Geoffrey Of Anjou
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Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Fair (), Plantagenet, and of Anjou, was the
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 ...
and
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
by inheritance from 1129, and also
duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, N ...
by his marriage claim and conquest, from 1144. Geoffrey married
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 ...
, daughter of Henry I,
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 their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...
and
duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, N ...
. Geoffrey and Matilda's marriage led, through their son Henry II, to the 300-year long reign of the Plantagenet dynasty in England. Although it was never his family name or last name, "Plantagenet" was taken for the dynasty from Geoffrey's
epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
, long after his death. Geoffrey's ancestral domain of Anjou in north central France gives rise to the name Angevin, and what modern historians name as the Angevin Empire in the 12th century.


Early life

Geoffrey was the elder son of
Fulk V of Anjou Fulk of Anjou (, or ''Foulques''; – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the king of Jerusalem from 1131 until 1143 as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Melisende. Previously, he was the count of Anjou as Fulk V from 1109 t ...
and Ermengarde of Maine. The chronicler John of Marmoutier described Geoffrey as handsome, red haired, jovial, and a great warrior. 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 ...
, having heard reports on Geoffrey's talents and prowess, sent legates to Anjou to negotiate a marriage between his 25-year-old daughter Matilda and Geoffrey. Consent was obtained from both parties, and on 10 June 1128 King Henry, who was also the
duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, N ...
, knighted the 15-year-old Geoffrey in preparation for the wedding. Geoffrey of Anjou perhaps received the nickname (much later used for the royal dynasty that resulted from this marriage) from the yellow sprig of broom blossom ( is the French name for the , or broom shrub) he wore in his hat.


Marriage

Geoffrey and Matilda's marriage took place in 1128. The marriage was meant to seal a lasting peace between England, Normandy and Anjou. She was eleven years older than Geoffrey and very proud of her status as dowager empress (as opposed to being a mere
countess 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: ...
), which she kept for the remainder of her life. Their relationship was a stormy but happy one with frequent long separations. Matilda returned to her father's court after only a few months. Upon intervention from King Henry I, Matilda returned to Geoffrey, and Matilda became pregnant with their first son, the future King Henry II, not long after. They had three sons Henry, Geoffrey and
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
.


Count of Anjou

The year after the marriage, Geoffrey's father, Fulk left on
crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
for
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
(where he was to later become king), leaving Geoffrey behind as count of Anjou. When his father in law, King Henry I of England, died in 1135, Geoffrey supported Matilda in entering Normandy to claim her inheritance. The border districts submitted to her, but in England her first cousin Stephen of Blois had been crowned king, supported by a number of barons after claims that Henry I had changed his mind on his deathbed in regard to his heir. Barons in Normandy soon followed suit, or were in a large majority the same barons as in England. There were a number that supported Matilda, her claim to the throne, and the two vows that they had taken at the request of Henry, for her to be his heir. The following year, Geoffrey gave Ambrieres, Gorron, and Chatilon-sur-Colmont to Juhel de Mayenne, on condition that he help obtain the inheritance of Geoffrey's wife. In 1139, Matilda landed in England with 140 knights, where she was besieged at Arundel Castle by King Stephen. In the Anarchy which ensued, Stephen was captured at Lincoln in February 1141, and imprisoned at Bristol. A legatine council of the English church held at Winchester in April 1141 declared Stephen deposed and proclaimed Matilda "Lady of the English". During 1142 and 1143, Geoffrey secured all of Normandy west and south of the Seine, and, on 14 January 1144, he crossed the Seine and entered Rouen. He assumed the title of Duke of Normandy in the summer of 1144. In 1144, he founded an Augustine priory at Château-l'Hermitage in Anjou. Geoffrey held the duchy until 1149, when he and Matilda conjointly ceded it to their son, Henry, which cession was formally ratified by King Louis VII of France the following year. Geoffrey also put down three baronial rebellions in Anjou, in 1129, 1135 and 1145–1151. He was often at odds with his younger brother, Elias, whom he had imprisoned (until Elias died in 1151). The threat of rebellion slowed his progress in Normandy, and is one reason he could never assist in England. Geoffrey died later the same year, aged 38, and Henry took his father's place as head of the ducal house. In 1153, the Treaty of Wallingford stipulated that Stephen should remain King of England for life and that Henry, the son of Geoffrey and Matilda should succeed him, beginning the Plantagenet era in English history.Haskins, Charles H. 1912. "Normandy Under Geoffrey Plantagenet", ''The English Historical Review'', volume 27 (July): 417–444.


Death

Geoffrey died suddenly on 7 September 1151. According to John of Marmoutier, Geoffrey was returning from a royal council when he was stricken with fever. He arrived at
Château-du-Loir Château-du-Loir (; literally 'Château of the Loir') is a former commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. On 1 October 2016, it was merged into the new commune Montval-sur-Loir.
, collapsed on a couch, made bequests of gifts and charities, and died. His wife and sons outlived him. He was buried at St Julien's Cathedral in
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
, France, and his son Henry succeeded him to by then a substantial part of France.


Children

Geoffrey and Matilda's children were: #
Henry II, King of England Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainme ...
(1133–1189) # Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (1134–1158) # William, Viscount of Dieppe (1136–1164) Geoffrey also had illegitimate children by an unknown mistress (or mistresses): #
Hamelin Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln ...
, who married Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey # Emma, who married Dafydd Ab Owain Gwynedd, Prince of
North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...
# Mary, who became a nun and Abbess of Shaftesbury and who may have been the poet Marie de France.


Early heraldry

An enamel
effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...
(funerary plaque) commissioned by his widow to decorate the tomb of Geoffrey of Anjou is one of the earliest examples of European
heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
. Jean de Marmentier, a late-12th-century chronicler, reported that in 1128 Henry I of England knighted his son-in-law Geoffrey and granted him a badge of gold lions. A gold lion may already have been Henry's own badge, and different lion motifs would later be used by many of his descendants. The enamel shows Geoffrey with a blue shield depicting gold lions, apparently the same motif later used by a grandson of Geoffrey, William Longespee. In addition to being one of the first authentic representations of a coat of arms, according to British historian Jim Bradbury it "suggests possible evidence for the early use of what became the English royal arms".Bradbury, Jim (2004), ''The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare'', p. 273


References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Geoffrey Of Anjou 1113 births 1151 deaths 12th-century French nobility 12th-century English people 12th-century dukes of Normandy Counts of Anjou Counts of Maine House of Plantagenet Christians of the Second Crusade Duchy of Normandy Empress Matilda People of The Anarchy Sons of kings