Hugh V (c. 1055/1062 – 1131) was the

count of Maine This is a list of counts and dukes of Maine. The capital of Maine was Le Mans. In the thirteenth century it was annexed by France to the royal domain. Dukes of Maine (''duces Cenomannici'') * Charivius ( fl. 723) – appears as ''dux'' in a docu ...

from 1069 until c. 1093.

Life

He was the son of Margrave Albert Azzo II of Milan and Gersendis, a sister of Count

Hugh IV of Maine Hugh IV (died 25 March 1051) was Count of Maine from 1036 to 1051. Life Hugh was the son of Herbert I, Count of Maine,Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III T ...

. In 1070, the citizens of

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

and some of the Manceaux barons revolted against Norman control.Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', Trans. Thomas Forester, Volume II (Henry G. Bohn, London, 1854), pp. 481–2 After securing the southern border of Normandy and expelling the Normans, they invited young Hugh V to rule them as

. They soon realized, however, he was incapable of ruling Maine and began to detest him.

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...

said of him "he was, indeed, an imbecile, a coward, and an idler, and totally unfit to hold the reins of government in so high a station."Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', Trans. Thomas Forester, Volume II (Henry G. Bohn, London, 1854), p 482 After a short time holding the countship, his cousin

Elias Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ‎ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy ...

convinced Hugh to sell him the county, which he did. In 1077 Hugh married Gersent, the daughter of

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...

, but after discovering he could not manage her either he repudiated her, was promptly

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

and died childless.

References

Sources

* * 11th-century births 12th-century deaths House of Este Counts of Maine 11th-century French people 12th-century French people {{France-noble-stub