Dauphiné (redirected from dauphine)

Dauphiné (dōfēnā`), region and former province, SE France, bordering on Italy. It is now divided into three departments, Haute-Alpes, Isère, and Drôme. In the east the Alps culminate in the Barre des Écrins; their magnificent scenery attracts many tourists. The lower districts are fertile and warm, with vineyards and mulberry shrubs (for silk worms). Some iron is mined, and water power is harnessed for industry. Grenoble (the historic capital), Vienne, and Valence are the chief towns. In the kingdom of Provence (879) and after 933 in that of Arles, Dauphiné was nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire. The rulers assumed the title dauphin. In 1349 the area was sold to France by Dauphin Humbert II, who was childless, and for the next century it was governed as a separate province by the eldest son of the king of France. In 1457 it was annexed by the crown.

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Dauphiné

Historic region and former province, southeastern France. Occupied by Burgundians and later by Franks, it formed part of the Middle Kingdom of Lothar I after the division of the Carolingian empire in 843 and was part of the kingdom of Arles. It was sold to Philip VI of France and ultimately became an appanage of the eldest son of the French king, who assumed the title (dauphin) attached to the land. The area had a quasi-independent status until it was annexed to France in 1457. Dauphiné encompasses portions of the modern administrative régions of Rhône-Alpes and Province-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.