Barons Swear to Accept Matilda as Heir
At the midwinter assembly of 1126–1127, Henry I compelled the barons and prelates of England to swear that, should he die without a lawful son, they would accept the Empress Matil…
The Clito’s Rise in Flanders
Louis of France struck back by reviving the Clito’s cause, granting him the French Vexin and a new bride, Jane of Montferrat, beyond any reach of consanguinity objections.…
Henry Makes Peace with Anjou
Henry saw that his bold scheme for Matilda’s succession could only be secured by settling the long-disputed question of Maine through the union of rival claims in a single hand.…
Marriage of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Matilda
Shortly after Pentecost 1127, Matilda was sent across the sea in the care of her half-brother Earl Robert of Gloucester and Count Brian of Britanny, with instructions to the archb…
The Wedding at Le Mans
Eight days after the knighting, Geoffrey and Matilda were wedded in the cathedral church of S.…
Homecoming at Angers
The homecoming at Angers was a moment of pure triumph for the house of Anjou. A vivid contemporary picture evokes the city on a steep hill crowned with churches: clergy in richest…
Fulk Accepts the Crown of Jerusalem
With Geoffrey’s marriage accomplished, Fulk V’s own mission as Count of Anjou was fulfilled, and he readily accepted the offer of Baldwin II of Jerusalem to wed the heiress Melise…
KAPITEL IV.
Chapter IV chronicles the final phase of Count Fulk’s life in Anjou before his departure on crusade, including the death of his wife, his taking of the cross, a poignant family farewell at Fontevraud, and his embarkation eastward.…
Death of Fulk’s Wife
Fulk’s wife died in 1126. A characteristic story of her last illness, preserved in the Acta Pontificum Cenomanensium, suggests that whatever the political origins of their marri…
Fulk Accepts the Cross
Fulk could not accept the call to crusade without the consent of his overlord King Louis of France and of his own subjects.…
Family Farewell at Fontevraud
A secluded spot was chosen for the last family meeting. At the abbey of Fontevraud, founded decades earlier by the crusader Robert of Arbrissel in wooded country south-east of Sau…
Departure on Crusade
The author declines to follow Fulk across land and sea, noting that while his Angevin qualities of restless activity and indomitable perseverance shone perhaps brightest in his la…
Note A: The Houses of Anjou and Gâtinais
Note A investigates the obscure marriage of Geoffrey Martel’s sister to a count or viscount of Gâtinais (Châteaulandon).…
Note B: The Heir of Geoffrey Martel
Note B examines three competing accounts of Geoffrey Martel’s territorial bequest. Documentary evidence—particularly charters describing Geoffrey the Bearded as count of Anjou and…
Note C: The War of Saintonge
Note C reconstructs the war between Geoffrey the Bearded and the Aquitanian duke Guy-Geoffrey (William VII) over Saintonge, using the Chronicon Sancti Maxentii as the principal…
Note D: The Descendants of Herbert Wake-Dog
Note D addresses the tangled female genealogy of the house of Maine. While the male succession—Hugh I (David), Herbert I (Wake-dog), Hugh II, Herbert II—is clear, the relationship…
KAPITEL IV.
This fragment comprises Chapter IV’s eighth and final installment, containing two historical notes: Note E on the Siege of La Flèche and Treaty of Blanchelande, and Note F on the Marriage of Geoffrey and Matilda.…
The Siege of La Flèche and Treaty of Blanchelande
This note investigates two questionable points: the date and the geography of the siege. On the date, Orderic presents a detailed narrative linking the siege directly to the 1073…
The Marriage of Geoffrey and Matilda
This note argues that the commonly cited date of 1127 is wrong, and that the marriage actually occurred in 1128. Five strands of evidence are examined.…
KAPITEL V.
This chapter introduces Geoffrey Plantagenet, eldest son of Fulk V. and Aremburg of Maine, describing him as a handsome, gifted, and scholarly youth whose very surname derived from his habit of adorning his cap with a sprig of broom (planta-genista).…
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