CHAPITRE II.
Chapter II opens with Geoffrey Greygown’s busy and stirring later years, beginning with his second marriage and culminating in his death in 987.…
Geoffrey Greygown’s Second Marriage
Geoffrey Greygown’s Second Marriage Around the time of the Lotharingian raid, Geoffrey Greygown married his second wife, Adela, countess in her own right of Chalon-sur-Saône and w…
Geoffrey’s Designs on Britanny
Geoffrey’s Designs on Britanny Geoffrey’s marriage of his daughter Hermengard to Conan of Rennes was likely a calculated political move intended to pave the way for Angevin interv…
The Capture of Guerech and Gaining of Nantes
The Capture of Guerech and Gaining of Nantes Hoel, son of Alan Barbetorte, ruled Nantes for nearly twenty years after Fulk’s death until he was struck down by an assassin.…
Conflict with Conan and the Battle of Conquereux
Conflict with Conan and the Battle of Conquereux Conan, duke of Britanny, was enraged at Geoffrey’s seizure of overlordship over Nantes and regarded Guerech’s enforced homage as a…
Death of Lothar and the Rise of Hugh Capet
Death of Lothar and the Rise of Hugh Capet The death of King Lothar in early March 986 brought Hugh Capet within one step of the throne.…
William Shockhead and William Fierabras of Aquitaine
William Shockhead and William Fierabras of Aquitaine In 956, William “Tête-d’Etoupe” or Shockhead, wielding triple power as count of Poitou, count of Auvergne, and duke of Aquitai…
Geoffrey’s Invasion of Poitou and Capture of Loudun
Geoffrey’s Invasion of Poitou and Capture of Loudun Following closely in Hugh Capet’s wake, Geoffrey Greygown ventured on bold aggression to the south.…
The Grant of Maine to Geoffrey
The Grant of Maine to Geoffrey While the young King Louis did nothing, Hugh Capet and his followers were almost openly preparing for the final step.…
Death of Louis V and the Coronation of Hugh Capet
Death of Louis V and the Coronation of Hugh Capet King Louis V was seized at Senlis with a violent sickness and died on May 22, 987; the last Karolingian king was buried at Compiè…
Geoffrey Greygown’s Death
Geoffrey Greygown’s Death Left by Hugh to finish the siege of Marson, Geoffrey fell sick and died before the place seven weeks after his patron’s coronation.…
The Close of the First Angevin Era
The Close of the First Angevin Era The century of preparation and transition was over; the great change was not to be undone again for eight hundred years.…
Note A: Sources and Authenticity of Early Angevin History
Note A: Sources and Authenticity of Early Angevin History The only detailed account of the early Angevins, down to Geoffrey Greygown, is contained in two books: the *Gesta Consulu…
CHAPITRE II.
CHAPTER II. examines several “unmanageable points” in the early Angevin narrative, including chronological reconstruction of Fulk the Red, problems with Ingelger’s supposed investitures, the bipartite county hypothesis, the unreliable testimony of Fulk Rechin, the spurious Cluny…
Unmanageable Points in the Story
The pedigree cannot be right. John confused Hugh the Great (whom he calls “Hugh of Burgundy”) as a son of the earlier Hugh of Burgundy, and made this earlier Hugh the father of Pe…
Chronology of Fulk the Red
M. E. Mabille established the chronology of Fulk the Red in his introduction to the Chroniques des Comtes d’Anjou and in “Les Invasions normandes dans la Loire” (*Bibl.…
Ingelger’s Investiture with Orléans and Gâtinais
Ingelger’s supposed investiture with Orléans and Gâtinais is doubly suspect. His championship of the slandered countess of Gâtinais is an untraceable literary commonplace; while s…
Ingelger’s Investiture with Anjou
Ingelger’s name does not appear in any known document of the period. The only rulers of the Angevin march are Hugh the Abbot and his successor Odo, until Fulk the Viscount.…
Fulk’s Charter Appearances
Fulk’s documentary trail begins in September 898, when “Fulco vicecomes” witnesses a charter of Ardradus, brother of Atto, viscount of Tours.…
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