{{Short description, Countship
The count of Vienne was the ruler of the Viennois, with his seat at Vienne, during the period of the
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...
and after until 1030, when the county of Vienne was granted to the
Archdiocese of Vienne
The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in Vienne in the Isère département of southern France, was a metropolitan Roman Catholic archdiocese. It is now part of the Archdiocese of Lyon.
History
The legend according to wh ...
.
Girart de Roussillon
Girart de Roussillon, also called ''Girard'', ''Gérard II'', ''Gyrart de Vienne,'' and ''Girart de Fraite'', (c. 810–877/879?) was a Frankish Burgundian leader who became Count of Paris in 837, and embraced the cause of Lothair I against Char ...
ruled Provence from Vienne in the mid-ninth century. His successor in Vienne was Boso I of Arles, who tried to carve out a kingdom of his own in Provence from Vienne in 878–879.
Hugh of Arles
Hugh of Italy ( 880/885 – April 10, 948), known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until 947, and regent in Lower Burgundy and Provence from 911 to 933. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign in ...
was the first known count of Vienne from sometime before 905 until 926, when he was in Italy claiming the
Iron Crown of Lombardy
The Iron Crown (in Italian, Latin, and Lombard: ''Corona Ferrea''; ) is a reliquary votive crown, traditionally considered one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. It was made in the Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and j ...
. In his absence,
Louis the Blind
Louis the Blind ( – 5 June 928) was king in Provence and Lower Burgundy from 890 to 928, and also king of Italy from 900 to 905, and also the emperor between 901 and 905, styled as Louis III. His father was king Boso, from the Bosonid family ...
,
king of Provence
The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...
, transferred Vienne to his own son, Charles-Constantine. In September 928, Hugh met with Herbert II of Vermandois and invested Herbert's son Odo with Vienne in opposition to Charles-Constantine. Charles, however, succeeded in reoccupying Vienne by 931 with the aid of
Rudolph of France
Rudolph (), sometimes called Ralph (; 890 – 14/15 January 936), was the king of West Francia (France) from 923 until his death in 936. He was elected to succeed his father-in-law, Robert I, and spent much of his reign defending his realm from ...
, to whom he gave his fealty. Briefly dispossessed by Hugh Taillefer, an ally of King Hugh, Charles succeeded retaking Vienne in 931 with the aid of Rudolph and his men.
Until 23 June 962, Charles-Constantine ruled Vienne, the former capital of the extinct kingdom of his father. After his death on that date, Vienne was inherited by his daughter
Constance
Constance may refer to:
Places
* Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community
* Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community
* Mount Constance, Washington State, United States
* Lake Constance (disambiguat ...
and passed to her husband,
Boso II of Arles
Boson II of Arles (c. 928 – 965/67) was Count of Avignon from 935 and Count of Arles from 949. Around 953, Boso II married Constance, possibly a daughter of the Bivinid Charles Constantine, Count of Vienne, from whom he got two sons: Rotbo ...
. Boso's descendants accumulated many counties in Provence and succeeded eventually in making themselves margraves of Provence.
In 1030, Vienne was ceded to Archbishop Burchard, however, and he immediately divided the lordship into two counties. He elevated
Guigues III of Albon
Guigues the Old, called Guigues III (born 1050/1060; died 21 December 1133), was a Count of Albon from 1079, when the County of Vienne, then in the possession of the Archdiocese of Vienne, was divided between him and Humbert I of Savoy, who rec ...
, one of his powerful vassals, to the status of count and he granted
Maurienne
Maurienne (; ; ) is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
Location
The Maurienne val ...
as a county to Humbert of the White Hands. Nevertheless, a county of Vienne continued to exist in a much diminished form. From 1085 to 1261, it was held by the
counts of Mâcon
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
. In the latter year, the last countess,
Alice
Alice may refer to:
* Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname
Literature
* Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll
* ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
, sold it, along with Mâcon, to King
Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...