The County of Nevers () was a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Its principal town was

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is sou ...

. It roughly corresponds to the later

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Nivernais Nivernais (, ) was a province of France, around the city of Nevers, which forms the modern department of Nièvre. It roughly coincides with the former Duchy of Nevers.department of

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.Nivernais
at the Larousse online encyclopedia The county itself dates from approximately the beginning of the 10th century. The county has frequently been associated with the neighboring

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...

; it was included among the lands and titles held by Duke Henry I of Burgundy. Beginning with Renauld I, the county was held jointly with that of the

County of Auxerre The County of Auxerre is a former state of current central France, with capital in Auxerre. History The first count attested by the sources is one Ermenaud, a companion of Charlemagne who reigned around 770. In 859 Charles the Bald handed over t ...

. Nevers came under the rule of the count of Flanders in the 14th century, and from there, into the possessions of Duke

Philip the Bold Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip II w ...

of Burgundy, briefly reuniting the two lands. Philip's younger son

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

was granted the County of Nevers, passing later into the possession of a cadet branch of the dukes of Cleves. The count was raised to duke in 1539. In 1565 Louis Gonzaga became duke of Nivernais by marriage with

Henriette of Cleves Henriette de La Marck (31 October 1542 – 24 June 1601), also known as Henriette of Cleves, was a French noblewoman and courtier. She was the 4th Duchess of Nevers, ''suo jure'' Countess of Rethel, and Princess of Mantua by her marriage with Lo ...

. His successor Charles II sold the duchy to

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

. The duchy survived until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, the last duke being

Louis Jules Mancini Mazarini Louis-Jules Barbon Mancini-Mazarin, 10th Duke of Nevers (16 December 1716 – 25 February 1798) was a French diplomat and writer. The Duke was the sixth member elected to occupy seat No. 4 of the Académie française in 1742. In England, he wa ...

, who lost his title in the Revolution, but survived the Reign of Terror to die of natural causes in 1798.

References

States and territories established in the 10th century States and territories disestablished in 1798 County of Nevers {{burgundy-geo-stub

See also

References