Conan I (Rennes) de Bretagne
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Conan (Rennes) de Bretagne (abt. 950 - 992)

Conan (Conan I) "le tort, Duke of Bretagne" de Bretagne formerly Rennes aka Bretagne
Born about in Bretagnemap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 42 in Conquereuil, Bretagnemap
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Profile last modified | Created 25 Jun 2012
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Contents

Biography

Name

  • Conan I /Bretagne/; Count of Rennes, Graaf van Rennes [1]
  • Nickname: The Crooked [1]

950 Birth and Parents

Conan de Rennes was born before 16 August 979[2][3] when he apeared at the court of Eudes, count of Chartres. [3] He was the son of Judicael (Juhel; Berengar and Gergerga (or Unknown). [3]

Baldwin states that Conan first appears in contemporary records when a papal letter of John XIII names two of the Breton leaders as "Berengarius" and his son "Conatus." John XIII was pope from 965 to 972, son Conatus had been born at the time of the letter, perhaps 970. [3] Named as a "leader" in that letter, he must have already passed infancy and childhood. Therefore a birth year estimate of, say, 950, is plausible.

Some genealogies report a birth year of 927 in Brittany. [1] This would make him older than one would expect in the battles in which he fought and died.

Conan was first Comte de Rennes [2][3] and then after 990, Conan I "le tort," Duke of Britanny [2]

Some genealogies report the birth of his father Judicael Berengar of Rennes, as 910 and that of his mother, Gerberge, Countess of Rennes, as between 905 and 914. [1] Both of these dates place his parents' birth earlier than appears to be true.

973 Marriage

In 973 Conan married Ermengarde d'Anjou, daughter of Geoffroy I "Grisegonelle," Comte d'Anjou and Adela de Meaux). Cawley reports that she was born before 965 and died after 982. [4][5]

  • Ermengarde of Anjou[6]

Baldwin states that Ermengarde's date and place of birth are unknown, but that chronologically, she must be a daughter of Geoffroy's first marriage to . Adèle de Troyes, daughter of Robert I, count of Troyes. [4] Richardson gives her birth range from 965 and 974[6] -- bracketing her children's births between her marriage and her death.

In about 965, Ermengarde's mother Adela married Geoffroi I Grisegonelle, Count of Anjou (958/960-987), Count of Chalon (979-987), son of Foulques II the Good, Count of Anjoy, by his wife Gerberge. [6] The chronologies of other events suggest that Ermengarde de Bretagne, daughter of Geoffroi and Adele, was born the next year, 966, and married Conan I of Rennes, born about 950, who died in 992. Cawley states that Ermengarde was presumably born before 965 if it is correct that her first child was born in 980. [5]

Sometimes Ermengarde and her sister Gerberge are conflated into one person, "Ermengarde-Gerberga" [7][8] Baldwin, however, notes that "there is no good reason to identify Geoffroy's daughters Ermengarde (wife of count Conan of Rennes) and Gerberge (wife of count Guillaume IV of Angoulême) as the same person, as is sometimes done [4]

Ermengarde married Conan I, Duke of Brittany, Prince of the Bretons, son and heir of Juhel (alias Berenger), Count of Rennes.[6] Cawley refers to him as Comte de Rennes, son of JUDICAËL BERENGAR, Comte de Rennes & his wife Gerberge. [5][8] Baldwin reports that Rodulfus Glaber states that Conan married a sister of count Foulques of Anjou. [9] The Chronicle of S. Florent says that Geoffrey was son of Conan by a sister of Foulques [10] The Angevin genealogical collection states that Judith, wife of Richard of Normandy, was the daughter of Conan by his wife Ermengarde, daughter of Geoffroy of Anjou. [11]

Cawley gives the date of marriage as 973. [5] If 966 is the correct estimation of her birth year, she would have been aged 7 at the time of her marriage. Her oldest child is shown born in 9870, when she would have been 14.

Some genealogies give the date of marriage as 980. [1] This appears to be a calculation from the birth of the oldest child and does not reflect the research reported above.

