Duke Geoffrey II of Brittany (23 September 1158 - 19 August 1186) |
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| "He has more aloes than honey in him; his tongue is smoother than oil; his sweet and persuasive eloquence has enabled him to dissolve the firmest alliances and his powers of language to throw two kingdoms into confusion." - Gerald of Wales. | |||
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Geoffrey II of Brittany was the fourth son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He became duke of Brittany jure uxoris after his marriage to Constance, daughter of Duke Conan IV. He died in 1186 at the age of 27. Sadly, little attention has been given to Geoffrey in historical research and on this webpage we want to rectify this. Next to a thorough biography about Geoffrey, we also want to address further questions, for example his relationship with Gace Brule and Bertrand de Born, his family, and how he was depicted in later years. As a first step here is a brief summary of the main events of Geoffrey's life: |
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| Timeline: | |||
| 23 September 1158 | Geoffrey born as the fourth son of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, presumably named after Henry II's, count of Nantes, Henry II's younger brother who had died in July 1158 | ||
| c. 1161 | Birth of Constance, only daughter of Conan IV, duke of Brittany and Margaret of Scotland | ||
| 1166 | Betrothal of Geoffrey and Constance Conan IV hands
over most of Brittany (except the lordship of Guingamp and his earldom
of Richmond in England) to Henry II
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| May 1169 | Geoffrey visits Brittany for the first time and receives homage of Breton barons in Nantes | ||
| January 1170 | Extensive travels of Henry II and Geoffrey through Brittany where he receives further homages | ||
| April-March 1170 | Geoffrey at Northampton | ||
| June 1170 | Geoffrey attents the coronation of his elder brother Henry 'the Young King' | ||
| 1171 | Geoffrey probably attends celebrated feast at Bur near Bayeux | ||
| 20 February 1171 | Conan IV dies | ||
| Conan IV's widow, Margaret, marries Humphrey de Bohun, constable of England | |||
| Early 1173 | Geoffrey and his brother Richard join their elder brother Henry in revolt against their father | ||
| July 1173 | Geoffrey joins siege of Driencourt | ||
| September 1173 | Henry II and his rebellious sons meet for an unsuccessful peace conference at Gisors | ||
| June 1174 | Henry II lays waste to parts of Brittany | ||
| 30 September 1174 | A settlement between Henry II and his sons is reached at Montlouis near Tours which is later confirmed in Falaise. Geoffrey was to receive half the cash revenue from Brittany until his marriage to Constance took place | ||
| December 1174 | Geoffrey still in Falaise. He is then sent to Brittany with the former rebel Roland de Dinan who was appointed Henry II's chief representative in Brittany shortly before Easter 1175. | ||
| Easter 1176 | Geoffrey and the royal family celebrate Easter in Winchester | ||
| Christmas 1176 | Geoffrey and the royal family celebrate Christmas in Nottingham. Henry II hands over Cheshunt, part of the honour of Richmond, to Geoffrey | ||
| January 1177 | Theft of the Relics of St Petroc from Badmin. They were taken to St Méen in Brittany, but returned by order of Henry II and Geoffrey | ||
| March 1177 | Geoffrey witnesses arbitration of Henry II between kings of Castile and Navarre | ||
| August 1177 | Geoffrey returns to the continent and is sent to subdue Guihomar de Léon who was in rebellion again | ||
| Christmas 1177 | Geoffrey joins his father in Angers for Christmas | ||
| 6 August 1178 | Geoffrey is knighted by his father in Woodstock | ||
| 1178 | Geoffrey briefly in Normandy and participates in trounaments | ||
| Christmas 1178 | Geoffrey participates in Christmas court in Winchester | ||
| Easter 1179 | Geoffrey shortly afterwards returns to Brittany and defeats Guihomar de Léon who is deprived of most of his lands and forced to go on pilgramage to Jerusalem | ||
| 1 November 1179 | Geoffrey attents the coronation of Philip II Augustus | ||
| 1179 | Geoffrey possibly attended tournament in Lagny-sur-Marne | ||
| 1181 | Geoffrey and his brothers support Philip's campaigns | ||
| About July 1181 | Geoffrey and Constance are married and Henry II hands over control of Brittany | ||
| 1182 | Geoffrey disinherits the heir of the county of Tréguir | ||
| February 1183 | Geoffrey leads an army into Poitou and occupies Limoges | ||
