Fulk II of Anjou ( 905 – 960), called ("the Good"), was

Count of Anjou The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by King Charles the Bald, Charles the Bald of West Francia in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the t ...

from 942 to his death.Refer to

Bernard S. Bachrach Bernard Stanley Bachrach (May 14, 1939 – July 14, 2023) was an American historian. He taught history at the University of Minnesota from 1967 until his retirement in 2020. He specialized in the Early Middle Ages, mainly on the topics of medieva ...

, "Fulk Nerra: Neo-Roman Consul, 987-1040" (California, 1993) 261 and 262 for a useful genealogy of the Angevin

comital Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

line.

Life

Fulk II, born ,K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, ''Family Trees and the Root of Politics; A Prosopography of Britain and France from the Tenth to the Twelfth Century'' (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 1997), p. 255 was a son of

Fulk the Red Fulk I of Anjou ( 870 – 942), known by the nickname ("Fulk the Red", i.e. "Red Falcon"), was a Frankish nobleman who held several titles in West Francia, including Viscount and later Count of County of Tours, Tours from 905, Count of County o ...

and his wife Roscilla de Loches, daughter of Warnerius,

Seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

de Villentrois.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 1 (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984), Tafel 116 He succeeded his father in 942 as the second

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

, and remained in power until 960. By this time, the Angevins, Fulk II included, had become particularly adept at establishing

marriage alliances A marriage of state is a diplomatic marriage or union between two members of different nation-states or internally, between two power blocs, usually in authoritarian societies and is a practice which dates back to ancient times, as far back as ear ...

that furthered their goals. His father,

, had arranged his marriage to Gerberga, daughter of Geoffrey of Nevers and Aba.The assumption of Bernard S. Bachrach, stating Gerberga was a daughter of Ratburnus I,

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...

, is not consistent. Among other things, this alliance enabled Fulk to open the doors towards Aquitaine for his daughter, Adelaide-Blanche, to marry a future king of France (Aba was likely a daughter of

William I, Duke of Aquitaine William I (22 March 875 – 6 July 918), called the Pious, was the Count of Auvergne from 886 and Duke of Aquitaine from 893, succeeding the Poitou, Poitevin ruler Ebalus of Aquitaine, Ebalus Manser. He made numerous monastic foundations, most imp ...

, and Engelberga, thus of royal blood) and for his son Guy to become

Bishop of le Puy The Diocese of Le Puy-en-Velay (Latin: ''Dioecesis Aniciensis''; French: ''Diocèse du Puy-en-Velay'' ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the whole Department of Haute-Loire, in the Region of Auvergne-R ...

.Bernard S. Bachrach, ''Fulk Nerra the Neo-Roman Consul, 987-1040'' (University of California Press, 1993), p. 7 After Gerberga's death , Fulk made another astute political marriage to the

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

Alan II, Duke of Brittany Alan II (c. 900–952), nicknamed Wrybeard or Twistedbeard, Alan Varvek in Breton, was Count of Vannes, Poher and Nantes, and Duke of Brittany from 938 to his death. He was the grandson of King Alan the Great by Alan's daughter and her husba ...

. Alan II had also been Count of Nantes and through this marriage Fulk gained influence in, and possibly control of,

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 ...

. His second wife was also the sister of

Theobald I, Count of Blois Theobald I (before 91316 January 975, 976 or 977), called the Trickster (known as ''le Tricheur'' – meaning “cheater”– in French), was Count of Blois, Tours, Chartres and Châteaudun, as well as Lord of Vierzon and Provins. He was a loyal ...

, which permitted Fulk II to form an alliance with the

House of Blois The House of Blois () was a noble family that arose in the West Francia, Kingdom of West Francia in the early 10th century, and whose prominent members were often named Theobald (''Thibaud'', ''Thibault'', ''Thibaut'' in French language, French). ...

. He is said to have ordered the murder of

Drogo, Duke of Brittany Drogo was the count of Vannes and Nantes and duke of Brittany from 952, when he succeeded his father, Alan Wrybeard, until his death in 958. Drogo was a minor throughout his reign, and so he was under a Regency. Drogo's Regents were his uncle t ...

, Alan II's son with the latter, according to the ''

Chronique de Nantes ''Chronicle of Nantes'' (Latin: ''Chronicon Namnetense'', French: ''Chronique de Nantes'') is an eleventh-century Latin chronicle of history extending from 570 to about 1049 AD. The original manuscript, kept in the city of Nantes, has not survived, ...

''.

Family

By his spouse Gerberge, Fulk II had several children: *

Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou( –1026) was, by her successive marriages, countess of Gévaudan and Forez, of Toulouse, of Provence, and of Burgundy, and queen of Aquitaine. She was the regent of Gevaudan during the minority of her sons in the 9 ...

, married four or five times. * Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou, married Adelaide of Vermandois. * Bouchard, Count of Vendome. * Guy of Anjou, Bishop of le Puy. * Humbert d'Anjou, mentioned 957. Fulk II had no known issue with his second wife.

Death

Fulk died in 960.Bernard S. Bachrach, ''Fulk Nerra the Neo-Roman Consul, 987-1040'' (University of California Press, 1993), p. 261 He was succeeded by his son Geoffrey Greymantle.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulk 02 Anjou House of Ingelger Counts of Anjou 900s births 960 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century French nobility