Matthew II (or Matthias II, died 1101×1104) 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 1084 until his death. He was the second son of Duke Hoël II of Brittany and Hawise. He was named for his father's cousin, Count

Matthew I of Nantes Matthew I (or Matthias I, died 1050 or 1051) was the Count of Nantes 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 Pr ...

, perhaps on the presumption that he would inherit Nantes. In 1084, Hoel II left the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany ( br, Dugelezh Breizh, ; french: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to his eldest son,

Alan Fergant Alan IV (c. 1063 – 13 October 1119) was Duke of Brittany from 1072 until his abdication in 1112. He was also Count of Nantes (from c. 1103) and Count of Rennes. His parents were Duchess Hawise and Duke Hoel II. He is also known as Alan Fergant. ...

, and the County of Nantes, which was not always regarded as a part of Brittany at the time, to Matthew. Some modern historians have suggested that Hoel left his entire patrimony to Alan IV, and that Matthew only received Nantes in

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

from Alan, but this is contradicted by contemporary sources. Hoel intended to re-establish the independence of Nantes from Brittany, and Matthew's right to Nantes was hereditary. He bore the Latin title ''comes Nannetensis''. Matthew may have been counselled as ruler by his uncle, Bishop

Benedict Benedict may refer to: People Names *Benedict (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Benedict (surname), including a list of people with the surname Religious figures * Pope Benedict I (died 579), head of the Catholic Chu ...

. He confirmed land transactions made by his subjects, and made grants of comital land on his own authority. His date of death is given as 1101, 1103 or 1104 in different annals. In any case, he died without issue and the county of Nantes reverted to his older brother, Alan Fergant.

References

Sources

* {{end 1100s deaths Counts of Nantes