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Maine () is one of the traditional
provinces of France Under the Ancien Régime, the Kingdom of France was subdivided in multiple different ways (judicial, military, ecclesiastical, etc.) into several administrative units, until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into ...
. It corresponds to the former County of Maine, whose capital was also the city of
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
. The area, now divided into the departments of
Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
and
Mayenne Mayenne ( ) is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Il ...
, has about 857,000 inhabitants.


History


Antiquity

The Gallic tribe Aulerci Cenomani lived in the region during the Iron Age and Roman period. The province of Maine was named after them, in the 6th century AD as ''in Cinomanico'' (''in'' ''pago Celmanico'' in 765, ''*Cemaine'', then ''Le Maine'' from the 12th century).


Early Middle Ages

In the 8th and 9th centuries, there existed a Duchy of Cénomannie (ducatus Cenomannicus), which several of the
Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
kings used as an
appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...
. This duchy was a
march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
that may have included several counties including Maine, and extended into Lower Normandy, all the way to the
Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
. In 748,
Pepin the Short the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king. Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...
, then
Mayor of the Palace Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo, ( or ) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He ...
and thus the most powerful man in Francia after the king, gave this duchy to his half-brother Grifo. In 790
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
in turn gave it to his younger son,
Charles the Younger Charles the Younger ( – 4 December 811) was the son of the Frankish ruler Charlemagne and his wife Queen Hildegard. Charlemagne's second son, Charles gained favour over his older, possibly illegitimate half brother Pepin. Charles was entruste ...
. Charlemagne's grandson, the future
Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, 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 series of civil wars during t ...
, and his son
Louis the Stammerer Louis the Stammerer (; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879) was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrud ...
inherited the title. The son-in-law of Charlemagne, Rorgon, was the count of Maine between 832 and 839. In the last half of the 9th century, Maine took on strategic importance because of invasions from
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Rorgon's son Gauzfrid in turn became Count of Maine. He fought against
Salomon, King of Brittany Salomon () (died 874) was count of Rennes and Nantes from 852 and duke of Brittany from 857 until his assassination in 874. In 867, he was granted the counties of Avranches and Coutances, and he used the title king of Brittany intermittently a ...
and in 866 participated in the battle of Brissarthe alongside
Robert the Strong Robert the Strong (; c. 830 – 866) was the father of two kings of West Francia: Odo (or Eudes) and Robert I of France. His family is named after him and called the Robertians. In 853, he was named '' missus dominicus'' by Charles the Bald, ...
, the Frankish Margrave of Neustria. When Gauzfrid died, Charles the Bald granted the title, as well as the county and the wider Neustrian march to Ragenold of Neustria, because Gauzfrid's children were too young to act in that capacity. Ragenold, who may have been the son of Renaud d'Herbauges, died in 885 fighting the
Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
who were pillaging
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 ...
. King Rudolph of France is said to have given Maine to the Norse nobleman
Rollo Rollo (, ''Rolloun''; ; ; – 933), also known with his epithet, Rollo "the Walker", was a Viking who, as Count of Rouen, became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in today's northern France. He was prominent among the Vikings who Siege o ...
,
Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, N ...
, in 924.


High Middle Ages


Angevin period (c. 1000–1063)

Bordering the county of Anjou to the south and the Duchy of
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 ...
to the north, Maine became a bone of contention between the rulers of these more powerful principalities. Hugh III of Maine (ruled c. 991–c. 1015) was forced to recognize Fulk III, Count of Anjou as his overlord. Sometime between 1045 and 1047 Hugh IV married Bertha, daughter of Odo II, Count of Blois and widow of
Alan III, Duke of Brittany Alan III of Rennes (c. 997 – 1 October 1040) ( French: ''Alain III de Bretagne'') was Count of Rennes and duke of Brittany, by right of succession from 1008 to his death. Life Alan was the son of Duke Geoffrey I and Hawise of Normandy.Detlev ...
. The Angevins did not want Maine to come under the influence of
Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...
, and Count Geoffrey Martel invaded Maine. But 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 ...
did not want Maine to return to the Angevin orbit, so were pulled into the conflict. The precise chronology is disputed, but it is clear that in 1051 Hugh IV died and the citizens of Le Mans opened their gate to the Angevins. Anjou wound up with effective control of most of the county, but the Normans did take several important strongholds on the Maine–Normandy border.


