Conan I of Léon (abt. 1171–before 1231), called "the Short", was a Viscount of Léon, son of Guihomar V.

Life

Conan's father Guihomar V had been Duchess Constance's ally and had rebelled when she had been imprisoned by her second husband Ranulf of Chester. After Constance's death, Conan supported her son

Arthur I Arthur I ( br, Arzhur 1añ; french: link=no, Arthur 1er de Bretagne) (29 March 1187 – presumably 1203) was 4th Earl of Richmond and Duke of Brittany between 1196 and 1203. He was the posthumous son of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, and Constan ...

, in his fight against his uncle

John Lackland John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

for the Crown of England. Arthur and Conan were captured by John's army in 1202 while they were besieging

Mirebeau Mirebeau (; Poitevin: ''Mirebea'') is a commune in the Vienne department, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, western France. History Fulk Nerra (970-1040), Count of Anjou conquered Mirebeau and built a castle there. His son, Geoffrey of Anjo ...

, where Arthur's grandmother

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

. Conan was imprisoned in the castle of

Chinon Chinon () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginning in the late 15th and early 16th centuri ...

and was released in June 1205 by the

French King France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the firs ...

Philip Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

. Conan was the guardian of his nephew by marriage, young Henry II of Avaugour, together with his brother-in-law Geslin of Penthièvre. He tried to defend Henry's rights against the new Duke Peter Mauclerc, who had spoiled him of the

County of Penthièvre A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, Henry's inheritance, which he later gave to his daughter Yolande. Between 1214 and 1216, Léon was invaded by Peter, who conquered

Lesneven Lesneven (; br, Lesneven) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It lies northeast of Brest, about from the English Channel in the middle of the Leon plateau. History Lesneven has its origins in the immi ...

in 1216. Conan the Short then took part to the revolt led by many Breton lords, which was quelled at the Battle of

Châteaubriant Châteaubriant (; br, Kastell-Briant; Gallo: ''Châtiaoberiant'') is a town in western France, about southwest of Paris, and one of the three sous-préfectures of the Loire-Atlantique department. Châteaubriant is also situated in the historica ...

in 1222. The lords had accept Peter, who had married Constance's daughter

Alix of Thouars Alix of Thouars (1200 – 21 October 1221) (in Breton Alis) ruled as Duchess of Brittany from 1203 until her death. She was also Countess of Richmond in the peerage of England. Life Alix was born in 1200. She was the daughter of Consta ...

, as the new Duke of Brittany.

Issue

Conan I married Alix, daughter of

Henry I of Avaugour Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

c. 1195. They had: * Guihomar VI who succeeded his father.

References

Sources

* Patrick Kernévez, André-Yves Bourgès. ''Généalogie des vicomtes de Léon (XIe, XIIe et XIIIe siècles)''. Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Finistère, volume CXXXVI, 2007, p. 157-188. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conan I, Viscount of Léon Viscounts of Léon House of Léon 12th-century Breton people 13th-century Breton people