Alan I, Duke of Brittany
Encyclopedia
Alan I (died 907), called the Great, was the Count of Vannes
and Duke of Brittany
(dux Brittonium) from 876 until his death. He was probably also the only King of Brittany (rex Brittaniæ) to hold that title by legitimate grant of the Emperor
.
Alan was the second son of Count Ridoredh of Vannes. He succeeded his brother Pascweten
in Vannes and Brittany when the latter died, probably in the middle of 876. He represented the power bloc of southeastern Brittany and had to fight, initially, against Judicael of Poher
, representative of western Breton interests, for the ducal throne. Eventually he and Judicael made peace in order to fight the Vikings. Judicael died in the Battle of Questembert in 888 or 889. In 890, Alan defeated the Vikings at Saint-Lô
, chasing them into a river where many drowned.
After the death of Judicael, Alan ruled all of Brittany as it had been during the time of Salomon. He ruled not only the Breton territories of Léon, Domnonée, Cornouaille
, and the Vannetais, but also the Frankish
counties of Rennes, Nantes
, Coutances
, and Avranches
, as well as the western parts of Poitou
(the so-called pays de Retz
) and Anjou
. In the east his rule extended as far as the river Vire
. He was the first Breton ruler to rule this entire territory without great opposition within the west and the last to rule the whole bloc of Franco-Celtic countries. His strongest opponent was Fulk I of Anjou
, who disputed control of the Nantais with him, though Alan seems to have had the upper hand in his lifetime. His power base remained in the southeast and he was powerful and wealthy in land in around Vannes and Nantes.
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
, after the death of Carloman II
in 884, Charles the Fat
succeeded to all of West Francia save Brittany, thus making Brittany an independent kingdom; but this does not seem to have been true. A charter datable to between 897 and 900 makes reference to the soul of Karolus on whose behalf Alan had ordered prayers to be said in the monastery of Redon
. This was probably Charles the Fat, who, as emperor, probably granted Alan the right to be titled rex. As emperor he would have had that prerogative and he is known to have had contacts with Nantes in 886, making it not improbable that he came into communication with Alan. Charles also made a concerted effort to rule effectively in the entirety of his empire and to make former enemies, with dubious ties to the empire, like the Viking Godfrid, men of standing in return for their loyalty. Throughout his reign, Alan used Carolingian
symbols of regalia and Carolingian forms in his charters.
Alan augmented his power during the weak reigns of Odo and Charles III. He died in 907 and Brittany was overrun by Vikings, who held the region until 936, when Alan's grandson, Alan II
, succeeded in reestablishing Christian rule, but Brittany was never thenceforth as extended as in Alan's time and no future Breton rulers were called kings.
Count of Vannes
Count of Vannes was the title held the rulers of the County of Vannes....
and Duke of Brittany
Duke of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany was a medieval tribal and feudal state covering the northwestern peninsula of Europe,bordered by the Alantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north with less definitive borders of the Loire River to the south and Normandy to the east...
(dux Brittonium) from 876 until his death. He was probably also the only King of Brittany (rex Brittaniæ) to hold that title by legitimate grant of the Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
.
Alan was the second son of Count Ridoredh of Vannes. He succeeded his brother Pascweten
Pasquitan, Duke of Brittany
Pasquitan, Pascweten, or Paskwezhen was the Count of Vannes and a claimant to the rule of Brittany. He was a son of Ridoredh of Vannes, a prominent and wealthy aristocrat first associated with the court of Erispoe in the 850s...
in Vannes and Brittany when the latter died, probably in the middle of 876. He represented the power bloc of southeastern Brittany and had to fight, initially, against Judicael of Poher
Judicael, Duke of Brittany
Judicael was the Duke of Brittany from 876 to his death. He was a son of a daughter of Erispoe and claimed Brittany after the death of the pretenders Wrhwant and Pascweten in mid 876....
, representative of western Breton interests, for the ducal throne. Eventually he and Judicael made peace in order to fight the Vikings. Judicael died in the Battle of Questembert in 888 or 889. In 890, Alan defeated the Vikings at Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
, chasing them into a river where many drowned.
After the death of Judicael, Alan ruled all of Brittany as it had been during the time of Salomon. He ruled not only the Breton territories of Léon, Domnonée, Cornouaille
Cornouaille
Cornouaille is a historic region in Brittany, in northwest France. The name is identical to the French name for the Duchy of Cornwall, since the area was settled by migrant princes from Cornwall...
