Alan III of Rennes (c. 997 – 1 October 1040) ( French: ''Alain III de Bretagne'') was

Count of Rennes The Count of Rennes was originally the ruler of the Romano-Frankish '' civitas'' of Rennes. From the middle of the ninth century these counts were Bretons with close ties to the Duchy of Brittany, which they often vied to rule. From 990 the Cou ...

and

duke of Brittany This is a list of rulers of the Duchy of Brittany. In different epochs the sovereigns of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary r ...

, by right of succession from 1008 to his death.

Life

Alan was the son of Duke Geoffrey I and

Hawise of Normandy Hawise of Normandy (died 21 February 1034) was Countess of Rennes, Duchess of Brittany and Regent to her son Alan III, Duke of Brittany from 1008 until 1026.Her husband, Geoffrey, Count of Rennes, assumed the title Duke of Brittany in 992 but it w ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984) Tafel 75 Alan succeeded his father as Duke of Brittany in 1008. Because he was still a minor at his father's death, his mother acted as regent of Brittany while her brother

Richard II, Duke of Normandy Richard II (died 28 August 1026), called the Good (French: ''Le Bon''), was the duke of Normandy from 996 until 1026. Life Richard was the eldest surviving son and heir of Richard the Fearless and Gunnor. He succeeded his father as the ruler of D ...

assumed guardianship over Brittany.Francois Neveux, ''A Brief History of the Normans'', Trans. Howard Curtis (Constable & Robinson, Ltd., London, 2006), p. 108

Marriage

In 1018 Alan married

Bertha of Blois Bertha of Blois (French: ''Berthe de Blois''; c. 1005 — c. 1080), was a Duchess consort of Brittany and a countess consort of Maine. Life Bertha was the daughter of Odo II, Count of Blois and Ermengarde of Auvergne. In 1029, she married Alain ...

, daughter of

Odo II, Count of Blois Odo II () (983 – 15 November 1037) was the count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Beauvais and Tours from 1004 and count of Troyes (as Odo IV) and Meaux (as Odo I) from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in Italy after 1024 a ...

and his second wife Ermengarde of Auvergne.

Norman suzerainty

When

Richard III, Duke of Normandy Richard III (997/1001 – 6 August 1027) was the duke of Normandy who reigned from August 1026 to his death. His brief reign opened with a revolt by his brother. Life Richard III was the eldest son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith of Britta ...

died in August 1026, his brother Robert I succeeded him. Alan apparently took advantage of the resulting turmoil to break free of Norman suzerainty. In the early 1030s Robert I successfully attacked Dol and Alan's retaliatory raid on Avranches was repulsed causing continued raiding back and forth between them. Facing an invasion from Normandy via land and from Duke Robert's fleet, Robert, Archbishop of Rouen (uncle of Hawise and Richard II) mediated a truce between his two great-nephews at Mont Saint-Michel where Alan swore fealty to his cousin Robert.

Guardian

When he left Normandy for the Holy Land Robert I, Duke of Normandy appointed his cousin, Alan III, to be a guardian of his young son

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

.Among the guardians Duke Robert chose to watch over his son William were at least three family members. Alan III was probably selected as both a family member and one who would not expected to compete with young William.

Gilbert, Count of Brionne Gilbert (or Giselbert) de Brionne, Count of Eu and of Brionne ( – ), was an influential nobleman in the Duchy of Normandy in Northern France.Robinson, J. A. (1911). Gilbert Crispin, abbot of Westminster: a study of the abbey under Norman ru ...

was another grandson of Richard I who could be counted on for military support to aid William. Also the senior member of the family was Robert, Archbishop of Rouen who lent his powerful support to the young Duke William. See: Crouch, ''The Normans'' (2007). p. 60.Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', Trans. Thomas Forester, Volume II (Henry G. Bohn, London, 1854), p. 161

Wars

Alan III also assisted Herbert I 'Wake-Dog' in his wars with Avesgaud, Bishop of Le Mans and was with the count in his attack on Avesgaud's castle at

La Ferté-Bernard La Ferté-Bernard () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the Pays de la Loire region in north-western France. History La Ferté-Bernard owes its origin and name to a stronghold (''fermeté'') built about the 11th century and afterwards hel ...

destroying the castle and causing Avesgaud to flee.Richard E. Barton, ''Lordship in the County of Maine, c. 890–1160'' (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 2004). pp. 47, 87

Protector

In 1037, upon the death of Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, the protection of young William was now left to Alan III and his cousin Gilbert, who tentatively held Normandy together. They appointed Mauger to the now vacant see of Rouen and his brother

as count of Arques, attempting to gain their support for Duke William.David Crouch, ''The Normans'' (Hambledon Continuum, New York, 2007), p. 61.

Death

On 1 October 1040, while besieging a rebel castle near

Vimoutiers Vimoutiers () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. The finish line of the Paris–Camembert bicycle race is Vimoutiers. History In 1040 while besieging a nearby Norman castle, Alan III, Duke of Brittany died suddenly ...

in Normandy, Alan III suddenly died. According to Orderic, he was poisoned by unnamed Normans.Not long after the last of young Duke William's three powerful guardians, Gilbert 'Crispin' Count of Brionne, was himself assassinated while riding with friends. See: Crouch, ''The Normans'' (2007), p. 61; and Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'' IV, pp. 308–9.Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', Trans. Thomas Forester, Volume II (Henry G. Bohn, London, 1854), p. 74

Family

Alain and

had: * Conan II, (d. 1066), succeeded his father. * Hawise of Brittany, who married Hoel of Cornouaille. After 14 May 1046 his widow Bertha married secondly

Hugh IV, Count of Maine Hugh IV (died 25 March 1051) was Count of Maine from 1036 to 1051. Life Hugh was the son of Herbert I, Count of Maine,Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III T ...

Ancestry

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alan III, Duke Of Brittany 990s births 1040 deaths 10th-century Breton people 11th-century dukes of Brittany Dukes of Brittany Deaths by poisoning