Renaud (795–843) was Frankish Count of Herbauges,

Count of Poitiers Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (or ''Poitou'', in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are: *Bodilon * Warinus (638–677), son of Bodilon *Hatton (735-778) Carolingian Counts ...

and

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 ...

. His name is also spelled Rainaldus or Ragenold, and he is sometimes known as Reginald in English. He is referred to as Renaud of Aquitaine, but seems to have been a member of the Rorgonid family of

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 ...

. The County of Herbauges consisted of three '' pagi'' south of the Loire: ''Arballicus'' ( Herbauges), ''Metallicus'' (the Mauges), and ''Teofalicus'' (

Tiffauges Tiffauges () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. History Gilles de Rais owned the local fortress. It is the location of a battle between the French Republican troops and the royalists du ...

) and was separate from the

County of Poitou The County of Poitou (Latin ''comitatus Pictavensis'') was a historical region of France, consisting of the three sub-regions of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. Its name is derived from the ancient Gaul tribe of Pictones. The county was bounded on ...

, of which Renaud also appears to have been Count. His appointment as Count is prior to July 835 when he appears in a battle against the Normans in Noirmoutier.André Chédeville & Hubert Guillotel, ''La Bretagne des saints et des rois Ve-Xe siècle'', Ouest France, Université Rennes, (1984)

Count of Nantes

After the death of Count Ricwin of Nantes at the Battle of Fontenay (841), he was appointed by

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

as Count of Nantes. This was at the expense of

Lambert II of Nantes Lambert II (died 852) was the Count of Nantes and Prefect of the Breton March between 843 and 851. Lambert ruled the county in opposition to Amaury, the puppet count installed by Charles the Bald, King of West Francia. At his death, the county was e ...

, who had fought for Charles at Fontenay, and was considered the legitimate heir of his father, the former Count

Lambert I of Nantes Lambert I (died 836) was the Count of Nantes and Prefect of the Breton March between 818 and 831 and Duke of Spoleto between 834 and 836. Lambert succeeded his father Guy. Lambert participated in an expedition undertaken by Louis the Pious in 81 ...

. Disappointed in his ambitions, Lambert II broke with Charles the Bald and turned to

Nominoe Nominoe or Nomenoe (french: Nominoë; br, Nevenoe; c. 800, 7 March 851) was the first Duke of Brittany from 846 to his death. He is the Breton ''pater patriae'' and to Breton nationalists he is known as ' ("father of the country"). ...

, Duke of Brittany, who was then in almost open revolt against the Franks. Nominoe and Lambert intended to join forces to capture Nantes.

Invasion of Brittany

Having fortified Nantes, Renaud heard that Nominoe had been incapacitated by a serious illness. Renaud decided to take the initiative, by raiding into Breton territory. At the junction of the

diocese of Alet The former French Catholic diocese of Alet (Lat.: ''Electensis'') was created in 1317 from territory formerly in the diocese of Narbonne. The diocese continued until the French Revolution when it was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801. Alet-les-B ...

and

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 s ...

, on the Roman road of Angers Carhaix he surprised the Breton army led by Nominoe's son Prince

Erispoe Erispoe (french: Erispoë; la, Herispoius, Herispogius, Respogius; died 2 or 12 November 857) was Duke of Brittany from 851 to his death. After the death of his father Nominoe, he led a successful military campaign against the Franks, culminating ...

. At the

Battle of Messac The Battle of Blain, also called the Battle of Messac, was fought on 24 May 843 by the forces of Lambert II of Nantes and Erispoe, prince of Brittany, against Renaud, Frankish Count of Nantes. It arose from Breton resistance to Frankish power wi ...

, Erispoe was initially defeated by Renaud.Michel Dillange, ''Les comtes de Poitou Ducs d'Aquitaine (778–1204)'', La Crèche : Geste éditions, 1995, 303 p. (), p 55 Shortly afterwards, however, the timely arrival of Lambert's troops allowed Erispoe to counter-attack in force, defeating Renaud. Renaud himself was killed the day afterwards, during the pursuit. The Bretons may also have been assisted by the Viking warlord Håstein, who is said to have personally killed Renaud. However, other sources assert that Lambert killed Renaud and that the Viking force arrived shortly afterwards, looking for plunder.

Aftermath

The Vikings sacked Nantes and killed its bishop. Lambert occupied the town, but was unable to hold it.

Janet L. Nelson Dame Janet Laughland Nelson (born 1942), also known as Jinty Nelson, is a British historian. She is Emerita Professor of Medieval History at King's College London. Early life Born on 28 March 1942 in Blackpool, Nelson was educated at Keswic ...

, ''The Annals of St-Bertin'', Manchester University Press, 1991, p.55 Renaud's son Hervé was killed in battle against Lambert a year later. Recent studies suggest that another of Renaud's sons Ragenold became Count of Herbauges, then

and Marquis of Neustria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renaud DHerbauges Nobility of the Carolingian Empire 843 deaths Counts of Nantes Counts of Poitiers Year of birth unknown 795 births