Alan IV (c. 1063 – 13 October 1119) was

Duke of Brittany This is a list of rulers of Brittany. In different epochs the rulers of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary right. Hereditary ...

from 1072 until his abdication in 1112. He was also

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 c. 1103) and

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 ...

. His parents were Duchess Hawise and Duke Hoel II. He is also known as Alan Fergant. Through his father, he was of the Breton House of Cornouaille dynasty ( Breton: ''Kerne'' dynasty). He was the last Breton-speaking Duke of Brittany.

Conflict with Normandy

A traditional rivalry between

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

continued at the close of the 11th century. The Breton-Norman war of 1064–1065 was the result of William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy (later to become known as William the Conqueror) support of rebels in Brittany against Alan's maternal uncle, Conan II. Conan II died in late 1066 during a campaign in Anjou, and was succeeded by Alan's parents, Hawise and Hoël II. When Hawise died in 1072, Alan became duke, but as he was a minor, Hoël ruled as regent until Alan reached his majority in 1084. To prevent further hostilities during his invasion of England, William I married his daughter Constance to the new duke Alan in 1087. The marriage ceremonies may have taken place in

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

in Normandy.

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...

wrote that Constance was unpopular at the Breton court because of her "severe and conservative" manner. However,

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

wrote that as duchess Constance did all she could to further the welfare of the Bretons, who grieved deeply at her death in 1090. In 1092, Alan IV donated property to the abbey of Redon by charter, and by 1093 married Ermengarde of Anjou, as a political alliance with

Fulk IV of Anjou Fulk IV (; 1043 – 14 April 1109), better known as Fulk le Réchin (), was the count of Anjou from around 1068 until his death. He was noted to be "a man with many reprehensible, even scandalous, habits" by Orderic Vitalis, who particularly obje ...

to counter Anglo-Norman influence. Redon - Abbatiale Saint-Sauveur et Mairie - Cylindrique - 20090704

Duke Alan IV's cousin Geoffrey I Boterel (eldest brother of Alan Rufus) died on 24 August 1093 in battle at Dol while in rebellion against the Duke. Between 1101 and 1104, Alan's younger brother, Count Matthew II of Nantes, died without issue and his county passed to Alan. Alan IV abdicated as duke in 1112. The former duke retired to the monastery of Redon, where he died in 1119.

Crusader

In 1098 Alan went on the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

, as part of the army of Robert Curthose, leaving Ermengarde as his regent, and returned in 1101.

Family

Alan IV married Constance of Normandy, the daughter of

William I of England William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was ...

, in 1087. Constance died in 1090.

alleges that her husband, Alan, had their servants poison her. They had no children. Alan's second marriage was to Ermengarde of Anjou in 1093. With Ermengarde he had three children: *Geoffrey - died young; * Conan - his successor as Duke of Brittany * Hawise - she married Count Baldwin VII of Flanders, also known as ''Hawise Fergant.'' They divorced and had no issue. Alan and Ermengarde were separated upon his abdication as duke in 1112. He had two illegitimate sons: * Brian Fitzcount - held the lordships of Wallingford and

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

. Was a favourite of

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

, and a staunch supporter of his daughter, the

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

, during

the Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...

(1135–1153). * Guihomar

Succession

Alan IV died in 1119 at the monastery of Redon, where he had retired after his abdication in 1112, and separation from his wife Ermengarde. His only surviving son, Conan III succeeded him.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

*http://patp.us/genealogy/conq/richmond.aspx {{DEFAULTSORT:Alan 04, Duke of Brittany 1060s births 1119 deaths 11th-century dukes of Brittany 12th-century dukes of Brittany Dukes of Brittany Christians of the First Crusade Year of birth uncertain Monarchs who abdicated