Norman Conquest and rule (1062–1070)

Hugh IV's son Herbert II fled to the Norman court (though some historians say he was under Angevin control for a few years first) and his death in 1062 precipitated a succession crisis. Herbert died childless in 1062 after declaring William the Bastard, then Duke of Normandy, his heir. His sister Marguerite was engaged to William's eldest son,
Robert Curthose Robert Curthose ( – February 1134, ), the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was Duke of Normandy as Robert II from 1087 to 1106. Robert was also an unsuccessful pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of England. The epithet "Curthose" ...
and Herbert had taken refuge at William's court in 1056 when Geoffrey Martel, Duke of Anjou, invaded
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
. While the county was in Angevin hands, Anjou had its own succession problem. Duke
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
of Normandy claimed the county on their behalf of Herbert's young sister Margaret, betrothed to his son
Robert Curthose Robert Curthose ( – February 1134, ), the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was Duke of Normandy as Robert II from 1087 to 1106. Robert was also an unsuccessful pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of England. The epithet "Curthose" ...
. The other claimant was Herbert's aunt Biota, a sister of Hugh IV, and her husband Walter, Count of the
Vexin Vexin () is a historical county of northern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to south betw ...
. William invaded Maine in force in 1063 and despite stiff opposition from
Fulk IV, Count of Anjou Fulk IV (; 1043 – 14 April 1109), better known as Fulk le Réchin (), was the count of Anjou, count of County of Anjou, Anjou from around 1068 until his death. He was noted to be "a man with many reprehensible, even scandalous, habits" by Orderi ...
and from local barons such as Geoffrey of Mayenne and Hubert de Sainte-Suzanne, he controlled the county by the beginning of 1064. Biota and Walter were captured at the taking of Le Mans. They died sometime later in 1063, poisoned, it was rumoured, though there is no hard evidence for this. Norman control of Maine secured the southern border of Normandy against Anjou and is one factor which enabled William to launch his successful invasion of England in 1066. In 1069 the citizens of Le Mans revolted against the Normans. Soon some of the Manceaux barons joined the revolt, the Normans were expelled in 1070, and young Hugh V was proclaimed Count of Maine.


Independent period (1070–1129)

Hugh was the son of Azzo d'Este and his wife Gersendis, the other sister of Count Hugh IV. Azzo returned to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, leaving Gersendis in charge. The real power, however, was one of the Manceaux barons, Geoffrey of Mayenne, who may also have been Gersendis' lover. After Norman attacks in 1073, 1088, 1098 and 1099, Elias I succeeded his cousin Hugh V, who sold Maine to him in 1092 for ten thousand shillings. His daughter married Fulk V, Count of Anjou, who took Maine over in 1110 after the death of Elias. Henri Beauclerc, agreed to recognize him as Count of Maine so long as he acknowledged the Duke of Normandy as his overlord.


Plantagenet period (1129–1204)

Fulk's son Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou inherited Maine. When Geoffrey died in 1151, it passed to his son, King
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 ...
. Since Henry had been Duke of Normandy since 1150, Anjou, Maine, and Normandy all had the same ruler for the first time. Henry later founded the
Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet ( /plænˈtædʒənət/ ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angev ...
dynasty in England. When
Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, ruler of England, Normandy, Aquitaine, Anjou, Brittany, Maine and Touraine, collectively known as the
Angevin Empire The Angevin Empire (; ) was the collection of territories held by the House of Plantagenet during the 12th and 13th centuries, when they ruled over an area covering roughly all of present-day England, half of France, and parts of Ireland and Wal ...
, died in 1199, it sparked a
war of succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim to be the Order of succession, rightful successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are ...
that lasted until 1204. While John Lackland managed to become recognised as King of England, the Plantagenet holdings of Normandy, Touraine, Anjou and Maine were invaded and conquered by King
Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...
. During the invasion, the French seneschal William des Roches took Touraine, Anjou and Maine on behalf of the French king.


