Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany

Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany (c. 980 – 20 November 1008), also known as Geoffrey of Rennes and Geoffrey Berengar, was the eldest son of Duke Conan I of Brittany. He was Count of Rennes (ruler of the Romano-Frankish civitas of Rennes), by right of succession. In 992 he assumed the title of Duke of Brittany, which had long been an independent state, but he had little control over much of Lower Brittany.[lower-alpha 1]

Geoffrey I of Rennes
Born	c. 980 Rennes, County of Rennes, Duchy of Brittany
Died	20 November 1008 Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France
Burial	Brittany
Spouse	Hawise
Issue	Alan III of Brittany Evenus Odo, Count of Penthièvre Adela, Abbess of St. Georges
House	House of Rennes
Father	Conan I
Mother	Ermengarde of Anjou
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Life

Geoffrey was the son of Duke Conan I, by his marriage to Ermengarde-Gerberga of Anjou.[1] He was the grandson of Judicael Berengar, Count of Rennes.

When Geoffrey succeeded to Brittany he had several problems:

• Blois was encroaching on his territory,

• Vikings were threatening his shores, and

• He had to decide whether to accept the protection offered by Anjou.[2]

Norman alliance

In 996, at about the age of sixteen, Geoffrey entered into a dynastic alliance with Richard II, Duke of Normandy,[2] with a diplomatic double marriage between the two houses. The church-sanctioned marriage ceremonies were held at Mont Saint-Michel, on the Breton-Norman border, and while Geoffrey married Hawise of Normandy, daughter of Richard I of Normandy and sister of Richard II,[3] Richard married Judith of Brittany, Geoffrey's sister.

Geoffrey and Hawise had four children:

• Alan III of Brittany (997-1040)[1]
• Evenus (born c. 998, died after 1037)[1]
• Odo, Count of Penthièvre (died 1079)[1]
• Adela, Abbess of Saint-Georges[4]

Death

Geoffrey died on 20 November 1008 while travelling on a pilgrimage to Rome.[4]

Notes

1. Geoffrey, Count of Rennes, assumed the title Duke of Brittany in 992. Brittany was not then part of the emerging Kingdom of France, but earlier Dukes had paid homage to the kings of the fledgling French state. By the time of Count Geoffrey's reign, his claim to suzerainty over all of Brittany was weak, and he had virtually no control over western Brittany and Nantes. See William W. Kibler, ed., Medieval France: An Encyclopedia (New York: Garland Publishing, 1995), p. 148; The New international encyclopædia, Volume 3 (1918), p. 789

References

1. Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984). Tafel 75
2. Francis Palgrave, The History of Normandy and of England, Vol. III (Macmillan & Co. London, 1864), p. 80
3. Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984). Tafel 79
4. George Edward Cokayne, ed. H. A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, & Lord Howard de Walden, The Complete Peerage; or, A History of the House of Lords and All its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol. X (London: The St Catherine Press, Ltd, 1945), pp. 779-780

See also

• Dukes of Brittany family tree