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Nivernais

 

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 Nivernais
Flag of Nivernais,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen




Flagge Fahne flag drapeau Burgund Burgundy Bourgogne
1960–2016,
Unofficial flag of Burgundy Region
– drapeau officieux de la région Bourgogne,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)



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Meaning/Origin of the Flag

The flag of Nivernais is a scutcheon-flag, its design is the image of the coat of arms. The respective Heraldry shows a sixfold between gold and blue oblique-right divided shield, which was surrounded by a red border with an engrailed partition. The between 1960 and 2016 existing Region of "Bourgogne" (Burgundy), to which the Nivernais belonged, used an unofficial flag, which – like the historic flag – showed the features of the heraldry of the House of the Junior Line of Burgundy.

Source: Volker Preuß, Wikipedia (D)

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Coat of Arms


Wappen arms crest blason Nivernais
Coat of arms of Nivernais,
Source, by: heraldique.org


Wappen arms crest blason Burgund Burgundy Bourgogne
Coat of arms of the Duchy of Burgundy under the House of the Senior Line of Burgundy
– Blason du Duché de Bourgogne sous la Maison de la Ligne Principale de la Bourgogne,
Source, by: heraldique.org

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Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Nivernais goes back to Odo IV. (1295–1350), from the House of the Senior Line of Burgundy, Duke of Burgundy, Count of Burgundy and Count of Artois. He had taken over this coat of arms from his nephew. It showed the heraldry of the coat of arms of the Duchy of Burgundy, although in a modified form, because the red border of the coat of arms appeared with an engrailed partition. He was probably marked in this way as younger son of the Duke. When his brother Hugo V. died, he took off his coat of arms, and took over the heritage, the title and the coat of arms of the Duke of Burgundy. He was succeeded by his grandson, Philip I., Duke of Burgundy, who married in 1356 Margaret, heiress and daughter of Louis III., Count of Flanders, Artois, Nevers and Rethel. In this way, the House of the Senior Line of Burgundy got the County of Nevers. However, why the first coat of arms of Odo IV. was transferred to Nivernais is unknown. But it could be a decision of the modern era, because this particular heraldry was no longer used after him, and did not appear in either a coats of arms of his house nor in one of the coats of arms of the in the future coming rulers of Nivernais.

Source: Volker Preuß, Wikipedia (D)

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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 the Celtic tribe of the Bituriges

52 B.C. · Roman conquest, to the province of Gallia Lugdunensis

5th century A.D. · the today's Nivernais belongs to 442 to the kingdom of the Alans, from 443 to the kingdom of Burgundy, from 480 conquest of Gaul by the Franks, until 507 (under King Clovis) expansion of the empire to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pyrenees and the Alps, 532–534 conquer the Franks the kingdom of Burgundy, today's Nivernais comes to the Frankish Empire, and becomes a part of the duchy of Burgundy

880 · at the division of the Frankish Empire (Treaty of Verdun and Ribbemont) was created the West Frankish Kingdom – the later France – to which the today's Nivernais belongs as County of Nevers

10th century · Nevers is ruled by Duke Henry the Great of Burgundy from the House of Capet, probably represented by a viscount

982–1026 · reign of Count Otto William, an adopted son of Henry the Great of Burgundy (House of Burgundy-Ivrea)

995 · Matilda of Burgundy, heiress and daughter of Otto William, Count of Burgundy, gets married to Count Landry, in this way the House (line, dynasty) of Monceaux is created, that rules until 1184 in the County of Nevers (Nivernais)

1184 · Agnes I. of Nevers, heiress and daughter of Guido, Count of Auxerre, Tonnerre and Nevers, gets married to Peter of Courtenay, in this way takes over the House (line, dynasty) of Courtenay, that rules until 1272 in the County of Nevers (Nivernais)

1270 · Robert de Dampierre, Count of Flanders, inherits the County of Nevers, he is married to the daughter of John of France (since 1265 Count of Nevers and since 1268 Count of Valois), in this way takes over the House of Dampierre that rules until 1369 in the County of Nevers

1356 · Margaret, heiress and daughter of Louis III., Count of Flanders, Artois, Nevers and Rethel, gets married to Philip I., Duke of Burgundy, in this way takes over the Senior Line of Burgundy, but just until 1361, when Philip I. died and the Senior Line of Burgundy extincted, a familiy-line that goes back over its founder Robert I. (1011–1076), and his father, Robert II. King of France back to the House of Capet, with the death of Philip I. Burgundy comes back to the royal domain

1363 · King John II. of France (Valois) enfeoffed his fourth son, Philip (Philip II.), with the Duchy of Burgundy

1369 · second marriage of Margaret, she gets married to Philip II., Duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois, in this way takes over the Junior Line of Burgundy, which ruled until 1504 in the County of Nevers

1356 · Margaret, heiress and daughter of Louis III ., Count of Flanders, Artois, Nevers and Rethel, gets married to Philip I., Duke of Burgundy (in 1369 second marriage to Philip II., Duke of Burgundy), in this way takes over the House of Burgundy, that rules until 1504 in the County of Nevers

1455 · Elisabeth, heiress and daughter of John II., Count of Nevers, Rethel and Etampes, gets married to John I., Duke of Cleves and Count of the Mark, in this way takes over the House of Cleves-Mark (now Cleves-Nevers), that rules until 1566 in the County /Duchy of Nevers

1538 · the County of Nevers is raised to a duchy

1566 · Henriette of Cleves, Duchess of Nevers, heiress and daughter of Francis I. of Cleves, Count of Eu and Duke of Nevers, gets married to Luigi Gonzaga, Count of Rethel, in this way takes over the House of Gonzaga, that rules until 1659 in the Duchy of Nevers

1659 · the Duchy of Nevers is sold by Charles V. (House of Gonzaga) to Cardinal Mazarin

1661 · death of Cardinal Mazarin, the inheritance goes to the husband of a niece of Mazarin, Philippe Julien Mancini, in this way takes over the House Mazarin-Mancini, that rules until 1789 in the Duchy of Nevers, the country is involved in the civil administration of the Kingdom of France and has a governmental administration (Nivernais), the power of the Duke – as a vassal of the king – is not affected

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 (provinces) become abolished, Nivernais is divided into departments (essentially Nièvre and to a lesser degree the departments of Yonne and Cher)

1960 · reintroduction of regions in France, the Nivernais doesn't play a role, affiliation with the newly created Burgundy region (Bourgogne, capital: Dijon), of course not within the historic boundaries, just by integrating of the departments of Yonne, Nièvre, Côte-d'Or and Saône-et-Loire

2016 · the Burgundy region (Bourgogne) merges with the Franche-Comté region in the new, larger region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Source: Wikipedia (D), Wikipedia (FR), Meyers Konversationslexikon

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Origin of the Country's Name

The name "Nivernais" has its roots in the name of the city of Nevers. The town has its name from the former name of the city from the time of the Romans. Then it was called "Nevirnum", supposedly named after the Nièvre River, but it is likely to have at this time to carry a different name.

Source: Meyers Konversationslexikon, Volker Preuß

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