Louis Halphen

“ In 1136, while the count was in Normandy, Robert of Sablé put himself at the head of the movement, to which Geoffrey responded by destroying Briollay and occupying La Suze, and Robert of Sablé himself was forced to beg humbly for pardon through the intercession of the bishop of Angers. In 1139 Geoffrey took Mirebeau, and in 1142 Champtoceaux, but in 1145 a new revolt broke out, this time under the leadership of Elias, the count’s own brother, who, again with the assistance of Robert of Sablé, laid claim to the countship of Maine. ”

“ The principality, which he thus carved out for himself, was occupied, on his death, by Erispoé, duke of Brittany; by him it was handed down to his successors, in whose hands it remained till the beginning of the 10th century. All this time the Normans had not ceased ravaging the country; a brave man was needed to defend it, and finally towards 861, Charles the Bald entrusted it to Robert the Strong (q.v.) ”

“ Elizabeth having died in 1000, Fulk married Hildegarde of Lorraine, by whom he had a son, Geoffrey Martel (q.v.) , and a daughter Ermengarde, who married Geoffrey, count of Gâtinais, and was the mother of Geoffrey “le Barbu” (the Bearded) and of Fulk “le Réchin” (see Anjou) .
See Louis Halphen, Le Comté d’Anjou au XI e siècle (Paris, 1906) . The biography of Fulk Nerra by Alexandre de Salies, Histoire de Foulques Nerra (Angers, 1874) is confused and uncritical. ”

“ But in 1127 a new alliance was made, and on the 22nd of May at Rouen, Henry I. betrothed his daughter Matilda, widow of the emperor Henry V., to Geoffrey the Handsome, son of Fulk, the marriage being celebrated at Le Mans on the 2nd of June 1129. Shortly after, on the invitation of Baldwin II., king of Jerusalem, Fulk departed to the Holy Land for good, married Melisinda, Baldwin’s daughter and heiress, and succeeded to the throne of Jerusalem (14th of September 1131) . His eldest son, Geoffrey IV. the Handsome or “Plantagenet,” succeeded him as count of Anjou (1129–7th of September 1151) . ”

“ He therefore set himself up in rivalry with John Lackland, youngest son of Henry II., and supported by Philip Augustus of France, and aided by William des Roches, seneschal of Anjou, he managed to enter Angers (18th of April 1199) and there have himself recognized as count of the three countships of Anjou, Maine and Touraine, for which he did homage to the king of France. King John soon regained the upper hand, for Philip Augustus having deserted Arthur by the treaty of Le Goulet (22nd of May 1200) , John made his way into Anjou; and on the 18th of June 1200 was recognized as count at Angers. ”

“ On the 1st of January 1032 he married Agnes, widow of William the Great, duke of Aquitaine, and taking arms against William the Fat, eldest son and successor of William the Great, defeated him and took him prisoner at Mont-Couër near Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes on the 20th of September 1033. ”

“ Finally, in 1149, after crushing a last attempt at revolt, he handed over the duchy to his son Henry “Curtmantel,” who received the investiture at the hands of the king of France.
All the while that Fulk the Young and Geoffrey the Handsome were carrying on the work of extending the countship of Anjou, they did not neglect to strengthen their authority at home, to which the unruliness of the barons was a menace. As regards Fulk the Young we know only a few isolated facts and dates: about 1109 Doué and L’Île Bouchard were taken ”

“ It was bounded on the north by the countship of Maine, on the east by that of Touraine, on the south by that of Poitiers and by the Mauges, on the west by the countship of Nantes.
From the outset of the reign of Charles the Bald, the integrity of Anjou was seriously menaced by a two-fold danger: from Brittany and from Normandy. Lambert, a former count of Nantes, after devastating Anjou in concert with Nominoé, duke of Brittany, had by the end of the year 851 succeeded in occupying all the western part as far as the Mayenne. ”

“ The above may be supplemented by some valuable annals published by Louis Halphen, Recueil d’annales angevines et vendômoises (Paris, 1903) , (in the series Collection de textes pour servir à l’étude et à l’enseignement de l’histoire) . ”