Geoffrey II of Briel or Geoffrey of Briel the Younger, was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

knight and the cousin or nephew of Geoffrey I of Briel,

Baron of Karytaina The Barony of Karytaina or of Skorta was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, centred on the town of Karytaina ( el, Καρύταινα; french: Caraintaine; it, Caritena) in th ...

in the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom o ...

, in

Frankish Greece The ''Frankokratia'' ( el, Φραγκοκρατία, la, Francocratia, sometimes anglicized as Francocracy, "rule of the Franks"), also known as ''Latinokratia'' ( el, Λατινοκρατία, la, Latinocratia, "rule of the Latins") and ...

Biography

Geoffrey I of Briel died in 1275, and in 1279, Geoffrey the Younger came to Greece and tried, unsuccessfully, to claim the barony, which in the meantime had reverted to the princely domain due to Geoffrey the Elder's lack of direct male heirs. The 19th-century historian

Karl Hopf Karl Hopf may refer to: * Karl Hopf (historian) Karl Hopf (Hamm, Westphalia, February 19, 1832 – Wiesbaden, August 23, 1873) or Carl Hermann Friedrich Johann Hopf was a historian and an expert in Medieval Greece, both Byzantine and Frankish. ...

erroneously placed Geoffrey's arrival in Greece in 1287, but the passage of Geoffrey from Italy to Greece in January 1279 is documented in the archives of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

. Undeterred, Geoffrey resolved to take part of his inheritance by force, if need be: he went to the

Araklovon Castle Araklovon ( el, ), rarely known with the variant Oreoklovon (Ὀρεόκλοβον) and in French as Bucelet and variants thereof, was a medieval castle of the Byzantine era located in the region of Skorta in the southwestern Peloponnese in Greece ...

, gained admittance by pretending to be ill, and immediately let in his armed companions (reportedly four equerries and a few local Greeks) and made himself master of the fortress. The Achaean troops quickly invested the fortress and besieged it, but Geoffrey had already called upon the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

governor of

Mystras Mystras or Mistras ( el, Μυστρᾶς/Μιστρᾶς), also known in the ''Chronicle of the Morea'' as Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mt. Taygetus, nea ...

for aid. The latter did indeed send troops to his assistance, but they were stopped at the borders of

Skorta Skorta ( el, τὰ Σκορτὰ, french: Escorta) was a name used in the 13th and 14th centuries, during the period of Frankish rule in the Peloponnese, to designate the mountainous western half of the region of Arcadia, which separated the coast ...

by the Frankish "Captain of Skorta", Simon of Vidoigne. In the end, Geoffrey was forced to capitulate and was accorded the small fief of Moraina. Soon after his arrival and enfeoffment, in 1279 or 1280, he married Margaret, Lady of Lisarea, with whom he had a daughter, Helen, who wed

Vilain II of Aulnay Vilain II of Aulnay was Baron of Arcadia in the Principality of Achaea in the early 14th century. Vilain II was a son of Geoffrey of Aulnay and grandson of the first Baron of Arcadia, Vilain I of Aulnay Vilain of Aulnay (french: Villain d'Aulnay/d ...

Baron of Arcadia The Barony of Arcadia was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located on the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, and centred on the town of Arcadia ( el, Ὰρκαδία; french: l'Arcadie; it, Arc dia), ...

References

Sources

* {{La Morée franque 13th-century French people Barons of the Principality of Achaea Medieval Arcadia People from Aube 13th-century births Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown