Gervais de Château-du-Loir (1007–1067) was a French nobleman, bishop, and a powerful figure of his time in Northern France. He was

Bishop of Le Mans The Catholic Diocese of Le Mans (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cenomanensis''; French: ''Diocèse du Mans'') is a Catholic diocese of France. The diocese is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo but had previously been suffrag ...

from 1036 and

Archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims (traditionally spelt "Rheims" in English) ( la, Archidiœcesis Remensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese a ...

from 1055. His father was Aimon de Château-du-Loir,Julien Remi Pesche, ''Biographie et bibliographie du Maine et du département de la Sarthe'' (Le Mans, Paris, 1828), p. xxx whilst his mother was Hildeburge de Bellême, daughter of

Yves de Bellême Yves d'Alençon (died c. 1005), Seigneur de Bellême, the first known progenitor of the House of Bellême. Life Yves was probably the son of Yves de Creil,Yves de Criel and Yves de Bellême are confused by several sources and thought to be the same ...

. His maternal uncle,

Avesgaud de Bellême Avesgaud (Latin '' Avesgaudus'') (died c. 1036) was a French nobleman, a member of the powerful House of Bellême and was the Bishop of Le Mans from 997 until his death. His episcopate was overshadowed by his ongoing wars with Herbert I, Count of M ...

, Bishop of Le Mans,Richard Ewing Barton, ''Lordship in the County of Maine, c. 890-1160'' (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2004), p. 42, n. 57 raised Gervais and groomed him to succeed to the

Bishopric of Le Mans The Catholic Diocese of Le Mans (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cenomanensis''; French: ''Diocèse du Mans'') is a Catholic diocese of France. The diocese is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo but had previously been suffraga ...

. He was a strong supporter of the family of

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

, and opposed to the Angevins. At one point, he had to seek refuge at the court of

William, Duke of Normandy William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

.David Bates, ''William the Conqueror'' (Stroud: Tempus, 2004), p. 60. Henry I appointed him Archbishop of Reims in 1055. As Archbishop, he crowned

Philip I of France Philip I (23 May 1052 – 29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low i ...

in 1059. Philip's father,

Henry I of France Henry I (4 May 1008 – 4 August 1060) was King of the Franks from 1031 to 1060. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians. T ...

, was then alive but died in 1060. Gervais was then regent with Baldwin V, Count of Flanders until 1066. Gervais died in 1067 and was buried in

Reims Cathedral , image = Reims Kathedrale.jpg , imagealt = Facade, looking northeast , caption = Façade of the cathedral, looking northeast , pushpin map = France , pushpin map alt = Location within France , ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau-Du-Loir, Gervais De 1007 births 1067 deaths Bishops of Le Mans Archbishops of Reims