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Geoffrey VI (1 June 1134 – 27 July 1158) was Count of Nantes from 1156 to 1158. He was also known as Geoffrey of Anjou and Geoffrey FitzEmpress. He was the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Empress Matilda. His brothers were Henry II of England and William FitzEmpress.

Family

Born in Rouen in 1134, he was the second of the three sons of Empress Matilda, a claimant to the English throne during the Anarchy, and Count Geoffrey V of Anjou. His birth was difficult and his mother was close to dying.

Conflict

It was said that in his will, Geoffrey V had stipulated that his second son, Geoffrey, would become count of Anjou and Maine if the eldest, Henry Curtmantle, managed to become king of England. In the meantime, he granted Geoffrey the castles at Chinon, Loudun, Mirebeau and Montsoreau. The body of the count would remain unburied until Henry agreed to the terms of the will. The story was reported in contemporary sources only in a minor chronicle in Tours; W. L. Warren makes the case that the story was invented by Geoffrey. Thomas K. Keefe, however, finds serious fault with Warren's argument, arguing that there are no reliable grounds to believe that the story of Geoffrey V's will is untrue, and considers it likely that Henry usurped the County of Anjou.

In March 1152, Geoffrey attempted to abduct Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine as she traveled from Beaugency to Poitiers after the annulment of her marriage to King Louis VII of France; she avoided his trap when she was forewarned. He lay in wait at Port des Piles, near the river Creuse, and would have married her had the abduction been successful. In June, he allied himself with King Louis, the king's brother Count Robert I of Dreux and the brothers Counts Henry I of Champagne and Theobald V of Blois when Louis attacked Normandy as a response to the marriage of Geoffrey's brother Henry Curtmantle to Eleanor of Aquitaine, which took place without Louis' knowledge. If successful, the five of them intended to divide the lands of Henry and Eleanor amongst themselves.

In late 1153 or in 1154, Theobald V of Blois invaded Touraine, which Henry regarded as his. Geoffrey and others were taken captive, and Theobald required Henry to destroy the castle of Chaumont-sur-Loire to obtain their freedom. Geoffrey accompanied Henry and Eleanor to England when King Stephen died in December 1154.

In the summer of 1156, Geoffrey was again making trouble for Henry and Henry laid siege to the castles of Chinon, Mirebeau, Loudun and Montsoreau. Geoffrey was forced to yield them, but, according to some sources, he was able to keep Loudun. Henry gave Geoffrey an annuity of £1500 for the other two castles. Shortly after that siege ended the people of Nantes deposed their count and asked King Henry whom they should invite to fill the vacancy. He suggested Geoffrey; the offer was made and accepted. After Geoffrey's death his county was seized by Conan IV of Brittany, who subsequently ceded it to Henry.

Death

Geoffrey died suddenly at Nantes in 1158.

References

1. Henry Project, Geoffrey V "le Bel" or "Plantagenet"
2. Warren, W L, Henry II, pgs. 45–47, Univ. of California Press, 1973
3. Weir, Alison Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life p 78, (New York, Ballantine Books, 1999)
4. Hosler, John D. (2007). Henry II: A Medieval Soldier at War, 1147-1189. BRILL. ISBN 9789004157248.
5. Warren, W L, Henry II, pgs. 45–47
6. Keefe, T.K, Geoffrey Plantagenet's Will and the Angevin Succession, Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies Vol. 6 No. 3 (Autumn 1974) pp. 266-274
7. Kelly, Amy Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings p 80 (Harvard Univ. Press, 1950)
8. Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine p 89
9. Kelly, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings, p. 83
10. Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine, p 96
11. Chibnall, Marjorie The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English pgs. 157–158, 163 (Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1991)
12. Kelly, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings, p 91
13. Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine, p 102
14. Hosler, John D. (2007). Henry II: A Medieval Soldier at War, 1147-1189. BRILL. ISBN 9789004157248.
15. Warren, Henry II, p 65
16. Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine, p 145
17. Warren, Henry II, pgs. 65, 76
18. Warren, Henry II, pgs. 76-77

v t e House of Plantagenet
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou Wife: Empress Matilda Henry II of England Geoffrey, Count of Nantes William FitzEmpress Illegitimate: Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey Emma of Anjou Mary of Shaftesbury
Henry II of England Wife: Eleanor of Aquitaine William IX, Count of Poitiers Henry the Young King Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony Richard I of England Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile Joan of England, Queen of Sicily John, King of England Illegitimate: Geoffrey (archbishop of York) William de Longespée, Earl of Salisbury
Henry the Young King Wife: Margaret of France, Queen of England and Hungary William Plantagenet (died in infancy)
Richard I of England Wife: Berengaria of Navarre Illegitimate: Philip of Cognac
John, King of England Wife: Isabella of Angoulême Henry III of England Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Joan of England, Queen of Scotland Isabella of England Eleanor of England, Countess of Leicester Illegitimate: Joan, Lady of Wales Richard FitzRoy Oliver FitzRoy Geoffrey FitzRoy John FitzRoy Henry FitzRoy Osbert Gifford Eudes FitzRoy Bartholomew FitzRoy Maud FitzRoy Isabel FitzRoy Philip FitzRoy William de Forz
Henry III of England Wife: Eleanor of Provence Edward I of England Margaret of England Beatrice of England Edmund Crouchback Katherine of England
Edward I of England Wives: Eleanor of Castile Margaret of France, Queen of England Henry Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar Joan, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester Alphonso, Earl of Chester Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant Mary of Woodstock Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Edward II of England Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent
Edward II of England Wife: Isabella of France Edward III of England John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall Eleanor of Woodstock Joan of the Tower Illegitimate: Adam
Edward III of England Wife: Philippa of Hainault Edward the Black Prince Isabella de Coucy Joan of England Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York Mary of Waltham Margaret, Countess of Pembroke Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester Illegitimate: John de Southeray Jane Northland Joan Skerne
Richard II of England Wives: Anne of Bohemia Isabella of Valois
Henry IV of England Wives: Mary de Bohun Joan of Navarre, Queen of England Henry V of England Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester Blanche of England Philippa of England Illegitimate: Edmund Leboorde
Henry V of England Wife: Catherine of Valois Henry VI of England
Henry VI of England Wife: Margaret of Anjou Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
Edward IV Wife: Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth of York Mary of York Cecily of York Edward V Margaret of York Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York Anne of York, Lady Howard George Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford Catherine of York Bridget of York Illegitimate: Elizabeth Plantagenet Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle Grace Plantagenet
Edward V no consort or issue
Richard III of England Wife: Anne Neville Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales Illegitimate: John of Gloucester Katherine, Countess of Pembroke Richard of Eastwell
Category

• 1134 births
• 1158 deaths
• Counts of Maine
• House of Plantagenet
• People from Rouen
• Children of Empress Matilda
• Anglo-Normans