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Lyonnais

 

Contents

Flag

Meaning/Origin of the Flag

Coat of Arms

Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

Map of the historical Regions in France

Explanations about the Regions

History

Origin of the Country's Name



Flag

Flagge Fahne flag drapeau Lyonnais Lyon
Flag of Lyonnais
– Drapeau du Lyonnais,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen




Flagge Fahne flag drapeau Lyonnais Lyon
1960–2016,
unofficial flag of Rhône-Alpes Region
– drapeau officieux de la région Rhône-Alpes,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)



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Meaning/Origin of the Flag

The flag of Lyonnais is a scutcheon-flag, its design is the image of the coat of arms of the city of Lyon. The with this connected heraldry shows an into two stripes splited bunting. The width of the upper blue stripe, showing three golden lilies, is one-third; the width of the lower red stripe, which shows a silvery lion in the middle, is two-thirds. The between 1960 and 2016 existing Region of "Rhône-Alpes", to which the Lyonnais partly belonged, used an unofficial flag, which contained the features of the heraldry of Lyonnais.

Source: Volker Preuß

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Coat of Arms


Wappen arms crest blason Lyon Forez
11th century,
Coat of arms of the Counts of Lyon and Forez
– Blason des comtes de Lyon et Forez,
Source, by: Wikipedia (FR)


WWappen arms crest blason Dauphiné Forez Albon d'Albon
1107–1259, d'Albon,
Coat of arms of the Counts of Forez
– Blason des comtes Forez,
Source, by: Wikipedia (FR)


WWappen arms crest blason Dauphiné Forez Albon d'Albon
1259–1417, d'Albon,
Coat of arms of the Counts of Forez
– Blason des comtes Forez,
Source, by: Wikipedia (FR)


WWappen arms crest blason Dauphiné Forez Albon d'Albon
1417–1531, de Bourbon,
Coat of arms of the House of Bourbon
– blason de Maison du Bourbon,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)

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Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

The oldest known coat of arms of the Counts of Lyon and Forez shows a golden shield, on it a black lion. In 1107 the Counts of Vienne from the House of Albon (also called d'Albon) took over the County of Lyon and Forez. They became already in 1063 the Counts of Dauphiné, called themselves Dauphins (Dauphin = dolphin), and their coat of arms showed a golden shield with a dolphin. In 1259 the coat of arms of the Counts of Forez was changed in color, possibly to create differences in comparison to the Dauphiné. The dolphin was golden colored and was placed on a red background. The Counts of Forez came from the 15th century out of the House of Bourbon. The associated Heraldry showed the blue, with golden lilies topped shield of the Capetians, which was covered with a red oblique-right bar. The coat of arms of the Capetians showed three golden lilies on blue, but originally was the coat of arms sprinkled with lilies. From 1365 (by others sources 1376), the number of lilies was reduced to three. The lily-symbol is very old, already the Germanic tribe of the Franks has used it. The House of the Capetians has provided the kings of France between 987 and 1328. It goes back to Hugo Capet, son of Hugo the Great, who was electet to the King of France, in 987, after the death of King Ludwig V. from the House of the Carolingians. The Capetians brought out three branch lines which became the Kings of France: Valois 1328–1589, Bourbon 1589–1792 and 1814–1830, and Orléans 1830–1848.

Source: Wikipedia (FR), Wikipedia (D), Volker Preuß

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Map of the historical Regions in France

The historical, French Regions:

in black: governorate and province in 1776,
in red: former county, province oder governorate

Map: Volker Preuß

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Explanations about the Regions

The until the French Revolution existing provinces (or governorates) have been historically grown structures, which had their roots oftenly in former fiefdoms of the French crown, historic counties and duchies. They oftenly existed for hundreds of years and had preserved regionality (e.g. cultural particularities and regional languages). On the occasion of the French Revolution such phenomena were of course not desirable, and as part of their bloody and violent egalitarianism any regional references were eliminated. Shortly after the French Revolution the provinces were dissolved and France became divided into many départements, which should have approximately the same size and the same status. The départements were named after rivers or mountains, to use never and in no circumstances the name of an old province. However, there was no success in cutting the connections of the people of France to their respective regions, so that administrative regions were re-created in 1960, to have a better control in regional administrative processes. In this way became départements, which were placed in a historical province, administratively grouped to an oftenly historically named region. The resulted structures coincide only approximately with the boundaries of the old provinces. In the strictly centralist France any regionality is avoided, so that even the official flags of these regions mostly look like flags of companies, unloving, unhistorical, technocratic and modernistic, and these flags should not be a subject of any lexical considerations here. Only in a few of that regions, exist official flags which remember the historical models. But, even the existence of these today's regions is douptful, because in 2014 was passed a territorial reform valid from the year 2016, that reduces the number of the existing regions by merging to nearly the half. However, there exist unofficial flags in nearly all of these regions, which should remember the old provinces and the old heraldry.

