Fulk I of Anjou

Fulk I of Anjou (870 – 942), called the Red (, ), was first the viscount of Anjou, then Count of Anjou until his death. He was the Count of Tours, Count of Nantes, and a lay abbot. Fulk increased the size of the county of Anjou as well as the prestige of his family.

 Career 

Born ,K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, Family Trees and the Root of Politics; A Prosopography of Britain and France from the Tenth to the Twelfth Century (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1997), p. 255 Fulk was the son of Count Ingelger and Adelais de Amboise.Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln|Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 1 (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984), Tafel 116

He ruled the county of Anjou from  to 942, first as Viscount then in 929 as Count. It is not known why there was a period of time between Ingelger's rule and his son Fulk's.Bernard S. Bachrach, Fulk Nerra, the neo-Roman consul, 987-1040 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), p. 6 In 899 he became Viscount of Tours and in 905, Count of Tours. About 900-918 he was Count of Nantes. He increased the territory of the county of Anjou. During his reign, he was permanently at war with the Normans and the Bretons. He lost Nantes to the Normans in 919. Normans and their Viking allies often invaded Brittany and Anjou. , Ingelger, Fulk's oldest son was killed defending Anjou against Norman attacks.

Fulk built important connections for his family. His wife's family helped secure his countship of Nantes.Henk Teunis, The Appeal to the Original Status: Social Justice in Anjou in the Eleventh Century, (Hilversum, Netherlands: Uitgeveri Verloren, 2006), p. 26 His son Guy became the Bishop of Soissons. Fulk also succeeded his father-in-law, Warnerius, as lay abbot of Saint-Aubin. Fulk was lay abbot of St. Lézin as well. Through these many positions Fulk elevated his family's status and fortune. Fulk I died .

Family

Fulk married Roscille de Loches. She was the daughter of Warnerius (Widone),Seigneur de Loches, de Villentrois, & de la Haye, and his wife Tecandra. He and Roscille had:

 Ingelger (died before 927).
 Guy (Wido), Bishop of Soissons (died 970).The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 919-966;, Ed. Steven Fanning, Bernard S. Bachrach (University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. 30
 Fulk II. Succeeded his father as Count of Anjou.

 Notes

References

Category:870s births
Category:940s deaths
Category:Counts of Anjou