| July 1183 | Geoffrey makes peace with his father. He is (temporarily and probably only symbolically) deprived of the fortresses in Brittany | ||
| 1182/4 | Birth of Eleanor, daughter of Geoffrey and Constance | ||
| 1184/6 | Birth of Matilda, second daughter of Geoffrey. She had died before 1189. | ||
| 1184 | Geoffrey and his younger brother John attack Richard who in turn invades Brittany | ||
| Henry II summons his sons to England to reconcile them. Geoffrey sent to Normandy to govern it. Possibly considered as Henry II's successor. | |||
| 1185 | Assize of Count Geoffrey | ||
| Further conflicts between Geoffrey and Richard | |||
| 1186 | Geoffrey appointed Seneschall of France by Philip II | ||
| 19 August 1186 | Geoffrey dies in Paris and is buried in Notre-Dame | ||
| Constance becomes ruler of Brittany, though under strict supervision from Henry II | |||
| 29 March 1187 | Arthur, posthumous son of Geoffrey, is born | ||
| February 1189 | Constance marries, at the order of Henry II, Ranulf Earl of Chester | ||
| 6 July 1189 | Death of Henry II, Richard I succeeds | ||
| 1190 | Richard acknowledges Geoffrey's son Arthur as his successor in the treaty of Messina with Tancred of Lecce as part of his negotiations for a marriage between Arthur and Tancred's daughter | ||
| 1194 | Richard invades Brittany alienating many Bretons | ||
| 1194 | Geoffrey's daughter Eleanor sets off to marry Duke Leopold of Austria, which was a condition for Richard's release from captivity. However, news of Leopold's death (31 December 1194) makes the arrangement void. | ||
| 1196 | Ranulf captures Constance and imprisons her in the castle at St James de Beuvron | ||
| 6 April 1199 | Richard I dies. His younger brother John and his nephew Arthur both claim to be his heir. | ||
| 18 April 1199 | Arthur issues charter in Angers | ||
| Philip II accepts Arthur's homage for Maine, Touraine, and Brittany | |||
| Arthur and Constance briefly join forces with John but flee to Philip II after harsh treatment | |||
| c. 1199 | Marriage between Constance and Ranulf is annulled | ||
| Autumn 1199 | Constance marries Aimery de Thouars, three daughters are born, Alix (later duchess of Brittany), Marguerite and Catherine | ||
| 22 May 1200 | Treaty of Le Goulet. Philip II accepts John as heir of Richard. Arthur to do homage for Brittany but will stay at Philip II's court | ||
| 1201 | Constance's mother Margaret dies in Brittany. She is buried in Sawtry Abbey, Huntingdonshire | ||
| September 1201 | Constance dies. She is buried in Cistercian abbey of Villeneuve which she had refounded the year before | ||
| 1. August 1202 | John captures Arthur, his sister Eleanor and many nobles, who were besieging Eleanor of Aquitaine in Mirebeau | ||
| 1203 | Rumours about the harsh conditions of Arthur's imprisonment spread | ||
| 3 April 1203 | Alleged day of John murdering Arthur | ||
| 10 August 1241 | Eleanor, daughter of Geoffrey, dies in custody in England | ||
| Posthumous Appearances: | |||
| Goldman, James | The Lion in Winter
(1966) - play also: The Lion in Winter (1968) - film The Lion in Winter (2003) - film |
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| Penman, Sharon | Devil's Brood (2008) | ||
| Bibliography: | |||
| Craig, Malcolm A. | 'A second daughter of Geoffrey of Brittany', Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research (later Historical Research) 50:121, (1977), 112-115. | ||
| Everard, Judith A. | Brittany and the Angevins. Province and Empire 1158-1205 (Cambridge, 2000). | ||
| Evergates, Theodore | 'Aristocratic Women in the County of Champagne', in: Theodore Evergates (ed.), Aristocratic Women in Medieval France (1999), 74-?. | ||
| Jones, Michael | ‘Geoffrey, duke
of Brittany (1158–1186)’, Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/10533, accessed 5 Oct 2008]. 'Constance, duchess of Brittany (c. 1161-1201)', ibid. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/46701, accessed 5 Oct 2008]. 'Arthur, duke of Brittany (11987-1203), ibid. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/704, accessed 5 Oct 2008]. 'Eleanor, suo jure duchess of Brittany (1282x4-1241), ibid. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/ article/46702, accessed 5 Oct 2008]. |
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| Powicke, Frederick M. | The Loss of Normandy, 1189-1204 (2nd ed., Manchester 1961). | ||
| Links: | |||
| For further information about our research or complaints, compliments or your thoughts about Geoffrey, please contact us at: geoffrey@monikasimon.eu | |||
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