, but without success.

Imperial Kingdom of Burgundy

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Feudal fragmentation of the Kingdom of Burgundy (Arles) during the 13th century

In 1032, king Rudolph III died without any surviving heirs, and in accordance with the 1006 treaty, the kingdom passed to Henry's successor, emperor Conrad II from the Salian dynasty. Thus, the kingdom was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire, though its territories operated with considerable autonomy.[2]

In 1057, the empress Agnes (d. 1077), acting as the regent for her young son, emperor Henry IV, appointed Rudolf of Rheinfelden as imperial representative and governor of Burgundy.[14]

Emperor Lothair III (d. 1137) appointed Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen (d. 1152) as the imperial representative in the kingdom, titled as the Rector of Burgundy (Latin: Rector Burgundiae), and the same office was held by Conrad's successors from the House of Zähringen until emperor Frederick II (d. 1250) decided to confirm that title to his own son and designated heir Henry (d. 1242).[15]

Though from that time the emperors held the title "King of Arles", few went to be crowned in the cathedral of Arles. An exception was Frederick Barbarossa, who in 1157 held a diet in Besançon and in 1178 was crowned King of Burgundy by the archbishop of Arles.[16]

In 1246, the French prince Charles I of Anjou succeeded in acquiring the County of Provence and the County of Forcalquier, thus establishing a Provencal branch of the House of Capet.[17] In coordination with Pope Nicholas III, he made a stillborn attempt to revive the kingdom of Burgundy/Arles. Between 1277 and 1279, Charles, at that time already King of Sicily, Rudolf of Habsburg, King of the Romans and aspirant to the Imperial crown, and Margaret of Provence, queen dowager of France, settled their dispute over the County of Provence, and also over Rudolf's bid to become the sole Imperial candidate. Rudolf agreed that his daughter Clemence of Austria would marry Charles's grandson Charles Martel of Anjou, with the whole Arelat kingdom as her dowry. In exchange, Charles would support the imperial crown being made hereditary in the House of Habsburg. Nicholas III expected Northern Italy to become a kingdom carved out of Imperial territory, to be given to his family, the Orsini. In 1282, Charles was ready to send the child couple to reclaim the old royal title of Kings of Arles, but the War of the Sicilian Vespers frustrated his plans.[18]

The Vivarais see of Viviers was the first of the kingdom's territories to be annexed to the Kingdom of France, gradually during the 13th century with formal recognition in 1306.[19] The Lyonnais had been practically beyond the reach of the Empire since the late 12th century. Its incorporation into France was the result of internal conflicts between the Archbishop of Lyon, the cathedral chapter and the city council. It was cemented in the early 14th century and formalized in a 1312 treaty between Archbishop Peter of Savoy and Philip IV of France. Emperor Henry VII protested against this but did not seriously challenge it.[19]

Since 1343, the French royal House of Valois tried to expand its influence towards the Kingdom of Arles by acquiring feudal possessions in the region of Dauphiné, ruled by the childless dauphin Humbert II of Viennois. By 1349, Humbert finally decided to sell his domains to the House of Valois, and an agreement was made, designating young French prince Charles (future king Charles V) as Humbert's successor, on the condition that Dauphiné will remain a distinctive polity, and thus not incorporated into the French realm. Thus in the summer of 1349, young Charles became the first Valois Dauphin de Viennois. In 1350, when his father ascended to the French throne, Charles became the heir presumptive and thus for the first time both honors (Dauphin de Viennois, and heir to the French throne) were held by the same person.[20][21]

In 1356, the young Charles, being the ruling Dauphin of Viennois, made an homage to the emperor Charles IV at Metz, and received imperial confirmation. On the same occasion, Charles was appointed as the imperial vicar in Dauphiné.[22] Formally remaining an imperial fief within the Kingdom of Arles, the Dauphiné was from that time effectively controlled by the French royal House of Valois.[23]

In the spring of 1365, emperor Charles IV came in person to the Kingdom of Arles. During the month of May he visited the County of Savoy, and appointed count Amadeus VI as imperial vicar over central regions of the Kingdom, from Lausanne and Geneva, to Lyon and Grenoble.[24] In the same time, pretensions of the French royal House of Valois towards gaining the imperial vicariate over the region were rejected by the emperor.[25] Proceeding to Arles, the emperor was crowned as king on 4 June (1365), by cardinal Guillaume de La Garde, the Archbishop of Arles, in presence of high representatives of various regions, including Provence and Dauphiné,[26] thus reaffirming imperial sovereignty over the Arlesian realm. That was the first coronation after a gap of nearly two centuries, following the previous Arlesian coronation of Frederick I in 1178. That attempt to revive the imperial hold on the Kingdom was mainly symbolic. Already in 1366, count Amadeus VI of Savoy was relieved of his duties as imperial vicar in the region.[27]

During the state visit to Paris in early 1378, emperor Charles IV granted the title of imperial vicar over the Kingdom of Burgundy (Arles) to the nine-year-old Charles, Dauphin of Viennois (future French king Charles VI), but only for his lifetime.[28] Since Charles was Dauphin of Viennois and thus a holder of an imperial fief within the Kingdom, his appointment as the imperial vicar did not imply transfer of authority to the French crown, but in reality it was still seen as a gain for the House of Valois.[29]

Imperial authority over the old Burgundian regions continued to decline, thus initiating the final stage of institutional dissolution of the Kingdom as a distinct entity. In 1421, Emperor Sigismund appointed Louis II of Chalon-Arlay as the Imperial vicar of Burgundy, in hope to restore some imperial authority over Dauphiné, Viennois and Provence. Those efforts were directed against rising ambitions of powerful Burgundian Duke Philip the Good.[30] In 1463, the title of Imperial vicar was offered to Duke Philip himself, by Emperor Friedrich III, as part of a proposed dynastic alliance between the houses of Burgundy and Austria, but no final agreement was reached, and thus the appointment was not accepted.

