Geoffrey II (died October 1100), Count of Mortagne and

Count of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine (province), Maine. It was held by a continuous line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy III, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before ...

, was the son of

Rotrou I, Viscount of Châteaudun Rotrou I (born before 1031, died 1079), Viscount of Châteaudun and Count of Perche (as Rotrou II), second son of Geoffrey II, Viscount of Châteaudun, and Helvise de Corbon (d. 1 March 1080), daughter of Rainard, Lord of Pithiviers. At the death ...

, and Adelise de Bellême, daughter of Guérin de Domfron. Geoffrey was Count of Mortagne and Seigneur of Nogent from 1060 to 1090, and Count of Perche from 1090 until his death. As a young man, Geoffrey participated in the conquest of England and fought at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...

. For his service,

William the Conqueror 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 D ...

gave him a reward of significant property in England. Geoffrey succeeded his father in 1080, receiving the Percheron fields (Mortagne-au-Perche and Nogent-le-Rotrou), while his younger brother Hugues received Châteaudun. A third brother, Rotrou, acquired by marriage the lordship of Montfort-le-Rotrou. One of his first actions as count was to hand over the monastery of Nogent-le-Rotrou to

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...

, after engineering the deposition of its abbot Hubert. As a result, the role of the count's court an increased role, since disputes about the abbey's endowment were solved at that court. About 1089, Geoffrey waged war on Robert of Bellême, due to a land dispute. According to

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 ...

, Geoffrey contested the distribution of the Belleme inheritance between Mabel de Bellême (Robert's mother) and Adeliza (his mother). The war was long and protracted, as even in 1091 we know the conflict was still going on. He devoted the rest of his life to religious pursuits, and founded the first leper colony in Perche. His successful rule and increased political role can be appreciated from his dynastic alliances, which ranged far into northern France (with his wife Beatrix), Normandy (with the marriage of his daughter Marguerite to

Henry de Beaumont Henry de Beaumont (before 1280 – 10 March 1340), ''jure uxoris'' 4th Earl of Buchan and ''suo jure'' 1st Baron Beaumont, was a key figure in the Anglo-Scots wars of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, known as the Wars of Scottish In ...

) and southern France (through his daughter Matilde's marriage to the viscount of Turenne). Geoffrey married Beatrix de Ramerupt, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier and Alice de Roucy. Geoffrey and Beatrix had: * Rotrou III the Great, Count of Perche * Marguerite (d. after 1156), married to Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick. Their sons included

Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick ( 1102 – 12 June 1153) was the elder son of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick and Margaret (d. after 1156), daughter of Geoffroy, Count of Perche Crouch, David"Roger, second earl of Warwick" ''Oxford ...

, Robert de Neubourg and Rotrou, Archbishop of Rouen. * Juliana du Perche (d. after 1132), married to Gilbert, Lord of d’Aigle. They had two sons, Geoffrey and Engenulf, who died in the wreck of the '' White Ship''. Their daughter was Marguerite de l’Aigle, who married García Ramírez, King of Navarre. * Mathilde (d. 27 May 1143), married first Raymond I, Vicomte de Turenne and, widowed, Guy IV de Lastours. Orderic Vitalis gives him high praise: ''In time of peace he was gentle and lovable and conspicuous for his good manners; in times of war, harsh and successful, formidable to the rulers who were his neighbours and an enemy to all''. Geoffrey was succeeded by his son Rotrou as Count of Perche upon his death.

References

Sources

* * *{{cite book , title=Power and Border Lordship in Medieval France: The County of the Perche, 1000-1226 , first=Kathleen , last=Thompson , publisher=The Boydell Press , year=2002 1100 deaths Companions of William the Conqueror Normans in England Norman warriors Counts of Perche