County of Vermandois

State · 990–1215 CE · at its largest around 1188 CE

County in northern France centred on Saint-Quentin, ruled by a Carolingian line and later by a Capetian cadet branch before being absorbed into the royal domain.

On its lands while it lasted

Peter Abelard (1079 CE – 1142 CE): French philosopher and theologian who taught in Paris, a pioneer of scholastic method, remembered also for his love affair with Héloïse.
Basilica of Saint-Denis (1144 CE): Abbot Suger's rebuilt choir, consecrated in 1144, is considered the first Gothic building; the basilica was the burial place of French kings.
University of Paris (c. 1150 CE): Emerging around 1150 from the schools of Notre-Dame, the University of Paris became a leading centre of theology and philosophy in medieval Europe. Its college of the Sorbonne, founded in 1257, gave the university its popular name.
Notre-Dame de Paris (1163 CE): Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, begun in 1163, famous for its flying buttresses, rose windows and sculpture.