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What exactly was a count's role in medieval France?

What exactly was a count's role in medieval France?

Posted: 2 Mar 2015 6:51AM GMT
Classification: Query
I have an ancestor that was the Count of Paris, but all Wikipedia says is it was a title of a noble, that's it, and so does everywhere else I look.

Re: What exactly was a count's role in medieval France?

Posted: 3 Mar 2015 3:28PM GMT
Classification: Query
What was his name? The title was used by at least 21 different people and their role very much depended on the period in which they were operating, Paris only became the capital of France in the 12th Century.

In general terms the position is equivalent to an Earl in the English Nobility and would be responsible for the running of a specific area
(in England a County, in France either a region or a department dependant on the population)

Re: Count's role in medieval France

Posted: 3 Mar 2015 11:37PM GMT
Classification: Query
The Emperor Charles in West Francia appointed certain administrative officers with authority in a district to oversee local affairs, a title called "comes" the Latin word for "companion", individually or as a member of a larger war band of warriors known as the "comitatus". The count had authority which served to raise militia units for specific conflicts, such as invasion by foreign troops. Later on, when central authority in the Empire would fragment, the Emperor was distant and his authority more formal or official than actual, the local Carolingian lordships would be almost autonomous military units and their territories came to be called "counties", the domain of the count. Over a long period of strife, the office of count would become hereditary, which was an outcome of disintegration and local power relationships. In Europe, the sons of a count would all be counts, and the daughters all countesses, hence, belonging to a military caste of warriors, which historical development is a logical extension of the original function at the establishment of the office, when hereditary office is added. Authority of the count had been originally related to an appointed officer locally raising troops, but it evolved towards authority over local military forces, the land of the county as property of which the count was lord, cattle, crops, and ongoing regular judicial administration over the inhabitants. The authority of the lordship of the count expanded widely over many generations. At times different lineages would control the counties, so it is worth investigating the different men who held the lordship, and took the title of "count" (Comte, Graf).
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