Editing Ardèche (section)

===Medieval history===
The Vivarais area suffered greatly in the 9th century with raids by [[Hungarian people|Hungarians]] and [[Saracen]] slavers operating from the coast of [[Provence]] resulting in an overall depopulation of the region.

In the early 10th century, economic recovery saw the building of many [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] churches in the region, including Ailhon, Mercuer, Saint Julien du Serre, Balazuc, Niègles, and Rochecolombe. The medieval county of Viviers or Vivarais at this time was administratively a part of the [[Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles]], formed in 933 by [[Rudolph II of Burgundy]]'s fusion of [[Provence]] and [[Kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundy]] and bequeathed by its last monarch [[Rudolph III of Burgundy]] to the [[Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor|Conrad II]] in 1032. Locally throughout this period, the Church played an important role. John II (Giovanni of Siena), Cardinal and [[Bishop of Viviers]] (1073–1095), accompanied Pope [[Urban II]] to the [[Council of Clermont]].

It was later held in fief by the [[Counts of Toulouse]], who lost it to the French crown in 1229. In 1284, with the Cistercian Abbey of Marzan, Philip IV established Villeneuve de Berg, and by the treaty of 10 July 1305 [[Philip IV of France]] obliged the bishops of Vivarais to admit the sovereignty of the kings of France over all their temporal domain. The realm was largely ignored by the Emperors and was finally granted to France as part of the domain of the [[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]], the future [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] of [[House of Valois|Valois]] in 1308. During this period, the Maillard family, as Counts of Tournon, were influential in the Ardèche. During the [[Hundred Years War]], the area maintained its loyalty to the French crown despite frequent attacks from the west.