List of rulers of Auvergne


This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne.

History

In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The counts of Auvergne slowly became autonomous.
In the 10th century Auvergne became a disputed territory between the count of Poitiers and the counts of Toulouse.
In the Middle Ages Auvergne was broken into four feudal domains:
Auvergne was integrated in turn into the appanages of Alphonse, count of Poitou and Toulouse and of John, duke of Berry and Auvergne and count of Poitiers and Montpensier.
During the Hundred Years' War Auvergne faced numerous raids and revolts, including the Tuchin Revolt.
In 1434 the [|Duchy of Auvergne] passed to the House of Bourbon.
Quite contemporaneously, the County of Auvergne passed to the House of La Tour d'Auvergne, and upon its extinction in 1531 it passed to Catherine de' Medici before becoming a royal domain.
In 1436, the Dauphinate of Auvergne passed to the House of Bourbon-Montpensier.

Elected Counts of Auvergne (480–963)

[Visigoth] period

Frankish">Franks">Frankish [Merovingian] period

  • Hortensius
  • Sigivald
  • Becco
  • Hortensius
  • Evodius ?
  • Georgius ?
  • Britianus ?
  • Firminus
  • Sallustus
  • Firminus
  • Venerandus
  • Nicetius I
  • Nicetius II
  • Eulalius
  • *part of Austrasia
  • *part of Burgundy
  • *part of Austrasia
  • Bobon of Neustria
  • Hector of Neustria
  • Bodilon of Austrasia
  • Calminius of Neustria
  • Genesius
  • Haribert of Neustria
  • *''part of Neustria until 751''

Frankish">Franks">Frankish [Carolingian] period

After the death of Acfred, who left the comital fisc completely diminished, there appeared no successor who could control the entire Auvergne, with Velay. Several relatives of surrounding regions made claims. Below are the dates of their effective control.

Hereditary Counts of Auvergne and the Dauphinate (963-1653/1693)

House of Auvergne

From the viscounty of Clermont, then vassal to the elective county of Auvergne, came the so-called House of Auvergne, a designation used by modern historians for the family that ruled consistently the Auvergne region from 963. After a period of comital vacancy, the viscounts of Clermont were elevated as successors of the elective counts: the county became hereditary.

Viscounts of Clermont

  • Armand of Clermont
  • Robert I of Clermont
  • Robert II of Clermont
  • Robert III of Clermont, son of Robert II

The splitting of the county and the Dauphinate

In 1155, count William VII the Young was usurped by his uncle, count William VIII the Old. However, William VIII left a smaller portion for his nephew to rule. In 1209, the county of William VIII the Old would be made smaller after a partial confiscation by Philip II of France, later to be made in 1360 as the Duchy of Auvergne.
As for William VII the Young, he was able to maintain his status in part of his county, especially Beaumont, Chamalières, and Montferrand. From this smaller county raised, in 1302, the Dauphinate of Auvergne.
Based in the fact that William VII's wife was the daughter of the dauphin de Viennois, Guigues IV, and that William VII's descendants, in virtue of the Viennois blood, used the surname Dauphin, the majority of authors anticipate the formalization of the dauphinate in 1302 and choose to call William VII and his successors already as dauphins of Auvergne, for a clear distinction from the descendants of William VIII. Still others, out of convenience, choose to call these successors the counts-dauphins of Auvergne.

Table of rulers

Note: The parallel existence of the usurpers of the Elder County of Auvergne and of the usurped Younger County-Dauphinate, who often carried the same first names, also complicates things. To avoid confusion, the numbering system used here is continuous, and Dauphin is used as part of the name where applicable.

The successors of the Auvergne family in the county and the dauphinate

County of AuvergneDauphinate of Auvergne

As Appanage:
  • John I, Duke of Bourbon, son of Anne
  • Louis I, Count of Montpensier, son of John I and Marie, Duchess of Auvergne ; husband of Joanna
  • Gilbert, Count of Montpensier, son of Louis I
  • Louis II, Count of Montpensier, son of Gilbert
  • Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, son of Gilbert
    • From 1525–1538 the dauphinate was confiscated by the king and united with the royal domain.
    At her death in 1693, the title returned to the royal domain. It was later given to:
    Became part of the royal domain upon the ascension of Louis XIII, son of Henry IV and Marie de'MediciAfterwards, the title returned to the royal domain and was claimed as a courtesy title by the dukes of Orléans, and the modern Orleanist pretenders

    Bishops of Clermont

    The title of bishop of Clermont is used from 1160 onwards. Before then they were called bishop of Arvernes. In 2002, the Bishopric of Clermont was incorporated into the Archbishopric of Clermont-Ferrand.

    List of bishops of Arvernes

    List of bishops of Clermont

    List of archbishops of Clermont-Ferrand

    Dukes of Auvergne

    The Duchy of Auvergne was created in 1360 by John II of France, out of part of the Elder County of Auvergne, confiscated by Philip II of France in 1209.

    List of dukes of Auvergne

    After his death in 1527, the title was confiscated and passed to the royal domain.
    Louise confronted Charles III's right to succession with the support of her son, King Francis I of France. After her death in 1531, the title passed to the royal domain.