Book: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4
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Various >> Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4
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The known history of Burgos begins in 884 with the foundation of the
citadel. From that time forward it steadily increased in importance,
reaching the height of its prosperity in the 15th century, when,
alternately with Toledo, it was occupied as a royal residence, but rapidly
declining when the court was finally removed to Madrid in 1560. Being on
one of the principal military roads of the kingdom, it suffered severely
during the Peninsular War. In 1808 it was the scene of the defeat of the
Spanish army by the French under Marshal Soult. It was unsuccessfully
besieged by Wellington in 1812, but was surrendered to him at the opening
of the campaign of the following year.
Of the extensive literature relating to Burgos, much remains unedited and
in manuscript. A general description of the city and its monuments is given
by A. Llacayo y Santa Maria in _Burgos, &c._ (Burgos, 1889). See also
_Architectural, Sculptural and Picturesque Studies in Burgos and its
Neighbourhood_, a valuable series of architectural drawings in folio, by
J.B. Waring (London, 1852). The following are monographs on particular
buildings:--_Historia de la Catedral de Burgos, &c._, by P. Orcajo (Burgos,
1856); _El Castillo de Burgos_, by E. de Oliver-Copons (Barcelona, 1893);
_La Real Cartuja de Miraflores_, by F. Tarin y Juaneda (Burgos, 1896). For
the history of the city see _En Burgos_, by V. Balaguer (Burgos, 1895);
_Burgos en las comunidades de Castilla_ and _Cosas de la vieja Burgos_,
both by A. Salva (Burgos, 1895 and 1892). The following relate both to the
city and to the province of Burgos:--_Burgos, &c._, by R. Amador de los
Rios, in the series entitled _Espana_ (Barcelona, 1888); _Burgos y su
provincia_, anon. (Vitoria, 1898); _Intento de un diccionario biografico y
bibliografico de autores de la prov. de Burgos_, by M. Anibarro and M.
Rives (Madrid, 1890).
BURGOYNE, JOHN (1722-1792), English general and dramatist, entered the army
at an early age. In 1743 he made a runaway marriage with a daughter of the
earl of Derby, but soon had to sell his commission to meet his debts, after
which he lived abroad for seven years. By Lord Derby's interest Burgoyne
was then reinstated at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, and in 1758 he
became captain and lieutenant-colonel in the foot guards. In 1758-1759 he
participated in expeditions made against the French coast, and in the
latter year he was instrumental in introducing light cavalry into the
British army. The two regiments then formed were commanded by Eliott
(afterwards Lord Heathfield) and Burgoyne. In 1761 he sat in parliament for
Midhurst, and in the following year he served as brigadier-general in
Portugal, winning particular distinction by his capture of Valencia
d'Alcantara and of Villa Velha. In 1768 he became M.P. for Preston, and for
the next few years he occupied himself chiefly with his parliamentary
duties, in which he was remarkable for his general outspokenness [v.04
p.0820] and, in particular, for his attacks on Lord Clive. At the same time
he devoted much attention to art and drama (his first play, _The Maid of
the Oaks_, being produced by Garrick in 1775), and gambled recklessly. In
the army he had by this time become a major-general, and on the outbreak of
the American War of Independence he was appointed to a command. In 1777 he
was at the head of the British reinforcements designed for the invasion of
the colonies from Canada. In this disastrous expedition he gained
possession of Ticonderoga (for which he was made a lieutenant-general) and
Fort Edward; but, pushing on, was detached from his communications with
Canada, and hemmed in by a superior force at Saratoga (_q.v._). On the 17th
of October his troops, about 3500 in number, laid down their arms. The
success was the greatest the colonists had yet gained, and it proved the
turning-point in the war. The indignation in England against Burgoyne was
great, but perhaps unjust. He returned at once, with the leave of the
American general, to defend his conduct, and demanded, but never obtained,
a trial. He was deprived of his regiment and a governorship which he held.
