's dowry, as defined in 1482 by the
Treaty of Arras, and redistributed in 1493 by the
Treaty of Senlis It was held by the
French noble house of
Chalon-Arlay, until in 1237 Count
John the Old ceded it to Duke
Hugh IV of Burgundy. The
County of Charolais was inherited by Hugh's granddaughter
Beatrice, who in 1272 married Count
Robert of Clermont, a younger son of King
Louis IX of France and progenitor of the
House of Bourbon. In 1314 it passed to Robert's second son
John, whose daughter Beatrice married Count
John I of Armagnac in 1327. John's grandson Count
Bernard VII of Armagnac sold the county to Duke
Philip II of Burgundy in 1390. It thus became part of the
House of Valois-Burgundy and the title 'Count of Charolais' was customary given to the heir apparent of the incumbent
Duke of Burgundy. After the death of the last
Valois-Burgundy duke
Charles the Bold at the 1477
Battle of Nancy, the county was seized by King
Louis XI of France, thus opposing the claims of Charles' daughter
Mary of Burgundy, who was supported by her husband, the archduke
Maximilian I of Austria. The same year however, loyal to the duchess Mary, the County of Charolais rebelled in hope to expel the French. During the
War of the Burgundian Succession (1477–1482), the region was claimed by both sides, until the conclusion of the
Treaty of Arras in December 1482, when it was agreed that the County of Charolais will became part of the dowry of Mary's daughter, the archduchess
Margaret, who was engaged to the French prince, and thus the County remained under the french control. The engagement was later called off, and by the
Treaty of Senlis (1493) Charolais was returned to the
Habsburg dynasty, though it remained a French fief. Surrounded by French royal possessions, the County of Charolais shared a common history with the imperial
County of Burgundy (
Franche-Comté), as both passed to the future
Emperor Charles V in 1506 and remained in possession of his heirs, the
Spanish Habsburgs. While the County of Burgundy fell to the French crown upon the 1678
Treaty of Nijmegen, Charolais was acquired by the Bourbon prince
Louis of Condé in 1684. It was not awarded to the French crown until the death of Count
Charles of Charolais in 1760, when
Louis XV incorporated it into the
Estates of Burgundy. ==References==