Geoffrey I de Bretagne, S1015

Notes:

Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany (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.[a]

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]

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

Notes
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
Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984). Tafel 75
Francis Palgrave, The History of Normandy and of England, Vol. III (Macmillan & Co. London, 1864), p. 80
Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984). Tafel 79
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

Geoffrey married Havoise Avicia Hedwig De Normandie Bretagne in 996 in , Normandy, France . Havoise (daughter of Richard I Fearless Normandy and Gunnora Harldsdottir Duchess Normandy De Crepon) was born in 977 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died on 21 Feb 1034 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; was buried in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Eudes Penthievre, Duke of Brittany was born in 999 in Penthièvre, Morbihan, Bretagne, France; died on 7 Jan 1079 in Cesson, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France.
2. Alan III De Tours Count Duke of Brittany was born about 1000 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; died on 1 Oct 1040 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France.
3. Odo Eudes Penthievre De Bretagne was born in 1001 in Penthièvre, Morbihan, Bretagne, France; died on 7 Jan 1078 in Penthièvre, Morbihan, Bretagne, France.

Notes:

Conan I (d. 27 June 992) nicknamed Le Tort (The Crooked) was the Duke of Brittany from 990 to his death. He was the son of Judicael Berengar, succeeding his father as Count of Rennes in 970.[1]

Life
He assumed the title of Duke of Brittany in the spring of 990 following his attack on Nantes and the subsequent death of Count Alan.[2] As duke his rule succeeded the Regency that governed Brittany during the life of Drogo and the fractured rule of Brittany after Drogo's death by his illegitimate brothers Hoël and Guerech, and the latter's son Alan.[3] The fractured rule over Brittany resulted in a short vacancy in the title Duke of Brittany. Conan I had to ally himself with the Odo I, Count of Blois in order to defeat Judicael Berengar before he could assume the title of Duke.[4]

Mont Saint-Michel, endowed by Conan I, and his final resting place

In a charter dated 28 July 990, Conan gave the lands of Villamée, Lillele and Passille to Mont Saint-Michel, all of which later became part of the seigneury of Fougères.

Conan married Ermengarde-Gerberga of Anjou,[a][6] in 973, daughter of Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou and Adele of Vermandois.[1]

Conan's alliance with the Odo of Blois [3] had helped him defeat Judicael Berengar. However the alliance with Blois became troublesome and he later needed to "rid himself of influence from Blois, [which he accomplished by signing] a pact with Richard I of Normandy; [this pact] established firm Breton-Norman links for the first time." [4] Richard I had married the daughter of Hugh I the Great, and after this marriage had re-asserted his father's claim as Overlord of the Breton duchy. [4] Conan I's pact with Normandy strengthened that assertion but the historical documentation for that Overlordship claim remains doubtful because it largely appears only in the less than authoritative writings of Dudo of Saint-Quentin.

Conan died fighting his brother-in-law Fulk Nerra, Count of Anjou at the Battle of Conquereuil on 27 June 992. Conan is buried at Mont Saint-Michel Abbey.

By his wife Ermengarde-Gerberga he had the following issue:

Geoffrey (c.980-1008), the eventual heir.
Judith (982–1017), married Richard II, Duke of Normandy.
Judicael, count of Porhoët (died 1037).
Hernod.
Catuallon, Abbot of Redon

Conan married Ermangarde de AnjouLe Mont Saint Michel, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France. Ermangarde was born in 960 in Anjou, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France; died on 27 Jun 992 in Anjou, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]