, and the Vannetais, but also the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
counties of Rennes, Nantes
County of Nantes
The counts of Nantes were originally the Frankish rulers of the Nantais under the Carolingians. Their county served as a march against the Bretons of the Vannetais...
, Coutances
Coutances
Coutances is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-History:Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town took the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus...
, and Avranches
Avranches
Avranches is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called Avranchinais.-History:...
, as well as the western parts of Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
(the so-called pays de Retz
Pays de Retz
The Pays de Retz is a historical region of France that currently forms part of the Loire-Atlantique department, but which previously formed part of the Duchy of Brittany....
) and Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
. In the east his rule extended as far as the river Vire
Vire River
The Vire is a river in Normandy, France whose 128 km course crosses the départements of Calvados and Manche, flowing through the towns of Vire, Saint-Lô and Isigny-sur-Mer, finally flowing out into the English Channel....
. He was the first Breton ruler to rule this entire territory without great opposition within the west and the last to rule the whole bloc of Franco-Celtic countries. His strongest opponent was Fulk I of Anjou
Fulk I of Anjou
Fulk I of Anjou , called the Red, was son of viscount Ingelger of Angers and Resinde "Aelinde" D'Amboise, was the first count of Anjou from 898 to 941. He increased the territory of the viscounty of Angers and it became a county around 930. During his reign he was permanently at war with the...
, who disputed control of the Nantais with him, though Alan seems to have had the upper hand in his lifetime. His power base remained in the southeast and he was powerful and wealthy in land in around Vannes and Nantes.
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
, after the death of Carloman II
Carloman of France
Carloman II , King of Western Francia, was the youngest son of King Louis the Stammerer and Ansgarde of Burgundy, and became king, jointly with his brother Louis III of France, on his father's death in 879....
in 884, Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat was the King of Alemannia from 876, King of Italy from 879, western Emperor from 881, King of East Francia from 882, and King of West Francia from 884. In 887, he was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and possibly Italy, where the records are not clear...
succeeded to all of West Francia save Brittany, thus making Brittany an independent kingdom; but this does not seem to have been true. A charter datable to between 897 and 900 makes reference to the soul of Karolus on whose behalf Alan had ordered prayers to be said in the monastery of Redon
Redon Abbey
Redon Abbey, or Abbey of Saint-Sauveur, Redon , in Redon in the present Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, France, is a former Benedictine abbey founded in 832 by Saint Conwoïon, at the point where the Oust flows into the Vilaine, on the border between Neustria and Brittany.-History:In 832 Ratwili, a local...
. This was probably Charles the Fat, who, as emperor, probably granted Alan the right to be titled rex. As emperor he would have had that prerogative and he is known to have had contacts with Nantes in 886, making it not improbable that he came into communication with Alan. Charles also made a concerted effort to rule effectively in the entirety of his empire and to make former enemies, with dubious ties to the empire, like the Viking Godfrid, men of standing in return for their loyalty. Throughout his reign, Alan used Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
symbols of regalia and Carolingian forms in his charters.
Alan augmented his power during the weak reigns of Odo and Charles III. He died in 907 and Brittany was overrun by Vikings, who held the region until 936, when Alan's grandson, Alan II
Alan II, Duke of Brittany
Alan II , nicknamed Wrybeard and also known as Le Renard "The Fox", was Count of Vannes, Poher, and Nantes, and Duke of Brittany from 938 to his death...
, succeeded in reestablishing Christian rule, but Brittany was never thenceforth as extended as in Alan's time and no future Breton rulers were called kings.
Children
By his wife Oreguen, Alan left the following issue:- Pascweten (died c. 903)
- Guerec
- Budic
- Rudalt, Count of VannesRudalt, Count of VannesRudalt was count of Vannes and was the son of Alan I, King of Brittany, and Oreguen. He had one daughter, Alain de Vannes. Rudalt died in November 912.-References:...
, fled the Viking invasion c. 919 - Unnamed daughter, who married Mathuedoi, Count of Poher, and was the mother of Alan IIAlan II, Duke of BrittanyAlan II , nicknamed Wrybeard and also known as Le Renard "The Fox", was Count of Vannes, Poher, and Nantes, and Duke of Brittany from 938 to his death...
- Unnamed daughter, who married Tangui, Count of Vannes, died before 913
Sources
- Smith, Julia M. H. Province and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians. Cambridge University Press: 1992.