Hugh IV, Count of Maine

Hugh IV (died 25 March 1051) was Count of Maine from 1036 to 1051.

Hugh IV, Count of Maine
Arms of the Counts of Maine
(modern depiction)
Born(unknown)
Died(1051-03-25)25 March 1051
Noble familyHugonide
Carolingian
Spouse(s)Bertha of Blois
FatherHerbert I, Count of Maine

Life

Hugh was the son of Herbert I, Count of Maine,[1] one of the Hugonides.[lower-alpha 1] He was a minor on the death of his father (1036)[1] so was born between 1018 and 1022. Herbert Baco, his great-uncle and a supporter of the Angevins, acted as regent.[2]

The Bishop of Le Mans, Gervais de Château-du-Loir, was a partisan of the opposing Blois family.[2] The bishop and regent clashed, with the outcome being the expulsion of Herbert by means of a popular council.[3] Gervais then proclaimed Hugh to have reached his majority, and arranged a marriage for him, with Berthe de Blois.[4]

Herbert, unlike his predecessors, followed the advice of his bishop.[4] Gervais, unlike his uncle who he succeeded, Avesgaud de Bellême (who was an adherent of the Counts of Anjou) was allied to the Counts of Blois.[5] Hugh, no doubt in support of his bishop, engaged in a number of wars with Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjou, in the Loir valley.[3] Shortly after Hugh's death, 25 March 1051,[1] Gervais sought refuge in Normandy after being driven out of Maine.[4] Gervais' success in strengthening the Bishopric of Le Mans served to downgrade the countship of Maine, which led to the county being absorbed into the domains of Anjou and Normandy.[3]

Family

Hugh married c. 1046 Bertha of Blois, who was the widow of Alan III, Duke of Brittany, and daughter of Odo II, Count of Blois[1] and Ermengarde of Auvergne.[6]

Their children were:

Notes
  1. The Hugonides were descended from Count Roger († c. 890 and were so named for counts Hugh I, II, III, and IV, and were also Carolingians through Roger's wife Rothilde, daughter of Charles the Bald. See: K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, 'Two Studies in Northern French Prosopography', Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994) 3-37.
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References
  1. Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 4 (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1989), Tafel 692
  2. Richard Ewing Barton, Lordship in the County of Maine, c. 890-1160 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2004), p. 49
  3. Richard Ewing Barton, Lordship in the County of Maine, c. 890-1160 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2004), p. 50
  4. K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, 'Two Studies in Northern French Prosopography', Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994), p. 22
  5. K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, 'Two Studies in Northern French Prosopography', Journal of Medieval History 20 (1994), p. 23
  6. Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II: (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 46


Preceded by
Herbert I		 Count of Maine
1036–1051		 Succeeded by
Herbert II

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