The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval feudal state ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It was also known as Franche-Comté, from  meaning 'free count', and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It bordered the Duchy of Burgundy to the west, which was part of France from 843.

The territory had previously been part of the kingdom of Upper Burgundy (888–933). The county was formed in 982 by Otto-William for the lands he held in the Kingdom of Arles (outside the duchy's borders). In 1032 the Kingdom of Arles was inherited by Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, who incorporated the County of Burgundy into the Holy Roman Empire (HRE). The county briefly gained independence in the 12th century, before being re-incorporated into the empire by Frederick Barbarossa.

As a state of the HRE, the county was granted a high degree of autonomy. The largest city, Besançon, was granted the status of free imperial city. The rest of the county was given imperial immediacy (making it an imperial county) and its rulers were given the title of , from which the French and English names of the county are derived.

From 1295 the county began to fall under the increasing influence of France and the House of Burgundy, which ruled the duchy. From 1330 to 1361 and again from 1405 to 1477, there was a personal union between the county (part of the HRE) and the adjacent duchy (part of France). In 1493 the county was transferred to Habsburg Spain, which ruled it until it was conquered by France in 1674. French rule was made permanent by the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678.

Formation within the kingdom of Arles 
The area previously formed part of the Kingdom of the Burgundians, which had been annexed by the Franks in 534 and incorporated into the Kingdom of the Franks. The Empire was partitioned in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun, with the area west of the Saône river being allotted to West Francia as the French Duchy of Burgundy, while the southern and eastern parts of the former Burgundian kingdom fell to Middle Francia under Emperor Lothair I. This Middle Frankish part became the two independent entities of southern Lower Burgundy in 879 and northern Upper Burgundy under King Rudolph I in 888. The region that would become Franche-Comté was then included in Upper Burgundy, centred around the city of Besançon. In 933, with the collapse of the Carolingian Empire, Lower and Upper Burgundy were re-united under King [[Rudolph II of Burgundy|Rudolph II]] as the Kingdom of Arles (Arelat).

In 982, Otto-William (son of Adalbert of Lombardy) married Ermentrude of Roucy. Erementrude was a widow, whose previous husband was had been count of Mâcon (in the Duchy of Burgundy) and controlled additional lands around Besançon and Dole. These lands were then ruled by Otto-William in right of his wife. Otto-William was already the adopted heir of Henry I, Duke of Burgundy, so expected to inherit the entire duchy when Henry died. The lands outside the duchy, that Otto-William had acquired through Ermentrude, were organised as the new County of Burgundy.

Henry I died in 1002, at which point Otto-William claimed the Duchy of Burgundy. However, king Robert II of France refused to recognise the adoption and claimed the duchy as the nephew of Henry I. This started a war between the two claimants. After a few years of conflict, Robert II prevailed in the duchy; he would later grant it to his son Robert I, Duke of Burgundy, keeping the Crown of his elder son Hugues. Otto-William remained in control of the county of Mâcon, and therferore strengthened its grip in the County, fief of the Kingdom of Burgundy.

Otto-William and Ermentrude became the progenitors of the Anscarid dynasty. The development of commercial routes across the Jura mountains and the development of salt mines assured the prosperity of the county, and for several decades its towns preserved their freedom and neutrality.

As part of the Holy Roman Empire 

The Arelat kingdom collapsed with the extinction the ruling line in 1032. The County of Burgundy was inherited by the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II of the Salian dynasty, while the Duchy of Burgundy returned to a cadet branch of the French Capetian dynasty.

At the end of the 11th century Conrad's son Emperor Henry III elevated the Archbishop of Besançon to the dignity of an archchancellor and conferred upon Besançon the rank of a  (imperial city) under the Emperor's direct patronage. Guy of Burgundy, brother of Renaud II, later became pope and negotiated the Concordat of Worms with Emperor Henry V. In the 12th century, Imperial protection allowed for the development of Besançon, but in 1127, after the assassination of William III, his cousin Renaud III shook off the Imperial yoke. Burgundy was from then on called , the "free county".

Emperor Frederick Barbarossa re-established imperial influence. Frederick took the brother of Count William IV prisoner, then when William died Frederick married William's niece and heir, Beatrice I (daughter of Renaud III). Upon Emperor Frederick's death in 1190, his younger son Otto I received the county of Burgundy and assumed the rare (possibly unique) title of archcount. He was succeeded by his daughter, Beatrice II, and her husband Otto I, Duke of Merania; they were in turn followed by their son, Otto III, Count of Burgundy, and their daughter, Adelaide.

The Counts Palatine for many years had to share power with the greater feudal families of the county, notably with the family of Chalon, which was descended from Stephen III, count of Auxonne, grandson of William IV and Beatrice of Thiern, the heir of the county of Chalon. The authority of the counts was re-established only by the marriage of Hugh of Chalon with Adelaide, the sister and heiress. However, this did not prevent a younger son, John of Chalon-Arlay, from taking control of the vassal states.

