Cambridge.University.Press.Brittany.and.the.Angevins.Province.and.Empire.1158-1203.Oct.2000.pdf

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The rule of the Angevins in Brittany is characterised usually as

opening an isolated `Celtic' society to a wider world and imposing

new and alien institutions. This study, the ®rst on the subject of

Brittany under the Angevins, demonstrates that the opposite is true:

that before the advent of Henry II in 1158, the Bretons were already

active participants in Anglo-Norman and French society. Indeed those

Bretons with landholdings in England, Normandy and Anjou were

already accustomed to Angevin rule.

The book examines in detail the means by which Henry II gained

sovereignty over Brittany, and how it was governed subsequently by

the Angevin kings of England from 1158 to 1203. In particular, it

examines the extent to which the Angevins ruled Brittany directly, or

delegated authority either to native dukes or royal ministers, and

shows that in this respect the nature of Angevin rule changed and

evolved over the period.

judith everard is co-editor (with Michael Jones) of The Charters of

Constance, Duchess of Brittany, and her Family (1171±1221) (1999).

Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought

BRITTANY AND THE ANGEVINS

Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought

Fourth Series

General Editor:

d. e. luscombe

Leverhulme Personal Research Professor of Medieval History, University of Shef®eld

Advisory Editors:

christine carpenter

Reader in Medieval English History, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of New Hall

rosamond mckitterick

Professor of Medieval History, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Newnham College

The series Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought was

inaugurated by G. G. Coulton in 1921; Professor D. E. Luscombe now

acts as General Editor of the Fourth Series, with Dr Christine Carpenter

and Professor Rosamond McKitterick as Advisory Editors. The series

brings together outstanding work by medieval scholars over a wide

range of human endeavour extending from political economy to the

history of ideas.

For a list of titles in the series, see end of book.

.

BRITTANY AND THE

ANGEVINS

Province and Empire

1158±1203

J. A. EVERARD

         

The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom

  

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK

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477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia

Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain

Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa

http://www.cambridge.org

First published in printed format

ISBN 0-521-66071-8 hardback

ISBN 0-511-03336-2 eBook

J. A. Everard 2004

2000

(Adobe Reader)

©

CONTENTS

List of ®gures and maps page viii

Preface ix

List of abbreviations xi

Introduction 1

1 Ducal Brittany, 1066±1166 17

2 Henry II and Brittany 34

3 The government of Brittany under Henry II 76

4 Duke Geoffrey and Brittany, 1166±1186 93

5 Duke Geoffrey, Henry II and the Angevin empire 123

6 The end of Angevin Brittany, 1186±1203 146

Conclusion 176

Appendices

1 The `Assize of Count Geoffrey' 182

2 The hereditary seneschals of Rennes 204

3 Angevin of®cers in Brittany 207

4 The right of wreck and ducal 213

brefs de mer

Bibliography 216

Index 237

vii

FIGURES AND MAPS

Figure 1 Genealogy of the dukes of Brittany, 1066±1203 page xv

Map 1 The principal political divisions of Brittany, c.1066 xvi

Map 2 Ducal domains, c. 1066±1186 xvii

Figure 2 Genealogy of the Seneschals of Rennes 206

viii

PREFACE

By [the twelfth-century], Brittany was a central player in the feudal

politics of the Anglo-Norman world, partaking of the cosmopolitan

Latin culture of the day and economically transformed by the growth of

towns. It was no longer a peripheral society . . . Distinctive still in

cultural and linguistic terms, Brittany was nevertheless taking its place

among the territorial principalities which clustered under the mantle of

the Capetian monarchy.1

Thus, in the epilogue of Province and Empire: Carolingian Brittany, Dr

Julia Smith elegantly summarised Brittany in the hundred years or so

preceding the advent of Angevin rule.

The aim of this study is to examine Brittany as a province of the

Angevin empire from the perspective of the duchy as a participant in

the contemporary culture and politics of western France and the Anglo￾Norman realm. I hope to dispel the notion that twelfth-century

Brittany was `Celtic' and different, backward and atypical, and therefore

not relevant to any discussion of Capetian France or of Anglo-Norman

society. This notion has fostered the view that Angevin rule in Brittany,

between 1158 and 1203, involved the autocratic imposition of Anglo￾Norman or Angevin institutions which were alien to the Bretons.

Since, on closer inspection, these institutions prove to be anything but

alien to Brittany by the mid-twelfth century, a thorough reconsidera￾tion of Angevin rule in Brittany is called for.

This study provides such a reconsideration, examining in detail both

Brittany's place within the Angevin empire, and the mechanisms of

Angevin rule in Brittany. `Angevin rule', it will be stressed, was not a

monolithic phenomenon, unchanging over a period of nearly half a

century. On the contrary, one can trace the changes in the nature of

1 J. M. H. Smith, Province and Empire: Carolingian Brittany, Cambridge, 1992, p. 203.

ix

Angevin rule in Brittany under the succession of Angevin rulers down

to King John.

