Salomon, Duke Of Brittany
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Salomon () (died 874) was
count of Rennes The Count of Rennes was originally the ruler of the Romano- Frankish ''civitas'' of Rennes. From the middle of the ninth century these counts were Bretons with close ties to the Duchy of Brittany, which they often vied to rule. From 990 the Coun ...
and
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 852 and
duke of Brittany This is a list of rulers of Brittany. In different epochs the rulers of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary right. Hereditary ...
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 after 868. In popular tradition within Brittany he was
canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...
as "Saint Salomon" after his death and raised to the rank of
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
.


Rise under Erispoe

Salomon was the son of Riwallon III of Poher, who himself was the son of Count Erispoë I of Poher, King of the Browaroch (775–812), and older brother of
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 ...
. In 851,
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 ...
, after his defeat at the Battle of Jengland, made peace with Salomon's cousin Erispoe, son of Nominoe, and granted him the counties of
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
and
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 ...
and the Pays de Retz in
Poitou Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...
as far as the river
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 ...
. In 852, Salomon swore an oath to Charles and became his loyal follower (''fidelis''); in return, in a manner similar to Erispoe, he was granted Rennes, Nantes, and Retz as a "third" of Brittany to be held from Charles in fee. He and Erispoe were the ''dominatores'' of Rennes in 853. Salomon was the most powerful aristocrat at Erispoe's court.


Revolt of 858–863

Probably because he feared losing his benefices (which he held under Erispoe) if
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 ...
were allowed to become king at
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 ...
, Salomon colluded with the otherwise unknown Almarchus to assassinate his cousin Erispoe and seize the Breton throne in 857. In 858, he was behind the large-scale revolt of the Frankish nobles of
Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...
against Charles the Bald. Bretons were involved in the chasing of Louis from Le Mans in the spring of that year. In September,
Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...
marched as far as
Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and
Savonnières Savonnières () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department in central France. Population See also *Les Grottes Pétrifiantes de Savonnières *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department References
near
Toul Toul () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, Fra ...
and tried to order Salomon to remember his oath of 852 and to resume paying the
tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
which Brittany had paid in years past.Smith, 105. By 862, Salomon was the centre of the revolt against Charles the Bald, though he had not made war on the king himself since 860.Smith, 105. In that year he hired the services of a band of
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. 9â ...
with which to fight Robert the Strong, who himself had hired mercenary Vikings to help him. Salomon also lent a force of Bretons to aid Louis the Stammerer, now in league with the rebels, in his war with Robert. In 863, Charles gathered an army and began marching on Brittany, but held off near
Entrammes Entrammes () is a Communes of France, commune in the Mayenne Departments of France, department in north-western France. It is located about west of Parné-sur-Roc and about south of Laval Entrammes Airport in Laval, Mayenne, Laval. History E ...
and negotiated a peace with Salomon whereby western Anjou was recognised as a part of Brittany and the lay abbacy of Saint-Aubin in
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 ...
was granted to Salomon, who commended himself to Charles and paid tribute.


Revolt of 865–867

Salomon did not give up his war with Robert or his alliance with the Vikings quite so readily, however. In 865 and 866, the Vikings and Bretons ravaged the vicinity of Le Mans and Robert was killed in the Battle of Brissarthe against the Vikings allied with the Bretons. This was the start of a new insurrection; even
Pope Nicholas I Pope Nicholas I (; c. 800 – 13 November 867), called Nicholas the Great, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 858 until his death on 13 November 867. He is the last of the three popes listed in the Annuario Pontif ...
wrote letters to Salomon urging him to resume the halted tribute payments. Charles marched on Brittany in 867, but Salomon sent his son-in-law
Pascweten Pascweten (died 876) was the count of Vannes and a claimant to the Duchy of Brittany, rule of Brittany. He was a son of Ridoredh of Vannes, a prominent and wealthy aristocrat first associated with the court of Erispoe in the 850s. He owned vast lan ...
to negotiate a peace at
Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...
in August. Charles sent hostages to Salomon and Pascweten swore oaths of fealty to Charles on Salomon's behalf.


Peace and regalia

This peace was to last until the end of Salomon's life. Charles rewarded his now faithful vassal with a gift of regalia in 868, including a golden, jewelled crown. It is also likely that Salomon's two-year-old son Wigo was baptised on this occasion and that Charles acted as godfather to him, thus making Salomon and Charles linked by "blood" as co-fathers. Though Salomon thereafter began to call himself king, he was not king in any official capacity, as an eleventh-century historian at Redon monastery wrote:
Salomon was called king, not because it was true in fact, but because he wore a gold coronet and purple robes by a grant of the Emperor Charles, and for this reason was designated by this name.
Salomon expended some effort in the mid-860s trying to have Pope Nicholas send the
pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...
to the Bishop of Dol to create an archdiocese for all the Breton bishoprics, which did not recognise the Archdiocese of Tours, their legal metropolitan. Salomon may have wanted an archbishop which was pliable to his wishes or who could consecrate him as king. Perhaps he simply wished to break the deadlock which had ensued following
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 ...
's deposition of five Breton bishops a decade and a half earlier. In 874, a conspiracy involving Pascweten, Wrhwant, and Wigo, son of Riwallon, Count of Cornouaille, plotted to kill Salomon. They succeeded in this, though they quickly fell out with each other and a civil war followed until 876.


Veneration

Salomon III of Bretagne is honored in the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
on 25 June.


See also

* Kings and dukes of Brittany family tree


References

{{Authority control 874 deaths 9th-century monarchs of Brittany 9th-century murdered monarchs Dukes of Brittany Year of birth unknown 9th-century deaths 9th-century Christian saints 9th-century Christian martyrs Saints from the Carolingian Empire Medieval Breton saints Medieval French saints French Roman Catholic saints Christian royal saints Roman Catholic royal saints Sons of kings 9th-century monarchs in Europe Catholic martyrs Christian monarchs