Talk:Viscounty of Léon

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I will be looking into the feudal status of Brittany vis-à-vis France/England/Léon in the coming days. I do not believe it can be called sovereign in the twelfth century, but was a vassal of the French king. It's status, however, had been in dispute much of the time in the 8th and 9th centuries and was granted, seemingly, complete sovereignty, by Louis IV in the 10th, but Peter of Dreux was, to all my knowledge, a definite vassal of the French king. Srnec (talk) 01:57, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

McKitterick calls Léon an "administrative unit" of Brittany under Saloman and Everard is clear on its Carolingian origins. It should be noted, too, that Penthièvre, which participated with Léon in the petitions against Duke Peter, was created by the dukes of Brittany in the early 11th century, so the connexion to ducal authority was historical if never effectual. Both McKitterick and Smith say that Alan II was a vassal of Louis IV: he was duke not king and he did homage in 942. Indeed, the former says that his title "implies subordination to the Franks", which, if extended, would imply that all subsequent "dukes" were subordinates of the Franks. Note too that Peter of Dreux was always styled "count" by the royal chancery. By 1100, Smith says, Brittany "took its place among the territorial principalities which clustered under the mantle of the Capetian monarchy." While more information could be gathered, I feel satisfied that Brittany was not a sovereign state and that Léon was a part of it, however independent a part. Srnec 05:11, 4 December 2007 (UTC)