Gerberge, alleged mother of Conan I of Brittany

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Stewart Baldwin

Gerberge, alleged mother of Conan I of Brittany

Legg inn av Stewart Baldwin » 24 okt 2004 00:24:13

One of the matters left hanging in recent discussions of Juhel
Berengar of Rennes was the name Gerberge, given in a number of sources
(e.g., Anselme) as the name of the wife of Juhel Berengar of Rennes
and mother of Conan I. I recently examined a microfilm of Lobineau's
"Histoire de Bretagne" (2 vols., Paris, 1707), available at the Family
History Library in Salt Lake City, on films 865446 (history) and
865447 (documentary evidence), which supplies some additional
information on Gerberge. In vol. 1, page 81, we find a note (clearly
intending this Gerberge) which mentions a donation in the 25th year of
king Lothair in which are mentioned viscountess Gerberge, formerly
wife of Berengar and now wife of Gilduin, and her sister countess
Hildegarde. It is evident that this Berengar is being identified with
Juhel Berengar.

Looking around, I found more in two articles in the volume
Keats-Rohan, ed. "Family Trees and the Roots of Politics (Boydell
Press, 1997), namely , in K.S.B. Keats-Rohan's article "'Un vassal
sans histoire'?: Count Hugh II (c.940/55-992) and the Origins of
Angevin Overlordship in Maine" (pp. 190-210), and in Christian
Settipani's article "Les comtes d'Anjou et leurs alliances aux Xe et
XIe siècles" (pp. 211-267). According to these articles, Gerberge was
the sister of Hildegarde, wife of Geoffrey I, viscount of Châteaudun,
and Gerberge was married first, to Berengar (of Doué, p. 202) and
second, to Gilduin of Saumur (pp. 202, 259) or Doué (p. 262 - an
error?). Keats-Rohan also states that "Hildegarde was apparently a
member of the much-discussed family of Adelard of Loches" and her
genealogical table on page 194 makes Hildegarde (with a question mark)
a granddaughter of count Hugh I of Maine.

If this attribution of Gerberge's first husband Berengar as "of Doué"
is correct (on which I would like to see more, but have no reason to
question), then the attempt to identify this Berengar with Juhel
Berengar of Rennes must be set aside, and the name of Juhel Berengar's
wife ought to be regarded as unknown.

Stewart Baldwin

Peter Stewart

Re: Gerberge, alleged mother of Conan I of Brittany

Legg inn av Peter Stewart » 24 okt 2004 05:16:45

Stewart Baldwin wrote:

<snip>

Looking around, I found more in two articles in the volume
Keats-Rohan, ed. "Family Trees and the Roots of Politics (Boydell
Press, 1997), namely , in K.S.B. Keats-Rohan's article "'Un vassal
sans histoire'?: Count Hugh II (c.940/55-992) and the Origins of
Angevin Overlordship in Maine" (pp. 190-210), and in Christian
Settipani's article "Les comtes d'Anjou et leurs alliances aux Xe et
XIe siècles" (pp. 211-267). According to these articles, Gerberge was
the sister of Hildegarde, wife of Geoffrey I, viscount of Châteaudun,
and Gerberge was married first, to Berengar (of Doué, p. 202) and
second, to Gilduin of Saumur (pp. 202, 259) or Doué (p. 262 - an
error?).

Maybe an error, but from mixing up two different secondary readings of
the evidence rather than from simply printing the wrong word on p. 262.

The gift by Gerberga, transacted at Saumur in April 980, contains the
following terms:

"Ego Girberga...voluntate senioris mei Gelduini...in hereditate senioris
mei Berengarii quam michi in dotalicium ipse donavit...in villa
Doado...Signum Girbergane, quae hanc donationem fecit; signum Gelduini,
senioris ejus; signum Hildegardis vicecomitissae, sororis ejus" [I
Gerberga...with the accord of my husband Gelduin...from the inheritance
of my husband Berengar that he gave to me in dower...in the estate of
Doué...endorsed by Gerberga, who made this donation; by her husband
Gelduin; by Viscountess Hildegarde, her/(his) sister].

Katherine Keats-Rohan has named the first of Gerberga's husbands
"Berengar of Doué", though this could be misleading since we are not
told what other and probably greater possessions he had held. Christian
Settipani agreed with the rest of her interpretation on p. 259, where he
named Gerberga's second husband as "Gelduin de Saumur" (that is, Gelduin
le Vieux, seigneur of Saumur).

On the other hand, Christian also cited Louis Halphen's _Le comté
d'Anjou au XIe siècle_ (Paris, 1906), where (p. 11 note 1) Célestin Port
is quoted as stating that Viscountess Hildegarde was sister of "Gildouin
de Doué" [from _Dictionnaire historique, géographique et biographique de
Maine-et-Loire et de l'ancienne province d'Anjou_, vol 2 p. 359].

I find Port's reading of this far less plausible than Keats-Rohan's.

Keats-Rohan also states that "Hildegarde was apparently a
member of the much-discussed family of Adelard of Loches" and her
genealogical table on page 194 makes Hildegarde (with a question mark)
a granddaughter of count Hugh I of Maine.

Christian has since speculated that Gerberga and Hildegarde may have
been daughters of Hervé I, count of the Perche, by a sister of Count
Fulco II of Anjou's first wife Gerberga [in 'Les vicomtes de Châteaudun
et leurs alliés', _Onomastique et parenté dans l’Occident médiéval_,
Prosopographica et genealogica 3 (Oxford, 2000)].

Apart from the unsatisfactory evidence already reviewed, this would make
the marriage between Conan I of Brittany (IF he had been the son of
Gerberga of Doué & Saumur) and Countess Gerberga of Anjou's
granddaughter Ermengardis notably incestuous. However, it is only
conjecture.

Peter Stewart

Peter Stewart

Re: Gerberge, alleged mother of Conan I of Brittany

Legg inn av Peter Stewart » 24 okt 2004 07:42:26

Peter Stewart wrote:

<snip>

Christian has since speculated that Gerberga and Hildegarde may have
been daughters of Hervé I, count of the Perche, by a sister of Count
Fulco II of Anjou's first wife Gerberga [in 'Les vicomtes de Châteaudun
et leurs alliés', _Onomastique et parenté dans l’Occident médiéval_,
Prosopographica et genealogica 3 (Oxford, 2000)].

Apologies - my memory had conflated the theories of two scholars:
Christian Settipani suggested that Viscountess Hildegarde of Châteaudun
and Gerberga of Doué & Saumur may have been daughters of either a
brother or sister of Countess Gerberga of Anjou; while Edouard de
Saint-Phalle suggested that their father may have been Count Hervé of
the Perche.

Peter Stewart

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