Battle of Conquereuil

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The two battles of Conquereuil were military clashes in medieval France at the end of the 10th century . Both battles were caused by the conflict over the question of rule in the Duchy of Brittany . Both battles took place near the town of Conquereuil , which was halfway between Nantes and Rennes .

First battle of Conquereuil

First battle of Conquereuil
date 981
place near Conquereuil , Brittany
approx. 58 km north of Nantes
output Defensive success of Nantes and Anjou
Parties to the conflict

Nantes and Anjou

Rennes and Blois

Commander

Guérech of Brittany
Gottfried I of Anjou

Conan I of Rennes
troops of the Count of Blois

Troop strength
unknown unknown
losses

unknown

unknown

prehistory

There has been no stable central government in Brittany since the early 10th century, due to power struggles among the Bretons and ongoing invasions by Normans . Only Alain “Schiefbart” (Alain Barbe-torte) was able to establish a strong rule and assume the title of duke after the Normans were driven out of Nantes in 937. After his death in 952, however, renewed power struggles broke out. The Counts of Rennes , represented by Conan the Crooked (le Tort), denied the succession of Alain's illegitimate son Hoël the Bastard .

The West Franconian nobility bordering Brittany with different interests interfered in this question of power. Count Gottfried I Gray Jacket of Anjou supported Duke Hoël with the aim of preventing the Bretons from gaining strength on the western border of the Anjou and to defend the influence of his house in the county of Nantes . Gottfried's arch enemy Count Odo I of Blois, on the other hand, supported Conan von Rennes with the opposite goal, since a strong Breton duchy would bind the Anjous in the west and thus offered the Blois family the opportunity to oppress the Anjou from the east. After the murder of Duke Hoël in 981 by Conan von Rennes, war broke out with his brother Guérech .

The fight

In 981 Conan moved with an army against Nantes but was placed at Conquereuil by Duke Guérech and Count Gottfried von Anjou. The exact date and details of the fight have not been passed down. However, since the political status quo persisted after the meeting, it is likely that the Duke and Count of Anjou were able to repel any further advance of Conan.

Meanwhile

Guérech was able to assert himself as Duke in Nantes, but he was now effectively under the rule of the Count of Anjou. When Guérech wanted to free himself from this paternalism in 984 through an alliance with King Lothar , Gottfried, who recognized Hugo Capet as king , had him imprisoned.

During this time, Count Conan was able to strengthen his position in Brittany by taking Vannes and after Gottfried von Anjou died in 987, he finally prevailed. In 988 Guérech also died, probably at the hand of Conan, and was inherited by his son Alain . Conan seized the county of Nantes in 990, eliminated Alain and assumed the title of duke.

Second battle of Conquereuil

Second battle of Conquereuil
date June 27, 992
place near Conquereuil , Brittany
approx. 58 km north of Nantes
output Victory of the Count of Anjou
Parties to the conflict

Anjou

Brittany and Blois

Commander

Fulko III. by Anjou
Aimery III. from Thouars

Conan I of Brittany (†)
Odo I of Blois
Norman warrior

Troop strength
unknown unknown
losses

unknown

unknown

prehistory

Gottfried's successor in Anjou Fulko III. Nerra intended to regain the positions in Brittany that had been lost by the death of his father, while at the same time breaking the alliance between Conan and Odo von Blois. In 992 he marched with his allied Vice Count of Thouars against Nantes. After a three-week siege, they managed to take the city, but the castle withstood the siege. Duke Conan and Count Odo for their part raised an army, which was additionally reinforced by a larger contingent of Norman warriors, and moved with them to Nantes. After Fulko of Anjou was informed of the approaching enemy, he broke off the siege and moved with his army towards the enemy.

The fight

Before the meeting took place, the Bretons chose the place where the battle should take place at Conquereuil, near the old battlefield. They dug trenches across the field, ran the water of a nearby swamp into them, and camouflaged the trenches with bushes. Conan had his army line up behind this prepared field.

After the army of the Count of Anjou reached the battlefield, the Bretons carried out a pseudo-escape and lured the pursuing enemy into the trap of their trenches. When the armored riders of Anjou broke in there, the Bretons turned and fell upon the incapacitated enemy. After the latter was put to flight, the Bretons and their allies believed themselves to be victorious, but the Count of Anjou combined the remnants of his army with his reserves and, after bypassing the battlefield, led a new attack in the rear of the Bretons. Now the battle could be decided when Duke Conan was slain, his army disintegrated and fled.

consequences

The victory of Fulkos of Anjou strengthened the power of his house over its neighbors. He took over the county of Nantes in which he first Aimery III. von Thouars set up as governor to later hand them over to Judicaël (a son of Hoël). Although Judicaël soon fell away from Fulko, Brittany should no longer pose any major threats to Anjou, especially since Anjou still had several castles in the Nantais.

The Conans des Krummen dynasty ( House of Rennes ) was able to maintain the ducal dignity of Breton, but the power of his successors over their vassals and lords was limited. This favored the growing influence of foreign powers in Brittany, especially the Dukes of Normandy . For example, several Bretons fought in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 . In the 12th century, Brittany even briefly belonged to the descendants of Fulkos of Anjou from the House of Plantagenet and their Angevin empire .

The Counts of Blois were also able to maintain their position of power after Conquereuil and continued to compete with the House of Anjou. Only after their defeats at Pontlevoy (1016) and Nouy (1044) against Anjou did they shift their center of power to Champagne .

See also: List of battles .

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