Brian fitz Count (also Brian of Wallingford) was descended from the Breton ducal house, and became an Anglo-Norman noble, holding the lordships of Wallingford and

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

. He was a loyal adherent of Henry I, King of England, and a staunch supporter of his daughter, the

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

, during

the Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...

(1135–1153). Brian would go on to become one of the most notable knights to have sided with

and the Angevin faction. As a result, he is consistently mentioned in contemporary sources.

Life

Brian fitz Count was an illegitimate son of Alan IV, Duke of Brittany, and thus the half-brother of

Conan III, Duke of Brittany Conan III, also known as Conan of Cornouaille and Conan the Fat (, and ; c. 1093–1096 – 17 September 1148) was duke of Brittany, from 1112 to his death. He was the son of Alan IV, Duke of Brittany and Ermengarde of Anjou (d. 1146), Ermengard ...

.C. Warren Hollister, ''Henry I'' (Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2003), p. 314 He was sent to be raised at the court of King

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

.Henry's patronage of Brian fitz Count, the illegitimate son of his brother-in-law Alan Fergent, could be seen as patronage to a nephew and his presence at court could be the result of having been sent there either out of friendship or a family relationship. Regardless, Brian fitz Count proved to be a loyal and valuable adherent to Henry I. See: Charlotte A. Newman, 'Family and Royal Favor in Henry I's England', ''Albion'', Vol. 14, no. 3/4 (Autumn 1982), p. 301 & n. 27 He served Henry well at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106 and elsewhere, winning the king's favour. Brian became a close friend of

Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147 David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved 1 ...

, Henry I's illegitimate son, and the two remained longstanding allies.Donald Matthew, ''King Stephen'' (Hambledon and London, London, 2002), p. 97 In 1127 Brian and Robert were chosen by Henry to accompany his daughter,

, to Anjou during the negotiations for her marriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. The ''Gesta Stephani'' notes that Brian was a man of "distinguished birth and splendid position".Potter, K.R. ed. ''Gesta Stephani The Deeds of Stephen''. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1955. p.60 As a

Marcher Lord A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in Fra ...

through the Barony of

, Brian was reputedly concerned with the resurgence of Welsh hostility following the death of Henry I. Brian married an English heiress, Matilda D'Oyly, widow of Miles Crispin, and through her obtained the Honour of Wallingford . Brian also inherited the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

and Barony of

in the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

from his uncle,

Hamelin de Balun Hamelin de Ballon (or Baalun, Baalan, Balun, Balodun, Balon, etc.) (born ca. 1060, died 5 March 1105/6) was an early Normans, Norman Baron and the first Baron Abergavenny and Lord of Over Kingdom of Gwent, Gwent and Abergavenny; he also served W ...

. He held the

honour Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...

Grosmont Castle Grosmont Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales. The fortification was established by the Normans in the wake of the Norman conquest of England, invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to ...

, but by what right is uncertain. He gave this to Walter de Hereford, the son of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford about 1141. Brian held the honour of Wallingford by marriage, and his extensive estates in the counties of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

and

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

ran from the Chilterns to the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. He supported Empress Matilda against King Stephen from 1139 on. Unlike the other Marcher Lords that followed Robert of Gloucester in swearing for Matilda in 1138, Brian only swore his support for Empress Matilda upon her arrival in England at

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

in 1139. Although Stephen's forces repeatedly besieged Wallingford Castle, they failed to take the fortification and had to retreat as it had been reinforced by Brian. Wallingford Castle under Brian fitz Count was considered impregnable, not just because of the fortifications but also due to the large body of fighting men he had gathered together. A.L. Poole wrote of Brian: "Brian, a man of intelligence and education, was one of the better types of baron of the anarchy, a type more numerous perhaps than is usually supposed, whose honest purpose is lost sight of at a time when the majority of the class was making the very name of baron a byword for faithlessness, cruelty and lawlessness". See: K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, 'The Devolution of the Honour of Wallingford, 1066–1148', ''Oxoniensia'' Vol. 54 (1989), p. 315. His castle of Wallingford was the easternmost point of the Angevin defences in the Thames valley and it held off King Stephen's forces for over thirteen years. Empress Matilda's nighttime escape from the siege of Oxford was to the safety of Wallingford Castle. When Brian died is unknown. After his death, Matilda became a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

at Bec and died in the 1150s. As they had no heirs, their lands and castles in England and Wales reverted to the Crown early in the reign of

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

.I.J. Sanders, ''English Baronies: a study of their origin and descent, 1086-1327'' (The Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1963), p. 93

Life

Notes

References

Further reading