The House of Vergy is one of the oldest French noble families, a cadet dynasty related to the 5th century

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

Kingdom of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various successive Monarchy, kingdoms centered in the historical region of Burgundy during the Middle Ages. The heartland of historical Burgundy correlates with the border area between France and Switze ...

, attested since the 9th century.

Château de Vergy

The reputedly impregnable Château de Vergy was sited on a rocky spur near

Beaune Beaune (; in Burgundian: ''Beane'') is widely considered to be the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and a major ...

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

(present-day communes of Reulle-Vergy,

L'Étang-Vergy L'Étang-Vergy () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France. The commu ...

and Curtil-Vergy). The first fort on the site dates to the Roman period. The medieval castle was razed in 1609 and only small traces remain.

Lords

7th century

The first known lord of Vergy is Guérin (Warin) de Vergy, brother of saint

Leodegar Leodegar of Poitiers (; ; 615 – October 2, 679 AD) was a martyred Burgundian Bishop of Autun. He was the son of Saint Sigrada and the brother of Saint Warinus. Leodegar was an opponent of Ebroin, the Frankish Mayor of the Palace of Neustria, ...

. Guérin was stoned around 681 at the foot of the rocky spur at Vergy, shortly after his brother's martyrdom.L'association L'Abbaye de Saint-Vivant

First House of Vergy (9th–10th centuries)

The first house of Vergy arose in the 9th century with Warin, or Guérin, I of Vergy(760 – >819), who was

count of Chalon The county of Chalon was a county within the Duchy of Burgundy centred on the city of Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Regions of Fra ...

and

count 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: ...

, then

count of Auvergne This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne. History In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The cou ...

(818). P. Guinard, ''Recherches sur les origines des seigneurs de Semur-en-Brionnais'', Semur-en-Brionnais, 1996 Se
Heratlas
, with the main lines.

Second House of Vergy (11th–12th centuries)

In the 12th century Vergy was considered one of the most impregnable fortresses in the kingdom by

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

took refuge there in 1159. It was during this era that the church of Saint-Saturnin was built, still to be seen today.

Castle (13th–17th century)

With the other Burgundian possessions, Vergy was merged into the royal domains in 1477, on the death of

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

. The castle was immediately ceded to William IV de Vergy-Autrey by

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

. In 1609, following the participation Charles of Lorraine (governor of Burgundy) in the Catholic League from 1589 onwards,

Henri IV Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

completely razed the castle. Except for the church of Saint-Saturnin, the burg of Vergy has now entirely disappeared.

Notable members

* (died 1428) * (died 1418), seneschal, marshal and governor of the

county of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the ''Free County''), and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to th ...

* (1375–1439), count of Dammartin, King's chamberlain,

marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

* (died 1460/1) *Pierre-Henri de Treyssac de Vergy (v. 1740 – 1774), writer, pamphleteer and diplomatic agent

Bishops of Autun The Diocese of Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny) (Latin: ''Diocesis Aeduensis'', ''Dioecesis Augustodunensis (–Cabillonensis–Matisconensis–Cluniacensis)''; French: ''Diocèse d'Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny)''), m ...

: * (895–919) *Hervé (920-c.929) *Guy de Vergy (1224–1245)

Bishops of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created i ...

: *Humbert de Vergy (1030–1060), lord of Vergy

Bishops of Mâcon A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

: *Renaud de Vergy (1185–1197)

Archbishops of Besançon In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

: *Guillaume de Vergy (1371–1391), made a cardinal in 1391 by

Antipope Clement VII Robert of Geneva (; 1342 – 16 September 1394) was elected to the papacy as Clement VII () by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI and was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election led to the Western Schism. The son of ...

, favourite of

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (; ), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War as his armies recovered much of the terri ...

* (1528–1541)

Vergy in medieval literature

* '' La Chastelaine de Vergy'' : 13th century

courtly romance Courtesy (from the word , from the 12th century) is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books. History The apex of European courtly culture was ...

, in octosyllabes, anonymous. Very popular in royal and noble courts,

Marguerite de Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (, ''Marguerite d'Alençon''; 11 April 149221 December 1549), also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Queen of Navarre by her second mar ...

made a summary of its plot in ''

Heptaméron The ''Heptaméron'' is a collection of 72 short stories written in French by Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549), published posthumously in 1558. It has the form of a frame narrative and was inspired by ''The Decameron'' of Giovanni Boccacc ...

'', printed in 1558. The story recounts the trials of the forbidden love suffered by a knight for the châtelaine of Vergy. * G. de Montreuil, ''La violette'' (or ''Gérard de Nevers'') : in this 13th-century chivalric romance, Gérard de Nevers defends the château de Vergy against another knight

Notes

Sources

* Duchesne, André, ''Grande Histoire de la Maison de Vergy'', Paris, 1625

External links

Members of the House of Vergy

on Portail Histoire Bourgogne France-Comté {{DEFAULTSORT:House of Vergy Vergy