Hoel III, Duke of Brittany
Encyclopedia
Hoèl of Cornwall was count of Nantes, from 1148 to his death. He was raised the son of Duke Conan III
and Maud of England, an illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England
. However, he was disinherited by his father when on his death-bed, as Conan III claimed that Hoèl was illegitimate and no son of his. Bertha
then became heiress to Duke Conan's lands in Brittany, while Hoèl was allowed to remain in the Count of Nantes. He was accused by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
of having an incestuous affair with his sister Bertha.
The traditional story of the disinheritance might be a fable. Viscount Charles de la Lande de Calan proposed, in 1908, that Hoël was an illegitimate son for whom Conan III decided to provide Nantes for his support. The name Hoël had been used for illegitimate sons of the counts of Nantes. Katherine Keats-Rohan, in 1996, proposed that Conan III disinherited his legitimate son for the purpose of unifying Brittany through the marriage of his daughter Bertha to her cousin Alan, whose father inherited two of the provinces of Brittany. Hoël was given Nantes for his lifetime. This arrangement would have required years of planning to implement, and might have begun before Hoël was born.
Supported by Geoffrey FitzEmpress
, Henry II's
younger brother in 1156 the Nantaise rebelled against Hoèl and drove him out of the country. Control of Nantes was part of a larger strategy in the on-going war between Stephen of England and Empress Matilda. With his sister's marriage to Alan, 1st Earl of Richmond, Brittany entered the conflict on the side of Stephen.
Shortly after his exile from Nantes, Hoèl of Cornwall may have sought sanctuary at the Cistercian abbey of Melleray, where he may have died shortly thereafter.
Conan III, Duke of Brittany
Conan III of Cornwall or the Fat , was duke of Brittany, from 1112 to his death. He was son of Duke Alan IV and Ermengarde of Anjou....
and Maud of England, an illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
. However, he was disinherited by his father when on his death-bed, as Conan III claimed that Hoèl was illegitimate and no son of his. Bertha
Bertha, Duchess of Brittany
Bertha of Cornwall , also known as Bertha of Brittany , was hereditary Duchess of Brittany between 1148 until her death. Bertha was the eldest daughter of Conan III of Brittany by Maude, the illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England...
then became heiress to Duke Conan's lands in Brittany, while Hoèl was allowed to remain in the Count of Nantes. He was accused by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...
of having an incestuous affair with his sister Bertha.
The traditional story of the disinheritance might be a fable. Viscount Charles de la Lande de Calan proposed, in 1908, that Hoël was an illegitimate son for whom Conan III decided to provide Nantes for his support. The name Hoël had been used for illegitimate sons of the counts of Nantes. Katherine Keats-Rohan, in 1996, proposed that Conan III disinherited his legitimate son for the purpose of unifying Brittany through the marriage of his daughter Bertha to her cousin Alan, whose father inherited two of the provinces of Brittany. Hoël was given Nantes for his lifetime. This arrangement would have required years of planning to implement, and might have begun before Hoël was born.
Supported by Geoffrey FitzEmpress
Geoffrey VI, Count of Anjou
Geoffrey VI was Count of Nantes from 1156 to 1158. He was also known as Geoffrey of Anjou and Geoffrey FitzEmpress. Born in Rouen, he was the second of the three sons of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou and Empress Matilda...
, Henry II's
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
younger brother in 1156 the Nantaise rebelled against Hoèl and drove him out of the country. Control of Nantes was part of a larger strategy in the on-going war between Stephen of England and Empress Matilda. With his sister's marriage to Alan, 1st Earl of Richmond, Brittany entered the conflict on the side of Stephen.
Shortly after his exile from Nantes, Hoèl of Cornwall may have sought sanctuary at the Cistercian abbey of Melleray, where he may have died shortly thereafter.