During the early

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 ...

, the count of Tours was the ruler of the old Roman ''pagus Turonicus'': the city of

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

and its hinterland, the

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 Vien ...

. Under the

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

, counts at Tours were appointed local representatives of the king, such as the base-born Leudast who had made his way at the Paris court of

Charibert I Charibert I (french: Caribert; la, Charibertus; 517 – December 567) was the Merovingian List of Frankish kings, King of Paris, the second-eldest son of Chlothar I and his first wife Ingund, wife of Clotaire I, Ingund. His elder brother Guntha ...

and was appointed count at Tours by the king in the 570s, to the disgust of Gregory of Tours. Under the early Carolingians, the counts of Tours stilled owed their position to the kings. In 828, Count Hugh was disgraced and removed from office for his reluctance to act after Abu Marwan's sack of Barcelona. Counts Adalard and Vivian (count 844–51) were also the

lay abbot Lay abbot ( la, abbatocomes, abbas laicus, abbas miles, ) is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitle ...

s of St Martin's of Tours. After them the county and the abbacy were usually held together.

Robert the Strong Robert the Strong (french: Robert le Fort; c. 830 – 866) was the father of two kings of West Francia: Odo (or Eudes) and Robert I of France. His family is named after him and called the Robertians. In 853, he was named '' missus dominicus'' ...

who, besides Tours, also ruled the counties of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

and

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

, appointed viscounts to govern the Touraine in his absence. On his death in 866 he was succeeded by his stepson,

Hugh the Abbot Hugh the Abbot (died 12 May 886) was a member of the Welf family, a son of Conrad I of Auxerre and Adelaide. After his father's death, his mother apparently married Robert the Strong, the margrave of Neustria. On Robert's death in 866, Hugh beca ...

, inaugurating the hereditary countship. Hugh was followed by Robert's sons, Odo (d. 898) and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(d. 923). When Odo became king of France in 888, he gave his counties, including Tours, to Robert. On the death of the Robert's son,

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. Biography Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and Béatrice of Vermandois.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der E ...

, in 956, the Carolingian monarch reasserted his authority over the counties by refusing for four years to invest Hugh's son,

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

, with them. During this period, the viscounts of Anjou and Blois–Tours, who had begun to usurp comital power and the comital title, broke definitively with their Robertian overlords.R. E. Barton, ''Lordship in the County of Maine, c. 890–1160'' (Boydell, 2004), pp. 29–31.

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