This book is derived from my doctoral thesis, completed in 1995

under the supervision of Professor Sir James Holt. My primary debt of

gratitude is to Professor Holt, whose patient supervision and good

advice were responsible for the production of the thesis. Professor R. B.

Dobson has been and I hope will continue to be a valued mentor,

whether of®cial or unof®cial, and has shown great forbearance in his

capacity (until his retirement very shortly before publication) as the

Advisory Editor to the `Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and

Thought' series charged with overseeing production of this book. I

would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to

Professor Michael Jones, Professor Rosamond McKitterick, M. Hubert

Guillotel, Dr Elisabeth van Houts, Dr Katharine Keats-Rohan, Dr

Daniel Power and Dr Karen Jankulak for their advice and encourage￾ment.

My research trips to France would have been far less productive

without the assistance of the staff of the various libraries and archives

I visited. I am particularly indebted to those of the salle des manuscrits at

the BibliotheÁque nationale and of the Archives deÂpartementales of

Ille-et-Vilaine (Rennes), CoÃtes-d'Armor (Saint-Brieuc) and Loire￾Atlantique (Nantes).

Completion of my doctoral thesis was made possible by generous

®nancial assistance from the Coles-Myer Scholarship, the Cambridge

Commonwealth Trust, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Princi￾pals' Overseas Students Research Awards scheme and the Principal and

Fellows of Newnham College, Cambridge. Completion of the book

was undertaken as a British Academy post-doctoral fellow, and in this

capacity I have greatly bene®ted from the hospitality of the Master and

Fellows of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

Finally, I wish to thank my husband, Nicholas Syms, for ®rst

tolerating the absences of his new wife, then taking a prolonged

sabbatical from his own work to care for the two sons who arrived

while this work was in progress.

Preface

x

ABBREVIATIONS

AB Annales de Bretagne

Actes d'Henri II L. Delisle and E. Berger (eds.), Recueil des Actes d'Henri

II, roi d'Angleterre et duc de Normandie, concernant les

provinces francËaises et les affaires de France, 4 vols., Paris,

1916±1927.

AD Archives deÂpartementales

AN Archives nationales

`Actes de Buzay' J.-L. Sarrazin (ed.), `Recueil et Catalogue des actes de

l'abbaye cistercienne de Buzay en pays de Rais

(1135±1474)' (`Universite de Nantes, theÁse du IIIe

cycle', 4 vols., 1977).

Actes ineÂdits A. de la Borderie (ed.), Recueil d'actes ineÂdits des ducs et

princes de Bretagne (xie, xiie, xiiie sieÁcles), Rennes,

1888.

AE J. Geslin de Bourgogne and A. de BartheÂlemy, Anciens

eÂveÃcheÂs de Bretagne, 6 vols., Saint-Brieuc, 1864±79.

Ann. ang. L. Halphen (ed.), Recueil d'annales angevines et vendoÃ￾moises, Paris, 1903.

Ann. mon. H.R. Luard (ed.), Annales monastici, Rolls Series, 5

vols. London, 1864±1869.

Bibl. mun. BibliotheÁque municipale

BM British Museum

BN BibliotheÁque nationale

BSAN Bulletin de la socieÂte archeÂologique de Nantes

BSAIV Bulletins et meÂmoires de la socieÂte archeÂologique d'Ille-et￾Vilaine

Cart. Laval A. Bertrand de Brousillon (ed.), La Maison de Laval

(1020±1605): EÂtude historique accompagneÂe du cartulaire de

Laval, i and v, Paris, 1895 and 1803.

Cart. Morb. L. Rosenzweig (ed.), Cartulaire geÂneÂral du Morbihan;

Recueil de documents authentiques pour servir aÁ l'histoire des

pays qui forment ce deÂpartement, Vannes, 1895.

xi

Cart. Quimper P. Peyron (ed.), Cartulaire de l'eÂglise de Quimper,

Quimper, 1909.

Cart. Quimperle L. MaõÃtre and P. de Berthou (eds.), Cartulaire de

l'abbaye de Sainte-Croix de QuimperleÂ, BibliotheÁque

bretonne armoricaine, fascicule iv, 2nd edn, Rennes

and Paris, c. 1902.

Cart. Redon A. de Courson (ed.), Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Redon en

Bretagne, Paris, 1863.

`Cart. St-Georges' P. de la Bigne-Villeneuve (ed.), `Cartulaire de St￾Georges de Rennes', BSAIV 9 (1876), 127±311.

`Cart. St-Melaine' Ms. cartulary of the abbey of Saint-Melaine de

Rennes, Bibl. mun. de Rennes, ms 15820.

Cart. St-Sulpice P. Anger (ed.), Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Sulpice-la￾ForeÃt, Rennes, 1911.

