Everything about Erispoe totally explained
Erispoe (
French:
Erispoë,
Latin:
Herispoius,
Herispogius, or
Respogius; died
2 or
12 November 857) was the
Duke of Brittany 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) in the days following the battle and concluded a peace treaty in return for being invested with the
counties of Rennes and
Nantes. South of the
Loire, the
Pays de Retz was detached from the
County of Poitou and granted to him as well. 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. 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. Erispoe consequently overate at the banquet given in his honour.
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. 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.
King Carles 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 as seal from Charles, who himself used an imperial seal.
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). 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.
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). He was buried at Redon. By his wife Marmohec (who predeceased him) he'd at least two children, the aforementioned Conan and the girl, who eventually married
Gurvand of Rennes.
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