In 1782, however, when his political friends came into office, he was
restored to his rank, given a colonelcy, and made commander-in-chief in
Ireland and a privy councillor. After the fall of the Rockingham government
in 1783, Burgoyne withdrew more and more into private life, his last public
service being his participation in the impeachment of Warren Hastings. In
his latter years he was principally occupied in literary and dramatic work.
His comedy, _The Heiress_, which appeared in 1786, ran through ten editions
within a year, and was translated into several foreign tongues. He died
suddenly on the 4th of June 1792. General Burgoyne, whose wife died in June
1776 during his absence in Canada, had several natural children (born
between 1782 and 1788) by Susan Caulfield, an opera singer, one of whom
became Field Marshal Sir J.F. Burgoyne. His _Dramatic and Poetical Works_
appeared in two vols., 1808.
See E.B. de Fonblanque, _Political and Military Episodes from the Life and
Correspondence of Right Hon. J. Burgoyne_ (1876); and W.L. Stone, _Campaign
of Lieut.-Gen. J. Burgoyne, &c._ (Albany, N.Y., 1877).
BURGOYNE, SIR JOHN FOX, Bart. (1782-1871), British field marshal, was an
illegitimate son of General John Burgoyne (_q.v._). He was educated at Eton
and Woolwich, obtained his commission in 1798, and served in 1800 in the
Mediterranean. In 1805, when serving on the staff of General Fox in Sicily,
he was promoted second captain. He accompanied the unfortunate Egyptian
expedition of 1807, and was with Sir John Moore in Sweden in 1808 and in
Portugal in 1808-9. In the Corunna campaign Burgoyne held the very
responsible position of chief of engineers with the rear-guard of the
British army (see PENINSULAR WAR). He was with Wellesley at the Douro in
1809, and was promoted captain in the same year, after which he was engaged
in the construction of the lines of Torres Vedras in 1810. He blew up Fort
Concepcion on the river Turones, and was present at Busaco and Torres
Vedras. In 1811 he was employed in the unsuccessful siege of Badajoz, and
in 1812 he won successively the brevets of major and lieutenant-colonel,
for his skilful performance of engineer duties at the historic sieges of
Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz. He was present in the same year (1812) at the
siege and battle of Salamanca, and after the battle of Vittoria in 1813 he
became commanding engineer on Lord Wellington's staff. At the close of the
war he received the C.B., a reward which, he justly considered, was not
commensurate with his services. In 1814-1815 he served at New Orleans and
Mobile. Burgoyne was largely employed, during the long peace which followed
Waterloo, in other public duties as well as military work. He sat on
numerous commissions, and served for fifteen years as chairman of the Irish
board of public works. He became a major-general and K.C.B. in 1838, and
inspector-general of fortifications in 1845. In 1851 he was promoted
lieutenant-general, and in the following year received the G.C.B. When the
Crimean War broke out he accompanied Lord Raglan's headquarters to the
East, superintended the disembarkation at Old Fort, and was in effect the
principal engineer adviser to the English commander during the first part
of the siege of Sevastopol. He was recalled early in 1855, and though he
was at first bitterly criticized by the public for his part in the earlier
and unsuccessful operations against the fortress the wisdom of his advice
was ultimately recognized. In 1856 he was created a baronet, and promoted
to the full rank of general. In 1858 he was present at the second funeral
of Napoleon I. as Queen Victoria's representative, and in 1865 he was made
constable of the Tower of London. Three years later, on resigning his post
as inspector-general of fortifications, he was made a field marshal.
Parliament granted him, at the same time, a pension of L1500. He died on
the 7th of October 1871, a year after the tragic death of his only son,
Captain Hugh Talbot Burgoyne, V.C. (1833-1870), who was in command of
H.M.S. "Captain" when that vessel went down in the Bay of Biscay (September
7, 1870).
