Charolais, France

This article is about the French county. For the breed of cattle, see Charolais cattle.

Charolais (also Charollais) is an area of France, named after the town of Charolles, and located in today's Saône-et-Loire département, in Burgundy.

History

Coat of arms of the Counts of Charolais

The county of Charolais was acquired by Philip II, Duke of Burgundy in 1390 and thus became part of the Burgundian state. During the Burgundian period, the title Count of Charolais was systematically given to the heir apparent of the incumbent Duke. After the death of the last Duke, Charles the Bold, in 1477, the county ultimately passed in 1509, together with Franche-Comté to his granddaughter Margaret.

Upon her death in 1530, both passed to her nephew, Charles, and then to his son Philip II of Spain of the House of Habsburg, and both shared a common history until Charolais was awarded to the French crown in 1660, when Louis XIV of France incorporated it into the province of Burgundy.

References