Wikipedia Link to the regions of France: click or tap here
FOTW Link to the regions of France: click or tap here

Source: Flags of the World, Wikipedia (D), Volker Preuß

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History

antiquity · settlement by Celtic tribes, the largest of them are the Segusiavi and Ambarri

58 B.C. · Roman conquest, the area comes after several years to the province of Gallia Lugdunensis

43 B.C. · founding of Lugdunum (later Lyon) by the Romans

52 B.C. · an uprising of the Gauls under Vercingetorix is suppressed

4th/5th century A.D. · the Burgundians come from the region between the Oder River and Vistula River and invade into the Roman Empire, settle on the Middle Rhine near Worms and plunder neighboring Roman settlement areas

436 · the Kingdom of Burgundy in the Middle Rhine area is shattered by Huns in Roman service

443 · the surviving Burgundians get settled by the Romans in the area of Lake Geneva and the today's Savoy

443-500 · establishing of the Kingdom of Burgundy (Burgundia), territorial expansions, Lugdunum is captured in 461 by the Burgundians

534 · conquest of the Kingdom of Burgundy by the Franks, today's Burgundy comes to the Frankish Empire, the area will remain as part of empire with its own administration

725 · Invasion of Arabs, Lugdunum (Lyon) is devastated

870 · at the division of the Frankish Empire (Treaty of Meersen) arises the West Frankish Kingdom, the East Frankish Kingdom, and the Frankish Kingdom of Italy – Burgundy gets divided, the north (Upper Burgundy) comes to the West Frankish Kingdom, the south (Lower Burgundy) comes to the Frankish Kingdom of Italy, Lyon comes to the West Frankish kingdom, first mention of the Counts of Lyon (Girard de Roussillon, Boso of Vienne)

877 · Lower Burgundy separates from Italy

879 · Boso of Vienne is king of Lower Burgundy

880 · by the division of the Frankish Empire (Treaties of Verdun and Ribbemont) arises the West Frankish Kingdom (later France), the East Frankish Kingdom (later German Empire), the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy (under Rudolf the Welf), the Kingdom of Lower Burgundy persists, and the County of Lyon is part of it

925 · first mention of a Vuillelmi (Wilhelm) as Count of Lyon and Forez (formerly County of Forez, 27 miles west of Lyon, capital is Feurs)

951 · Upper Burgundy and Lower Burgundy become united to the Kingdom of Burgundy, under Conrad III. of Upper Burgundy, this country is also called Arelat

11th century · Lyon is the seat of the Archbishop of Gaul

1033 · the Kingdom of Burgundy (Arelat) comes as an inheritance to the German Empire, the Roman-German Emperor Conrad the Elder is elected in Peterlingen (Payerne) to the king of Burgundy, but in subsequent years, the country is divided into several counties (County of Provence, County of Venaissin, County of Savoy, County of Dauphiné, Franche-Comté), the last king of Burgundy is the Emperor Charles IV., who was enthroned in 1365

ca. 1107 · death of Count William IV., his heiress and daughter is Ida-Raimunde, she is married to the son of Guigues-Raymond d'Albon, and with their son Guigues I. begins the reign of the House of d'Albon (since 1063 also Dauphins of Dauphiné)

1107–1137 · disputes between the Counts of Lyon and Forez and the Archbishops of Gaul for the control of the city of Lyon

1137 · Lyon, in German called Leyden, is a free imperial city, the rule of the Counts is from now on limited to Forez area

1274 · the Archbishop of Lyon asks for the protection of the King of France

1307 · the city of Lyon asks for the protection of the King of France

1313 · Philip the Fair, King of France, gives the city of Lyon and the surrounding area (as County of Lyon) to the Archbishops and the representatives of the city as a common fief

1328 · death of King Charles IV. (the Fair), extinction of the direct Capetian line, according to Salic Law Count Philip of Valois (Son of Prince Charles of Valois, first cousin of King Charles IV.) came on the French throne (as King Philip VI .), the English king Edward III. lays claim to the throne as a maternal nephew of Charles IV., reason for the "Hundred Years War" (Anglo-French War, 1338–1453), out of the House of Valois came all kings of France from 1328 to 1589

1417 · death of Anna of Auvergne, Countess of Forez, she had taken control over Forez after the death of her grandmother, Countess Jeanne de Bourbon (her two sons and Counts of Forez Ludwig and Johann II. died 1362 and 1373, Johanna was married to Guigues VII., Count of Forez, he died in 1360), Countess Anna was the daughter of Berald II., Dauphin of Auvergne, and she was married with Ludwig II., Duke of Bourbon - with their heir and son, John I., Duke of Bourbon, begins the reign of the House of Bourbon

1531 · death of Louise of Savoy, last Countess out of the House of Bourbon and Duchess of Bourbon, the County of Forez gets affiliated to the royal domain

1776 · the already in the 14th century created governorates of the civil administration of the kingdom of France become committed to a number of 39, and correspond in this way to the number of provinces, in previous years could any provinces be summarized in one governorate

1789 · French Revolution, the governorates and provinces become abolished, the governorate of Lyonnais (consisting in the counties/provinces of Lyon and Forez) ends, the Lyonnais is divided into departments (mainly Rhône and Loire, later Loire and Ain)

1960 · reintroduction of regions in France, formation of the Region of Rhône-Alpes, capital is Lyon, but not within the historic boundaries, just by integration of the departments of Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Isère, Loire, Rhône, Savoie and Haute-Savoie

2016 · the Rhône-Alpes region merges with the Auvergne region in the new, larger region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Source: Wikipedia (FR), Wikipedia (D), Universal-Lexikon

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Origin of the Country's Name

The name "Lyonnais" goes back to the City and County of Lyon. The town was founded by the Romans, but it recieved the Gallo-Celtic name Lugdunum, what means translated "Hill of Ravens".

Source: Meyers Konversationslexikon

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