By that time, the French influence was straightened in northern parts of the Arlesian realm. In 1405, upon the death of countess Margaret, who ruled the Free County of Burgundy in her own right, that imperial county was inherited by her son, John the Fearless, who was also the Duke of Burgundy. Since John belonged to the House of Valois-Burgundy, his acquisition of the county additionally increased the French influence in regions belonging to the Kingdom of Burgundy/Arles. In 1477, upon the death of Charles the Bold, the French king seized not only the Duchy of Burgundy, that belonged to the French realm, but also the County of Burgundy, that was still an imperial fief. Only in 1493, by the Treaty of Senlis, the county passed to Philip the Handsome, from the House of Habsburg, thus reaffirming its attachment to the Empire.[31]

In the southern regions of the Kingdom, the County of Provence was held by the House of Valois-Anjou that also promoted French interests in the region. In 1481, the last Valois-Anjou count Charles of Provence died and left his domains to the French royal house, but under condition that the county would not be integrated into the French realm. Thus, an effective French control was imposed in Province, but without formal annexation.[17]

Burgundian Circle (green) in 1512

At the beginning of the 16th century, during the imperial reform, several imperial circles were created in 1512, one of them being the Burgundian Circle, that was encompassing not only the Free County of Burgundy and the Free Imperial City of Besançon, but also much of the Habsburg Netherlands.[32]

By that time, both the Dauphiné and the Provence were already under French control, but those realities were not formally sanctioned by the Holy Roman Emperors. Thus in 1524, imperial troops invaded Provence during the Italian War of 1521–1526, but failed to capture the region. In 1525, during the peace negotiations between Emperor Charles V and French King Francois I, it was proposed that a realm centered on Arles and Provence could be renewed for Charles III, Duke of Bourbon (d. 1527), but those plans were abandoned and not included into the Treaty of Madrid (1526). In the summer of 1536, during the Italian War of 1536–1538, Emperor Charles V personally led the invasion of Provence. He took Aix-en-Provence on August 5, affirming there his rights to the Kingdom of Arles, but those gains were soon lost, and the war ended by the Treaty of Nice (1538).[33]

Burgundian royal traditions were briefly revived in 1784, following the War of the Bavarian Succession (1777-1779), when emperor Joseph II (d. 1790) proposed to the new Bavarian prince-elector Charles Theodore to exchange Bavaria for the Austrian Netherlands, offering him the title "King of Burgundy". While the Low Countries were not part of the Kingdom of Arles, they were part of the Burgundian State and the Burgundian Circle. The proposal was not accepted, and thus the plan failed.[34]

By that time, the title of Imperial vicar of Burgundy became extinct, while the title "King of Arles" remained one of the Holy Roman Emperor's official subsidiary titles until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806. The Archbishop of Trier continued to act as the Imperial Archchancellor of Burgundy/Arles, as codified by the Golden Bull of 1356. The remnants of the Kingdom of Arles became part of the imperial circles unlike Italian, Bohemian or Swiss territories. All remaining Imperial states but Savoy were conquered by Louis XIV (r. 1643–1715).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Moeglin 2011.
  2. ^ a b Bouchard 1999, p. 328–345.
  3. ^ Cox 1999, p. 358-374.
  4. ^ Cox 1999, p. 358-361.
  5. ^ McKitterick 1983, p. 179.
  6. ^ West 2023.
  7. ^ Bouchard 1988, p. 407-431.
  8. ^ MacLean 2001, p. 21-48.
  9. ^ McKitterick 1983, p. 261.
  10. ^ MacLean 2003, p. 21-22.
  11. ^ Hauff 2017, p. 1–12.
  12. ^ Hauff 2018, p. 1–13.
  13. ^ Davies 2011, p. 117.
  14. ^ Robinson 1999, p. 33.
  15. ^ Cox 1999, p. 359.
  16. ^ Cox 1999, p. 358.
  17. ^ a b Moeglin 2011, p. 41.
  18. ^ Cox 1999, p. 360-361.
  19. ^ a b Moeglin 2011, p. 37.
  20. ^ Guiffrey 1868, p. 31-87.
  21. ^ Kibler & Zinn 2011, p. 52, 289-290, 420.
  22. ^ Fritz 2022, p. 518-520.
  23. ^ Moeglin 2011, p. 39-40.
  24. ^ Cox 1967, p. 194-196, 201.
  25. ^ Cox 1967, p. 197.
  26. ^ Cox 1967, p. 199.
  27. ^ Cox 1967, p. 241, 245, 289.
  28. ^ Fantysová-Matějková 2012, p. 229.
  29. ^ Wilson 2016, p. 197-198.
  30. ^ Vaughan 2002, p. 68.
  31. ^ Small 2006, p. 178-179.
  32. ^ Susanne Hähnchen (2021). Rechtsgeschichte: Von der Römischen Antike bis zur Neuzeit, eBook (in German). C. F. Müller. ISBN 9783811488748.
  33. ^ Parker 2019, p. 153, 254, 634.
  34. ^ Anderson 2000, p. 385.

Literature

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43°41′N 4°39′E / 43.68°N 4.65°E / 43.68; 4.65

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