The Burgundians, a Germanic tribe, are believed to have migrated from Bornholm to the Vistula basin in the 3rd century CE, with their first documented king, Gjúki (Gebicca), emerging in the late 4th century east of the Rhine. In 406 CE, along with other tribes, they invaded Roman Gaul and later settled in Germania Secunda as foederati. By 411 CE, under King Gunther, they expanded their territory in Roman Gaul. Despite their status, their raids led to a Roman crackdown in 436, culminating in their defeat and Gunther's death in 437 by Hun mercenaries.

Gunderic succeeded Gunther, leading the Burgundians to resettle in present-day northeastern France and western Switzerland around 443. Conflicts with the Visigoths and alliances, notably with Roman general Aetius against the Huns in 451, marked this period. Gunderic's death in 473 led to the division of the kingdom among his sons, with Gundobad becoming notable for securing the kingdom's expansions and codifying the Lex Burgundionum.

The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 did not halt the Burgundians, as King Gundobad allied with the Frankish king Clovis I. However, the kingdom's decline began with internal strife and external pressures, notably from the Franks. Gundobad's murder of his brother and the subsequent marriage alliance with the Merovingians led to a series of conflicts, culminating in the Burgundian defeat at the Battle of Autun in 532 and their incorporation into the Frankish kingdom in 534.