Otto IV, son of Hugh and Adelaide, was the last of the feudal counts of Burgundy. He married first the daughter of the Count of Bar, but the marriage was childless. His second marriage was to the grandniece of King Louis IX of France, Countess Mahaut of Artois. This marriage brought the county under French influence. The daughters of Otto IV and Mahaut, Joan II and Blanche, married respectively Philip V and Charles IV of France, sons of King Philip IV. Jeanne became Queen of France after having been involved in the Tour de Nesle Affair. In that same affair, Blanche was found guilty of adultery and was imprisoned for the rest of her life.

Burgundian unions 

After quarrelling with his barons, and after a new revolt against the French carried out by John of Chalon-Arlay, Otto IV ceded the county to his daughter as a dowry and designated the King of France as administrator of the dowry in 1295. By marrying their daughter and heir Joan, Duke Odo IV of Burgundy reunited the duchy and the county under his rule, followed by his grandson Duke Philip I. The personal union was again broken when Philip died without heirs in 1361: the Duchy of Burgundy was seized as a reverted fief by King John II of France, while the Imperial county was inherited by Philip's great aunt Margaret I, a granddaughter of Count Otto IV. In 1382, she bequeathed her estates to her son Count Louis II of Flanders.

Louis II died in 1384 leaving no male heirs, so the County of Burgundy formed part of the immense dowry of his daughter Margaret, which in 1405 was inherited by her son, the Burgundian duke John the Fearless. The county and the duchy were again ruled in personal union by his descendants from the House of Valois-Burgundy until the death of Duke Charles the Bold at the 1477 Battle of Nancy. His cousin King Louis XI of France immediately occupied the county, but  Archduke Maximilian I of Habsburg opposed this action, because he was the husband of Charles' daughter Mary the Rich. Though defeated at the 1479 Battle of Guinegate, the French retained the county.

Spanish possession 
Louis' successor King Charles VIII of France, wishing to be free of conflicts over the county in order to intervene in Naples, again ceded it to Emperor Maximilian and his son Philip I of Castile by the 1493 Treaty of Senlis. From that point onwards, the County of Burgundy was ruled by Habsburg Spain, who administered it as part of the Habsburg Netherlands. The Spanish Road trade route ran through the county, connecting the various Spanish possessions in the region.

The county was invaded by France in 1668, as part of the War of Devolution. Multiple cities surrendered to the French after little fighting, but were returned as part of the wider Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle later that year.

Conquest by France 
France invaded again in 1674, as part of the Franco-Dutch war, again overrunning the country with little resistance. The Treaties of Nijmegen ended the war in 1678; as part of the third treaty (between France and Spain), the county was transferred to France in exchange for the return of French-occupied territory in the Spanish Netherlands.

The territory of Franche-Comté has remained part of France uninterrupted ever since; it now forms part of the administrative region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

See also
 List of counts of Burgundy
 Kingdom of Burgundy
 Kings of Burgundy
 Duchy of Burgundy
 Duke of Burgundy
 Dukes of Burgundy family tree
 Free Imperial City of Besançon

References

External links
 The History Files: Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy

 
Burgundian Circle
History of Franche-Comté
Burgundy, County
867 establishments
States and territories disestablished in 1678
1400s in the Burgundian Netherlands
980s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1678 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
982 establishments
Spanish Empire in Europe
부르고뉴 자유백국(, ) 또는 부르고뉴 백국은 신성로마제국의 백국 중 하나였다. 오늘날의 프랑스 부르고뉴프랑슈콩테 레지옹 동부에 위치했다. 서쪽으로 프랑스의 봉신국인 부르고뉴 공국과 접했다.

이 지역은 원래 부르군트인들의 왕국(부르군트 제1왕국)이 있던 자리로, 534년 프랑크인들에게 정복되었다. 843년 베르됭 조약으로 프랑크 왕국이 분할되면서 손강 서안은 서프랑크 왕국에, 동안은 중프랑크 왕국에 속했다. 손강 동안은 888년 상부르군트와 하부르군트로 나뉘었는데 그 중 상부르군트의 서부 지역이 부르군트 백국이 된다.

933년 카롤루스 제국이 붕괴하면서 상하 부르군트는 부르군트 제2왕국으로 통일되었다. 1032년 부르군트 왕국의 혈통이 단절되면서 왕위가 신성로마황제 콘라트 2세에게 넘어갔다. 비슷한 즈음 손강 서안에서는 프랑스의 카페 왕가가 부르고뉴 공국을 설치했다.

이탈리아왕 아달베르투스 2세 이브렌시스의 아들 오토 빌헬름은 부르고뉴 공국의 봉신인 마콩 백작이었는데, 982년 모계로부터 손강 서안을 물려받았다. 오토 빌헬름은 이 때부터 이브레아가의 시조가 되는데, 1002년 계부인 부르고뉴 공작 앙리 1세가 죽자 부르고뉴 공국에 대한 계승권을 주장했다. 하지만 실패하고 그의 영지는 손강 이서에 한정되었는데, 이로써 부르군트 백국이 정립되었다. 부르군트 백국은 쥐라산맥을 넘는 교역로를 뚫고 암염광을 개발하여 번성했다.

