Maurice II de Craon (–1196) was Lord of Craon, Governor 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 **Duke ...

and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

under Henry II, a military figure and

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

of the century. Maurice II also possessed fiefs in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

which he held courtesy of Henry II.

Biography

Knighthood

Maurice II, son of Hugues I de Craon and of Marquise, his second wife, succeeded his brother around 1150. Still a minor, he received his knighthood on acceptance of the fief. Maurice II's earliest military action was his participation in the siege staged by Henry II of the city of Thouars, which was taken 10 October 1158.

Crusade

A few years later, Maurice II left for the Crusade. This act, known from the reference in charter 231 of La Roë Abbey of the first court held by him at Poiltrée at Christmas time, after his return from Jerusalem, is furthermore attested by ten items of the ''Cartulaire de Craon''. Maurice II thus returned to France after the month of March 1170. He took several risks whilst in the Orient and, in executing an oath made abroad, ''in Egypto'', he established an annuity of two sous for the benefit of the Collégiale Saint-Nicolas de Craon to contribute towards the chapel lamp.

Marriage

He married

Isabelle de Meulan Isabelle de Meulan, Dame de Mayenne, Dame de Craon (c. 1148 – 10 May 1220) was a French noblewoman, being the daughter of Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester, Count of Meulan. Isabelle married twice; firstly to Geoffroy, Seigneur de Mayenn ...

, daughter of Galéran IV de Meulan, widow from her first marriage to

Geoffroy III de Mayenne Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...

on his return from the Holy Land about 1170 This alliance brought him the double support of the lords of Meulan and those of

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et ...

. From his marriage, contracted around 1170 with Isabelle de Mayenne, Maurice II had four sons and three daughters : * Renaud; * Maurice III; * Pierre ecclesiastic; * Amaury; *

Avoise Avoise () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. Geography The Vègre flows southward through the western part of the commune, then flows into the Sarthe River, which forms all of the co ...

, wife of

Guy V de Laval Guy V de Laval (died 1210) was the Lord of Laval, Mayenne. Family Guy was the son of Guy IV de Laval and Emma de Dunstanville. He married Avoise de Craon (died 1230), daughter of Maurice II de Craon. They had issue: * Guy VI de Laval kno ...

; * Clémence, wife of Pierre de la Garnache; * Agnès, wife of Thibault II de Mathefelon.

Henry II of England

The time of Maurice II saw the rise of the house of Anjou. From 1152 the Lords of Anjou became vassals of Henry II of England, and, under his standard, obliged to combat France. In 1174, following the revolt of the sons of Henry II against their father, Maurice II counted amongst the lords that had remained faithful to the King. Charged with leading the Angevins, he seized

Chantoceaux Champtoceaux () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department of western France. On 15 December 2015, it was merged into the new commune Orée-d'Anjou.Sablé, destroyed Sablé's two neighbouring fortresses; Saint-Loup and Saint-Brice, and took over the government of Anjou and of Maine, as well as that of the recently constructed fortress at

Ancenis Ancenis (; ) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Ancenis-Saint-Géréon. It is a former Subprefectures in France ...

. The same year he figured amongst the witnesses of the Treaty of Falaise establishing peace between Henry II and his sons. In 1177, following the agreement made between

Louis VII Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

and Henri II, he was predesignated as one of the arbitrators who would rule in the event of difficulties. He was similarly nominated the 28 June 1180 for the peace signed at Gisors between Philippe-Auguste and Henri II.

Third Crusade

Richard the Lionheart, successor to Henry II, took with him a great number of his vassals but others were not going to join him until later; Maurice II was amongst these, for, in 1191, he was still in Anjou. We find no acts emanating from him at the time of the departure for his first voyage to the Holy Land. For the second, however, many are known. including a testament dated 1191.

Testament

The testament portrays the state of the family of Maurice II in 1191. He identifies six children: three daughters, the eldest, and three sons. The eldest daughter

Avoise de Craon Avoise de Craon (before 1178 – ) was a French noblewoman. She was the daughter of Maurice II de Craon and Isabelle de Meulan. She was the wife of Guy V de Laval. Life She was the eldest of the children of Maurice II Craon, and Isabelle de Me ...

, married

; the second is not named, but Pierre de la Garnache, who held the rank there is evidently her husband. The third, Agnès, is named, her dowry of Craon and Chantocé is specified, but the name of her husband is not given; as for the sons all three figure in their order of

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

Death

Maurice II returned to France and founded the priory of Bonshommes de Ballots near to Craon. He died 12 July 1196, resulting in the

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

of ''la Haye-aux-Bons-Hommes''. The location of his tomb is not known, but it is known that his heart was taken to Savigny Abbey.

Anglo-Norman Poet

Maurice II was not only a great warrior and a man of faith; he was also a poet and amongst the songs of the trouvères of the

Langue d'oïl Langue is a municipality in the Valle Department, Honduras. The town is located near the border of El Salvador and is a regional Hammock making center. Most of the town is made up of sharecroppers and day laborers. There are usually Mormon mis ...

, which have descended to us, there is one that one can legitimately be considered as being as his work that which begins by the verse:

''A l'entrant del doux termine''.

Literature

Maurice II de Craon is the central character of the anonymous

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...

verse romance '' Moriz von Craûn'' dated between 1187 and 1250. This, in turn, derives from a French

fabliau A ''fabliau'' (; plural ''fabliaux'') is a comic, often anonymous tale written by jongleurs in northeast France between c. 1150 and 1400. They are generally characterized by sexual and scatological obscenity, and by a set of contrary attitudes� ...

: ''Du chevalier qui recovra l'amour de sa dame''. The story tells of Maurice's attempts to woo "Isabel", depicted as the wife of his neighbour, Richard de Beaumont.

Cartulaire de Craon

Notes and references

Sources

derived from: * 2 volumes {{DEFAULTSORT:Maurice Craon 02 Craon family Christians of the Third Crusade People from Mayenne Year of birth uncertain 1196 deaths Trouvères Male classical composers