CHAPITRE II.
Chapter II traces the emergence of the Angevin dynasty from the forest stronghold of Angers on the Breton border to the establishment of Fulk the Red as first hereditary count of Anjou, set against the broader transformation of the West-Frankish kingdom into a duchy of Parisian…
The Rise of the Parisian Dukes
Following Odo’s death in 898, Charles the Simple returned to the throne as a Karolingian, but the monarchy of Laon was gradually supplanted by the dukes of the French whose duchy…
Tortulf the Forester
In Robert the Brave’s day, a valiant forester named Tortulf dwelt in the gloomy forest-belt along the Breton border at the foot of hills sheltering the western side of the Mayenne…
Ingelger and the Acquisition of Amboise
Ingelger followed his father Tortulf’s footsteps and, through marriage to Ælendis, niece of the archbishop of Tours, acquired her lands at Amboise.…
Fulk the Red, First Count of Anjou
Ingelger’s ruddy son Fulk entered the service of Count Odo of Paris and remained faithful to that house.…
Anjou, Blois, and Maine Compared
Though territorially one of the smallest under-fiefs of the duchy, Fulk’s little Anjou ultimately overshadowed all other divisions.…
The Character of the Angevin Rulers
The growth of Angevin power stemmed chiefly from the character of its rulers working in a sphere suited to their gifts.…
Angers in Fulk’s Time
When Fulk came to rule Angers around the time Æthelstan succeeded Eadward the Elder, the town was built of red flintstone and redder brick, materials later embedded in the bishop’…
The Political Position of Anjou
Fulk held Angers during a transition that would transform the West-Frankish kingdom into a kingdom of Parisian France.…
Fulk’s Marriage to Roscilla of Loches
To strengthen his position by peaceful means, Fulk emulated his father’s example of advantageous marriage.…
The Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte and Normandy
A few years before Fulk’s investiture, King Charles the Simple and Duke Hugh of Paris, unable to dislodge the pirate Hrolf the Ganger from his conquests at the mouth of the Seine,…
The Battle of Fleury and Ingelger’s Death
On Charles the Simple’s death and Rudolf of Burgundy’s accession, Norman hostility broke out in a raid sweeping past Orléans through the Gâtinais to the abbey of S.…
Guy, Bishop of Soissons
With Ingelger’s death, the succession fell to Fulk’s youngest son Fulk the Good, for the second son Guy was already in holy orders.…
The Death of Fulk the Red
A year after Hugh’s consecration, in the winter of 941 or early spring of 942, Fulk the Red died “in a good old age.…
CHAPITRE II.
Chapter II surveys the era of the second Count Fulk of Anjou, traditionally regarded as the golden age of the Marchland, and traces the reign through to his son Geoffrey Greygown. Beginning with Fulk’s peaceful and scholarly rule, his devotion to the church of S.…
The Reign of Fulk the Good
The reign of Fulk II, surnamed “the Good,” is presented as the proverbial golden age of Anjou, a land so peaceful that it had, in effect, no history.…
Breton Affairs and Theobald’s Intrigue
The old Breton kingdom had by this time been reduced to a duchy torn by civil war between the ruling house of Nantes and the counts of Rennes.…
The Norman Raid and the Loss of Nantes
While these Breton complications were unfolding, the Normans launched a raid upon Britanny, claiming it as their overlordship.…
The Death and Legend of Fulk the Good
The clouds gathering on the western horizon did not disturb Fulk’s final hours. Kneeling to receive communion at S.…
Geoffrey Greygown, Fulk’s Successor
Geoffrey Greygown, the elder of Fulk’s two sons, took the first steps toward fulfilling that legendary prophecy.…
Lothar, Otto, and the Struggle for Lorraine
The wider political stage on which Geoffrey Greygown now acted was dominated by the struggle between the Western and Eastern Frankish crowns.…
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