Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou

Geoffrey Plantagenet
Duke of the Normans Count of Anjou, Maine and Mortain
Enamel effigy of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou on his tomb at Le Mans. His decorated shield shows the early origins of the Royal Arms of England.
Count of Anjou
Reign	1129 – 7 September 1151
Predecessor	Fulk the Younger
Successor	Henry Curtmantle
Born	(1113-08-24)24 August 1113
Died	7 September 1151(1151-09-07) (aged 38) Château-du-Loir, France
Burial	Le Mans Cathedral, Le Mans
Spouse	Matilda of England (m. 1128–51; his death)
Issue Detail	Henry II, King of England Geoffrey, Count of Nantes William, Viscount of Dieppe
House	House of Plantagenet
Father	Fulk, King of Jerusalem
Mother	Ermengarde, Countess of Maine

Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151) — called the Handsome or the Fair (French: le Bel) and Plantagenet — was the Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine by inheritance from 1129 and then Duke of Normandy by conquest from 1144. By his marriage to the Empress Matilda, daughter and heiress of Henry I of England, Geoffrey had a son, Henry Curtmantle, who succeeded to the English throne as King Henry II (1154-1189) and founded the Plantagenet dynasty the name of which was taken from Geoffrey's epithet.

Biography

Early life

Geoffrey was the elder son of Foulques V d'Anjou and Eremburga de La Flèche, daughter of Elias I of Maine. He was named after his great-grandfather Geoffrey II, Count of Gâtinais. Geoffrey received his nickname from the yellow sprig of broom blossom (genêt is the French name for the planta genista, or broom shrub) he wore in his hat.^[1]:9[2]:1 King Henry I of England, having heard good reports on Geoffrey's talents and prowess, sent his royal legates to Anjou to negotiate a marriage between Geoffrey and his own daughter, Empress Matilda. Consent was obtained from both parties, and on 10 June 1128 the fifteen-year-old Geoffrey was knighted in Rouen by King Henry in preparation for the wedding.

Marriage

Geoffrey and Matilda's marriage took place in 1128. The marriage was meant to seal a peace between England/Normandy and Anjou. She was eleven years older than Geoffrey, and very proud of her status as empress dowager (as opposed to being a mere countess). Their marriage was a stormy one with frequent long separations, but she bore him three sons and survived him.^[1]:14–18

Count of Anjou

The year after the marriage Geoffrey's father left for Jerusalem (where he was to become king), leaving Geoffrey behind as count of Anjou. John of Marmoutier describes Geoffrey as handsome, red-headed, jovial, and a great warrior; however, Ralph of Diceto alleges that his charm camouflaged a cold and selfish character.

When King Henry I died in 1135, Matilda at once entered Normandy to claim her inheritance. The border districts submitted to her, but England chose her cousin Stephen of Blois for its king, and Normandy soon followed suit. The following year, Geoffrey gave Ambrieres, Gorron, and Chatilon-sur-Colmont to Juhel de Mayenne, on condition that he help obtain the inheritance of Geoffrey's wife.^[3]

In 1139 Matilda landed in England with 140 knights, where she was besieged at Arundel Castle by King Stephen. In the "Anarchy" which ensued, Stephen was captured at Lincoln in February 1141, and imprisoned at Bristol. A legatine council of the English church held at Winchester in April 1141 declared Stephen deposed and proclaimed Matilda "Lady of the English". Stephen was subsequently released from prison and had himself recrowned on the anniversary of his first coronation.

During 1142 and 1143, Geoffrey secured all of Normandy west and south of the Seine, and, on 14 January 1144, he crossed the Seine and entered Rouen. He assumed the title of Duke of Normandy in the summer of 1144. In 1144, he founded an Augustine priory at Chateau-l'Ermitage in Anjou. Geoffrey held the duchy until 1149, when he and Matilda conjointly ceded it to their son, Henry, which cession was formally ratified by King Louis VII of France the following year.

Geoffrey also put down three baronial rebellions in Anjou, in 1129, 1135, and 1145–1151. He was often at odds with his younger brother, Elias, whom he had imprisoned until 1151. The threat of rebellion slowed his progress in Normandy, and is one reason he could not intervene in England. In 1153, the Treaty of Wallingford stipulated that Stephen should remain King of England for life and that Henry, the son of Geoffrey and Matilda should succeed him.^[4]

Death

North West France 1150

Geoffrey died suddenly on 7 September 1151. According to John of Marmoutier, Geoffrey was returning from a royal council when he was stricken with fever. He arrived at Château-du-Loir, collapsed on a couch, made bequests of gifts and charities, and died. He was buried at St. Julien's Cathedral in Le Mans France.^[4]

Legacy

Children

Geoffrey and Matilda's children were:

1. Henry II of England (1133–1189)
2. Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (1 June 1134 Rouen- 26 July 1158 Nantes) died unmarried and was buried in Nantes
3. William, Viscount of Dieppe (1136–1164) died unmarried

Geoffrey also had illegitimate children by an unknown mistress (or mistresses): Hamelin; Emme, who married Dafydd Ab Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales; and Mary, who became a nun and Abbess of Shaftesbury and who may be the poetess Marie de France. Adelaide of Angers is sometimes sourced as being the mother of Hamelin.^[4]

Earliest heraldry?

