HENRY II'S YOUNGER SON GEOFFREY WAS UNIVERSALLY ACKNOWLEDGED TOB...

1166, Henry II's younger son Geoffrey was universally acknowledged tobe the future duke of Brittany, but he did not assume the government ofthe duchy until 1181. There was thus a period of ®fteen years in whichGeoffrey's position in respect of Brittany was somewhat ambiguous.The conventional wisdom is that Geoffrey never ruled Brittanyindependently of Henry II, thus there is no signi®cant distinctionbetween the periods before and after 1181. On the contrary, 1181 is animportant turning-point in the history of the Angevin regime inBrittany. This chapter will demonstrate that, although Geoffrey had noauthority in Brittany before 1181, he ruled effectively independently ofHenry II from 1181.geoffrey `comes britannie', 1166±1181That Geoffrey did not have any authority in Brittany before 1181,except in carrying out his father's orders, is indicated by the fact thatthere are no knownactaof Geoffrey before he became duke of Brittany,except the writs of Henry II issued in their joint names. Neither is thereany evidence that Geoffrey had a seal of his own before 1181.Notwithstanding Geoffrey's lack of independent authority, he wasclosely involved with Brittany and Breton affairs. There are two aspectsto this involvement. From the point-of-view of Henry II, Geoffreyplayed an active role in the Angevin regime, asserting royal authority inBrittany. From Geoffrey's point-of-view, the period from 1166 to 1181was spent preparing the way for his accession by gaining experience ofBreton politics and government and forming relationships with theBreton magnates and courtiers who would serve him as duke ofBrittany.John Le Patourel, emphasising the authority of Henry II, stated thatbefore 1181, `le role de Geoffroi en Bretagne ne fut que purementnominal. Il ne se trouva dans le duche que pendant les campagnesmilitaires de 1175, 1177 et 1179'.

¹

This summary signi®cantly under-estimates Geoffrey's role in Henry II's regime, especially in politicalterms.Henry II exercised a policy of associating Geoffrey in royal adminis-trative acts concerning Brittany. At least two of the three known writsissued to royal agents in Brittany after 1166 were issued in the jointnames of Henry II and Geoffrey.

²

Assuming that more such writs werein fact issued between 1166 and 1181, this suggests that it was thegeneral practice of the royal chancery to issue writs to Brittany in jointnames. Between 1166 and 1181, Geoffrey was usually styled `comesBritannie'.

³

At least two charters made by Henry II concerning lands inthe honour of Richmond were attested by Geoffrey `®lius regis, comesBritannie'.

⁴

Henry II took pains to associate Geoffrey with his regime in Brittany.This policy may have been dictated by Henry II's need to legitimate hisown regime by associating it with his son who was to marry the heiress,or it may have been for Geoffrey's bene®t, to establish precedents forgovernment in his name prior to his formal accession, or both.Geoffrey was present in Brittany before 1181 more often, and formore extended periods, than Professor Le Patourel would allow.

⁵

Heprobably visited Brittany with Henry II as early as the summer of 1166,when he was not quite eight years of age. In May 1169, he undertooksome sort of investiture ceremony, when he was `received' in Rennescathedral by the bishop of Rennes and the abbot of Mont Saint-Michel,both loyal supporters of Henry II. That Christmas, at Nantes, and in the®rst weeks of 1170, the Breton barons rendered homage to Geoffrey aswell as to Henry II. Geoffrey probably accompanied his father toBrittany again in the early months of 1171, after the death of Conan IV.Up to this time, Geoffrey's role was preeminently symbolic. He was tooyoung to undertake any practical role in the administration of Brittany,but, as the betrothed of the heiress, was valuable as a ®gurehead toencourage Breton support for the Angevin regime.

1

J. Le Patourel, `Henri II PlantageneÃt et la Bretagne',

MSHAB

(1981), 99±116 at 104.

2

See p. 76.

3

Eg. J. H. Round (ed.),

Calendar of documents preserved in France,

i

AD 918±1206, London, 1899,

reprinted 1967, nos. 349, and 686;

Actes d'Henri II, nos.

cccclxx,

dv,

dxliv, and

dxlvii.

4

Actes d'Henri II, nos.

dxliv, and

dxlvi; B. A. Lees (ed.),

Records of the Templars in England in the

twelfth century, London, 1935, pp. 224±6.

5

For Geoffrey's movements between 1166 and 1181, as outlined in the next few paragraphs, see

the itinerary at

Charters, pp. 7±10.

After the 1173 revolt and the reconciliation of the king with his sons,Geoffrey assumed a new role. Having turned sixteen in September