Geoffrey II of Thouars (990 - 1055), was the son of Savary III. He was the viscount of
Thouars
Thouars () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. On 1 January 2019, the former communes Mauzé-Thouarsais, Missé and Sainte-Radegonde were merged into Thouars.
It is on the River Thouet. Its inhabitants are known as ...
from 1015 to 1043.
Viscount
Geoffrey succeeded his uncle Ralph I in 1015, continuing the war against William V of Poitiers and
Hugues IV of Lusignan, and capturing the castle of
Mouzeuil. After years of indecisive warfare, peace was sealed with the marriage of the daughter of Ralph I, Audéarde, with Hugh IV of Lusignan.
Geoffrey's relations with
Fulk III Nerra, Count of Anjou, were strained as a result of the castle built by Geoffrey at in 1026. The castle was a threat to the county of Anjou; in response, Fulk's castellan, Girorius, halted the castle's construction at the cost of his own life.
Despite this hostility, Geoffrey allied with the son of Fulk Nerra, Geoffrey II of Anjou, and assisted him in his attempt to seize power in the
County of Poitiers The County of Poitou (Latin ''comitatus Pictavensis'') was a historical region of France, consisting of the three sub-regions of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. Its name is derived from the ancient Gaul tribe of Pictones. The county was bounded on ...
and the
Duchy of Aquitaine
The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluc ...
. They devastated the surroundings of Poitiers, while
William VI, Duke of Aquitaine William VI (1004 – March 1038), called the Fat, was Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou (as William IV) between 1030 and his death. He was the eldest son of William V the Great by his first wife, Adalmode of Limoges.
Throughout his reign, ...
did the same in the Angevin regions of Loudun and Mirebeau. On 9 September 1033, Geoffrey Martel and Geoffrey II of Thouars defeat William at Moncontour.
Geoffrey de Thouars became a monk at
Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm
Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
One of the most famous local landmarks is the Abbey of Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm. The abbey dates from 682 AD when it was constructe ...
just before dying in 1055.
Marriage and family
Geoffrey married Agnès de Blois, daughter of
Odo I, Count of Blois and
Bertha of Burgundy
Bertha of Burgundy (964 – 16 January 1010) was Queen of the Franks as the second wife of King Robert II.
Bertha was the daughter of King Conrad of BurgundyStefan Weinfurter, ''The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition'', transl ...
, they have:
*
Aimery IV
* Savary, Viscount of Fontenay
* Geoffrey
* Raoul
* Hélène born about 1030, who married Archambaud I Janvre, lord of Bouchetière.
See also
*
Viscounts of Thouars
The first viscounts of Thouars appeared at the end of the 9th century, somewhat earlier than those of Châtellerault, Lusignan, etc.
They represented the count of Poitou (also the duke of Aquitaine) in the territory he had enfeoffed to them.
T ...
References
Sources
*
*
*{{cite journal, last =Painter, first =Sidney, title =The Lords of Lusignan in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, journal =Speculum, volume =32, issue =Jan , year=1957, publisher =University of Chicago Press, doi =10.2307/2849244, jstor =2849244, s2cid =161153870
990 births
1055 deaths
11th-century French people
Medieval French nobility