Viscounty of Léon

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Historical regions in Brittany

The Viscounty or County of Léon (

Angevin empire
.

The history of Léon's early counts is obscure. The original viscounts of Léon were public officials appointed by the counts of

Stephen of Blois in the nineteen years of civil war in England called The Anarchy
.

The viscounts also fought with the duke of Brittany in attempts to maintain their independence. Henry II had ordered Duke

Guihomar IV of Léon. In the course of these wars most of the castles of the viscounts of Léon were razed and Guihomar's lands—his source of revenue—were significantly reduced. These conflict over authority in Léon continued down to the reign of John II
.

In 1235 the subvassals of Léon and

solidi
per annum in revenues from a single rock on the treacherous coast, which an earlier viscount, Guihomar IV, had called his "most precious stone."

Panorama of Brest from the pont de Recouvrance of the Château de Brest and the Tour Tanguy. The Château was ceded by the Viscount of Leon to the Duke of Brittany

The territory of Léon was preserved in the

Bishopric of Léon. It is now part of the department of Finistère. One place within the former viscounty that continues to preserve many examples of medieval architecture, such as the church of Notre Dame du Kreisker, is the town of Saint-Pol-de-Léon
.

List of viscounts

  • Even, a semi-legendary nobleman who lived c. 900.
  • Maybe Alan I of Léon, father of Guihomar I.
  • Guihomar I (fl. c. 1021-1055).
    • Morvan (fl. c. 1050). According to French historian Joëlle Quaghebeur, Morvan was not a viscount of Léon but a nobleman from Cornouaille.
  • Alan II of Léon, son of Guihomar
    • Ehuarn (fl. c. 1066-1084), Morvan's son. Likewise, Joëlle Quaghebeur thinks Ehuarn was not a viscount of Léon but a nobleman from Cornouaille.
  • Guihomar II (died 1103), who is said to have been Guihomar I's grandson.
  • Harvey I (died after 1128).
  • Guihomar III (died c. 1157).
  • Harvey II (died c. 1168).
  • Guihomar IV (died 1179).
  • Guihomar V (died after 1216) controlled only a small portion of Leon; fought on the side of Duchess Constance and Duke Arthur I.
  • Alix
    and Duke Peter I.
  • John I
    in 1237
  • Harvey III (c. 1239 - c. 1265), ceded the town, port and chateau of Brest to the duke of Brittany in 1240
  • Harvey IV (c. 1271 - c. 1298), sold much of the remaining riches of the viscounty
  • Amé, daughter of Harvey IV, sold all her rights and definitively renounced them in 1298; the line of the viscounts of Leon becomes extinct
  • Large portions of Viscounty held in the domain of the duke of Brittany (1179 - 1269)
  • Peter of Brittany (1269-1312), son of Duke
    Arthur II of Brittany in 1293. The lordship (or "honour") of Leon passed to the House of Rohan in 1363. [a]

References

  1. ^ Everard, 16.
  2. ^ a b Everard, 18.

Notes

  1. queen of France
    , the House of Rohan asserted that the joining of the Breton ducal crown to the crown of France meant that the descendants of Leon were entitled to use the title prince. One modern day descendant asserts the use of the now self-granted courtesy title.

Sources

  • Everard, Judith A. Brittany and the Angevins: Province and Empire, 1158–1203. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
    ISBN 0-521-66071-8
    .
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