Valois Burgundy died with Charles the Bold at Nancy in 1477
The Duchy of Burgundy was a French feudal giant, distinct from the neighbouring Free County (Franche-Comté). Capetian dukes rooted it in the modern Bourgogne heartland; Valois dukes then built a sprawling Burgundian State until Charles the Bold fell at Nancy in 1477 and the dynasty’s male line snapped.
In 1004 Henry of France inherited the duchy, then passed it as an appanage to brother Robert in 1032, founding a Capetian cadet house over lands roughly matching today’s region. Far older layers linger: fifth-century East Germanic Burgundians settled around Dijon, Chalon, Mâcon, Autun, and Châtillon, bequeathing their name; Frankish rulers later kept Burgundian law semi-autonomous until eighth-century raids and Charles Martel’s reorganisation.
Carolingian collapse and Verdun’s 843 partition scrambled counties into what became both duchy and Free County. Local magnates picked sides while emperors quarrelled, as when Provençal count Guerin backed Charles the Bald at Fontenay in 841. Geography slowly hardened into the two Burgundies France and the Empire would contest for centuries.
The first ruler recorded with the ducal title was Richard the Justiciar, who became count of Autun in 880, gathered neighbouring counties and was styled duke of Burgundy by 918. His son Rudolph drew on Burgundian resources to become king of France in 923. When Duke Henry the Venerable died in 1002, King Robert the Pious and Henry's adopted stepson Otto-William both claimed the duchy; Robert needed thirteen years of fighting to win it, securing the counties west of the Saône, Dijon among them, for the French crown.
The Capetian dukes inherited little real power, since earlier rulers had handed out most of their lands and the Abbot of Cluny claimed exemption from secular lords. Methodical rather than brilliant, they rebuilt their domain through escheat and set up a small court on the Parisian model, a council at Beaune mirroring the Parlement of Paris, and five bailiwicks. Their male line died with Philip I in 1361 and the duchy reverted to John II. After Charles the Bold's death, Louis XI took the duchy, while most Low Countries lands passed to his daughter Mary.
Source: Duchy of Burgundy
