Forez (; ) is a former province of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' and a part of the

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, Lozère, Canta ...

and

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2021, it had a population of 662,285.Forez mountains The Forez mountains (, ) are a mountain range in the Massif Central separating the Dore (river), Dore valley from the Forez plain. They reach their highest point at Pierre-sur-Haute, with an altitude of 1,631 meters. Geography Location The Fo ...

(on the border between

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2021, it had a population of 662,285.Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

. The name is derived from the city of

Feurs Feurs (; ) is a commune in the department of Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. History Antiquity The city was founded by the Romans. The name ''Feurs'' is a contraction of ''Forum Segusiavorum'', in reference to the forum of the Gallo-Ro ...

Franco-Provençal Franco-Provençal (also Francoprovençal, Patois or Arpitan) is a Gallo-Romance languages, Gallo-Romance language that originated and is spoken in eastern France, western Switzerland, and northwestern Italy. Franco-Provençal has several di ...

is the language that was historically spoken in the region. Carte du Lyonnais

The city of Montbrison, Loire is considered the historical capital of the Forez. Residents of the Forez are called Foréziens. The rue du Forez in the third arrondissement of Paris was built in the late 16th century and appears on Turgot's map of Paris. Honoré d'Urfé was a native of Forez, and set his novel '' L'Astrée'' there.

List of counts of Forez

The origins of the county of Forez are obscure. There are several early figures who are sometimes supposed to have been counts of Forez. Whether these are considered counts or not can affect the numbering offered for the later counts. *William (I), recorded as a count in 925 in a document of the Abbey of Savigny *William (II), recorded as a count in 944 in a document of the

Abbey of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with ...

*Artaud (I), alleged brother of William (II), died 960 *Gerard (I), alleged son of Artaud (I), died 990 The counts of Forez were also counts of Lyon in the Empire until 1173, when the countship of Lyon passed to the

Archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...

House of Forez

* Artaud I (II) (died before 1010) **''

Pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other mammals, lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of ...

'' (died 1011/1016), from the ruling house of Gévaudan, ruled Forez through marriage * Artaud II (III) (died c.1017) * Gerard I (II) (died after 1046) * Artaud III (IV) (died 1079) * William I (III) (1079–1097) * William II (IV) (died after 1107) *

Eustace Eustace ( ) is the rendition in English of two phonetically similar Greek given names: *Εὔσταχυς (''Eústachys'') meaning "fruitful", "fecund"; literally "abundant in grain"; its Latin equivalents are ''Fæcundus/Fecundus'' *Εὐστά ...

(died 1110/1117) **'' Guy'' (1107?–1115?), from the ruling house of

Guînes Guînes (; ; ) is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. Historically, it was spelt ''Guisnes''. On 7 January 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French pioneer in hydrogen-balloon flight, completed the first aerial crossi ...

, ruled Forez through marriage The period between 1096 and 1115 is uncertain owing to a lack of sources.

House of Albon

* Guigues I (II) (1107?–1138), son of Guiges-Raymond (sometimes numbered Guigues I) and Ide-Raymond, daughter of Artaud III * Guigues II (III) (1138–1199) * Guigues III (IV) (1199–1203) * Guigues IV (V) (1203–1241) * Guigues V (VI) (1241–1259) *

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (; born 11 May 1952 in Paris), known as Renaud, is a French singer-songwriter. With twenty-six albums to his credit, selling nearly twenty million copies, he is one of France's most popular singers. Several of h ...

(1259–1270) * Guigues VI (VII) (1270–1279) *

John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...

(1279–1333) * Guigues VII (VIII) (1333–1358) *

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

(1358–1362) * John II (1362–1369) * Jeanne (1369–1372) *

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

(1372–1417)

House of Bourbon

(1417–1434) * Charles I (1434–1456) * John II (1456–1488) * Charles II (1488) *

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

(1488–1503) * Suzanne (1505–1521) **

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

(1505–1521), count by marriage

House of Savoy

* Louise (1521–1531) United to the French crown in 1531.

Appanage

* Henry (1566–1574), future King Henry III United to the French crown permanently in 1574.

References

* Aug. Bernard jeune, ''Histoire du Forez'', Bernard ainé impr., Montbrison, 1835. {{Authority control Former provinces of France Geography of Loire (department) Geography of Haute-Loire History of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes