Geoffrey V Count of Anjou
Geoffrey "The Fair" . He was one of the most powerful Prince's of France and after his marriage to Matilda, daughter of Henry I King of England, became head of the plantagent line of English Kings. The name Plantagenet, according to Rapin, came from when Fulk the Great being stung from remorse for some wicked action, in order to atone for it, went a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and was scourged before the Holy Sepulchre with broom twigs. Earlier authorities say it was because Geoffrey bore a branch of yellow broom (Planta-genistae) in his helmet. Duke of Normandy 1144-1150.
Geoffrey died suddenly, stricken with fever, returning from a royal counsel More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_V%2C_Count_of_Anjou
Became Count of Anjou, Maine and Touraine in 1129
m1: Adelaide of Angers b: 1112
Married: 3 Apr 1127
Children:
Hamelin de Warenne 4th Earl of Surrey b: 1129 in Normandy, France
m2: Matilda Aethelic Princess of England b: 1101 in London, Middlesex, England
Married: 22 May 1127 in Le Mans, Sarthe, France
Children:
Henry II Curtmantle King of England b: 25 Mar 1133 in Le Mans, Sarthe,
France
Geofrey VI Mantel Plantagenet b: 3 Jun 1134
William Count of Poitou b: 1136
Emma Plantagenet b: 1138
Geoffrey V (August 24, 1113 – September 7, 1151), Count of Anjou and Maine, and later Duke of Normandy, called Le Bel ("The Fair") or "Geoffrey Plantagenet", was the father of King Henry II of England, and thus the forefather of the Plantagenet dynasty of English kings.
Geoffrey was the eldest son of Fulk, Count of Anjou and King-Consort of Jerusalem. Geoffrey's mother was Eremburge of La Flèche, heiress of Maine. Geoffrey received his nickname for the sprig of broom (= genêt plant, in French) he wore in his hat as a badge.
King Henry I of England, having heard good reports on Geoffrey's talents and prowess, sent his royal legates to Anjou to negotiate a marriage between Geoffrey and his own daughter, Matilda. Consent was obtained from both parties, and the fifteen-year-old Geoffrey was knighted in Rouen by King Henry in preparation for the wedding. Interestingly, there was no opposition to the marriage from the Church, despite the fact that Geoffrey's sister was widow of Matilda's brother (only son of King Henry) which fact had been used to annul the marriage of another of Geoffrey's sister to the Norman pretender William Clito.
During Pentecost 1127, Geoffrey married Empress Matilda, the daughter and heiress of King Henry I of England, by his first wife, Edith of Scotland and widow of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage was meant to seal a peace between England/Normandy and Anjou. She was eleven years older than Geoffrey, very proud of her status as an Empress (as opposed to being a mere Countess). Their marriage was a stormy one with frequent long separations, but she bore him three sons and survived him.
The year after the marriage Geoffrey's father left for Jerusalem (where he was to become king), leaving Geoffrey behind as count of Anjou. John of Marmoutier describes Geoffrey as handsome, red-headed, jovial, and a great warrior; however, Ralph of Diceto alleges that his charm concealed his cold and selfish character.
When King Henry I died in 1135, Matilda at once entered Normandy to claim her inheritance. The border districts submitted to her, but England chose her cousin Stephen of Blois for its king, and Normandy soon followed suit. The following year, Geoffrey gave Ambrieres, Gorron, and Chatilon-sur-Colmont to Juhel de Mayenne, on condition that he help obtain the inheritance of Geoffrey's wife. In 1139 Matilda landed in England with 140 knights, where she was besieged at Arundel Castle by King Stephen. In the "Anarchy" which ensued, Stephen was captured at Lincoln in February, 1141, and imprisoned at Bristol. A legatine council of the English church held at Winchester in April 1141 declared Stephen deposed and proclaimed Matilda "Lady of the English". Stephen was subsequently released from prison and had himself recrowned on the anniversary of his first coronation.
During 1142 and 1143, Geoffrey secured all of Normandy west and south of the Seine, and, on 14 January 1144, he crossed the Seine and entered Rouen. He assumed the title of Duke of Normandy in the summer of 1144. In 1144, he founded an Augustine priory at Chateau-l'Ermitage in Anjou. Geoffrey held the duchy until 1149, when he and Matilda conjointly ceded it to their son, Henry, which cession was formally ratified by King Louis VII of France the following year.
Geoffrey also put down three baronial rebellions in Anjou, in 1129, 1135, and 1145-1151. He was often at odds with his younger brother, Elias, whom he had imprisoned until 1151. The threat of rebellion slowed his progress in Normandy, and is one reason he could not intervene in England. In 1153, the Treaty of Westminster allowed Stephen should remain King of England for life and that Henry, the son of Geoffrey and Matilda should succeed him.
Geoffrey died suddenly on September 7, 1151. According to John of Marmoutier, Geoffrey was returning from a royal council when he was stricken with fever. He arrived at Château-du-Loir, collapsed on a couch, made bequests of gifts and charities, and died. He was buried at St. Julien's Cathedral in Le Mans France.
Geoffrey also had illegitimate children by an unknown mistress (or mistresses): Hamelin; Emme, who married Dafydd Ab Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales; and Mary, who became a nun and Abbess of Shaftesbury and who may be the poetess Marie de France.
The first reference to Norman heraldry was in 1128, when Henry I of England knighted his son-in-law Geoffrey and granted him a badge of gold lions (or leopards) on a blue background. (A gold lion may already have been Henry's own badge.) Henry II used two gold lions and two lions on a red background are still part of the arms of Normandy. Henry's son, Richard I, added a third lion to distinguish the arms of England.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_of_Anjou
Count of Anjou from 958 to 987. He succeeded his father Fulk II. He allied with the County of Nantes against the County of Rennes, and allied with Hugh Capet, fearing an invasion by the Count of Blois. He was one of the men responsible for bringing Hugh to the throne of France.
Geoffrey I of Anjou (d. July 21, 987), known as Grisegonelle ("Greymantle"), was count of Anjou from 958 to 987. He succeeded his father Fulk II. He allied with the County of Nantes against the County of Rennes, and allied with Hugh Capet, fearing an invasion by the Count of Blois. He was one of the men responsible for bringing Hugh to the throne of France.
He was married Adele of Meaux (934–982), daughter of Robert of Vermandois and Adelais de Vergy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_I_of_Anjou
Louis IV died on 10 September 954. As a widow, Gerberga became a nun and served as the abbess of Notre Dame in Laon. She died in Reims, Champagne
Géza of Hungary (born around 940-945, died in 997) (possibly Gyécsa in Old Hungarian, Gejza in Slovak), was the fejedelem (ruling prince) of the Magyars from c. 970 to 997.
Géza was the son of Taksony, ruling prince of the Magyars and his Cuman wife, and was the great-grandson of Árpád, who gave his name to the ruling dynasty. Although still a pagan when he became ruler, the alliance concluded between the Holy Roman Empire and Byzantium in 972 forced Géza to convert to Christianity in order to secure a lasting peace for Hungary. He turned to the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, who ordained a Benedictine monk, Bruno of Sankt Gallen, as bishop and sent him to Hungary to baptise Géza (this occurred in 985 according to some sources). However, although he was mainly accepted as a Christian ruler it is doubtful that he was a Christian at heart. According to the Bishop of Merseburg he continued to worship pagan gods; a chronicle claims that when he was questioned about this he stated he is rich enough to sacrifice to both the old gods and the new one.
Although overshadowed by his son, King Stephen I of Hungary, Géza made considerable achievements during his reign. He established centralised rule over the entire country, except for Transylvania which remained under the separate authority of the gyula. This allowed him to collect taxes and duties far more successfully than his predecessors and thus increase his personal wealth.
Géza's wife was Sarolt, daughter of Gyula of Transylvania, who was brought up as a Christian. Géza had a brother named Michael (born in 955 at Esztergom), who became Regent of Poland and died about 978.
Gertrude (about 1025- 4 January 1108), princess of Poland, was the daughter of King Mieszko II of Poland and Richensa of Lotharingia.
In 1043, she was married to Iziaslav of Kiev in a double ceremony that also married her brother to Iziaslav's sister. She had one son, Yaropolk Iziaslavich, by her husband.
Gertrude was the owner of a medieval illuminated manuscript, known as the Egbert Psalter or Trier Psalter, that had been created in the late 10th century for archbishop Egbert of Trier. She included her prayer book as part of the codex. In the prayer book she prays six times for Yaropolk, "unicus filius meus" (my only son).
Gertrude of Saxony (c. 1030 – August 4, 1113), was the daughter of Bernard II, Duke of Saxony and Eilika of Schweinfurt. She married Floris I, Count of Holland (c. 1017 - June 28, 1061) c. 1050, and upon his death, her son Dirk V became Count of Holland.
When Dirk V came into power, William I, Bishop of Utrecht, took advantage of the young ruler, occupying territory that he had claimed in Holland. Gertrude and her son withdrew to the islands of Frisia (Zeeland), leaving William to occupy the disputed lands.
In 1063 Gertrude married Robert of Flanders (Robert the Frisian), the second son of Baldwin V of Flanders. This act gave Dirk the Imperial Flanders as an appanage - including the islands of Frisia west of the Frisian Scheldt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_of_Saxony
One of the wealthiest heiresses in the Welsh Marches and County Meath, Ireland.
A year after her last child was born her husband became the lover of Queen Isabella, the notoriously evil wife of Edward II, son of Edward Longshanks. Edward retailiated by taking Joan and her children into custody and treating them "with severity." When Roger was eventually hung, she was imprisoned as the wife of a traitor at Hampshire, and her children taken into custody again. Edward IIIi finally pardoned Joan for her husband's crimes in 1336, restored her Liberty of Trim (property in Ireland) the following year.