The count of Vienne was the ruler of the Viennois, with his seat at Vienne, during the period of the Carolingian Empire and after until 1030, when the county of Vienne was granted to the Archdiocese of Vienne. Girart de Roussillon 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 (c. 880–947), known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until his death. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to estab ...

was the first known count of Vienne from sometime before 905 until 926, when he was in Italy claiming the Iron Crown of Lombardy. In his absence, Louis the Blind, king of Provence, transferred Vienne to his own son, Charles-Constantine. In September 928, Hugh met with Herbert II of Vermandois and invested Herbert's son

Odo Odo or ODO may refer to: People * Odo, a given name; includes a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Franklin Odo (born 1939), Japanese-American historian * Seikichi Odo (1927–2002), Japanese karateka * Yuya Odo (born 1990), J ...

with Vienne in opposition to Charles-Constantine. Charles, however, succeeded in reoccupying Vienne by 931 with the aid of Rudolph of France, 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 *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...

and passed to her husband,

Boso II of Arles Boson II of Arles (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: Rotbold I ...

. 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 Burchard (and all variant spellings) may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Burchard (name), Burchard and all related spellings as a given name and surname * Burckhardt, or (de) Bourcard, a family of the Basel patriciate * Burchard-Bélaváry family, an a ...

, 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 ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, 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. ...

as a county to

Humbert of the White Hands Humbert I ( it, Umberto I; 950 – 1042 or 1047 1048), better known as Humbert the White-Handed (french: Humbert aux blanches-mains) or ( it, Umberto Biancamano), was the founder of the House of Savoy. Of obscure origins, his service ...

. 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. 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), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

after the death of her husband,

Jehan de Braine Jehan de Braine (''c''. 1200 – 1240) was, ''jure uxoris'', the Count of Mâcon and Vienne from 1224 until his death. He was a younger son of Robert II of Dreux and his second wife, Yolanta de Couci. His wife was Alix, granddaughter of William ...

, in 1240.

Sources

* Previté-Orton, C. W.
Italy and Provence, 900-950.
''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 32, No. 127. (Jul., 1917), pp 335-347. Lists of French nobility