See _Life and Correspondence of F.M. Sir John Fox Burgoyne_ (edited by
Lt.-Col. Hon. G. Wrottesley, R.E., London, 1873); Sir Francis Head, _A
Sketch of the Life and Death of F.M. Sir John Burgoyne_ (London, 1872);
_Military Opinions of General Sir John Burgoyne_ (ed. Wrottesley, London,
1859), a collection of the most important of Burgoyne's contributions to
military literature.
BURGRAVE, the Eng. form, derived through the Fr., of the Ger. _Burggraf_
and Flem. _burg_ or _burch-graeve_ (med. Lat. _burcgravius_ or
_burgicomes_), _i.e._ count of a castle or fortified town. The title is
equivalent to that of castellan (Lat. _castellanus_) or, _chatelain_
(_q.v._). In Germany, owing to the peculiar conditions of the Empire,
though the office of burgrave had become a sinecure by the end of the 13th
century, the title, as borne by feudal nobles having the status of princes
of the Empire, obtained a quasi-royal significance. It is still included
among the subsidiary titles of several sovereign princes; and the king of
Prussia, whose ancestors were burgraves of Nuremberg for over 200 years, is
still styled burgrave of Nuremberg.
BURGRED, king of Mercia, succeeded to the throne in 852, and in 852 or 853
called upon AEthelwulf of Wessex to aid him in subduing the North Welsh. The
request was granted and the campaign proved successful, the alliance being
sealed by the marriage of Burgred to AEthelswith, daughter of AEthelwulf. In
868 the Mercian king appealed to AEthelred and Alfred for assistance against
the Danes, who were in possession of Nottingham. The armies of Wessex and
Mercia did no serious fighting, and the Danes were allowed to remain
through the winter. In 874 the march of the Danes from Lindsey to Repton
drove Burgred from his kingdom. He retired to Rome and died there.
See _Saxon Chronicle_ (Earle and Plummer), years 852-853,868,874.
BURGUNDIO, sometimes erroneously styled BURGUNDIUS, an Italian jurist of
the 12th century. He was a professor at the university of Paris, and
assisted at the Lateran Council in 1179, dying at a very advanced age in
1194. He was a distinguished Greek scholar, and is believed on the
authority of Odofredus to have translated into Latin, soon after the
Pandects were brought to Bologna, the various Greek fragments which occur
in them, with the exception of those in the 27th book, the translation of
which has been attributed to Modestinus. The Latin translations ascribed to
Burgundio were received at Bologna as an integral part of the text of the
Pandects, and form part of that known as _The Vulgate_ in distinction from
the Florentine text.
BURGUNDY. The name of Burgundy (Fr. _Bourgogne_, Lat. _Burgundia_) has
denoted very diverse political and geographical areas at different periods
of history and as used by different writers. The name is derived from the
Burgundians (_Burgundi, Burgondiones_), a people of Germanic origin, who at
first settled between the Oder and the Vistula. In consequence of wars
against the Alamanni, in which the latter had the advantage, the
Burgundians, after having taken part in the great invasion of Radagaisus in
407, were obliged in 411 to take refuge in Gaul, under the leadership of
their chief Gundicar. Under the title of allies of the Romans, they
established themselves in certain cantons of the Sequani and of upper
Germany, receiving a part of the lands, houses and serfs that belonged to
the inhabitants. Thus was founded the first kingdom of Burgundy, the
boundaries of which were widened at different times by Gundicar and his son
[v.04 p.0821] Gunderic; its chief towns being Vienne, Lyons, Besancon,
Geneva, Autun and Macon. Gundibald (d. 516), grandson of Gunderic, is
famous for his codification of the Burgundian law, known consequently as
_Lex Gundobada, _in French _Loi Gombette_. His son Sigismund, who was
canonized by the church, founded the abbey of St Maurice at Agaunum. But,
incited thereto by Clotilda, the daughter of Chilperic (a brother of
Gundibald, and assassinated by him), the Merovingian kings attacked
Burgundy. An attempt made in 524 by Clodomer was unsuccessful; but in 534
Clotaire (Chlothachar) and his brothers possessed themselves of the lands
of Gundimar, brother and successor of Sigismund, and divided them between
them. In 561 the kingdom of Burgundy was reconstructed by Guntram, son of
Clotaire I., and until 613 it formed a separate state under the government
of a prince of the Merovingian family.
