Renaud (795–843) was Frankish Count of Herbauges,

Count of Poitiers Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (, ; or ''Poitou'', in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are: *Bodilon *Saint Warinus, Warinus (638–677), son of Bodilon *Hatton (735-778) Car ...

and

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 ...

. His name is also spelled Rainaldus or Ragenold, and he is sometimes known as Reginald in English. He is referred to as Renaud of Aquitaine, but seems to have been a member of the Rorgonid family of

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 ...

. The County of Herbauges consisted of three '' pagi'' south of the Loire: ''Arballicus'' ( Herbauges), ''Metallicus'' (the Mauges), and ''Teofalicus'' ( Tiffauges) and was separate from the County of Poitou, of which Renaud also appears to have been Count. His appointment as Count is prior to July 835 when he appears in a battle against the Normans in Noirmoutier.André Chédeville & Hubert Guillotel, ''La Bretagne des saints et des rois Ve-Xe siècle'', Ouest France, Université Rennes, (1984)

Count of Nantes

After the death of Count Ricwin of Nantes at the Battle of Fontenay (841), he was appointed by

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 ...

as Count of Nantes. This was at the expense of

Lambert II of Nantes Lambert II (died 852) was the Frankish Count of Nantes and Prefect of the Breton March between 843 and 851. Lambert ruled the county in opposition to Amaury, the puppet count installed by Charles the Bald, King of West Francia. At his death, the c ...

, who had fought for Charles at Fontenay, and was considered the legitimate heir of his father, the former Count Lambert I of Nantes. Disappointed in his ambitions, Lambert II broke with Charles the Bald and turned to

Nominoe Nominoe or Nomenoe (; ; 763, 7 March 851) was the first Duke of Brittany from 846 to his death. He is the Bretons, Breton ''pater patriae'' and to Breton nationalism, Breton nationalists he is known as ' ("father of the country"). Or ...

, Duke of Brittany, who was then in almost open revolt against the Franks. Nominoe and Lambert intended to join forces to capture Nantes.

Invasion of Brittany

Having fortified Nantes, Renaud heard that Nominoe had been incapacitated by a serious illness. Renaud decided to take the initiative, by raiding into Breton territory. At the junction of the diocese of Alet and county of Nantes, on the Roman road of Angers Carhaix he surprised the Breton army led by Nominoe's son Prince Erispoe. At the Battle of Messac, Erispoe was initially defeated by Renaud.Michel Dillange, ''Les comtes de Poitou Ducs d'Aquitaine (778–1204)'', La Crèche : Geste éditions, 1995, 303 p. (), p 55 Shortly afterwards, however, the timely arrival of Lambert's troops allowed Erispoe to counter-attack in force, defeating Renaud. Renaud himself was killed the day afterwards, during the pursuit. The Bretons may also have been assisted by the Viking warlord Håstein, who is said to have personally killed Renaud. However, other sources assert that Lambert killed Renaud and that the Viking force arrived shortly afterwards, looking for plunder.

Aftermath

The Vikings sacked Nantes and killed its bishop. Lambert occupied the town, but was unable to hold it. Janet L. Nelson, ''The Annals of St-Bertin'', Manchester University Press, 1991, p.55 Renaud's son Hervé was killed in battle against Lambert a year later. Recent studies suggest that another of Renaud's sons Ragenold became Count of Herbauges, then

and Marquis of Neustria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renaud DHerbauges Nobility of the Carolingian Empire 843 deaths Counts of Nantes Counts of Poitiers Year of birth unknown 795 births