Fulk I of Anjou ( 870 – 942), known by the nickname ("Fulk the Red", i.e. "Red Falcon"), was a Frankish nobleman who held several titles in
West Francia
In medieval historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the year 843, from the Treaty of Verdun, to 987, the beginning of the Capet ...
, including
Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty.
In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...
and later
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
of
Tours
Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
from 905, Count of
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
from 910 to 919, and the first Count of
Anjou from 929 until his death.
Life
Born about 870, Fulk was the son of
Ingelger
Ingelger (died 888), also called Ingelgarius, was a Frankish nobleman, who was the founder of the County of Anjou and of the original House of Anjou. Later generations of his family believed that he was the son of Tertullus (Tertulle) and Petro ...
of
Anjou and
Adelais of Amboise.
He was the first
Count of Anjou
The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by King Charles the Bald, Charles the Bald of West Francia in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the t ...
, ruling the county from about 908 to 942.
In 899 he became Viscount of Tours and in 905
Count of Tours.
In about 910 he was
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 ...
.
He increased his territory as a viscountcy of
Angers
Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...
and, around 929, he claimed the title Count of Anjou. During his lordship, he was frequently at war with the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
and the
Bretons
The Bretons (; or , ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. Originally, the demonym designated groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwal ...
. He occupied the county of Nantes in 907, but abandoned it to the Bretons in 919. Fulk I died around 942.
Family
Fulk married Roscille de Loches, daughter of Warnerius (Widone), Seigneur de Loches, de Villentrois, and de la Haye, and his wife Tecandra.
He and Roscille had:
* Guy (Wido), Bishop of Soissons ( 970).
*
Fulk II. Succeeded his father as Count of Anjou.
References
Further reading
*
*
870s births
942 deaths
House of Ingelger
Counts of Anjou
10th-century French nobility
Year of birth uncertain
People from West Francia
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