Late Middle Ages

In 1331 the Count of Maine became a peer of the realm. After the Battle of Verneuil in 1424, the English occupied Maine, and John of Lancaster took the title of Duke. The English held Le Mans until 1448 and Fresnay until 1449. In 1481, Charles IV, Duke of Anjou bequeathed his lands to
Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
, thus returning the county to the crown.


French Revolution

At the beginning, a part of the Maine population supported the French Revolution that took place in Paris. The extension of it and the general opposition of the other European countries provoked a war, that forced the authorities of the new founded French Republic to engage soldiers to fight against its European enemies. The growing need of soldiers had bad consequences in the Maine, the south of Normandy and the eastern part of Brittany: Young men refused to join the army and preferred to disappear and hide themselves. They organized a sort of secret army and they got the name of Chouans, from the nickname of their chief, Jean Cottereau. With such chiefs, Maine became quickly the centre of Chouan counter-revolution. They found local support everywhere among the peasants, who were shocked by the way the administration and the army treated the priests and the Roman Catholic religion.


Modern times

During the French Revolution Maine became part of the new created '' départements''
Mayenne Mayenne ( ) is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Il ...
and
Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
, now they are incorporated together in the
Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...
Region.


Gallery

File:Dolmen des erves.JPG, Des Erves
dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
4000 BC File:Jardins_Pierre_de_Ronsard.JPG,
Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...
and
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
city wall in
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
File:Lassay 2.JPG, Lassay Castle 12th → 15th century File:Laval Town 2007 03.jpg, Laval Castle and Town File:Laval Town 2007 01.jpg, View of Laval File:Thévalles (1).JPG, Thévalles Castle File:Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve.JPG, Maine Bocage-Hedgerows File:Château-Gontier colombages02.JPG, Medieval
half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
house in Château-Gontier File:Panoss.jpg, Panoramic view of Sainte-Suzanne, Mayenne


See also

*
Counts and Dukes of Maine The capital of Maine was Le Mans. In the thirteenth century it was annexed by France to the royal domain. Dukes of Maine (''duces Cenomannici'') * Charivius (fl. 723) – appears as ''dux'' in a document of 723. Controlled twelve counties and ...


References


Bibliography

*Patrice Morel, "Les Comtes du Maine au IX siècle", in Revue Historique et Archéologique du Maine, Le Mans, 2005, 4° série T.5, tome CLVI de la Collection, pp. 177–264 (avec Index des principaux personages; Bibliographie). *Robert Latouche, "Les premiers comtes héréditaires du Maine", in Revue Historique et Archéologique du Maine, Le Mans, 1959, tome CXV de la Collection, pp. 37–41 *Robert Latouche, Histoire du Comté du Maine pendant le X° et XI° siècles, Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études, Paris, 1910. *Gérard Louise, "La seigneurie de Bellême Xe-XIIe siècles", dans Le Pays bas-normand, 1990, no 3 (199), pp. 161–175 *Jean-Pierre Brunterc'h, " le duché du Maine et la marche de Bretagne " dans La Neustrie. Les Pays au nord de la Loire de 650 à 850, colloque historique international publié par Hartmut Atsma, 1989, tome 1. *François Neveux, la Normandie des ducs aux rois Xe-XIIe siècle, Rennes, Ouest-France, 1998 *Auguste Bry, Le Maine et l'Anjou, historiques, archéologiques et pittoresques. Recueil des sites et des monuments les plus remarquables sous le rapport de l'art et de l'histoire des départements de la Sarthe, de la Mayenne et de Maine-et-Loire, Nantes et Paris, 1856–1860; *Abbé Angot, "Les vicomtes du Maine", dans Bulletin de la Commission historique et archéologique de la Mayenne, 1914, no 30, pp. 180–232, 320–342, 404–424.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maine (Province) Former provinces of France History of Pays de la Loire History of Centre-Val de Loire History of Normandy History of Indre-et-Loire History of Loir-et-Cher History of Mayenne History of Orne History of Sarthe