The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois[1] is a former province in southeastern France, roughly corresponding to the present departments of the Isère, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes. The historical capital is Grenoble and the main towns Vienne, Valence, Die, Gap and Briançon.
Le Dauphiné Libéré is a famous regional French newspaper, and organizes the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré cycle stage race.
History
The area of the future Dauphiné was inhabited by the Allobroges and other Gaulish tribes in ancient times.
After the end of the Western Roman Empire, it slowly acquired independence as a sovereign mountain principality within the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 12th century, the local ruler Count Guy IV of Albon (c.1095-1142) had a dolphin on his coat of arms and was nicknamed le Dauphin (French for dolphin). His descendants changed their title from Count of Albon to Dauphin of Viennois, after their family seat in Vienne. The ruler was known by this title until 1349, when the heirless Humbert II of Viennois sold his lordship to King Philippe VI by the terms of the treaty of Romans, negociated by his protonotary, Amblard de Beaumont. A major condition was that the heir to the throne of France would be known as le Dauphin, which was the case from that time until the revolution; the first Dauphin de France was Philippe's grandson, the future Charles V of France. The title[2] also conferred an appanage on the region. Louis XI was the only king of France to reside in the Dauphiné for any length of time. Humbert's agreement further stipulated that the Dauphiné would be exempted from many taxes and imposts; this statute was the subject of much subsequent parliamentary debate at the regional level, as local leaders sought to defend this regional autonomy and privilege from the state's assaults.
During World War II, it was the seat of strong partisan activity.
Further reading
- Pfeiffer, Thomas, Le Brûleur de loups, Lyon, Bellier, 2004.
See also
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Notes
- ^ The archaic English: Dauphiny is seen in documents.
- ^ The Crown of France also absorbed Humbert's other titles: prince du Briançonnais, duc de Champsaur, marquis de Cézanne, comte de Vienne, d'Albon, de Grésivaudan, d'Embrun et de Gapençais, baron palatine of La Tour, La Valbonne, Montauban and Mévouillon.
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