The County of Orléans was an area of early medieval

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

including the city of

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and count 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: ...

. When

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...

became

King of France 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, king of the Fra ...

, the county of Orléans became a part of the

royal domain Crown land, 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. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

. The lands formed part of the

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

s granted to various younger sons of Kings of France with the title

Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans () was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King Philip VI for his yo ...

Merovingian counts of Orléans

* Willachar, father-in-law of Chramn son of King

Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" (French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire from the original French version, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. With his eldes ...

Carolingian counts of Orléans

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

(?-c.810) * Odo I (c.810-818, 828-830, 831-834) *

Matfrid Matfrid (died 836) was the Frankish count of Orléans in the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious. He is usually thought to have been the first of the lineage known to historians as the Matfriede (German ''Matfridinger'' or ''Matfriede''). Matfrid w ...

(818-828, 830-831) * (834–c.860) * Robert I the Strong (c.860–866) *

Hugh the Abbot Hugh the Abbot of Auxerre (died 12 May 886) was a prominent nobleman and prelate in the Carolingian Empire, who held several ecclesiastical and administrative posts in the West Frankish Kingdom during the reigns of king Charles the Bald and his ...

(866–886) * Odo II (886–888) * Robert II (888–923) *

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. He was the most powerful magnate in France. Son of King Robert I of France, Hugh was Margrave of Neustria. He played an active role in bringing King Louis IV of France ...

(923–956) *

(956–987)

Capetian counts of Orléans

* Philippe of France, elder son and heir of Saint Louis (''later

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...

'')

Merovingian counts of Orléans

Carolingian counts of Orléans

Capetian counts of Orléans

See also