| Sources |
- [source02539] David Meier, http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=jdp-fam&id=I64857&style=TABLE
Royals, Rebels, Presidents, Paupers, Thinkers, and Thieves, (Media: Website / URL).
- [source02540] David Meier, http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jdp-fam&id=I64860
Royals, Rebels, Presidents, Paupers, Thinkers, and Thieves, (Publication Date: 19 AUG 2005
Media: Website / URL).
ID: I64860
Name: Alain II De Bretagne
Given Name: Alain II
Surname: De Bretagne
Suffix: Duke Of Brittany
Nickname: Le Barbetorte
Sex: M
_UID: 72F1BE9968813240800ED9B6B70E2A1B3C82
Change Date: 19 Aug 2005
Birth: 917
Death: 952
Father: Mateudo De Poher b: ABT 897 in Brittany
Mother: Havoire of Brittany b: 880
Marriage 1 Roscille of Anjou b: 905
Married:
Children
Hoel II De Nantes b: 930
redandblue4@verizon.net
- [source4071147986] Wikipedia: Alain II de Bretagne, (Publication Date: 26 JAN 2023
Media: Website / URL).
Alan II (c. 900–952),[1] nicknamed Wrybeard or Twistedbeard, Alan Varvek in Breton, was Count of Vannes, Poher and Nantes, and Duke of Brittany from 938 to his death. He was the grandson of King Alan the Great by Alan's daughter and her husband Mathuedoï I, Count of Poher. He expelled the Vikings/Norsemen from Brittany after an occupation that lasted from 907 to about 939.
The Vikings
Refuge in Britain
Alan had to take refuge, along with his father Mathuedoi I, with King Æthelstan of England because the Norsemen had invaded Armorica. The Chronicle of Nantes reports:
Fugit autem tunc temporis Mathuedoi, comes de Poher, ad regem Anglorum Adelstanum cum ingenti multitudine Britonum, ducens secum filium suum, nomine Alanum, qui postea cognominatus est Barbatorta, quem Alanum ex filia Alani Magni, Britonum ducis, genuerat, et quem ipse rex Angliae Adelstannus jam prius ex lavaero sancto susceperat. Ipse rex pro familiaritate et amicitia hujus regenerationis magnam in eo fidem habebat. (Chronicle of Nantes, chapter 27) "... Among the nobles who fled for fear for the Danes, Mathuedoi, the count of Poher, put to sea with a great multitude of Bretons, and went to Æthelstan, king of the English, taking with him his son, called Alan, who was afterwards surnamed "Crooked Beard". He had had this Alan by the daughter of Alan the Great, duke of the Bretons, and the same Æthelstan, king of England, had lifted him from the holy font. This king had great trust in him because of this friendship and the alliance of this baptism."[2]
Alan became ruler of Brittany at the end of a 33-year interregnum after the death of his maternal grandfather, Duke Alan the Great.
Return to Brittany
Alan landed at Dol in 936, at the invitation of a monk, Jean de Landévennec, and with the aid of Æthelstan. By 937 Alan was master of most of Brittany, having forced the Norsemen back to the Loire.
Sique civitas Namnetico per plures annos derelicta, vastata et vepribus spinisque occupata remansit, donec Alanus Barbatorta, Alani Magnus nepos, surrexit et hos Normannos ab omni regione Britannien et a fluvio Ligeris, qui illis erat nutrimentum magnum, omnino depulsos dejecit. Iste vero Alanus cum rege Anglorum Adelstano ab infantia fuit nutritus, corpore validus et fortitur audax, apros et ursos in silva minime curans eos cum ferro occidere nisi cum lignis silvae. Congregata navium parvitate, cum his Brttannis, qui libidem adhue superstites erant, venit per licentiam régis revisere Britanniam. (Chronicle of Nantes, chapter 29) "... The city of Nantes remained for many years deserted, devastated and overgrown with briars and thorns, until Alan Crooked Beard, grandson of Alan the Great, arose and cast out those Norsemen from the whole region of Brittany and from the river Loire, which was a great support for them. This Alan was brought up from infancy with Athelstan, king of the Anglo-Saxons, and was strong in body and very courageous, and did not care to kill wild boars and bears in the forest with an iron weapon, but with a wooden staff. He collected a few ships and came by the king's permission with those Bretons who were still living there, to revisit Brittany."[3]
In 938, Alan was elected Brittonum dux. On 1 August 939, with the aid of Judicael (Berengar), count of Rennes, and Hugh I, Count of Maine, his victory was made complete by defeating the Norse at the Battle of Trans-la-Forêt.[4] Alan declared that date a national holiday.
