Geoffroy (I)
Geoffroy (I)A viscount Geoffroy appears regularly from 967 to soon after 986, as listed by Boussard, who does not make it clear whether or not any of these documents explicitly cite Geoffroy as viscount of Châteaudun [Boussard (1962), 312 n. 84]. He appears in March 967 ["Signum Gauzfredi vicecomitis" Cart. S.-Julien de Tours, 60 (#21)], in May 975, 978 (or February 979), and in 986×1011 (but apparently soon after 986) in the cartulary of Saint-Florent de Saumur [Boussard (1962), 312 n. 84, citing Cartulaire noir de Saint-Florent de Saumur, Bibl. Nat., Nouv. acq. lat. 1930, fol. 11-12, 16 (not seen by me); see also Archives d'Anjou, 241 (#13), 242 (#14), 243 (#20)], in October 983 as a vassal of archbishop Arduin of Tours ["... Arduinus, misericordia Dei sanctæ Turonicæ sedis archiepiscopus, ... de fideli nostro Gauzfrido vicecomiti ... Signum Gauzfridi vicecomitis, ad cujus beneficium pertinere videtur" Cart. S.-Julien de Tours, 80-2 (#29)], and in 985 in a charter of Saint-Père de Chartres ["S. Gauzfridi vicecomitis." Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 79 (#18)]. Although there is not any direct proof that all of these records are references to the same Geoffroy, it is probable that they were.
Date of birth: Unknown.
Place of birth: Unknown.
Date of death: Probably 985×9.
Place of
death: Unknown.
As noted above, Geoffroy was still
living in 985. He was presumably deceased in 989, when Hugues,
viscount of Châteaudun, witnesses a charter of Robert, viscount
of Blois ["S. Hugonis, vicecomitis Castredunensis, ...
S. Alonis de Cayone castro, ..." Lex (1892), 125
(Pièces justificatives #3)].
Father: Unknown.
Mother: Unknown.
For conjectured origins, see the Commentary
section.
Spouse: Hildegarde,
d. after 1005.
The probable identity of Geoffroy (I) as
the husband of viscountess Hildegarde is discussed on her
page.
Children:
These two sons(and the two
probable daughters) were children of Hildegarde, and also of
Geoffroy if he has been correctly identified as her husband. See
the page of Hildegarde for details.
Hugues, d. 10 June 1023, viscount of
Châteaudun, 985×9 - 1003×4; archbishop of Tours, 1005?-23.
Alo (Adelaud) de Chinon, fl. 989-1009×12;
m. Senegunde.
Probable daughter:
NN,
m. Albert, d. 14 January 1036, abbot of Micy.
Probable daughter or daughter-in-law (and son-in-law or son):
Melisende,
living 1031×2;
prob. m. Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].
Conjectured father (plausible,
but direct evidence lacking): Geoffroy, fl. May 942, viscount of
Chartres.
[Settipani (2000), 249] He appears as a
witness in a charter of Hugues le Grand ["S. Gauzfridi
Carnotensium vicecomitis. ... Data mense maio ... anno scilicet
Dominicæ incarnationis DCCCCXLIIº sive anno tertio regnante
Hludovico rege." Rec. Chron. Touraine, 234; also RHF 9:
723, dating it to May 939, with the words "anno scilicet
Dominicæ incarnationis DCCCCXLIIº sive" missing]. The
obvious onomastic argument, plus the frequent connection between
Chartres and Châteaudun, suggest a connection, but there is no
direct evidence. Saint-Phalle instead identifies Geoffroy of
Chartres as the same person as Geoffroy (I) of Châteaudun
[Saint-Phalle (2000), 245 (table 6)].
Supposed spouse: Ermengarde.
(existence as a person
disctinct from Hildegarde uncertain)
The short chronicle of Bonneval mentions
viscount Geoffroy and his wife Ermengarde and his/their son
Hugues ["Deinde extitit quidam vicecomes Castrodunensis,
Gaufridus nomine, qui, pro redemptione anime sue et uxoris,
Hermengardis nomine, ... Similiter filius suus, nomine Hugo, ..."
