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Birth:          24 Aug 1113 Anjou, France
Death:          7 Sep 1151 Chateau Eure-et-Loire, Frnce
Cause of Death: fever
Burial:         St Julien's Cathedral, Le Mans, France

Notes
Count of Anjou
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Plantagenet,_Count_of_Anjou
Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151) — called the Handsome or the Fair 
(French: le Bel) and Plantagenet — was the Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine by 
inheritance from 1129 and then Duke of Normandy by conquest from 1144. By his 
marriage to the Empress Matilda, daughter and heiress of Henry I of England, Geoffrey 
had a son, Henry Curtmantle, who succeeded to the English throne as King Henry II 
(1154-1189) and founded the Plantagenet dynasty, whose name was taken from 
Geoffrey's epithet. His ancestral domain of Anjou gave rise to the name Angevin, for 
three kings of England, and what became known as the Angevin Empire in the 12th 
century.
Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Geoffrey was the elder son of Foulques V d'Anjou and Eremburga de La Flèche, 
daughter of Elias I of Maine. He was named after his great-grandfather Geoffrey II, 
Count of Gâtinais. Geoffrey received his nickname from the yellow sprig of broom 
blossom (genêt is the French name for the planta genista, or broom shrub) he wore in 
his hat.[1]:9[2]:1 King Henry I of England, having heard good reports on Geoffrey's 
talents and prowess, sent his royal legates to Anjou to negotiate a marriage between 
Geoffrey and his own daughter, Empress Matilda. Consent was obtained from both 
parties, and on 10 June 1128 the fifteen-year-old Geoffrey was knighted in Rouen by 
King Henry in preparation for the wedding.

Marriage[edit]

Geoffrey and Matilda's marriage took place in 1128. The marriage was meant to seal a 
peace between England/Normandy and Anjou. She was eleven years older than 
Geoffrey, and very proud of her status as empress dowager (as opposed to being a 
mere countess). Their marriage was a stormy one with frequent long separations, but 
she bore him three sons and survived him.[1]:14–18

Count of Anjou[edit]

The year after the marriage Geoffrey's father left for Jerusalem (where he was to 
become king), leaving Geoffrey behind as count of Anjou. John of Marmoutier 
describes Geoffrey as handsome, red-headed, jovial, and a great warrior; however, 
Ralph of Diceto alleges that his charm camouflaged a cold and selfish character.
[citation needed]

When King Henry I died in 1135, Matilda at once entered Normandy to claim her 
inheritance. The border districts submitted to her, but England chose her cousin 
Stephen of Blois for its king, and Normandy soon followed suit. The following year, 
Geoffrey gave Ambrieres, Gorron, and Chatilon-sur-Colmont to Juhel de Mayenne, on 
condition that he help obtain the inheritance of Geoffrey's wife.[3]

In 1139 Matilda landed in England with 140 knights, where she was besieged at 
Arundel Castle by King Stephen. In the "Anarchy" which ensued, Stephen was 
captured at Lincoln in February 1141, and imprisoned at Bristol. A legatine council of 
the English church held at Winchester in April 1141 declared Stephen deposed and 
proclaimed Matilda "Lady of the English". Stephen was subsequently released from 
prison and had himself recrowned on the anniversary of his first coronation.

During 1142 and 1143, Geoffrey secured all of Normandy west and south of the Seine, 
and, on 14 January 1144, he crossed the Seine and entered Rouen. He assumed the 
title of Duke of Normandy in the summer of 1144. In 1144, he founded an Augustine 
priory at Château-l'Hermitage in Anjou. Geoffrey held the duchy until 1149, when he 
and Matilda conjointly ceded it to their son, Henry, which cession was formally ratified 
by King Louis VII of France the following year.

