county · France and the Low Countries

Viscounty of Turenne

984 CE – 1738 CE (approx.) · capital Turenne

A self-governing viscounty in the Limousin and Quercy that kept its own estates and tax privileges until it was sold to the French crown in 1738.

Origins

Viscounts of Turenne appear in the late 10th century, based at a castle on a hill near Brive in the Limousin. Their lands stretched into Quercy, and the family survived among the competing lords of Aquitaine by playing English and French kings against each other.

Rule and society

The viscounts enjoyed unusual privileges: the right to summon their own estates, to raise taxes and, by tradition, to mint coin, with near exemption from royal taxation. In 1444 the viscounty passed to the La Tour d'Auvergne family. Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, a Huguenot leader, married into the house of La Marck and became prince of Sedan.

Decline and legacy

In 1738, burdened by debts, Charles-Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne sold the viscounty to Louis XV, and it was absorbed into the Kingdom of France. Its privileges ended, and the region lost its tax exemptions.

Lineage

Viscounty of TurenneKingdom of France 987 CE – 1792 CE

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