Petite Chron. Bonneval, 33]. As noted on the page of Hildegarde, the most likely explanation would be that Hermengardis
in this record is a mistake for Hildegardis, although it
cannot be ruled out that Geoffroy had another wife named
Ermengarde.
Conjectured ancestry (plausible): "Rorgonide".
The "Rorgonide" dynasty is a
modern name given to the vaguely defined family which included
Roricon I (d. 840), count of Maine. Although a handful of
individuals can be documented as members of the immediate family
of Roricon, for the most part membership in the family has been
determined by indirect means such as onomastics. In addition to
the uncommon name Roricon, names beginning in Gauz- were
common in the Rorgonide family, including Geoffroy (Gauzfridus).
One Geoffroy, son of Roricon I and brother of Roricon II, appears
from 863 to 878 [Ann. Bertin., s.a. 863 (p. 62); "Rorigus,
frater Gauzfridi" ibid., s.a. 866 (p. 80); ibid., s.a.
871 (p. 116), s.a. 878 (p. 140)]. In the latter year, the unnamed
sons of this Geoffroy invaded the castle and honors of the sons
of the late count Eudes, and king Louis II le Bègue could do no
more than accept the homage of the sons of Geoffroy for the lands
["... filii Gozfridi castellum et honores filii Odonis
quondam comitis invaserunt, ... . ... venit ad eum isdem
Gozfridus, adducens secum filios suos ea conditione, ut castellum
et honores quos invaserant Hlodowico regi redderent et postea per
concessionem illius haberent."]. The count Eudes in
question was apparently Eudes (d. 870×1), count of (among other
places) Châteaudun [see the page of Robert le Fort for more details on Eudes], and it has been generally
believed that the castellum of which that sons of
Geoffroy gained possession in 878 was Châteaudun [Merlet (1897),
63 & n. 2; Boussard (1962), 311-2]. Thus, onomastics suggests
that it was the same family that was in possession of Châteaudun
in the tenth century. This is all plausible enough, but unproven,
and the attempt of Settipani to give an exact line of descent is
little more than guesswork [Settipani (2000), 249 (table), with
mostly "dotted" lines].
Ann. Bertin. = G. Waitz, ed., Annales Bertiniani (MGH SRG 6, Hannover, 1883).
Archives d'Anjou = Paul Marchegay, Archives d'Anjou (Angers, 1843).
Boussard (1962) = Jacques Boussard, "L'origine des familles seigneuriales dans la région de la Loire moyenne", Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale 5 (1962): 303-322.
Cart. S.-Julien de Tours = Charles de Grandmaison, Fragments de chartes du Xe siècle provenant de Saint-Julien de Tours (Paris, 1886) [reprinted (with index) from Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes 46 (1885): 373-429; 47 (1886): 226-273].
Cart. S.-Père de Chartres = Benjamin Guérard, Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, 2 vols. (Paris, 1840).
Lex (1892) = Léonce Lex, Eudes, comte de Blois, de Tours, de Chartres, de Troyes et de Meaux (995-1037) et Thibaud, son frère (995-1004) (Troyes, 1892).
Merlet (1897) = René Merlet, "Les comtes de Chartres de Châteaudun et de Blois aux IXe et Xe siècles", Mémoires de la Société Archéologique d'Eure-et-Loir 12 (1897), 1-84.
Petite Chron. Bonneval = René Merlet, "Petite chronique de l'abbaye de Bonneval de 857 à 1050 environ", Mémoires de la Société Archéologique d'Eure-et-Loir 10 (1896): 14-38.
Rec. Chron. Touraine = André Salmon, ed., Recueil de Chroniques de Touraine (Tours, 1854).
RHF = Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France.
Saint-Phalle (2000) = Edouard de Saint-Phalle, "Les comtes de Gâtinais aux Xe et XIe siècles", in Keats-Rohan & Settipani, eds., Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval (Oxford, 2000), 230-246.
Settipani (2000) = Christian Settipani, "Les vicomtes de Châteaudun et leur alliés", in Keats-Rohan & Settipani, eds., Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval (Oxford, 2000), 247-261.
Compiled by Stewart Baldwin
First uploaded 24 January 2011.