979 Chartres

Conan was present at the court of Eudes, Count of Chartres, on 16 August, 979. [3]

981 First Battle of Conquereuil

In 981 Conan fought a battle against Guérech, Count of Nantes, and his Angevin allies, which is called the "first" Battle of Conquereuil. [3][6]

990 Duke of Brittany

Conan assumed the title of Duke of Brittany in the spring of 990 following his attack on Nantes and the subsequent death of Count Alan. [3] Conan succeeded in 990 as Conan I "le Tort" Duke of Brittany. [12]

Conan held the title of Duke when he gave the lands of Villamée, Lillele and Passille to Mont Saint-Michel, all of which later became part of the seigneury of Fougères, in a charter dated 28 July 990. [3][6]

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 brothers Hoël and Guerech . The fractured rule over Brittany resulted in a short vacancy in the title Duke of Brittany; Conan I had to ally himself with the Count of Blois in order to defeat Judicael Berengar before he could assume the title of Duke.

Conan's alliance with the Count of Blois had helped him defeat Judicael Berengar, 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." 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. Conan I's pact with him 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.

992 Death

Conan of Rennes opposed his wife Ermengarde's father and brother Fulk even though the marriage was apparently designed to form a political alliance between Anjou and Brittany. [8]

Conan was killed in battle at the 2nd Battle of Conquereuil near Nantes 27 June 992.[6][5][2] against count his brother-in-law Fulk III Nerra, Count of Anjou [3] and his father-in-law Geoffrey I.

Conan is buried at Mont Saint-Michel Abbey in Normandy.[1]

992 Widow and Son

Baldwin states that Eermengarde's date and place of death are unknown, but she died after the death of her husband Conan in 992. [4]

Even after her husband Conan had been killed by her brother Fulk at the battle of Battle of Conquereuil in 992, and during the period 992-994 when Ermengarde was Regent for their son Geoffrey, she remained loyal to her brother Fulk III, Count of Anjou. [8]

In 992, following the interests of her brother, and functioning as Regent, she accepted Capetian over-lordship for Rennes while rejecting that of Odo I, Count of Blois.[8]

Issue

Directly Documented Children

Richardson states that they had four sons and one daughter. [6] Baldwin states that both Geoffroy and Judith are directly documented as Ermengarde's children.[4]

  1. Geoffroi I de Bretagne, duke of Brittany, [6] was born in Rennes in 980 [6] He died 20 Nov 1008. [3] The Cronicle of S. Florent says that Geoffrey was son of Conan by a sister of Foulques [Lobineau (1707), 2: 85].[4]
  2. Judith de Bretagne [6] also known as Judith of Rennes [1] was born Rennes in 982 and died 16 Jun 1017. [3] At Mont Saint-Michel she married Richard II, "le Bon/l'Irascible," Comte de Normandie, who died 28 Aug 1027, the son of Count Richard I "Sans-Peur" and Gunnora). [3]The Angevin genealogical collection states that Judith, wife of Richard of Normandy, was the daughter of Conan by his wife Ermengarde, daughter of Geoffroy of Anjou [Poupardin (1900), 208].[4]

Probable children

The following children of Conan listed as children by Richardson. Baldwin states they are not directly documented as children of Ermengarde, but they could be her children.

  1. [Bretagne-22|Judicaël de Porhoët]] [6], born, say, 984. Some accounts show him born in Rennes in 975, which would make his mother aged 9 at the time. He became Bishop of Vannes. Baldwin notes that if the statement that Judicaël became bishop during the life of his father is correct [Cart. Redon, 309], then placing him as a son of Ermengarde would be a tight chronological fit.[4] Judicael, Comte de Porhoët died in 1037. [3]
  2. Catuallon born, say, 986. Catuallon was Abbot of Redon[6][4] Baldwin says he only was "possibly" abbott of Redon. He died 15 Jan 1050, or later.[3]
  3. Urvod[6][4] This may be the same person as Hurnod, or Hurnodius of (Bretagne), born about 970, although any date of birth before 980 is suspect. Baldwin states that he died after 1026.[3]

About Rennes

Rennes derives its name from a Celtic tribe, called the Riedones. The present site of Rennes, on the confluence of the Ille and Vilaine rivers was the political and religious seat of the tribe, spanning most of Brittany. It was conquered in 57 BCE by Julius Ceasar in his Western conquests that ended with the reprisal raid on Britain in 54 BCE. In general keeping with Roman policy, the site was Romanised, gaining the name Citivas Riedonum. The Riedones were quickly romanised, benefitting from the peace and superior development of the Romans. As the Empire weakened, and attacks from Germanic tribesmen became a reality, some of the toughest fortifications ever built in the Roman Empire were constructed. The nickname, The Red City, descends from the use of red clay brickwork for this.

