Brittany and angevins. Province & Empire 1158-1203

265 Pages·2000·1.31 MB·English

by  J. A. Everard

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The rule of the Angevins in Brittany is characterised usually as
opening an isolated ‘Celtic’ society to a wider world and imposing
new and alien institutions. This study, the first on the subject of
Brittany under the Angevins, demonstrates that the opposite is true:
that before the advent of Henry II in 1158, the Bretons were already
activeparticipantsinAnglo-NormanandFrenchsociety.Indeedthose
Bretons with landholdings in England, Normandy and Anjou were
alreadyaccustomedtoAngevinrule.
The book examines in detail the means by which Henry II gained
sovereignty over Brittany, and how it was governed subsequently by
the Angevin kings of England from 1158 to 1203. In particular, it
examines the extent to which the Angevins ruled Brittany directly, or
delegated authority either to native dukes or royal ministers, and
shows that in this respect the nature of Angevin rule changed and
evolvedovertheperiod.
judith everard is co-editor (with Michael Jones) of The Charters of
Constance,DuchessofBrittany,andherFamily(1171–1221)(1999).

CambridgeStudiesinMedievalLifeandThought
BRITTANY AND THE ANGEVINS
CambridgeStudiesinMedievalLifeandThought
FourthSeries
GeneralEditor:
d. e.luscombe
LeverhulmePersonalResearchProfessorofMedievalHistory,UniversityofSheffield
AdvisoryEditors:
christinecarpenter
ReaderinMedievalEnglishHistory,UniversityofCambridge,andFellowofNewHall
rosamondmckitterick
ProfessorofMedievalHistory,UniversityofCambridge,andFellowofNewnhamCollege
The series Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought was
inaugurated by G. G. Coulton in 1921; Professor D. E. Luscombe now
actsasGeneralEditoroftheFourthSeries,withDrChristineCarpenter
and Professor Rosamond McKitterick as Advisory Editors. The series
brings together outstanding work by medieval scholars over a wide
range of human endeavour extending from political economy to the
historyofideas.
Foralistoftitlesintheseries,seeendofbook.
.
BRITTANY AND THE
ANGEVINS
Province and Empire
1158–1203
J. A. EVERARD
         
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
  
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain
Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa
http://www.cambridge.org
©J. A. Everard 2004
First published in printed format 2000
ISBN 0-511-03336-2 eBook (Adobe Reader)
ISBN 0-521-66071-8 hardback
CONTENTS
Listoffiguresandmaps page viii
Preface ix
Listofabbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1 DucalBrittany,1066–1166 17
2 HenryIIandBrittany 34
3 ThegovernmentofBrittanyunderHenryII 76
4 DukeGeoffreyandBrittany,1166–1186 93
5 DukeGeoffrey,HenryIIandtheAngevinempire 123
6 TheendofAngevinBrittany,1186–1203 146
Conclusion 176
Appendices
1 The‘AssizeofCountGeoffrey’ 182
2 ThehereditaryseneschalsofRennes 204
3 AngevinofficersinBrittany 207
4 Therightofwreckandducal 213
brefsdemer
Bibliography 216
Index 237
vii
FIGURES AND MAPS
Figure1 GenealogyofthedukesofBrittany,1066–1203 page xv
Map1 TheprincipalpoliticaldivisionsofBrittany,c.1066 xvi
Map2 Ducaldomains,c.1066–1186 xvii
Figure2 GenealogyoftheSeneschalsofRennes 206
viii