Medieval Coin of France - Berry Province
Hervé II von Vierzon 1144-1197 AD

Struck 1144-1197AD (ND - No Date) at Mint in Berry Province, France
Silver ND Denar (0.89 grams, 19mm) - Anonymous Issue
Certified: NGC AU 55 8211243-007
Reference: Bd.313 5f, PA.2028 44/3, L.1415

Obverse: + VIRSIONE, Cross
Reverse: ANÉPIGRAPHE, Large fleur-de-lis in bloom, flanked by two small natural lilies.

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The Duchy of Berry was a former province located in central France. It was a province of France until departments replaced the provinces on 4 March 1790, when Berry became divided between the départements of Cher and Indre.

Berry is notable as the birthplace of several kings and other members of the French royal family, and was the birthplace of the knight Baldwin Chauderon, who fought in the First Crusade. In the Middle Ages, Berry became the center of the Duchy of Berry's holdings. It is also known for an illuminated manuscript produced in the 14th–15th century called Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.


In later times, the writer George Sand spent much of her life at her Berry estate in Nohant, and Berry's landscape and specific culture figure in much of Sand's writings.


The Duchy was governed by the Duke/Duchess of Berry, who after 1601 was a senior member of the French royal family. The title of 'Duke of Berry' was by this period divested of territorial significance, and instead held by princes of the royal house, the last of which was Charles Ferdinand d'Artois.


In c.750, the Counties of Berry and Bourges were created by the King of the Franks. In 843, the County of Berry became part of the Royal domain or crown lands controlled by the king. From 878 to 892, the county was part of the County of Auvergne, but became independent once more in 893. In 972, the County of Bourges was reduced to a Viscounty as the Viscomte de Bourges, and in 1101 was annexed by France. In 1360, the county was raised to a duchy as the Duchy of Berry. In 1221, the Seigneuries of Châteauroux and Issoudun were annexed into the duchy.

The first governor of the province appears to have been appointed on 14 March 1698, when Adrien Maurice de Noailles, Duke of Noailles became military governor when he was only 19 years old.

In 1778, Louis XVI convened the provincial assemblies of Berry, and considered expanding the assembly to other provinces, but abandoned this idea after experiencing the opposition of the privileged classes in Berry.

In 1790, when the former provinces were dissolved, the Duchy of Berry was split between two departments: Cher in Upper Berry and Indre in Lower Berry. Some communes also became part of the Allier, Creuse, Loiret, and Loir-et-Cher departments as well.

The governors of French provinces during the Ancien Régime were typically military commanders and provided military oversight in the region. This included recruitment, movement of troops, and – if needed – dealing with civil disobedience. Below is a list of the governors of Berry during its time as a province.

In October 1360, the title 'Duke of Berry' was created by King John II of France for his third-born son, John of Poitiers. The duke was followed by several members of the senior royal family, establishing a tradition of the duke being a member of the House of Valois. In 1505 however, the last Duchess of Berry Joan of France died of natural causes and the title was merged into the royal domain. In 1527, the title was re-created for Marguerite de Navarre until the title was once again dissolved in 1601 following the death of Duchess Louise of Lorraine.

In 1686, King Louis XIV re-created the title for his third grandson Charles de Bourbon, however the title was dissolved following the death of the Duke in 1714. In 1754, Louis XV re-created the title for his grandson Louis-Auguste de Bourbon (later King Louis XVI), who dropped the title in 1765 when he became Dauphin. In 1778, Louis XVI once again re-created the title for his nephew Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry. In 1820, the title was finally dissolved once more when the last duke was assassinated.

While Berry was a province, the Duke of Berry was de jure leader of the area.

The name of Berry, like that of its capital, Bourges, originated with the Gaulish tribe of the Bituriges, who settled in the area before the Roman armies of Julius Caesar conquered Gaul. The name of the tribe gave name to the region, often mentioned in Medieval Latin sources as: Bituria.

Coat of arms of Berry

Duchy of Berry Coat-of-Arms


Vierzon is a commune in the Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.

Little evidence remains of any pre-Roman occupation, and the Romans themselves didn't leave much trace of their occupation. Not until 926, when a Benedictine monastery was built (on the site of the current Town Hall) are there any records. The monks came from the abbey of Deuvre, at Saint-Georges-sur-la-Prée, after the abbey was sacked by the Normans in 903. They brought with them the relics of St. Perpetua. These relics were again transferred to the church of Notre-Dame de Vierzon in 1807, where they remain today.

Also in the 10th century, the Normans built a castle atop a feudal motte. They became the seigneurs of Vierzon and the city developed within the western ramparts of the castle.

The Plantagenets, under Richard I Lionheart in 1196, and later Edward, the Black Prince, burned the town and took the castle. Bertrand du Guesclin drove the Plantagenets out in 1370 and restored Vierzon to the crown of France. It became a logistics centre for the armies of Joan of Arc.

Vierzon suffered during the wars of religion, but remained Catholic. The French Revolution of 1789 saw no major shocks except that the parish of Vierzon was divided into two communes: the urban part and the rural (Vierzon-Village), at the request of the rural inhabitants of the parish. In 1887, the part of town on the southern bank of the river was split into Vierzon-Bourgneuf. In 1937, following a public inquiry and a prefectoral decision, the four municipalities were united as one commune.

Vierzon has not been too troubled by more recent wars. In 1870-1871, a vanguard of Uhlan soldiers marched through the city but withdrew quickly. If Vierzon was spared by the First World War, it was sorely tried during World War II. The Cher river was the border that divided the city into two, the south of the city being in the "Free" French zone whilst the north was in the German-occupied area. In July 1944, a massive Allied bombardment destroyed a large portion of the city.