Judicaël of Nantes (c. 979–1004) was

Count 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 s ...

from 992 to his death in 1004.

Life

Judicaël was the illegitimate son of Hoël I, Duke of Brittany. He was brought up by his grandmother Judith and "

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

" Haimon or Aymon, his father's maternal

half-brother A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised ...

. Judicaël was elected

Bishop of Nantes The Diocese of Nantes (; ; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire-Atlantique. It has existed since the 4th century. It is now suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, ...

in a non-

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...

way after the death of his uncle, Guerech, the "Count Bishop". Hugh (Hugo), "character of wise and austere life" according to

Albertus Magnus Albertus Magnus ( 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great, Albert of Swabia, Albert von Bollstadt, or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop, considered one of the great ...

, who had been ruling ''de facto'' over the spiritual part of the Church of Nantes since 981, obtained in 990 the title of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, whose duties he was already carrying out. With the support of

Fulk III, Count of Anjou Fulk III, the Black ( 970–1040; ) was an early Count of Anjou celebrated as one of the first great builders of medieval castles. It is estimated Fulk constructed approximately 100 castles as well as abbeys throughout the Loire Valley in what i ...

, Judicaël regained 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 som ...

after the death of

Conan I, Duke of Brittany Conan I (died 27 June 992), nicknamed ''Le Tort'' (The Crooked), was the Duke of Brittany from 990 to his death. Life Count to Duke Conan was the son of Judicael Berengar, succeeding his father as Count of Rennes in 970. Conan assumed the tit ...

at the second

Battle of Conquereuil The Battle of Conquereuil was fought on June 27, 992 AD between the Bretons under Conan I, Duke of Brittany and the Angevins under Fulk the Black. Siege of Nantes Duke Conan had the Breton city of Nantes under siege, when he learned that Fulk w ...

. Because of his young age, the Count of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

put him under the guardianship of his vassal, Viscount Aimery III of Thouars, who was titled Count of Nantes from 992 to 994. In 994, Judicaël was defeated by the new

Count of Rennes The Count of Rennes was originally the ruler of the Romano- Frankish ''civitas'' of Rennes. From the middle of the ninth century these counts were Bretons with close ties to the Duchy of Brittany, which they often vied to rule. From 990 the Coun ...

, Geoffrey, and he had to do homage to him. He died prematurely in 1004. According to the Chronicle of Nantes, he was treacherously murdered while going from

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

to his suzerain's Court in

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

Issue

Judicaël and his wife Melisende had two children: * Budic of Nantes who succeeded him as

Judith of Nantes Judith of Nantes (died 27 February 1063) was titular Countess of Nantes from 1051 to her death in 1063. Life Judith was the daughter of Judicaël of Nantes and the sister of Budic of Nantes. She married Alain Canhiart, Count of Cornouaille, ar ...

who married

Alain Canhiart Alain Canhiart (died 1058) was the count of Cornouaille from 1020 to 1058. He was the son of Benoît de Cornouaille and the father of Hoël II, Duke of Brittany. His family name, ''Canhiart'', is understood to be derived from the old Breton Kann Ya ...

, Count of Cornouaille, around 1026. She succeeded her nephew Matthew as Countess of Nantes.

References

Sources

* ''Chronique de Nantes'' Présentée et annotée par René Merlet. Available on Gallica

* André Chédeville and Noël-Yves Tonnerre ''La Bretagne féodale XIe-XIIIe siècle''. Ouest-France Université Rennes (1987). {{DEFAULTSORT:Judicaël of Nantes Counts of Nantes 1004 deaths Year of birth uncertain