Burgundy is a region of eastern France. It owes its name to the Burgundians, a Germanic tribe who had migrated southwards from Bornholm (Denmark) and settled on the banks of the Rhine. Following their defeat by the Huns, the Romans allocated them new territory in Savoy (in the French Alps). In 1363 the Duchy of Burgundy was given by the King of France to his son Philip the Bold (1342-1404). It was his marriage to Margaret, heiress to the county of Flanders, that laid the foundation for the later Burgundian dynasty. Their grandson, Philip the Good (1396-1467), set up 'States' (assemblies of representatives of the 'three estates': nobility, clergy and towns) as a form of limited central government in his kingdom. By the fourteenth century, the Low Countries had more or less evolved into independent territories with their own privileges. The States were entitled to decide what financial contributions these territories should make to central government. Later, the States found ways of extending their powers further. In 1464 delegates from all the States assembled for the first time in Bruges. This event is regarded as the first meeting of the body later to be known as the States General (still the official name of the Dutch parliament).

In 1467, Charles the Bold (1433-1477), son of Philip the Good, became duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Limburg and Luxembourg and count of Flanders, Holland and Zeeland. Charles the Bold is mainly remembered for his attempt to revive the middle kingdom of Lotharingia in the face of opposition from the French king Louis XI. He also established a number of central government institutions including a central court of audit and a supreme law court, the Parlement of Mechlin.

Under the Burgundians, trade, industry and the arts all flourished. Antwerp became the principal port of the Low Countries and the thriving cloth industry was a major source of income. Great artists appeared on the scene, notably in the southern Netherlands, where Jan van Eyck, court painter to Philip the Good, painted the celebrated altarpiece, 'The Adoration of the Lamb'. Another great artist active at this time was Hieronymus Bosch. The first university in the Low Countries was founded at Louvain and the invention of the printing press by the German goldsmith Johan Gutenberg around 1440 led to the emergence of a recorded lay literature. 'Charles and Elegast', a Dutch-language tale of chivalry featuring Charlemagne, was particularly popular among the nobility and educated bourgeoisie during the Burgundian era and was seen by them as exemplifying the ideal relationship between prince and subject.

In 1477 Charles the Bold died in battle at Nancy and the duchy of Burgundy reverted to the French crown. The other Burgundian lands, including the Low Countries, passed into the hands of the Habsburgs (the ruling house of the Holy Roman Empire) with the marriage between Charles' daughter Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian I of Austria.

The late 14th century saw growing criticism of the church in the Low Countries. This would eventually lead to a schism within the Roman Catholic church.