County of Nantes

The Counts of Nantes were originally the Frankish rulers of the Nantais under the Carolingians and eventually a capital city of the Duchy of Brittany. Their county served as a march against the Bretons of the Vannetais. Carologinian rulers would sometimes attack Brittany through the region of the Vannetais, making Nantes a strategic asset. In the mid-ninth century, the county finally fell to the Bretons and the title became a subsidiary title of the Breton rulers. The control of the title by the Breton Dukes figured prominently in the history of the Duchy. The title Count of Nantes was given to Hoel, a disinherited son of a Duke. He lost the Countship due to a popular uprising. That uprising presented an opportunity for King Henry II of England to attack the Breton Duke. In the treaty ending their conflicts, the Breton Duke awarded the Countship of Nantes to Henry II.

Frankish counts

Kingdom of Brittany

Alan I, King of Brittany ruled Nantes as King of Brittany until his death in 907.

Viking occupation from 914 to 938
  • 907 - c 914 - vacant
  • 914 - 919 - Rognvaldr as leader of the Loire Fleet of Norway lands in Nantes; Robert of Neustria continues conflict with invading Vikings
  • 919 - Robert of Neustria cedes Nantes to Rognvaldr
  • ? - 936 - Incon, Viking leader after the death of Rognvaldr
  • 936 - 938 - Alan Barbetorte returns to Brittany from England and engages the Vikings

Later counts
  • 938 – 952 Alan I Barbetorte, grandson of Alan I, King of Brittany, also Duke of Brittany
  • 952 – 960 Drogo, his son
  • 960 – 981 Hoël I, Alan Barbetorte's eldest illegitimate son
  • 981 – c.988 Guerech, Hoël's brother
  • 990 – 992 Conan I, Count of Nantes by conquest
  • 992 – 1004 Judicaël; Hoël's illegitimate son
  • 1004 – 1038 : Budic, Judicael's son
  • 1038 – 1051 : Matthew I, Burdic's son
  • 1051 – 1063 : Judith, Matthew's aunt and Budic's sister, (with her husband Alain Canhiart)
  • 1054 – 1084 : Hoël II, their son, married to Hawise, Duchess of Brittany
  • 1084 – 1103 : Matthew II, Hoël and Hawise's second son
  • 1103 – 1119 Alan II, Matthew's elder brother, also Duke of Brittany
  • 1119 – 1148 Conan II, Alan's son
  • 1148– 1156 Hoël III, Conan's son
  • 1156 – 1158 Geoffrey I FitzEmpress, younger brother of Henry II of England
  • 1158 Conan III, Hoël III's nephew, seized the County and Nantes before returning it to Henry of England
  • 1158 – 1185 Henry II of England, gained the county under his treaty with the Duke of Brittany
  • 1185[lower-alpha 1] – 1186 Geoffrey II, Henry II's fourth son, married to Conan's daughter Constance
  • 1185 – 1201 Constance,[1] Conan's daughter and heiress, married to Henry II's son Geoffrey
  • 1196 – 1203 Arthur, their son

The County of Nantes was merged permanently into the Ducal crown of Brittany, and subsequently the crown of France, through Constance's descendants.

Notes
  1. "Geoffrey (...) seems to have finally acquired the county of Nantes from Henry II in 1185", see Judith Everard and Michael Jones, The Charters of Duchess Constance of Brittany and Her Family (1171-1221), p 1

References
  1. Judith Everard et Michael Jones, The Charters of Duchess Constance of Brittany and Her Family (1171-1221), p 38
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