Centre Vendéen de Recherches Historiques

The Centre Vendéen de Recherches Historiques (CVRH) is a French research centre and publishing house specialising in the history of the Vendée, with its registered office in La Roche-sur-Yon, Vendée. It was founded in 1994, a few months after an international academic conference held in La Roche-sur-Yon to mark the bicentenary of the 1793 Vendée uprising. Impressed by the quality of the debates and the large, attentive audience, the historian Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie argued that this reservoir of research should not be left fallow. The idea took shape to create an organisation to promote research on the history and cultural heritage of the Vendée, under the direction of the historian Alain Gérard. The CVRH was initially backed by an association, with academic sponsorship from Université Paris IV-Sorbonne and the Centre Roland-Mousnier. In 2003 a Groupement d'intérêt public (GIP) was created, bringing together Université de Paris IV-Sorbonne, the Conseil régional des Pays de la Loire, the Conseil départemental de la Vendée and the supporting association. Today the GIP associates the Département de la Vendée, the Région des Pays de la Loire, Sorbonne-Université, the Société d'émulation and Vendée-Histoire-Patrimoine. Its intellectual independence is guaranteed by a scientific council made up of academics from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. Its first co-presidents were the historians Pierre Chaunu and François Furet; it is currently chaired by Professor Reynald Abad, and directed by Yannis Suire. The CVRH's primary activity is publishing. It publishes several books each year on the Vendée — both the department and its neighbouring territories, notably the area often called "Vendée militaire" — covering the period from earliest times to the present. Its output includes monographs, memoirs, biographies, essays and popular works, and it has created the collection "la Vendée, les indispensables". By 2014, some eighty books had been published in the roughly twenty years since its creation, and both "beaux livres" and paperback editions are now available. Organising conferences and study days has also been an important activity: eight conferences were held between its creation and 2014. Recent titles include "La Vendée et le tourisme. Histoire d'une transformation 1945-1980" by Johan Vincent, "Les cloches de Vendée. Voix des églises" by Arnaud Jaulin, "Le Mur de l'Atlantique en Vendée" by Thomas Graffard, and the conference proceedings "Vendée Territoire d'histoire, histoire d'un territoire", published to mark the CVRH's thirtieth anniversary. The CVRH's stated objective is to open up new avenues of research and to make known the best work devoted to the history and heritage of the Vendée from its origins to the present day. It pursues a dual requirement: quality and objectivity, and access for the widest possible public to a history that is often little known.