11세기 말 신성로마황제 하인리히 3세는 비잔츠 대주교를 대재상으로 임명하고 비잔츠를 자유제국도시로 삼아(비잔츠 자유시) 자신의 직속 봉신으로 삼았다. 1122년에는 라이날트 2세의 동생 구이도(훗날의 교황 갈리스토 2세)가 황제 하인리히 5세와 보름스 협약을 맺었다. 비잔츠는 황제의 보호를 받으며 12세기 내내 번영했으나 1127년 부르군트 백작 빌헬름 3세가 암살당하고 그 사촌으로서 작위를 계승한 라이날트 3세는 황제의 영향력을 물리쳤다. 이로써 부르군트 백국은 "자유백국(, )이라고 불리게 되었다.

하지만 프리드리히 1세 바르바로사 황제는 다시 부르군트 백국에 황제권을 다시 세웠고, 부르군트 백작 빌헬름 4세의 조카이자 라이놀트 3세의 딸 베아트릭스 1세와 결혼했다. 빌헬름 4세와 프리드리히 황제가 죽으면서 프리드리히의 5남 오토가 오토 1세로 부르군트 백작위를 계승했다. 오토는 대백작(archcount)이라는 희한한(어쩌면 유일한) 작위를 자칭했다. 오토 1세의 딸 베아트릭스 2세가 백작위를 계승했고, 베아트릭스 2세는 메라니엔 공작 오토 1세와 결혼했다. 그들의 아들 오토 3세와 딸 아델라이데가 순서대로 백작위를 계승했다.

아델라이데는 강력한 봉신인 샬롱 백작 위그와 결혼했다. 아델라이데와 위그의 아들 오토 4세는 마지막 봉건 부르군트 백작이었다. 오토 4세는 처음에는 바르 백작의 딸과 결혼했다가 이후 마오 드 아르투아 여백작과 재혼했는데, 마오는 프랑스 국왕 루이 9세의 질녀였다. 그리하여 부르군트 백국은 프랑스의 영향권에 들어가게 되었다. 오토 4세와 마오의 딸 요하나 2세와 블랑카는 각각 프랑스 국왕 필리프 4세의 아들인 필리프와 샤를과 결혼했다. 그리함으로써 요하나는 프랑스 왕비가 되었다. 요하나와 블랑카는 1314년 궁중 성추문인 넬탑 사건에 연루되었다. 요하나는 무죄를 선고받았으나 블랑카는 간통죄 유죄를 선고받아 여생을 감옥에서 보내다 옥사했다.

필리프 5세와 요하나의 딸 요하나 3세가 외드 4세 드 부르고뉴 공작과 결혼함으로써 부르고뉴 공국과 부르군트 백국은 근 400년 만에 통일되었다. 하지만 외드와 요하나의 손자 필리프가 1361년 후사 없이 죽으면서 동군연합이 붕괴했다. 부르고뉴 공국은 프랑스 국왕 장 2세에게 개역되었고, 부르군트 백국은 오토 4세의 손녀 마르가레트 1세에게 계승되었다. 마르가레트는 1382년 자기 영지들을 아들 루이 2세 드 플랑드르 백작에게 물려주었다.

루이 2세는 남자 상속자 없이 1384년 죽었고, 부르군트 백국은 루이 2세의 딸 마르가레트에게 계승되었다. 1405년 마르가레트의 아들 부르고뉴 공작 장 용맹공이 부르군트 백국을 물려받음으로써 다시 부르고뉴 공국과 백국이 통일되었다. 이 동군연합은 1477년 낭시 전투에서 샤를 용담공이 죽을 때까지 지속되었다. 샤를 용담공이 죽은 직후, 그 사촌 루이 11세가 부르군트 백국을 차지했다. 하지만 샤를의 딸 마리 부귀공과 결혼한 오스트리아 대공 막시밀리안 폰 합스부르크가 강력한 이의를 제기하면서 부르고뉴 계승전쟁이 일어났다. 루이 11세의 후계자 샤를 8세는 나폴리 왕국에 개입하는 대신 부르군트 백국을 포기하기로 했고, 1493년 상리스 조약으로 부르군트 백국은 신성로마황제로 즉위한 막시밀리안에게 할양되었다. 그 뒤 부르군트 백국은 막시밀리안 황제의 아들인 카스티야 국왕 펠리페 1세가 물려받았다. 1512년에는 부르군트 관구에 소속되었다.

부르군트 백국은 네덜란드와 함께 계속 합스부르크 스페인의 소유로 남아 있다가 1678년 네이메헌 조약으로 프랑스에 완전히 넘어감으로써 소멸했다.

부르군트 관구
 
부르고뉴프랑슈콩테의 역사
867년 설립
1678년 폐지
신성 로마 제국의 백국