erispoe (; , , or ; &nbsp;2&nbsp;or 12&nbsp;november 857) was duke of brittany from 851. after the death of his father nominoe, he led a successful military campaign against the franks, culminating in his victory at the battle of jengland. he is subsequently referred to as "king of brittany". erispoe's recorded titles include provinciÃ¦ brittaniÃ¦ princeps ("prince of the province of brittany"), dux brittonum ("duke of the bretons"), and rex tyrannicus brittonum ("usurping king of the bretons"). however, if erispoe was usurping regality in brittany at that time (857), it is not attested in other sources. it may imply continued frankish resentment of the title.julia m. h. smith (1992), province and empire: brittany and the carolingians (cambridge: cambridge university press). he is called rex brittonum ("king of the bretons") by regino of prÃ¼m (d. 915). ==war with the franks== erispoe was born to nominoe's wife argentaela, but the date of his birth is not known. he was involved in his father's campaigns to take control of the frankish counties of rennes and nantes. in 843, in alliance with lambert ii of nantes, erispoe took command of the breton army while his father was ill. lambert had been displaced as ruler of nantes by charles the bald, king of west francia, who had installed renaud d'herbauges in his place. ambushed by count renaud, erispoe was badly defeated at the initial engagement at messac. however, the brittons quickly rallied their troops and took the complacent franks by surprise shortly thereafter at the battle of blain, inflicting a serious defeat resulting in the death of count renaud. having regained his health, nominoe took command once more. the victory at blain having secured control of nantes and rennes, he raided into frankish territory, defeating the franks at the battle of ballon in 845. a truce followed, but after charles regained control of nantes, nominoe and erispoe renewed their offensive in 849. while on campaign, nominoe died suddenly. erispoe was proclaimed leader, but immediately after his father's death, his power was challenged by charles the bald, still his nominal suzerain. charles crossed the river vilaine with an army. erispoe defeated charles in the decisive battle of jengland on 22 august 851. ==treaty of angers== erispoe met charles in angers (possibly in secretsmith, 110 n92, based on lupus of ferriÃ¨res.) 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. charles and erispoe
857_deaths 9th-century_rulers_in_Europe Assassinated_royalty Dukes_of_Brittany