The Lyonnais () is a historical province of France which owes its name to the city of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

. The geographical area known as the ''Lyonnais'' became part of the

Kingdom of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various states located in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The historical Burgundy correlates with the border area of France, Italy and Switzerland and includes the major modern cities of Geneva a ...

after the division of the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...

. The disintegration of Imperial control, especially after the fall of the

Hohenstaufens The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

in 1254, led to French encroachment and eventual acquisition by King Philip IV of France in 1313. Lyonnais now often simply refers to the area around the city of

. The local speech-form known as ''Lyonnais'' is a dialect of the Francoprovençal language that is spoken in the region, but its use is marginal.

External links

* Former provinces of France {{RhoneAlpes-geo-stub