county · France and the Low Countries

County of Périgord

866 CE – 1399 CE (approx.) · capital Périgueux

Medieval county of the Dordogne valley around Périgueux, the land of the ancient Petrocorii.

Origins

In 866 Charles the Bald entrusted the counties of Périgord and Angoulême to Vulgrin, a kinsman, to resist Viking raids along the rivers of western France. After his death the two counties were divided between his sons, and Périgord passed to a line of counts from whom the later Talleyrand-Périgord family claimed descent.

Rule and society

The counts were vassals of the Duchy of Aquitaine and held a land of castles and abbeys on the frontier between English and French power. Their authority was contested by the burghers of Périgueux, whose town of Puy-Saint-Front won wide privileges.

Decline and legacy

During the Hundred Years' War the counts changed sides repeatedly. In 1399 Count Archambaud VI was condemned for treason and his county confiscated; Charles VI gave it in 1400 to his brother Louis of Orléans. It later passed to the Albret family and was united with the crown under Henry IV.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). County of Périgord. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-perigord
MLA
“County of Périgord.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-perigord. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “County of Périgord.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-perigord.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘County of Périgord’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-perigord (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