Matthew I (or Matthias I, died 1050 or 1051) was the

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 so ...

from 1038 until his death. He was the eldest son of Count Budic of Nantes.Judith A. Evrard, ''Brittany and the Angevins: Province and Empire 1158–1203'' (Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 28–29. Around 1040,

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

bishop of Nantes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes ( la, Dioecesis Nannetensis; french: Diocèse de Nantes; br, Eskopti Naoned) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire- ...

, arranged for his son, Budic, to succeed him as bishop. They then obtained consent to their illegal scheme from the councillors of Count Matthew, who was still a minor, by buying them off with silver. In 1049, the

Council of Reims Reims, located in the north-east of modern France, hosted several councils or synods in the Roman Catholic Church. These councils did not universally represent the church and are not counted among the official ecumenical councils. Early synodal cou ...

deposed Budic and replaced him with Airard. Matthew was one of the recipients of the letter addressed by

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historically ...

to the princes of Brittany explaining the council's actions. The deposition of Budic is the last event recorded in the ''

Chronicle of Nantes ''Chronicle of Nantes'' (Latin: ''Chronicon Namnetense'', French: ''Chronique de Nantes'') is an eleventh-century Latin chronicle of history extending from 570 to about 1049 AD. The original manuscript, kept in the city of Nantes, has not survived, ...

''. The ''Chronicle'' goes on to say that afterwards Budic and Matthew were "inseparable until death" (''connexa ... usque ad finem vitae''). Within two years of the Council of Reims, both ex-bishop and count were dead.René Merlet (ed.)
''La chronique de Nantes (570 environ – 1049)''
(Alphonse Picard, 1896), pp. xxvii, xxxi, 140–41.Jean-Paul Soubigou (2013)

''Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest'' 120 (4), pp. 37–63. Matthew was succeeded by his aunt, Judith, and her husband

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 ...

Notes

{{reflist 1050s deaths Counts of Nantes