Louis IV of France and other alliances
Alan II was closely allied with King Louis IV of West Francia, as both were exiles in England together at the court of Edward the Elder and Edward's son and successor Æthelstan. Alan renounced the Cotentin, Avranchin and Mayenne and paid homage to Louis IV in 942.[5] He was also allied to Theobald the Old, the count of Chartres.
Family
Alan II was the grandson of Alan I, King of Brittany and the great-grandson of Ridoreth, Count of Vannes. He was the grand-nephew of Pascweten.
His wife was Roscille d'Anjou de Blois, the sister of Theobald I, Count of Blois. Their son, and Alan's immediate successor, was Drogo, Duke of Brittany.
He also had at least two illegitimate sons, Hoël and Guerech, who would each succeed Drogo during the fractured rule of Brittany after Drogo's death.
Death
Alan was buried in his capital, Nantes, in the church which he constructed to honor the Virgin Mary for his victory in liberating Nantes, initially known as la Chapelle de la Très Sainte Mère de Dieu,[a] now known as the Basilique Notre Dame in the parish of St Thérèse in Nantes. He was succeeded by his son Drogo.
Notes
See the parish of St Thérèse publication "l'Antique Eglise de Notre-Dame de Nantes" available in PDF format.
References
Joëlle Quaghebeur. La Cornouaille du IXe au XIIe siècle. PUR Rennes, 2002. p 99
Chronicle of Nantes, chapter 27, ed. Merlet; tr. D. Whitelock, English Historical Documents c. 500–1042. 2nd ed. London, 1979. p. 345.
Chronicle of Nantes, chapter 29, ed. Merlet; tr. D. Whitelock, pp. 345–6.
Flodoard, Annales AD 939.
Michael Jones, The Creation of Brittany: A Late Medieval State, (Hambledon Press, 1988), 4; "Alan Barbetorte performed homage to Louis IV Outremer in 942...".
Primary sources
Flodoard, Annales, ed. Philippe Lauer, Les Annales de Flodoard. Collection des textes pour servir à l'étude et à l'enseignement de l'histoire 39. Paris: Picard, 1905. Available from Internet Archive and Google Books
Chronicle of Nantes, ed. Peter Merlet, La chronique de Nantes. Paris, 1896.
Further reading
Cassard, Jean-Christophe. Le siècle des Vikings en Bretagne. Éditions Gisserot. Paris, 1996
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_II,_Duke_of_Brittany
- [source4071147987] Foundation for Medieval Geneaology: ALAIN (in Brittany [before 919]-952)., (Publication Date: 15 JUL 2019
Media: Website / URL).
ALAIN de Poher, son of MATHEDOI [Matuedo] Comte de Poher & his wife --- de Bretagne (in Brittany [before 919]-952, bur Church of St Donatian and St Rogatian). His parentage is confirmed by the Chronicle of Nantes which records that "Mathuedoi comes de Poher" fled "ad regem Anglorum Adelstanum" with "filium suum…Alanum." Taken to England by his father, he was baptised there, with Æthelstan King of Wessex acting as his godfather. As King Æthelstan succeeded to the throne in 924, it is likely that this baptism took place when Alain was already past infancy. It is probable that Alain was not younger than 15 years old, at the youngest, when he took part in the 931 uprising against the Danes in Brittany. If this is correct, he must have been born several years before his father's escape to England. He took part in a disastrous uprising against the Danes in Brittany in 931, and fled to England again. With the help of King Æthelstan, he re-established himself as Comte de Vannes et de Nantes in 936, in effect succeeding as ALAIN II "Barbetorte" Duke of Brittany. Borderie dates the start of Duke Alain´s reign to 938. The Chronicon Floriacensi records the death in 952 of "Ugo Dux Burgundionum et Alanus Brittonum." The Chronicle of Nantes records the death of "Alanus dux" and his burial "apud ecclesiam Sanctorum Donatiani et Rogatiani."
m firstly (943) ROSCILLE d'Anjou, daughter of FOULQUES I "le Roux" Comte d'Anjou & his wife Roscille [de Loches] (-[943/49]). A document, allegedly from a "Registre conservé à la Tour de Londres, composé par ordre de Foulque IV," records that "Comes Fulco et Tescendis comitissa" [presumably referring to Comte Foulques I and his wife Roscille] had "tres filios…et Roscillam Alani comitis dicti de Barbatorta uxorem," although this text does not form part of the surviving fragmentary history of the counts of Anjou which is attributed to Foulque IV "Réchin" Comte d´Anjou.
m secondly (before [949/51]) as her first husband, --- de Blois, daughter of THIBAUT "l'Ancien" Comte de Blois & his [second wife Richilde ---]. The Chronicle of Nantes records the marriage of "Alanus dux" and "Theobaldum comitem Blesensem…sorore sua." Although no date is known for this second marriage of Duke Alain, it is likely that his first wife died in 949 at the latest given the birth of his son by his second marriage and his own death in 952. Duke Alain's second wife married secondly, as his second wife, Foulques II Comte d'Anjou. The Chronicle of Nantes records the marriage of "Theobaldus comes Blesensis…sororem suam relictam Alani Barbætortæ ducis" and "Fulconi comiti Andegavensi."