After 613 Burgundy was one of the provinces of the Frankish kingdom, but in
the redistributions that followed the reign of Charlemagne the various
parts of the ancient kingdom had different fortunes. In 843, by the treaty
of Verdun, Autun, Chalon, Macon, Langres, &c., were apportioned to Charles
the Bald, and Lyons with the country beyond the Saone to Lothair I. On the
death of the latter the duchy of Lyons (Lyonnais and Viennois) was given to
Charles of Provence, and the diocese of Besancon with the country beyond
the Jura to Lothair, king of Lorraine. In 879 Boso founded the kingdom of
Provence, wrongly called the kingdom of Cisjuran Burgundy, which extended
to Lyons, and for a short time as far as Macon (see PROVENCE).
In 888 the kingdom of Juran Burgundy was founded by Rudolph I., son of
Conrad, count of Auxerre, and the German king Arnulf could not succeed in
expelling the usurper, whose authority was recognized in the diocese of
Besancon, Basel, Lausanne, Geneva and Sion. For a short time his son and
successor Rudolph II. (912-937) disputed the crown of Italy with Hugh of
Provence, but finally abandoned his claims in exchange for the ancient
kingdom of Provence, _i.e._ the country bounded by the Rhone, the Alps and
the Mediterranean. His successor, Conrad the Peaceful (93 7-993), whose
sister Adelaide married Otto the Great, was hardly more than a vassal of
the German kings. The last king of Burgundy, Rudolph III. (993-1032), being
deprived of all but a shadow of power by the development of the secular and
ecclesiastical aristocracy--especially by that of the powerful feudal
houses of the counts of Burgundy (see FRANCHE-COMTE), Savoy and
Provence--died without issue, bequeathing his lands to the emperor Conrad
II. Such was the origin of the imperial rights over the kingdom designated
after the 13th century as the kingdom of Arles, which extended over a part
of what is now Switzerland (from the Jura to the Aar), and included
Franche-Comte, Lyonnais, Dauphine, Savoy and Provence.
The name of Burgundy now gradually became restricted to the countship of
that name, which included the district between the Jura and the Saone, in
later times called Franche-Comte, and to the _duchy_ which had been created
by the Carolingian kings in the portion of Burgundy that had remained
French, with the object of resisting Boso. This duchy had been granted to
Boso's brother, Richard the Justiciary, count of Autun. It comprised at
first the countships of Autun, Macon, Chalon-sur-Saone, Langres, Nevers,
Auxerre and Sens, but its boundaries and designations changed many times in
the course of the 10th century. Duke Henry died in 1002; and in 1015, after
a war which lasted thirteen years, the French king Robert II. reunited the
duchy to his kingdom, despite the opposition of Otto William, count of
Burgundy, and gave it to his son Henry, afterwards King Henry I. As king of
France, the latter in 1032 bestowed the duchy upon his brother Robert, from
whom sprang that first ducal house of Burgundy which flourished until 1361.
A grandson of this Robert, who went to Spain to fight the Arabs, became the
founder of the kingdom of Portugal; but in general the first Capet dukes of
Burgundy were pacific princes who took little part in the political events
of their time, or in that religious movement which was so marked in
Burgundy, at Cluny to begin with, afterwards among the disciples of William
of St Benigne of Dijon, and later still among the monks of Citeaux. In the
12th and 13th centuries we may mention Duke Hugh III. (1162-1193), who
played an active part in the wars that marked the beginning of Philip
Augustus's reign; Odo (Eudes) III. (1193-1218), one of Philip Augustus's
principal supporters in his struggle with King John of England; Hugh IV.
