Berengar II (died 896) was the Count of Bayeux and

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

and Margrave of the Northern or Norman March from 886 until his death a decade later. In 874, Brittany's internal politics were thrown into turmoil when King Salomon was murdered by a rival. The resulting surge of Viking attacks made possible by the power vacuum was narrowly held at bay by a hasty Breton-Frankish alliance between Alan the Great of

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

and Berengar of Rennes. Between 889 and 90, the Seine Vikings moved into Brittany, hard on the heels of the Loire fleet that Alan and Berengar had successfully driven out (this latter force had broken up into several small flotillas and sailed west). Alain again joined forces with Berengar of Rennes and led two Breton armies into the field. Finding their retreat down the Marne blocked, the Vikings hauled their ships overland to the Vire and besieged Saint-Lo, where the Bretons virtually annihilated the fleet. Berengar's kin became the first Gallo-speaking lords holding residence within Brittany (

and Penthièvre, rather than the

Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...

-predominant

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

), as a consequence of the Breton nobility being more or less broken under the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

invasions of the 880s and as a reward for holding his ground against their attacks. Berengar is speculated to have married the daughter of

Gurvand, Duke of Brittany Wrhwant, Gurwant, Gurwent or Gurvand () (died 876) was a claimant to the Kingdom of Brittany from 874 until his death in opposition to Pascweten, Count of Vannes. Wrhwant was complicit in the conspiracy which assassinated Salomon in 874. Howe ...

, by which relationship he attained the countship of Rennes. This would make him brother-in-law of

Judicael, Duke of Brittany Judicael (or Yezekael) (died 888 or 889) was the Duke of Brittany from 876 to his death. He was a son of a daughter of Erispoe and claimed Brittany after the death of the pretenders Wrhwant and Pascweten in mid 876. During the reign of Salomon ( ...

. He is thought to be the Berengar of Bayeux whose daughter Poppa was captured in a raid and married to

Rollo of Normandy Rollo (, ''Rolloun''; ; ; – 933), also known with his epithet, Rollo "the Walker", was a Viking who, as Count of Rouen, became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in today's northern France. He was prominent among the Vikings who besieg ...

. Various reconstructions make him father, grandfather, or great-grandfather of

Judicael Berengar Judicael (or Juhel, Judhel, Judhael), thus called in Breton sources, alias Berengar (or Berengarius) his name in Frankish sources, and sometimes known as Judicael Berengar, with both names being used together, was a Count of Rennes in the 10th centu ...

, later Count of Rennes.

References

Sources

* * * * Counts of Bayeux Counts of Rennes Margraves of Neustria 896 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Brittany-stub