Geoffrey V Plantagenet Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy ^{1 2 3}

   Other names for Geoffrey were Geoffrey V Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy and Geoffrey 'the Fair' Plantagenet Count of Anjou.

  Research Notes:

Second husband of Matilda.

From http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:3174654&id=I593871913 :
'The Fair' Count of Anjou (1129-1151); founder of the Plantagenet dynasty. Geoffey's nickname derived from his physical appearance - he was said to be tall, handsome, graceful and strong. He was also known as Geoffrey Plantagenet, appearantly from the sprig of broom (genet) he wore in his hat. In 1127, aged 14, he was married to Matilda, daughter and heiress of Henry I of England and the widow of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. They disliked each other, but maintained an uneasy political alliance and produces three sons, Henry (the future Henry II of England), Geoffrey and William. An illegitimate son, Hamelin became the Duke of Salisbury. Geoffrey spent much of his youth imposing order on his unruly vassals, including his own brother Helias II, Count of Maine, who rebelled against him in 1131; Geoffrey captured Helias and held him prisoner in Tours, Helias died soon after his release from a disease contracted in prison. In 1135 Henry I of England died, and Matilda's cousin Stephen of Blois (RIN # 1643) seized the English throne, together with Normandy, traditionally coveted by the counts of Anjou. Geoffrey laid claim to the duchy in his wife's right. Between 1135-1138 Geoffrey launched four expeditions into Normandy, none of which achieved great success. The expedition in 1137 was striken by dysentery, and forced to return swiftly to Anjou. In 1139 Matilda invaded England, seeking to press her claim to the English throne, and Geoffrey remained in Anjou to continue the war against Normandy. The Morman barons opposed Geoffrey, not through loyalty to Stephen, who had only visited Normandy once, but out of hatred of their traditional enemy, Anjou. However, Norman morale was weakened when Matilda captured Stephen at Lincoln in 1141, and many castles surrendered to Geoffrey, leaving him in control of most of the lands between Bayeux and the Seine. In 1142 he took the Avranchin and Mortain, and in 1143 moved east of the Seine, overunning the Cotentin. He was invested as Duke of Normandy in 144 after the fall of Rouen, and Arques, the last castle opposing him, capitulated in 1145, leaving him unchallenged master of Normandy. After the conquest of Normandy, Geoffrey joined Louis VII of France in the abortive Second Crusade (1147-9), returning in 1149. In 1150 he ceded Normandy to his son Henry, who also inhereted the family claim to the English throne. Geoffrey died in 1151, and was buried in Le Mans Cathedral; founder of a great dynasty of kings through his son, Henry II of England. For more on the Second Crusade, see RIN # 1618.
!The Plantagenet Chronicles: 38-63,80,102,140,154

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From Wikipedia - Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou :

Geoffrey (24 August 1113 - 7 September 1151), called the Handsome (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 and founded the Plantagenet dynasty to which Geoffrey gave his nickname.

Biography
Geoffrey was the elder son of Fulk V of Anjou and Eremburga of La Flèche , heiress of Elias I of Maine . Geoffrey received his nickname for the yellow sprig of broom blossom (genêt is the French name for the genista, or broom shrub) he wore in his hat as a badge. 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, 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. Interestingly, there was no opposition to the marriage from the Church, despite the fact that Geoffrey's sister was the widow of Matilda's brother (only son of King Henry) which fact had been used to annul the marriage of another of Geoffrey's sisters to the Norman pretender William Clito .

On 17 June 1128 Geoffrey married Empress Matilda, the daughter and heiress of King Henry I of England by his first wife Edith of Scotland , and widow of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor . The marriage was meant to seal a peace between England/Normandy and Anjou. She was eleven years older than Geoffrey, very proud of her status as an Empress (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.

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 concealed his cold and selfish character.

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. 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 Chateau-l'Ermitage 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 Westminster allowed Stephen should remain King of England for life and that Henry, the son of Geoffrey and Matilda should succeed him.

Geoffrey died suddenly on September 7, 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. Geoffrey and Matilda's children were:
Henry II of England (1133-1189)
Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (1 June 1134 Rouen - 26 July 1158 Nantes ) died unmarried and was buried in Nantes
William X, Count of Poitou (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 poetess Marie de France . Adelaide of Angers is sometimes sourced as being the mother of Hamelin.

The first reference to Norman heraldry was in 1128, when Henry I of England knighted his son-in-law Geoffrey and granted him a badge of gold lions (or leopards ) on a blue background. (A gold lion may already have been Henry's own badge.) Henry II used two gold lions and two lions on a red background are still part of the arms of Normandy. Henry's son, Richard I , added a third lion to distinguish the arms of England.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Count of Anjou, Touraine and Maine, 1129-1151.

• Duke of Normandy, 1144-1151.

Geoffrey married Empress Matilda Countess of Anjou, daughter of Henry I "Beauclerc" King of England and Matilda of Scotland, on 22 May 1128 in Le Mans, (Sarthe), Maine, (France). (Empress Matilda Countess of Anjou was born about 7 Feb 1102 and died on 10 Sep 1167.)

  Marriage Notes:

Marriage date may have been 3 April 1127 (Ancestral Roots Line 1-23). Line 118-25 (Geoffrey V) has m. 22 May 1127.

Geoffrey next had a relationship with < >.