Elias I, Count of Maine
Elias I (also Hélie or Élie) (died 11 July 1110),[1] called de la Flèche or de Baugency, was the Count of Maine, succeeding his cousin Hugh V, Count of Maine.
Elias I of Maine | |
|---|---|
| Died | 11 July 1110 |
| Noble family | La Flèche-de Baugency |
| Spouse(s) | Matilda of Château-du-Loir Agnes of Poitou |
| Father | Jean de la Fleche |
| Mother | Paula of Maine |
Life
He was the son of Jean de la Flèche and Paula, daughter of Herbert I, Count of Maine.[2]
In 1092, his cousin Hugh V sold Maine to him for 10,000 shillings. With the support of Fulk IV of Anjou, he continued the war with Robert II of Normandy. After Robert's departure with the First Crusade, Elias made peace with William Rufus, Robert's regent in Normandy.
Family
In 1090 Elias married Matilda, daughter of Gervais II, Lord of Château-du-Loir.[2] They had a daughter:
- Ermengarde, married Fulk V of Anjou.[3]
In 1109, says Orderic Vitalis, Elias remarried to Agnes, the daughter of Duke William VIII of Aquitaine and widow of King Alfonso VI of Castile.[4] However, it seems likely that Orderic confused two different wives of Alfonso, and that it was the latter's widow, the Frenchwoman Beatrice, known to have returned to her homeland on Alfonso's death, whom Elias married.[5][6] She died the following year, however.[4]
Elias of Maine died on 11 July 1110 and was buried in the choir of the abbey church Notre-Dame de la Couture in Le Mans.[1]
References
- Nécrologe-obituaire de la cathédrale du Mans, G. Busson and A. Ledru eds., Archives historiques de Maine VII (Le Mans 1906),163-164.
- Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 4 (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1989), Tafel 692
- Ordericus Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy,Trans. Thomas Forester, Volume II (Henry G. Bohn, London, 1854), p. 223
- Ordericus Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy,Trans. Thomas Forester, Volume III (Henry G. Bohn, London, 1854), p. 276
- Jaime de Salazar y Acha, "Contribución al reinado de Alfonso VI de Castilla: algunas aclaraciones sobre su política matrimonial", Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía 2:301–336 at 329.
- Gonzalo Martínez Díez, Alfonso VI: Señor del Cid, conquistador de Toledo, 2003, Temas de Hoy, S.A., p. 167
Further reading
- Cawley, Charles, Medieval Lands Project: comtes du Maine., Medieval Lands database, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy,
- Hélias de la Flèche.