The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the

County of Nevers The County of Nevers () was a county in central France. Its principal town was Nevers. It roughly corresponds to the later Provinces of France, province of Nivernais and the modern of Departments of France, department of Nièvre.duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

in the peerage of France in 1539 under the dukes of Nevers.

History

The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected to the

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...

. The counts also held the

County of Auxerre The County of Auxerre was a medieval and early modern county in the West Frankish Kingdom, and consequently in the Kingdom of France. Its capital was the city of Auxerre. It was commonly associated with the Duchy of Burgundy. History The f ...

in the 11th and 12th centuries, and the county was held by the

count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the c ...

and then the duke of Burgundy again in the 14th century. In 1539, it became a duchy in the

peerage of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

. For a time, it was held by a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the

House of Gonzaga The House of Gonzaga (, ) is an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy from 1328 to 1708 (first as a captaincy-general, then Margraviate of Mantua, margraviate, and finally Duchy of Mantua, duchy). They also ruled M ...

. This branch inherited the

Duchy of Mantua The Duchy of Mantua (; ) was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. In 1531, the duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marr ...

from the senior Gonzaga line (when it became extinct in 1627) and ruled Mantua until 1708, when the branch died out in the male line. Charles IV Gonzaga sold the duchies of Nevers and Rethel in 1659 to

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

. His family held the duchy of Nevers until the French Revolution.

Counts of Nevers

* Otto-Henry (c.973–987;

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

, 965–1002) * Otto-William (987–992;

(contender), 1002–1004) * Landry (992–1028) * Renaud I (also Count of Auxerre, 1031–1040) *

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

(also Count of Auxerre, 1040–1083) * Renaud II (also Count of Auxerre, 1083–1097) * William II (also Count of Auxerre, 1097–1148) * William III (also Count of Auxerre, 1148–1161) *

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

(also Count of Auxerre, 1161–1168) * Guy (also Count of Auxerre, 1168–1175) *

William V William V may refer to: * William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030) * William V of Montpellier (1075–1121) * William V, Marquess of Montferrat (1191) * William V, Count of Nevers (before 11751181) * William V, Duke of Jülich (1299–1361) * Will ...

(also Count of Auxerre, 1175–1181) * Agnes I (1181–1192) **

Peter II of Courtenay Peter II of Courtenay (; died 1219), was emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople from 1216 to 1217. Biography Peter II was a son of Peter I of Courtenay (died 1183), a younger son of Louis VI of France and his second wife, Adelaide of Mau ...

(1184–1192;

Latin Emperor The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was reconquered by the Byzantine Greeks in 12 ...

, 1216–1217) * Matilda I (1192–1257) ** Hervé (1199–1223) *** Agnès II, who married Philip, eldest son of the future Louis VIII of France, then Guy II of Saint-Pol **** Yolande I, who married

Archambaud IX of Bourbon Archambaud IX of Bourbon (died 15 January 1249), called "''Le Jeune''" ("The Young"), was a ruler (sire) of Bourbonnais in the modern region of Auvergne (region), Auvergne, France. He was the son of Archambaud VIII of Bourbon. He married Yolande ...

, had Matilda II ** Guigues (1226–1241) *

Matilda II The Infantry Tank Mark II, better known as the Matilda, is a British infantry tank of the Second World War.Jentz, p. 11. The design began as the A12 specification in 1936, as a gun-armed counterpart to the first British infantry tank, the mac ...

(also Countess of Auxerre, 1257–1262) ** Odo (also Count of Auxerre, 1257–1262) * Yolande II (1262–1280) ** John Tristan (1265–1270) ** Robert III (1272–1280);

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the c ...

(1305–1322) *

Louis I Louis I may refer to: Cardinals * Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578) Counts * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois (1172–1205) * Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346) * Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...

(1280–1322), son of Yolande II and Robert III * Louis II (also

, 1322–1346) *

Louis III Louis III may refer to: * Louis the Younger, sometimes III of Germany (835–882) * Louis III of France (865–882) * Louis the Blind, Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, (c. 880–928) * Louis the Child, sometimes III of Germany (893–911) * Louis III ...

(also

, 1346–1384) (on his death, the title passed directly to his grandson John, although John's mother

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

Countess of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the c ...

, and her husband Philip II, Duke of Burgundy received other titles) *

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 ...

(1384–1404; John the Fearless,

, 1404–1419) * Philip II (1404–1415), younger brother of John the Fearless * Charles I (1415–1464) * John II (1464–1491) * Engelbert (1491–1506) * Charles II (1506–1521) * François I (1521-1539)

Dukes of Nevers

In 1539 the county of Nevers was raised to a duchy. * François I (1539–1561) (His mother, Marie of Albret (d. 1549), widow of Charles II, also took the title in 1539, even though it was her son and his wife who became the actual duke and duchess.) * François II (1561–1563) *

Jacques Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

(1563–1564), his brother * Henriette (1564–1601), his sister **

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 ...

(1566–1595), her husband *

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 ...

(1595–1637), also

Duke of Mantua During its Timeline of Mantua, history as independent entity, Mantua had different rulers who governed on the city and the lands of Mantua from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. From 970 to 1115, the Counts of Mantua were members of ...

(1627–1637) * Charles IV (1637–1659), also

(1637–1665), sold the Duchies of Nevers and Rethel in 1659 to Cardinal Mazarin *

(1659–1661) * Philippe Jules (1661–1707), his nephew * Philippe Jules François (1707–1768) * Louis-Jules (1768–1798)

Sources

External links

Nevers and the Counts of Nevers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Counts And Dukes Of Nevers

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...