Burgundy: The emergence of Europe

The important role that Burgundy played in the emergence of European civilization is the leitmotif of this website.

In a constant battle of ideas and contradictions, a unique culture developed in Burgundy because here, for the first time, all the ingredients that would eventually make up Europe came together: Greek, Roman and (often overlooked:) Celtic culture, Christianity, monasticism all absorbed by German tribes, (especially Burgundians and Franks).  This mixture solidified under the Franks, whose empire defined core Europe under Charlemagne.

In the Middle Ages, it was the Cluny Monastery and the Cistercians (both from Burgundy) who missioned Europe civilizationally, culturally and religiously. An example of this is the consecration of the monastery church of Cluny in 1132, by far the largest monument in Christendom. In order to complete the building, the pointed arch (which became one of the main characteristics of Gothic architecture) had to be invented because the oversized Romanesque vault had collapsed, as its round arches could not withstand the enormous forces.

It is not without a subtle irony that, of all people, an Irish wandering monk and founder of, among others, the abbeys Luxeuil in Burgundy and Bombium in Northern Italy, Saint Columban, used the term „Europe“ for the first time in a letter to Pope Gregory the Great for the Easter controversy. Kolumban speaks of the unity „totius Europae“ – the whole of Europe, where a uniform date of Easter should be valid.

„Invention“ of the Gothic – Emancipation from Antiquity

With the first Gothic cathedrals in Sens (Burgundy) and St Denis, built in the 11th century, Europe could culturally emancipate from antiquity. The Cistercians, with their many branch monasteries, became ambassadors of the Gothic and established a uniform educational program in Europe, based on the classical „artes liberales“ whose roots, like those of Europe, lay in Hellas.

Divided Burgundy: Best of two worlds

During most of the Middle Ages, Burgundy was divided : One half was part of the French Kingdom, while the other half belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. Under the House of Valois, the political entity of Burgundy reached its peak and its greatest expansion when parts of Belgium and the Netherlands came under the control of the Dukes of Burgundy and Dijon and Brussels were the capitals. After the death of Charles the Bold (in a battle against the „original Burgundians“, the Helvetians), not only did the crown go to the Habsburgs, they also adopted the cultural style and the motto „Bella garant alii. Tu felix Burgundia, nube“ was henceforth applied to „Austria“.

It was no coincidence that Napoleon fought his final battle in Waterloo near Brussels. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, which is still divided into a Walloon and a Flemish territory, like Burgundy, became the formal headquarters of the European Union in 1997.

In 1961 Roger Schutz founded a new international ecumenical order ten kilometers north of Cluny: The Taizé Community, about which Pope John Paul II said: „Oh, Taizé, that little springtime!“