The Centre Vendéen de Recherches Historiques (CVRH) was founded in 1994, a few months after an international academic conference held in La Roche-sur-Yon to mark the bicentenary of the 1793 Vendée uprising. The conference took place in the premises of the Institut catholique d'enseignement supérieur. Impressed by the quality of the debates and the large, attentive audience, the historian Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie considered that this reservoir of research should not be left fallow. The idea emerged to create an organisation dedicated to promoting research on the history and cultural heritage of the Vendée, under the direction of the historian Alain Gérard. The project's promoters wanted an academic anchor. Université Paris IV-Sorbonne and the Centre Roland-Mousnier granted their sponsorship. The rector Jean-Pierre Poussou, with the help of a few colleagues, helped set the project in motion. Alain Gérard, who after his thesis on Bas-Poitou in the modern period had published several works, was chosen as director of the Centre and integrated as a researcher at the University of Paris IV. An association was formed to serve as the administrative base for this construction. A few years later, in 2003, a Groupement d'intérêt public (GIP) was created, bringing together Université de Paris IV-Sorbonne, the Conseil régional des Pays de la Loire, the Conseil départemental de la Vendée and the supporting association. The GIP's board of directors was initially chaired by Professor Olivier Guillot, and from 2023 to 2025 by Professor Martin Aurell. A scientific director, Professor Reynald Abad (Université Paris IV-Sorbonne), ensures the link between the scientific council and the director of the Centre. The Centre established a scientific council, first co-presided by Pierre Chaunu and François Furet, then by Pierre Chaunu and Jean-Pierre Bardet. Publishing books constitutes the first activity. By 2014, eighty books had been published in the roughly twenty years since the CVRH's creation, notably on the history of Bas-Poitou and the Vendée, through monographs, memoirs, biographies, essays and popular works. To this end, the collection "la Vendée, les indispensables" was conceived. "Beaux livres" and paperback books are now available. Organising conferences and study days has also been an important activity of the CVRH: eight conferences were held between its creation and 2014. Alain Gérard directed the CVRH from 1994 to 2011. Michel Chamard, a French historian and former journalist at Valeurs actuelles and Le Figaro, was administrative and editorial director until 2014. He was then replaced by Pierre Legal, a doctor of law, holder of a diplôme d'études approfondies in history, maître de conférences HDR in legal history at Nantes and honorary dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Nantes. Yannis Suire succeeded Pierre Legal on 1 August 2017. A heritage curator, also responsible for the general inventory of the cultural heritage of the Vendée, he is a specialist in environmental history; his École des Chartes thesis, defended in 2002 on the history of the environment in the Marais poitevin, was published in 2006 by the CVRH. The presidency of the CVRH passed from Olivier Guillot, a jurist and historian and professor emeritus at the Sorbonne, to Maurice Quénet, professor emeritus at Université Paris-II-Panthéon-Assas, and then to Martin Aurell, a medievalist specialising in the Plantagenet dynasty, who presided from 2023 until his death in 2025. Today the Centre is directed by Yannis Suire and presided over by Professor Reynald Abad. Its intellectual independence is assured by a scientific council composed of academics from diverse disciplines and sensibilities. The GIP currently associates the Département de la Vendée, the Région des Pays de la Loire, Sorbonne-Université, the Société d'émulation and Vendée-Histoire-Patrimoine. The CVRH's objective is to open up new avenues of research and to make known the best work devoted to the history and heritage of the Vendée from its origins to the present day. It pursues a dual requirement: quality and objectivity, and access for the widest possible public to a history that is often little known. It publishes several books each year concerning the Vendée, both the department and its neighbouring territories, notably the area often called "Vendée militaire". Recent publications include "La Vendée et le tourisme. Histoire d'une transformation 1945-1980" by Johan Vincent (2026), "Les cloches de Vendée. Voix des églises" by Arnaud Jaulin (2026), "Le Mur de l'Atlantique en Vendée" by Thomas Graffard (2025), "Un chanoine dans la Guerre de Vendée" by Michel Chatry (2025), and the conference proceedings "Vendée Territoire d'histoire, histoire d'un territoire" (2026), published to mark the CVRH's thirtieth anniversary.

• 2026

  The conference proceedings "Vendée Territoire d'histoire, histoire d'un territoire" are published, marking the CVRH's thirtieth anniversary.

• 2025

  Martin Aurell dies; the conference "Vendée Territoire d'histoire, histoire d'un territoire" is held on 31 January–1 February.

• 2023

  Professor Martin Aurell becomes president of the CVRH.

• 2017

  Yannis Suire succeeds Pierre Legal as director on 1 August.

• 2014

  Michel Chamard is replaced as administrative and editorial director by Pierre Legal; by this year some eighty books have been published and eight conferences held.

• 2011

  Alain Gérard, first director since 1994, steps down.

• 2003

  A Groupement d'intérêt public (GIP) is created, associating Université de Paris IV-Sorbonne, the Conseil régional des Pays de la Loire, the Conseil départemental de la Vendée and the supporting association.

• 1994

  The Centre Vendéen de Recherches Historiques is founded under the direction of Alain Gérard, with sponsorship from Université Paris IV-Sorbonne and the Centre Roland-Mousnier.

• 1993

  An international academic conference is held in La Roche-sur-Yon for the bicentenary of the 1793 Vendée uprising, leading to the idea of creating a research centre.

A publicly backed academic research centre and specialist publisher devoted to the history and cultural heritage of the Vendée, combining scholarly quality and objectivity with accessibility for a broad readership.

Product categories. History books on the Vendée · Conference proceedings · Monographs · Biographies · Essays · Popular history works · Beaux livres · Paperback editions

1. 1CVRH Centre Vendéen de Recherches Historiqueshistoire-vendee.com
2. 2Qui sommes-nous ? | Centre Vendéen de Recherches Historiqueshistoire-vendee.com
3. 3Vendée Territoire d'histoire, histoire d'un territoire | Centre Vendéen de Recherches Historiqueshistoire-vendee.com
4. 4La Vendée et le tourisme. Histoire d'une transformation 1945-1980 | Centre Vendéen de Recherches Historiqueshistoire-vendee.com
5. 5Centre Vendéen de Recherches Historiqueswikidata.org
6. 6Centre vendéen de recherches historiquesfr.wikipedia.org