Conan III, also known as Conan of Cornouaille and Conan the Fat ( br, Konan III a Vreizh, and ; c. 1093–1096 – September 17, 1148) was

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 ...

, from 1112 to his death. He was the son of

Alan IV, Duke of Brittany Alan IV (c. 1063 – 13 October 1119) was Duke of Brittany from 1072 until his abdication in 1112. He was also Count of Nantes (from c. 1103) and Count of Rennes. His parents were Duchess Hawise and Duke Hoel II. He is also known as Alan Fergant ...

and Ermengarde of Anjou. Conan III allied himself with

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 ...

the Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legi ...

, Stephen's war against the dispossessed

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...

Family

He married Maud, an illegitimate daughter of King

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

before 1113. Conan and Maud had three children that are known: *

Hoel King Hoel ( br, Hoel I Mawr, "Hoel the Great"; la, Hoelus, Hovelus, Hœlus), also known as Sir Howel, Saint Hywel and Hywel the Great, was a late 5th- and early 6th-centuryFord, David Nashat ''Early British Kingdoms''. 2001. Retrieved 1 D ...

(1116 - 1156) – disinherited from the Ducal crown; Count of Nantes; *

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

(1114 - after 1155) – married Alan of Penthièvre; upon Alan's death in 1146, she returned to Brittany; *Constance (1120 - 1148) – married Sir Geoffroy II, Sire de Mayenne, son of Juhel II, Seigneur de Mayenne.

Succession

On his death-bed in 1148, Conan III disinherited Hoel from succession to the Duchy, stating that he was illegitimate and no son of his. By this surprise move Bertha became his heiress and successor. However, Hoel was to retain the

County of Nantes The counts of Nantes were originally the Frankish rulers of the Nantais under the Carolingians and eventually a capital city of the Duchy of Brittany. Their county served as a march against the Bretons of the Vannetais. Carolingian rulers would so ...

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

Family

Succession

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

See also