It has long been thought that the earliest documented instance of heraldry was that in a report by Jean de Marmentier, a late-12th-century chronicler, that in 1128 Henry I of England knighted his son-in-law Geoffrey and granted him a badge of gold lions.^[5] A gold lion may already have been Henry's own badge, and different lion motifs would later be used by many of his descendants. An enamel effigy (funerary plaque) created at the direction of his widow shows Geoffrey with a shield with gold lions on a blue background.^[6] Thus, this may be evidence of one of the first authentic representations of a coat of arms^[7] and, according to British historian Jim Bradbury, "suggests possible evidence for the early use of what became the English royal arms".^[8] Bradbury also concedes, however, that "this is often discredited as written later" (i.e., two or three generations later by de Marmentier). According to French medievalist Michel Pastoureau, "for a long time heraldists believed that the earliest documented arms were those of Geoffrey Plantagenet…unfortunately [the] text was written after the death of Geoffrey…and the funerary plaque was created around 1155–60, at the request of his widow…. So Geoffrey Plantagenet probably never bore arms." Pastoureau adds that "Moreover, it has yet to be established which are the oldest extant arms, although that is a rather futile exercise".^[9]

Fictional portrayals

Geoffrey was portrayed by actor Bruce Purchase in the 1978 BBC TV series The Devil's Crown, which dramatised the reigns of his son and grandsons in England.

Geoffrey is an important character in Sharon Penman's novel When Christ and His Saints Slept, which deals with the war between his wife and King Stephen. The novel dramatises their stormy marriage and Geoffrey's invasion of Normandy on his wife's behalf.

Geoffrey features in Elizabeth Chadwick's novel Lady of the English which tells the story of Empress Matilda between 1125 and 1148. He also features in the first novel of Elizabeth Chadwick's trilogy about Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Summer Queen.

Ancestors

References

External links

• Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou At Find A Grave

House of Plantagenet   Henry II of England Wife: Eleanor of Aquitaine William IX, Count of Poitiers Henry the Young King Richard I of England Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile Joan of England, Queen of Sicily John, King of England Illegitimate: William de Longespée, Earl of Salisbury Geoffrey (archbishop of York)   Henry the Young King Wife: Margaret of France, Queen of England and Hungary William Plantagenet (died in infancy)   Richard I of England Wife: Berengaria of Navarre Illegitimate: Philip of Cognac   John, King of England Wife: Isabella of Angoulême Henry III of England Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Joan of England, Queen of Scotland Isabella of England Eleanor of Leicester Illegitimate: Joan, Lady of Wales Richard FitzRoy Oliver FitzRoy Geoffrey FitzRoy John FitzRoy Henry FitzRoy Osbert Gifford Eudes FitzRoy Bartholomew FitzRoy Maud FitzRoy Isabel FitzRoy Philip FitzRoy William de Forz   Henry III of England Wife: Eleanor of Provence Edward I of England Margaret of England Beatrice of England Edmund Crouchback Katherine of England   Edward I of England Wives: Eleanor of Castile Margaret of France, Queen of England Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar Joan, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester Alphonso, Earl of Chester Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant Mary of Woodstock Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Edward II of England Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent   Edward II of England Wife: Isabella of France Edward III of England John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall Eleanor of Woodstock Joan of the Tower   Edward III of England Wife: Philippa of Hainault Edward, the Black Prince Isabella de Coucy Joan of England (1335–1348) Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York Mary of Waltham Margaret, Countess of Pembroke Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester   Richard II of England Wives: Anne of Bohemia Isabella of Valois   Henry IV of England Wives: Mary de Bohun Joan of Navarre, Queen of England Henry V of England Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester Blanche of England Philippa of England   Henry V of England Wife: Catherine of Valois Henry VI of England   Henry VI of England Wife: Margaret of Anjou Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales   Edward IV of England Wife: Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth of York Mary of York Cecily of York Edward V of England Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York Anne of York, Lady Howard Catherine of York Bridget of York Illegitimate: Elizabeth Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle Grace Mary John Tuchet, 6th Baron Audley unnamed   Edward V of England no consort or issue   Richard III of England Wife: Anne Neville Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales Illegitimate: John of Gloucester Katherine, Countess of Pembroke Richard of Eastwell Category

Dukes of Normandy House of Normandy 911–1135 Rollo* William I* Richard I* Richard II Richard III Robert I William II** Robert II Henry I** William (III) House of Blois 1135–1144 Stephen** House of Plantagenet 1144–1259 Geoffrey Henry II*** Henry the Young King Richard IV*** John*** Henry III*** * As count of Rouen • ** Also king of England  •  *** Also king of England and lord of Ireland