Erispoe (french: Erispoë; la, Herispoius, Herispogius, Respogius; died 2 or 12 November 857) was

Duke of Brittany This is a list of rulers of the Duchy of Brittany. In different epochs the sovereigns of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary r ...

from 851 to his death. After the death of his father

Nominoe Nominoe or Nomenoe (french: Nominoë; br, Nevenoe; c. 800, 7 March 851) was the first Duke of Brittany from 846 to his death. He is the Breton ''pater patriae'' and to Breton nationalists he is known as ' ("father of the country"). ...

, he led a successful military campaign against the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

, culminating in his victory at the

Battle of Jengland The Battle of Jengland (also called Jengland-Beslé, Beslé, or Grand Fougeray) took place on 22 August 851, between the Frankish army of Charles the Bald and the Breton army of Erispoe, Duke of Brittany. The Bretons were victorious, leading to t ...

. He is subsequently referred to as "King of Brittany". Erispoe's recorded titles include ("prince of the province of Brittany"), ("duke of the

Bretons The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mo ...

"), and ("usurping king of the Bretons"). However, if Erispoe was usurping regality in Brittany at that time (857), it is not attested in other sources. It may imply continued Frankish resentment of the title. He is called ("king of the Bretons") by

Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum ( la, Regino Prumiensis, german: Regino von Prüm; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm (892–99) and later of Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is an important so ...

(d. 915).

War with the Franks

Erispoe was born to Nominoe's wife Argentaela, but the date of his birth is not known. He was involved in his father's campaigns to take control of the Frankish counties of Rennes and Nantes. In 843, in alliance with Lambert II of Nantes, Erispoe took command of the Breton army while his father was ill. Lambert had been displaced as ruler of Nantes by

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...

, king of

West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

, who had installed

Renaud d'Herbauges Renaud (795–843) was Frankish Count of Herbauges, Count of Poitiers and Count of Nantes. His name is also spelled Rainaldus or Ragenold, and he is sometimes known as Reginald in English. He is referred to as Renaud of Aquitaine, but seems to h ...

in his place. Ambushed by Count Renaud, Erispoe was badly defeated at the initial engagement at Messac. However, the Brittons quickly rallied their troops and took the complacent Franks by surprise shortly thereafter at the

Battle of Blain The Battle of Blain, also called the Battle of Messac, was fought on 24 May 843 by the forces of Lambert II of Nantes and Erispoe, prince of Brittany, against Renaud, Frankish Count of Nantes. It arose from Breton resistance to Frankish power wi ...

, inflicting a serious defeat resulting in the death of Count Renaud. Having regained his health, Nominoe took command once more. The victory at Blain having secured control of Nantes and Rennes, he raided into Frankish territory, defeating the Franks at the

Battle of Ballon The Battle of Ballon took place on 22 November 845 between the forces of Charles the Bald, king of West Francia, and Nominoë, Duke of Brittany. Nominoë was appropriating border territory and opposing Charles' attempt to impose Frankish author ...

in 845. A truce followed, but after Charles regained control of Nantes, Nominoe and Erispoe renewed their offensive in 849. While on campaign, Nominoe died suddenly. Erispoe was proclaimed leader, but immediately after his father's death, his power was challenged by Charles the Bald, still his nominal suzerain. Charles crossed the river

Vilaine The Vilaine (; br, Gwilen) is a river in Brittany, in the west of France. The river's source is in the Mayenne ''département'' (53), and it flows out into the Atlantic Ocean at Pénestin in the Morbihan ''département'' (56). It is 218 km ...

with an army. Erispoe defeated Charles in the decisive

on 22 August 851.

Treaty of Angers

Erispoe met Charles in

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

(possibly in secret) in the days following the battle and concluded a peace treaty in return for being invested with the counties of Rennes and Nantes.Smith, 87. South of the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, the ''

Pays de Retz The Pays de Retz (; br, Bro-Raez, link=no; ) is a historical subregion of France that currently forms part of the Loire-Atlantique department, but which previously formed part of the Duchy of Brittany. The area lies between the southern shore of ...

'' was detached from the

County of Poitou The County of Poitou (Latin ''comitatus Pictavensis'') was a historical region of France, consisting of the three sub-regions of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. Its name is derived from the ancient Gaul tribe of Pictones. The county was bounded ...

and granted to him as well. Charles and Erispoe also created a baptismal alliance, whereby Charles stood as godfather at the baptism of Erispoe's infant son Conan, but whether in 851 or 856 is unknown. Finally, in 851 Charles gave Erispoe royal regalia (robes at least) and Erispoe in turn pledged himself to Charles with the giving of hands and an oath of fidelity.Smith, 111. Erispoe subsequently overate at the banquet given in his honour. According to the ''

Annales Bertiniani ''Annales Bertiniani'' (''Annals of Saint Bertin'') are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the Abbey of Saint Bertin, Saint-Omer, France, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus contin ...

'', at

Louviers Louviers () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in north-western France. Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen. Population History Prehistory In the area around Louviers, cut stones from the Paleolithic era have been foun ...

in February 856 Erispoe's daughter (unnamed in the sources) was betrothed to Charles's young son,

Louis the Stammerer Louis II, known as Louis the Stammerer (french: Louis le Bègue; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. Louis ...

, who was granted the '' ducatus Cenomannicus'' as subking of

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It late ...

with Le Mans as his capital. With the consent of the Frankish magnates, Louis received the ''regnum Neustriae'' from his father:

''Karlus rex cum Respogio Brittone paciscens, filiam eius filio suo Ludoico despondet, dato illi ducatu Cenomannico usque ad viam quae a Lotitia Parisiorum Cesaredunum Turonum ducit''.
King Charles, making peace with Erispoe of Brittany, the daughter of whom was betrothed to his son Louis, gave the duchy of Maine as far as the road from Paris to Tours as duke.

Erispoe was at peace with Charles for the whole of his reign after Jengland and he governed as a typical Carolingian regional official might, with the added dignity of a ''consors regni'' (royal consort). Erispoe's use of a royal seal has led to the false belief that he was a king (''rex''), but in fact he probably received the right to use such a seal from Charles, who himself used an imperial seal.

Later life

Erispoe was a benefactor of the abbey of Redon, as his father had been; his power base lay in the Vannetais and southeast Brittany (even more easterly than his father). In 853 the town of Nantes was plundered by the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

. Erispoe launched a war against them but it came to an end when they departed a few years later.

Death and succession

In November 857 he was assassinated at the altar of a church, which was then considered a place of

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

, by his cousin and successor Salomon, aided by an obscure Almarchus (Almarus).Smith, 103. He was buried at Redon Abbey.

Family

By his wife Marmohec (who predeceased him) he had at least two children, the aforementioned Conan and a girl, who eventually married Gurvand of Rennes.

Notes