Geoffrey also put down three baronial rebellions in Anjou, in 1129, 1135, and 1145–
1151. He was often at odds with his younger brother, Elias, whom he had imprisoned 
until 1151. The threat of rebellion slowed his progress in Normandy, and is one reason 
he could not intervene in England. In 1153, the Treaty of Wallingford stipulated that 
Stephen should remain King of England for life and that Henry, the son of Geoffrey 
and Matilda should succeed him.[4]
Death[edit]

Geoffrey died suddenly on 7 September 1151. According to John of Marmoutier, 
Geoffrey was returning from a royal council when he was stricken with fever. He 
arrived at Château-du-Loir, collapsed on a couch, made bequests of gifts and 
charities, and died. He was buried at St. Julien's Cathedral in Le Mans France.[4]

Legacy[edit]

Children[edit]

Geoffrey and Matilda's children were:
1.Henry II of England (1133–1189)
2.Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (1 June 1134 Rouen- 26 July 1158 Nantes) died 
unmarried and was buried in Nantes
3.William, Viscount of Dieppe (1136–1164) died unmarried

Geoffrey also had illegitimate children by an unknown mistress (or mistresses): 
Hamelin; Emme, who married Dafydd Ab Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales; and 
Mary, who became a nun and Abbess of Shaftesbury and who may be the poet Marie 
de France. Adelaide of Angers is sometimes sourced as being the mother of Hamelin.
[4]

Earliest heraldry?[edit]

It has long been thought that the earliest documented instance of heraldry was that in 
a report by Jean de Marmentier, a late-12th-century chronicler, that in 1128 Henry I of 
England knighted his son-in-law Geoffrey and granted him a badge of gold lions.[5] A 
gold lion may already have been Henry's own badge, and different lion motifs would 
later be used by many of his descendants. An enamel effigy (funerary plaque) created 
at the direction of his widow shows Geoffrey with a shield with gold lions on a blue 
background.[6] Thus, this may be evidence of one of the first authentic 
representations of a coat of arms[7] and, according to British historian Jim Bradbury, 
"suggests possible evidence for the early use of what became the English royal 
arms".[8] Bradbury also concedes, however, that "this is often discredited as written 
later" (i.e., two or three generations later by de Marmentier). According to French 
medievalist Michel Pastoureau, "for a long time heraldists believed that the earliest 
documented arms were those of Geoffrey Plantagenet…unfortunately [the] text was 
written after the death of Geoffrey…and the funerary plaque was created around 1155–
60, at the request of his widow…. So Geoffrey Plantagenet probably never bore arms." 
Pastoureau adds that "Moreover, it has yet to be established which are the oldest 
extant arms, although that is a rather futile exercise".[9] Other scholars have found 
the evidence for Geoffrey's use of these arms compelling.[10]

Fictional portrayals[edit]

Geoffrey was portrayed by actor Bruce Purchase in the 1978 BBC TV series The 
Devil's Crown, which dramatised the reigns of his son and grandsons in England.

Geoffrey is an important character in Sharon Penman's novel When Christ and His 
Saints Slept, which deals with the war between his wife and King Stephen. The novel 
dramatises their stormy marriage and Geoffrey's invasion of Normandy on his wife's 
behalf.

Geoffrey features in Elizabeth Chadwick's novel Lady of the English which tells the 
story of Empress Matilda between 1125 and 1148. He also features in the first novel of 
Elizabeth Chadwick's trilogy about Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Summer Queen.

Parents
____ Fulk (Foulques) V "le Jeune" (1092 - 13 Nov 1143)
OF MANS (DU MAINE) Ermendgarde (Erembourge) (Ermentrude) (1096 - 1126)

Siblings
D'ANJOU Sybil (Sibilla) (ABT 1112 - 1165)
PLANTAGENET Geoffrey V "Le Bon" (24 Aug 1113 - 7 Sep 1151)

Marriage To ----- ----- (ABT 1113 - )
    m.  

Notes


Children by ----- ----- ABT 1113 - 
PLANTAGENET Hameline (1130 - 7 May 1202)

Marriage To ____ Matilda (Maud) (ABT Feb 1102 - 10 Sep 1167)
    m. 22 May 1127 

Notes
her second

Parents
____ Henry I "Beauclerc" (1070 - 1 Dec 1135)
OF SCOTLAND Matilda "Atheling" (ABT 1079 - 1 May 1118)

Children by ____ Matilda (Maud) ABT Feb 1102 - 10 Sep 1167
PLANTAGENET Henry II "Curt Mantel" (5 Mar 1133 - 6 Jul 1189)

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