The Duchy of Berry (; ; ) was a former province located in central France. It was a

province of France The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments (''départements'') and districts in late 1789. The provinces continued to exist administratively until ...

until departments replaced the provinces on 4 March 1790, when Berry became divided between the ''départements'' of

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

(Upper Berry) and Indre (Lower Berry).

History

Berry is notable as the birthplace of several kings and other members of the French royal family, and was the birthplace of the knight Baldwin Chauderon, who fought in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Berry became the center of the

Duchy of Berry Duke of Berry (french: Duc de Berry) or Duchess of Berry (french: Duchesse de Berry) was a title in the Peerage of France. The Berry, France, Duchy of Berry, centred on Bourges, was originally created as an appanage for junior members of the Hous ...

's holdings. It is also known for an

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

produced in the 14th–15th century called '' Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry''. In later times, the writer

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...

spent much of her life at her Berry estate in

Nohant Nohant-Vic () is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is located near La Châtre, on the D943, approximately southeast of Châteauroux and consists of two villages, Vic and Nohant, extended along the road. Geography The co ...

, and Berry's landscape and specific culture figure in much of Sand's writings. The Duchy was governed by the Duke/Duchess of Berry, who after 1601 was a senior member of the

French royal family France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the firs ...

. The title of 'Duke of Berry' was by this period divested of territorial significance, and instead held by princes of the royal house, the last of which was Charles Ferdinand d'Artois. In c.750, the Counties of Berry and Bourges were created by the

King of the Franks The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who con ...

. In 843, the County of Berry became part of the

Royal domain Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

or crown lands controlled by the king. From 878 to 892, the county was part of the

County of Auvergne The history of the Auvergne dates back to the early Middle Ages, when it was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. History Auvergne was a province of France deriving its name ...

, but became independent once more in 893. In 972, the County of Bourges was reduced to a Viscounty as the ''Viscomte de Bourges'', and in 1101 was annexed by France. In 1360, the county was raised to a duchy as the Duchy of Berry. In 1221, the

Seigneuries ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate ...

and

Issoudun Issoudun () is a commune in the Indre department, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is also referred to as ''Issoundun'', which is the ancient name. Geography Location Issoudun is a sub-prefecture, located in the east ...

were annexed into the duchy. The first governor of the province appears to have been appointed on 14 March 1698, when

Adrien Maurice de Noailles Adrien is a given name and surname, and the French spelling for the name Adrian. It is also the masculine form of the feminine name Adrienne. It may refer to: People Given name * Adrien Auzout (1622–1691), French astronomer * Adrien Baillet ...

, Duke of Noailles became military governor when he was only 19 years old. In 1778,

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

convened the provincial assemblies of Berry, and considered expanding the assembly to other provinces, but abandoned this idea after experiencing the opposition of the privileged classes in Berry. In 1790, when the former provinces were dissolved, the Duchy of Berry was split between two departments:

in Upper (eastern) Berry and Indre in Lower (western) Berry. Some communes also became part of the

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...

Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

, and Loir-et-Cher departments as well.

Governors

The governors of French provinces during the Ancien Régime were typically military commanders and provided military oversight in the region. This included recruitment, movement of troops, and – if needed – dealing with civil disobedience. Below is a list of the governors of Berry during its time as a province.

Duke of Berry

In October 1360, the title 'Duke of Berry' was created by

King John II of France John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed ...

for his third-born son, John of Poitiers. The duke was followed by several members of the senior royal family, establishing a tradition of the duke being a member of the

House of Valois The Capetian house of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the List of French monarchs, French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589 ...

. In 1505 however, the last Duchess of Berry Joan of France died of natural causes and the title was merged into the

royal domain Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

. In 1527, the title was re-created for

Marguerite de Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (french: Marguerite d'Angoulême, ''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 ...

until the title was once again dissolved in 1601 following the death of Duchess

Louise of Lorraine Louise of Lorraine (french: Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont; 30 April 1553 – 29 January 1601) was Queen of France as the wife of King Henry III from their marriage on 15 February 1575 until his death on 2 August 1589. During the first three mon ...

. In 1686, King Louis XIV re-created the title for his third grandson Charles de Bourbon, however the title was dissolved following the death of the Duke in 1714. In 1754, Louis XV re-created the title for his grandson Louis-Auguste de Bourbon (later King Louis XVI), who dropped the title in 1765 when he became Dauphin. In 1778, Louis XVI one again re-created the title for his nephew

Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the third child and younger son of Charles X, King of France, (whom he predeceased) by his wife Maria Theresa of Savoy. In June 1832, two years after the overt ...

. In 1820, the title was finally dissolved once more when the last duke was assassinated. While Berry was a province, the Duke of Berry was de-jure leader of the area. The dukes included:

Etymology

The name of ''Berry'', like that of its capital, Bourges, originated with the Gaulish tribe of the

Bituriges The Gaulish name Bituriges, meaning 'kings of the world', can refer to: * Bituriges Cubi, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bourges * Bituriges Vivisci, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bordeaux {{Disambiguation ...

,Compare: who settled in the area before the Roman armies of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

conquered Gaul. The name of the tribe gave name to the region, often mentioned in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...

sources as: ''Bituria''.

Brenne

La Brenne, located west of

and east of

Tournon-Saint-Martin Tournon-Saint-Martin () is a commune in the Indre department in central France. Geography The commune is located in natural region Boischaut Nord in the parc naturel régional de la Brenne. The commune is located on the border of the Indre-et ...

in the Indre department, is a region which of old straddled on the former provinces of Berry and

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vie ...

, and is now a protected natural area (

Parc naturel régional de la Brenne The parc naturel régional de la Brenne (; ) is an large regional nature park located in the French department of Indre, France. It was founded December 22, 1982. Of old, ''La Brenne'' was a region in the old French provinces of Berry and Tour ...

) as well called ''Pays des mille étangs'', because of its many ponds created since the 8th c. by the monks of the local abbeys for pisciculture.

Citations

General and cited sources

* *

External links

Pictures

Accommodation

Former provinces of France History of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes History of Centre-Val de Loire History of Nouvelle-Aquitaine History of Allier History of Cher (department) History of Creuse History of Indre History of Loir-et-Cher History of Loiret {{France-hist-stub