Geoffrey VI (1 June 1134 – 27 July 1158) 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 ...

from 1156 to 1158. He was also known as Geoffrey of Anjou and Geoffrey FitzEmpress. He was the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and

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 ...

. His brothers were

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

and William FitzEmpress.

Family

Born in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

in 1134, he was the second of the three sons of

, a claimant to the English throne 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 ...

, and Count

Geoffrey V of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Fair (), Plantagenet, and of Anjou, was the count of Anjou and Count of Maine, Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also duke of Normandy by his marriage claim and Right of conquest, ...

. His birth was difficult and his mother was close to dying.

Conflict

It was said that in his will, Geoffrey V had stipulated that his second son, Geoffrey, would become

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 ...

and

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

if the eldest, Henry Curtmantle, managed to become

king of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

. In the meantime, he granted Geoffrey the castles at

Chinon Chinon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginn ...

, Loudun, Mirebeau and Montsoreau. The body of the count would remain unburied until Henry agreed to the terms of the will. The story was reported in contemporary sources only in a minor chronicle in

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 ...

; W. L. Warren makes the case that the story was invented by Geoffrey. Thomas K. Keefe, however, finds serious fault with Warren's argument, arguing that there are no reliable grounds to believe that the story of Geoffrey V's will is untrue, and considers it likely that Henry usurped the

County of Anjou The County of Anjou (, ; ; ) was a French county that was the predecessor to the Duchy of Anjou. Its capital was Angers, and its area was roughly co-extensive with the diocese of Angers. Anjou was bordered by Brittany to the west, Maine, France, ...

. In March 1152, Geoffrey attempted to abduct Duchess

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...

as she traveled from

Beaugency Beaugency () is a Communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, north-central France. It is located on the Loire river, upriver (northeast) from Blois and downriver from Orléans. History Med ...

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

after the annulment of her marriage to King

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

; she avoided his trap when she was forewarned. He lay in wait at Port des Piles, near the river

Creuse Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Cor ...

, and would have married her had the abduction been successful. In June, he allied himself with King Louis, the king's brother Count Robert I of Dreux and the brothers Counts Henry I of Champagne and Theobald V of Blois when Louis attacked Normandy as a response to the marriage of Geoffrey's brother Henry Curtmantle to Eleanor of Aquitaine, which took place without Louis' knowledge. If successful, the five of them intended to divide the lands of Henry and Eleanor amongst themselves. In late 1153 or in 1154, Theobald V of Blois invaded

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...

, which Henry regarded as his. Geoffrey and others were taken captive, and Theobald required Henry to destroy the castle of Chaumont-sur-Loire to obtain their freedom. Geoffrey accompanied Henry and Eleanor to England when King Stephen died in December 1154. In the summer of 1156, Geoffrey was again making trouble for Henry and Henry laid siege to the castles of Chinon, Mirebeau, Loudun and Montsoreau. Geoffrey was forced to yield them, but, according to some sources, he was able to keep Loudun. Henry gave Geoffrey an annuity of £1500 for the other two castles. Shortly after that siege ended the people 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 ...

deposed their count and asked King Henry whom they should invite to fill the vacancy. He suggested Geoffrey; the offer was made and accepted. After Geoffrey's death his county was seized by Conan IV of Brittany, who subsequently ceded it to Henry.Warren, ''Henry II'', pgs. 76-77

Death

Geoffrey died suddenly at

in 1158.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geoffrey, Count Of Nantes 1134 births 1158 deaths Counts of Maine House of Plantagenet People from Rouen Children of Empress Matilda Anglo-Normans