Cart.St-Victeur au A. Bertrand de Brousillon (ed.), Cartulaire de Saint￾Mans Victeur au Mans, prieure de l'abbaye du Mont Saint-Michel

(999±1400), Paris, 1895.

Charters J. Everard and M. Jones (eds.), The Charters of Duchess

Constance of Brittany and her family, 1171±1221, Wood￾bridge, Suffolk, 1999.

`Communes petitiones A. de la Borderie (ed.), `Nouveau recueil d'actes

Britonum' ineÂdits des ducs de Bretagne', BSAIV 21 (1892),

97±134 at 97±105.

`Coutume de E. J. Tardif (ed.), Coutumiers de Normandie, premieÁre

Normandie' partie: `Le TreÁs Ancien Coutumier de Normandie'.

Rouen, 1881.

`Coutume de Akehurst, F.R.P. (trans.), The Etablissements de Saint

Touraine-Anjou' Louis: Thirteenth-Century Law Texts from Tours, OrleÂans

and Paris, Philadelphia, 1996.

`De principis instructione' G. F. Werner (ed.), Giraldi Cambrensis Opera, VIII, De

Principis Instructione Liber, Rolls Series, London, 1891.

DRF `De Reliquiarum Furto: De corpore Sancti Petroci

furato et restituto', in P. Grosjean, `Vies et miracles de

S. Petroc; i. Le dossier du manuscrit de Gotha',

Analecta Bollandiana 74 (1956), 131±88 at 174±88.

Published in English translation by G. H. Doble,

`The Relics of Saint Petroc', Antiquity 13 (1939),

403±15.

EYC C. T. Clay (ed.), Early Yorkshire Charters, IV and V: The

Honour of Richmond, Yorkshire Archñological Society

Record Series, Extra Series,Wake®eld, 1935 and 1936.

EnqueÃte J. Allenou (ed.), Histoire feÂodale des marais, territoire et

eÂglise de Dol: EnqueÃte par tourbe ordoneÂe par Henri II, roi

d'Angleterre, La Bretagne et les pays celtiques, xiii, Paris,

1917.

List of abbreviations

xii

Gallia Christiana B. HaureÂau (ed.), Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesias￾ticas distributa ..., xiv, `Provincia Turonensi', Paris,

1856.

GC W. Stubbs (ed.), The historical works of Gervase of

Canterbury, Rolls Series, London, 1879.

Gesta W. Stubbs (ed.), Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti

abbatis: The chronicle of the reigns of Henry II and Richard

I, AD 1169±1192, known commonly under the name of

Benedict of Peterborough, 2 vols., Rolls Series, London,

1867.

Hist. Quimperle R.-F. Le Men (ed.), Histoire de l'abbaye de Sainte-Croix

de Quimperle ... par Dom Placide Le Duc, Quim￾perleÂ,1863.

`Inquisitio . . . de A. de la Borderie (ed.), `Nouveau recueil d'actes

Avaugour' ineÂdits des ducs de Bretagne', BSAIV 21 (1892),

97±134 at 106±21.

Itinerary R. W. Eyton, Court, household and itinerary of King

Henry II, London, 1878.

Monasticon J. Caley, H. Ellis, and B. Bandinel (eds.), Monasticon

Anglicanum: A history of the abbeys and other monasteries

. . . in England and Wales . . . originally published in

Latin by Sir William Dugdale, Kt., 6 vols. (vol. vi in 3

parts), London, 1817±30, reprinted Farnborough,

Hants., 1970.

Le Baud, Histoire de C. d'Hozier (ed.), Histoire de Bretagne, avec les chroniques

Bretagne des maisons de Vitre et de Laval par Pierre Le Baud, Paris,

1638.

MSHAB MeÂmoires de la SocieÂte d'Histoire et d'ArcheÂologie de

Bretagne.

PL J. P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae Cursus Completus, series

Latina, 221 vols., Paris, 1844±64.

Preuves H. Morice (ed.), MeÂmoires pour servir des preuves aÁ

l'histoire eccleÂsiastique et civile de Bretagne, vol. i, Paris

1742, reprinted Farnborough, Hants. 1968.

Pipe Roll . . . Henry II The Great Rolls of the Pipe of the reign of King Henry the

second, AD 1156 to 1189, Pipe Roll Society, 30 vols.

London, 1884±1925.

RD W. Stubbs (ed.), Radul® de Diceto: Ymagines Histor￾iarum, 2 vols., Rolls Series, London, 1876.

RH W. Stubbs (ed.), Chronica Magistri Rogeri de Hoveden, 4

vols., Rolls Series, London, 1868±71.

RHD [Nouvelle] Revue historique de droit francËais et eÂtranger.

RHF Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France ...

nouvelle edition, ed. L. Delisle, xii-xviii. Paris,

1867±79.

xiii

List of abbreviations