As Saxon attacks battered and finally destroyed the Sub-Roman state of Britain, the population of Brittany was augmented by the fleeing refugees from across the channel, earning the region its name. Brittany then entered into a complex relationship with the Frankish kingdom, until 851AD when the bretons were strong enough to declare full independance under the Dukes of Brittany.

Rennes was besieged in 1356 by a marauding English army, in support of the de Monfort faction in the war of Succession, a bloody civil war for the title of the Duchy of Brittany. It was delivered by a French force under the knight Guesclin. The Place des Lices is the site of the engagement that forced the English to wthdraw. The war was bloody, long and ended with the nephew of the original duke in power.

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 information provided from imported GEDCOM, additional sourcing required.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Charles Cawley. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Medieval Lands Database. Conan I died 992
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Stewart Baldwin. The Henry Project. Conan de Rennes
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Stewart Baldwin. The Henry Project. First uploaded 11 May 2006. Ermengarde d'Anjou Accesed June 8, 2017 jhd
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Charles Cawley. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Medieval Lands Database. Anjou and Maine Ermengarde d'Anjou
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry. Volume V, p. 486.
  7. 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 817. Cited by Wikipedia. Geoffrey I Count of Anjou Accessed June 6, 2017. jhd
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Wikipedia page for Ermengarde-Gerberga of Anjou
  9. Maurice Prou, ed., Raoul Glaber - les cinq livres de ses histoires (900-1044) (Paris, 1886). Cited by Stewart Baldwin. The Henry Project. First uploaded 11 May 2006. Ermengarde d'Anjou Accesed June 8, 2017 jhd
  10. Gui Alexis Lobineau, Histoire de Bretagne, 2 vols., (Paris, 1707) 2: 85], Cited by Stewart Baldwin. The Henry Project. First uploaded 11 May 2006. Ermengarde d'Anjou Accesed June 8, 2017 jhd
  11. René Poupardin, "Généalogies angevines du XIe siècle", Mélanges d'Archéologie et d'Histoire (Paris, Rome) 20 (1900):199-208. Cited by Stewart Baldwin. The Henry Project. First uploaded 11 May 2006. Ermengarde d'Anjou Accesed June 8, 2017 jhd
  12. Charles Cawley. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Medieval Lands Database. Conan

See also:

  • The Battle Abbey roll with some account of the Norman lineages. London: J. Murray, 1889.
  • Bernard S. Bachrach, Fulk Nerra, the neo-Roman consul, 987-1040, 45.
  • Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, (Vol II and III). N.p.
  • Weis, F.L. (1992). Ancestral Roots, (7th ed). N.p.




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Comments: 7

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Rennes-22 and Rennes-29 appear to represent the same person because: Suggest merging empty profile Rennes-22 in Rennes-29 (because Rennes-29 is protected)
posted by C. Mackinnon
This "source", http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=irisheyes&id=I13935, has nothing to do with this profile.
posted by Kerry Larson
Maison de Rennes-1 and Bretagne-1 appear to represent the same person because: Parents corrected. Ready to merge.
posted by [Living Ogle]
Bretagne-1 and Maison de Rennes-1 are not ready to be merged because: His parents need to be merged first
posted by John Atkinson
Bretagne-1 and Le Fort de Rennes, Duc de Bretagne-1 appear to represent the same person because: Same death, same wife, same son, parents in process of being merged. Please merge. Thanks.
posted by Vic Watt
FMG has only 5 children for Conan and Ermengarde: Geoffroy, Judith, Judicael, Catuallon and Hurnod. I am going to try to find the correct families for the others and disconnect them from these parents.

SEE: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BRITTANY.htm#ConanIdied992

posted by Vic Watt

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Categories: House of Bretagne