Mistress (1): JUDITH, daughter of --- (-after 952). The Chronicle of Nantes names "Alani Barbætortæ filios…Hoel et Guerech…progeniti ex nobili matre…Judith" when recording that they were installed as counts of Nantes. It is assumed that Judith married after the death of Duke Alain, as the Chronicle of Nantes names "le Vicomte Hamon," stating that he mourned the loss of "ses frères Hoel et Guerech" and sought the support of Foulques "Nerra" Comte d'Anjou to avenge their deaths, then being "jouvenceau de l'aage de vingt ans." As he was so much younger than his brothers, it is assumed that Duke Alain could not have been his father. Hamon was killed 27 Jun 992 at the battle of Conquereuil, dated "992 V Kal Jul" in the Chronicon britannicum.
Duke Alain II & his second wife had one child:
1. DREUX [Drogo] ([949/52]-Angers [958]). The Chronicle of Nantes names "filio suo parvulo Drogoni ex muliere sua" when recording that his father on his deathbed required oaths of loyalty from his vassals in the presence of "suoque sororio Theubaldo, filii sui prædicti avunculo." This wording suggests that Dreux’s mother was his father’s wife who was living at his death. He succeeded his father in 952 as DREUX Duke of Brittany, under the guardianship of his maternal uncle Thibaut "le Tricheur" Comte de Blois, Vicomte de Tours who came to dominate Brittany. The Chronicle of Nantes records that "Drogo infans" was killed in his bath through the machinations of his stepfather.
Duke Alain II had two illegitimate sons by Mistress (1):
2. HOËL (-killed [981]). The Chronicle of Nantes names "Alani Barbætortæ filios…Hoel et Guerech…progeniti ex nobili matre…Judith" when recording that they were installed as counts of Nantes. "…Houuel comes, Vuerec…" subscribed an undated charter of "Alanus dux Britonum." Comte de Nantes. The Chronicle of Nantes records that Hoël was killed by "Conano filio Judicael Berengarii Redonensi comite." The Annals of St Salvator Redon record that "Hoel, Namnetensis comes, Conani dolo interemptus" was buried at the abbey of Redon. Mistress (1): ---. The name of Hoël's mistress is not known. Comte Hoël had two illegitimate children by Mistress (1):
a) JUDICAËL ([978/80]-1005). The Chronicle of Nantes names "Judicael et Hoel" as the sons of Hoël "d'une concubine" stating that they were brought up by their paternal grandmother. Comte de Nantes.
- COMTES de NANTES.
b) HOËL . The Chronicle of Nantes names "Judicael et Hoel" as the sons of Hoël "d'une concubine" stating that they were brought up by their paternal grandmother.
3. GUEREC [Vuerech] (-[990], bur Redon). The Chronicle of Nantes names "Alani Barbætortæ filios…Hoel et Guerech…progeniti ex nobili matre…Judith" when recording that they were installed as counts of Nantes. "…Houuel comes, Vuerec…" subscribed an undated charter of "Alanus dux Britonum." He refused to be consecrated Bishop of Nantes in 981. The Chronicle of Nantes records that Guerec was captured by Conan comte de Rennes and poisoned. m (after 981) AREMBURGIS, daughter of ---. The Chronicle of Nantes names "Aremburgis" as wife of Guerec and "Alanum filium suum," stating that she built "castrum Anvenisii." Guerec & his wife had one child:
a) ALAIN (-[990]). The Chronicle of Nantes names "Aremburgis" as wife of Guerec and "Alanum filium suum." The Chronicle of Nantes records that Alain died soon after his father from illness.
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BRITTANY.htm#AlainIIdied952
- [source4071147988] Alain Barbetorte de Bretagne, "Find A Grave Index", (Media: Website / URL).
Name Alain Barbetorte de Bretagne
Death Date 27 Jun 952
Event Type Burial
Event Place Nantes, Departement de la Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France
Cemetery Église royale et collégiale de Notre-Dame
Photograph Included N
"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGR-8S13 : 15 June 2022), Alain Barbetorte de Bretagne, ; Burial, Nantes, Departement de la Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France, Église royale et collégiale de Notre-Dame; citing record ID 133434391, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133434391/alain-barbetorte_de-bretagne
- [source4071144881] M3J7-FVM
FamilySearch.org, (Publication Date: 12 JAN 2023
Media: Website / URL).
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0910 - 0952 (~ 41 years)
[6] 