Forez is a former province of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) 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 Rhôn ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' and a part of the

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger 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, ...

and

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label= Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) 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 Rhôn ...

. The name is derived from the city of

Feurs Feurs (; frp, Fuèrs) is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department of Loire (department), Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. History Antiquity The city was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans. The name Feurs is a ...

Franco-Provençal Franco-Provençal (also Francoprovençal, Patois or Arpitan) is a language within Gallo-Romance originally spoken in east-central France, western Switzerland and northwestern Italy. Franco-Provençal has several distinct dialects and is separ ...

is the language that was historically spoken in the region. The city of

Montbrison, Loire Montbrison (; frp, Montbréson) is a commune and a subprefecture of the Loire department in central France. Montbrison was the historical capital of the counts of Forez, and today it is the principal city in the Forez. The commune gives its ...

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.

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 Savigny Abbey (''Abbaye de Savigny'') was a monastery near the village of Savigny-le-Vieux ( Manche), in northern France. It was founded early in the 12th century. Initially it was the central house of the Congregation of Savigny, who were Bene ...

*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 Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three church ...

*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 (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops 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 bipeds 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 Va ...

'' (died 1011/1016), from the ruling house of

Gévaudan Gévaudan (; oc, Gavaudan, Gevaudan) is a historical area of France in Lozère ''département''. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni. History After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans preserved the c ...

, 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, also rendered Eustis, ( ) 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/Fe ...

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

Guînes Guînes (; vls, Giezene, lang; pcd, Guinne) 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, comple ...

, 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 (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in F ...

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

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I ...

(1279–1333) * Guigues VII (VIII) (1333–1358) * Louis (1358–1362) * John II (1362–1369) * Jeanne (1369–1372) * Anne (1372–1417)

House of Bourbon

(1417–1434) *

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

(1434–1456) * John II (1456–1488) * Charles II (1488) * Peter (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. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...

(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