(1218-1272), who acquired the countships of Chalon and Auxonne, Robert II.
(1272-1309), one of whose daughters, Margaret, married Louis X. of France,
and another, Jeanne, Philip of Valois; Odo (Eudes) IV. (1315-1350), who
gained the countship of Artois in right of his wife, Jeanne of France,
daughter of Philip V. the Tall and of Jeanne, countess of Burgundy.
In 1361, on the death of Duke Philip de Rouvres, son of Jeanne of Auvergne
and Boulogne, who had married the second time John II. of France, surnamed
the Good, the duchy of Burgundy returned to the crown of France. In 1363
John gave it, with hereditary rights, to his son Philip, surnamed the Bold,
thus founding that second Capet house of Burgundy which filled such an
important place in the history of France during the 14th and 15th
centuries, acquiring as it did a territorial power which proved redoubtable
to the kingship itself. By his marriage with Margaret of Flanders Philip
added to his duchy, on the death of his father-in-law, Louis of Male, in
1384, the countships of Burgundy and Flanders; and in the same year he
purchased the countship of Charolais from John, count of Armagnac. On the
death of Charles V. in 1380 Philip and his brothers, the dukes of Anjou and
Berry, had possessed themselves of the regency, and it was he who led
Charles VI. against the rebellious Flemings, over whom the young king
gained the victory of Roosebeke in 1382. Momentarily deprived of power
during the period of the "Marmousets'" government, he devoted himself to
the administration of his own dominions, establishing in 1386 an
audit-office (_chambre des comptes_) at Dijon and another at Lille. In 1396
he refused to take part personally in the expedition against the Turks
which ended in the disaster of Nicopolis, and would only send his son John,
then count of Nevers. In 1392 the king's madness caused Philip's recall to
power along with the other princes of the blood, and from this time dates
that hostility between the party of Burgundy and the party of Orleans which
was to become so intense when in May 1404 Duke Philip had been succeeded by
his son, John the Fearless.
In 1407 the latter caused the assassination of his political rival, Louis
of Orleans, the king's brother. Forced to quit Paris for a time, he soon
returned, supported in particular by the gild of the butchers and by the
university. The monk Jean Petit pronounced an apology for the murder
(1408).
The victory of Hasbain which John achieved on the 23rd of September 1408
over the Liegeois, who had attacked his brother-in-law, John of Bavaria,
bishop of Liege, still further strengthened his power and reputation, and
during the following years the struggle between the Burgundians and the
partisans of the duke of Orleans--or Armagnacs, as they were called--went
on with varying results. In 1413 a reaction took place in Paris; John the
Fearless was once more expelled from the capital, and only returned there
in 1418, thanks to the treason of Perrinet Leclerc, who yielded up the town
to him. In 1419, just when he was thinking of making advances towards the
party of the dauphin (Charles VII.), he was assassinated by members of that
party, during an interview between himself and the dauphin at the bridge of
Montereau.
This event inclined the new duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, towards an
alliance with England. In 1420 he signed the treaty of Troyes, which
recognized Henry V. as the legitimate successor of Charles VI.; in 1423 he
gave his sister Anne in marriage to John, duke of Bedford; and during the
following years the Burgundian troops supported the English pretender. But
a dispute between him and the English concerning the succession in Hainaut,
their refusal to permit the town of Orleans to place itself under his rule,
and the defeats sustained by them, all combined to embroil him with his
allies, and in 1435 he concluded the treaty of Arras with Charles VII. The
king relieved the duke of all homage for his estates during his lifetime,
[v.04 p.0822] and gave up to him the countships of Macon, Auxerre,
Bar-sur-Seine and Ponthieu; and, reserving the right of redemption, the
towns of the Somme (Roye, Montdidier, Peronne, &c.). Besides this Philip
had acquired Brabant and Holland in 1433 as the inheritance of his mother.
He gave an asylum to the dauphin Louis when exiled from Charles VII.'s
court, but refused to assist him against his father, and henceforth rarely
intervened in French affairs. He busied himself particularly with the
administration of his state, founding the university of Dole, having
records made of Burgundian customs, and seeking to develop the commerce and
industries of Flanders. A friend to letters and the arts, he was the
protector of writers like Olivier de la Marche, and of sculptors of the
school of Dijon. He also desired to revive ancient chivalry as he conceived
it, and in 1429 founded the order of the Golden Fleece; while during the
last years of his life he devoted himself to the preparation of a crusade
against the Turks. Neither these plans, however, nor his liberality,
prevented his leaving a well-filled treasury and enlarged dominions when he
died in 1467.
Philip's successor was his son by his third wife, Isabel of Portugal,
Charles, surnamed the Bold, count of Charolois, born in 1433. To him his
father had practically abandoned his authority during his last years.
Charles had taken an active part in the so-called wars "for the public
weal," and in the coalitions of nobles against the king which were so
frequent during the first years of Louis XI.'s reign. His struggle against
the king is especially marked by the interview at Peronne in 1468, when the
king had to confirm the duke in his possession of the towns of the Somme,
and by a fruitless attempt which Charles the Bold made on Beauvais in 1472.
Charles sought above all to realize a scheme already planned by his father.
This was to annex territory which would reunite Burgundy with the northern
group of her possessions (Flanders, Brabant, &c.), and to obtain the
emperor's recognition of the kingdom of "Belgian Gaul." In 1469 he bought
the landgraviate of Alsace and the countship of Ferrette from the archduke
Sigismund of Austria, and in 1473 the aged duke Arnold ceded the duchy of
Gelderland to him. In the same year he had an interview at Trier with the
emperor Frederick III., when he offered to give his daughter and heiress,
Mary of Burgundy, in marriage to the emperor's son Maximilian in exchange
for the concession of the royal title. But the emperor, uneasy at the
ambition of the "grand-duke of the West," did not pursue the negotiations.
Meanwhile the tyranny of the duke's lieutenant Peter von Hagenbach, who was
established at Ferrette as governor (_grand bailli_ or _Landvogt_) of Upper
Alsace, had brought about an insurrection. The Swiss supported the cause of
their allies, the inhabitants of the free towns of Alsace, and Duke Rene
II. of Lorraine also declared war against Charles. In 1474 the Swiss
invaded Franche-Comte and achieved the victory of Hericourt. In 1475
Charles succeeded in conquering Lorraine, but an expedition against the
Swiss ended in the defeat of Grandson (February 1476). In the same year the
duke was again beaten at Morat, and the Burgundian nobles had to abandon to
the victors a considerable amount of booty. Finally the duke of Lorraine
returned to his dominions; Charles advanced against him, but on the 6th of
January 1477 he was defeated and killed before Nancy.
By his wife, Isabella of Bourbon, he only left a daughter, Mary, and Louis
XI. claimed possession of her inheritance as guardian to the young
princess. He succeeded in getting himself acknowledged in the duchy and
countship of Burgundy, which were occupied by French garrisons. But Mary,
alarmed by this annexation, and by the insurrection at Ghent (secretly
fomented by Louis), decided to marry the archduke Maximilian of Austria, to
whom she had already been promised (August 1477), and hostilities soon
broke out between the two princes. Mary died through a fall from her horse
in March 1482, and in the same year the treaty of Arras confirmed Louis XI.
in possession of the duchy. Franche-Comte and Artois were to form the dowry
of the little Margaret of Burgundy, daughter of Mary and Maximilian, who
was promised in marriage to the dauphin. As to the lands proceeding from
the succession of Charles the Bold, which had returned to the Empire
(Brabant, Hainaut, Limburg, Namur, Gelderland, &c.), they constituted the
"Circle of Burgundy" from 1512 onward.
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