Erispoe

Erispoe (French: "Erispoë", Latin: "Herispoius", "Herispogius", or "Respogius"; died 2 or 12 November 857) was the Duke of Brittany [His recorded titles include "provinciæ Brittaniæ princeps", "dux Brittonum", and "rex tyrannicus Brittonum". The last means "tyrant [ie usurping] king of Brittany", but if Erispoe was usurping regality in Brittany at that time (857) it is not attested in other sources.] from 851 until his death. He was the eldest son and successor of Nominoe. He was called "rex Brittonum" by Regino of Prüm, but this indicates only that he received a gift of regalia and not that he was ever king by imperial grant or even in his own charters.

Immediately after his father's death, his power was challenged by his nominal suzerain, Charles the Bald, who crossed the river Vilaine with an army and was soundly defeated by Erispoe on 22 August 851 at the Battle of Jengland.

Erispoe met Charles in Angers (possibly in secret [Ibid, 110 n92, based on Lupus of Ferrières.] ) in the days following the battle and concluded a peace treaty in return for being invested with the counties of Rennes and Nantes. [Smith, 87.] South of the Loire, the "Pays de Retz" was detached from the County of Poitou and granted to him as well. [Ibid.] Charles and Erispoe also created a baptismal alliance, whereby Charles stood as godfather at the baptism of Erispoe's infant son Conan, but whether in 851 or 856 is unknown. [Ibid, 110–111. Erispoe and Charles signed documents in 856 as "compatri", "co-fathers'.] Finally, in 851 Charles gave Erispoe royal regalia (robes at least) and Erispoe in turn pledged himself to Charles with the giving of hands and an oath of fidelity. [Ibid, 111.] Erispoe subsequently overate at the banquet given in his honour. [Ibid.]

According to the "Annales Bertiniani", at Louviers in February 856 Erispoe's daughter (unnamed in the sources) was betrothed to Charles's young son, Louis the Stammerer, who was granted the "ducatus Cenomannicus" as subking of Neustria with Le Mans as his capital. [Ibid, 102–103.] With the consent of the Frankish magnates, Louis received the "regnum Neustriae" from Erispoe:

"Karlus rex cum Respogio Brittone paciscens, filiam eius filio suo Ludoico despondet, dato illi ducatu Cenomannico usque ad viam quae a Lotitia Parisiorum Cesaredunum Turonum ducit". ["AB", 856, ed. Georg Waitz (Hannover: 1886), 46.]
King Charles, making peace with Erispoe of Brittany, the daughter of whom was betrothed to his son Louis, gave the duchy of Maine as far as the road from Paris to Tours as duke.

Erispoe was at peace with Charles for the whole of his reign after Jengland and he governed as a typical Carolingian regional official might, with the added dignity of a "consors regni" (royal consort). Erispoe's use of a royal seal has led to the false belief that he was a king ("rex"), but in fact he probably received the right to use such a seal from Charles, who himself used an imperial seal. [Ibid, 117 and n2. The authenticity of the preserved seals has been called into question.]

Erispoe was a benefactor of the abbey of Redon, as his father had been; his power base lay in the Vannetais and southeast Brittany (even more easterly than his father). [Ibid, 130 and 135.] In 853 the town of Nantes was plundered by the Vikings. Erispoe launched a war against them but it came to an end when they departed a few years later. [Ibid, 199.]

He was assassinated at the altar of a church, which was then considered a place of asylum, by his cousin and successor Salomon, aided by an obscure Almarchus (Almarus). [Ibid, 103.] He was buried at Redon. By his wife Marmohec (who predeceased him) he had at least two children, the aforementioned Conan and a girl, who eventually married Gurvand of Rennes.

ee also

*Dukes of Brittany family tree

ources

*Smith, Julia M. H. "Province and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians". Cambridge University Press: 1992.

Notes