Amaury I of Craon (1170–1226), was Lord of Craon, of Chantocé, Ingrandes,

Candé Candé () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. History In the 11th century the village became an important military site for Anjou under baron Rorgon de Candé, at Fort-Castle of Candé. Candé was noted in 2000-2 ...

Segré Segré () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Segré-en-Anjou Bleu.Duretal,

Baugé Baugé () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire ''département'' in western France. On 1 January 2013, it was merged with the former communes of Montpollin, Pontigné, Saint-Martin-d'Arcé and Le Vieil-Baugé to create the commune of Baugé ...

and of Lude.

Early life and family

Amaury I of Craon was the youngest of the three sons of Maurice II de Craon (1132-1196) and Isabelle de Beaumont-le-Roger. He had four sisters of whom '' Havoise de Craon'' (1175-1251) was also the eldest child. In 1206, Amaury was given

Ploërmel Church Saint-Armel Ploërmel (; ; Gallo language: ''Pieurmè'') is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, the former commune Monterrein was merged into Ploërmel. Character of the town The ...

by the King of France,

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

. By 1207, he succeeded, as Lord of Craon, his brother Maurice III de Craon (1165-1207) who died that year. His other brother, Pierre, an ecclesiastic, was excluded from the title.'' Cartulaire de Craon'', 197, 201, 202 et 211-213, 218-230. In 1212, he married

Jeanne des Roches Jeanne des Roches, Dame de Sablé (c. 1195 – 28 September 1238) was a French noble heiress, ruler of de baronies of La Suze, de Briollay, de Mayet, de Loupeland, de Chateauneuf-sur-Sarte, de Genneteil, de Precigné, de Agon, and de Craon; and the ...

, daughter of Seneschal of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

Guillaume des Roches William des Roches (died 1222) (in French Guillaume des Roches) was a French knight and crusader who acted as Seneschal of Anjou, of Maine and of Touraine. After serving the Angevin kings of England, in 1202 he changed his loyalty to King Philip II ...

and

Marguerite de Sablé Marguerite de Sablé, Dame de Sablé (c.1179 – after June 1238), was a French noblewoman and one of the wealthiest heiresses in the counties of Anjou and Maine. She was the eldest daughter of Robert IV de Sablé, and the wife of William des ...

. They had: *Maurice IV of Craon, married

Isabella of Lusignan Isabella of Lusignan (c.1224 – 14 January 1300) was a daughter of Hugh X of Lusignan and his wife Isabella of Angoulême, Dowager Queen of England. Isabella was half-sister to King Henry III of England. She was Dame de Beauvoir-sur Mer et ...

* Isabelle, married Raoul III, lord of Fougeres and Porhoet

Military career

The 2 July 1214, he fought alongside the future King of France,

Louis VIII Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

at the Battle of Roche-au-Moines, which saw a French victory, thanks to the decisive action of his father-in-law, Guillaume des Roches against the English troops of "Jean sans Terre" John, King of England. By November 1218, Amaury had arrived in Toulouse with an army as part of the Albigensian Crusade. He argued with

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...

as to the disposition of the army and instead of marching the army to the siege of Toulouse, per Montfort's wishes, the army encamped in "New Toulouse". During the siege of Toulouse, Amaury and numerous other nobles openly criticized Montfort's tactics. The siege was lifted a month later following the death of Montfort. In 1222, following the death of Guillaume des Roches, Amaury took the title of sénéchal of Anjou, Maine and Touraine. He was thus confronted with the pretension of Pierre Mauclerc, Peter I, Duke of Brittany, who had his sights on Anjou. In 1223, he seized Châteaubriant and

La Guerche-de-Bretagne La Guerche-de-Bretagne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. The cellist Louis-Marie Pilet (1815–1877) was born in La ...

belonging to the domain of

Pouancé Pouancé () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Ombrée d'Anjou. It is located on the border of 4 French departements: Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne in the n ...

, but he could not take the Castle of Pouancé. Alerted, Pierre Mauclerc came to the rescue and surprised Amaury's exhausted troops. Routed, Amaury was taken prisoner. A large ransom was demanded from his subjects for his liberation. Freed the same year, Amaury rejoined the new King Louis VIII at

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 ...

Death and succession

Amaury I died on 2 May 1226. He was buried in

La Roë Abbey LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

. His wife, Jeanne des Roches, became guardian of their son

Maurice IV de Craon The Craon family was a French noble house, known to date back to the 11th century, originating in Craon in the Mayenne region of Anjou, northern France. Its most famous member is Pierre de Craon, and its last representative governed Burgundy fo ...

(1213-1250), future Seneschal of Anjou. She took the title of sénéchal of Anjou, Maine and Touraine. In 1227, she rendered homage to the new young King of France;

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

, better known under the name of Saint Louis, aged only thirteen years. She retained the role of Seneschal until the end of her days about 1240/1241 when the title passed to her son, Maurice.

Notes and references

Sources

* * * *

External links