monastery of St Nicholas at Angers, he left no children, and transmitted
the countship to Geoffrey the Bearded, the eldest of his nephews (see
ANJOU).
See Louis Halphen, _Le Comte d'Anjou au XI^e siecle_ (Paris, 1906). A
summary biography is given by Celestin Port, _Dictionnaire historique,
geographique et biographique de Maine-et-Loire_ (3 vols.,
Paris-Angers, 1874-1878), vol. ii. pp. 252-253, and a sketch of the
wars by Kate Norgate, _England under the Angevin Kings_ (2 vols.,
London, 1887), vol. i. chs. iii. iv. (L. H.*)
GEOFFREY, surnamed PLANTAGENET [or PLANTEGENET] (1113-1151), count of
Anjou, was the son of Count Fulk the Young and of Eremburge (or
Arembourg of La Fleche); he was born on the 24th of August 1113. He is
also called "le bel" or "the handsome," and received the surname of
Plantagenet from the habit which he is said to have had of wearing in
his cap a sprig of broom (_genet_). In 1127 he was made a knight, and on
the 2nd of June 1129 married Matilda, daughter of Henry I. of England,
and widow of the emperor Henry V. Some months afterwards he succeeded to
his father, who gave up the countship when he definitively went to the
kingdom of Jerusalem. The years of his government were spent in subduing
the Angevin barons and in conquering Normandy (see ANJOU). In 1151,
while returning from the siege of Montreuil-Bellay, he took cold, in
consequence of bathing in the Loir at Chateau-du-Loir, and died on the
7th of September. He was buried in the cathedral of Le Mans. By his wife
Matilda he had three sons: Henry Plantagenet, born at Le Mans on Sunday,
the 5th of March 1133; Geoffrey, born at Argentan on the 1st of June
1134; and William Long-Sword, born on the 22nd of July 1136.
See Kate Norgate, _England under the Angevin Kings_ (2 vols., London,
1887), vol. i. chs. v.-viii.; Celestin Port, _Dictionnaire historique,
geographique et biographique de Maine-et-Loire_ (3 vols.,
Paris-Angers, 1874-1878), vol. ii. pp. 254-256. A history of Geoffrey
le Bel has yet to be written; there is a biography of him written in
the 12th century by Jean, a monk of Marmoutier, _Historia Gaufredi,
ducis Normannorum et comitis Andegavorum_, published by Marchegay et
Salmon; "Chroniques des comtes d'Anjou" (_Societe de l'histoire de
France_, Paris, 1856), pp. 229-310. (L. H.*)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account