GEOFFREY

geoffrey, surnamed plantagenet [or plantegenet] (1113-1151), count of anjou, was the son of count fulk the young and of eremburge (or arembourg of la fleche); he was born on the 24th of august 1113. he is also called "le bel" or "the handsome," and received the surname of plantagenet from the habit which he is said to have had of wearing in his cap a sprig of broom (_genet_). in 1127 he was made a knight, and on the 2nd of june 1129 married matilda, daughter of henry i. of england, and widow of the emperor henry v. some months afterwards he succeeded to his father, who gave up the countship when he definitively went to the kingdom of jerusalem. the years of his government were spent in subduing the angevin barons and in conquering normandy (see anjou). in 1151, while returning from the siege of montreuil-bellay, he took cold, in consequence of bathing in the loir at chateau-du-loir, and died on the 7th of september. he was buried in the cathedral of le mans. by his wife matilda he had three sons: henry plantagenet, born at le mans on sunday, the 5th of march 1133; geoffrey, born at argentan on the 1st of june 1134; and william long-sword, born on the 22nd of july 1136. see kate norgate, _england under the angevin kings_ (2 vols., london, 1887), vol. i. chs. v.-viii.; celestin port, _dictionnaire historique, geographique et biographique de maine-et-loire_ (3 vols., paris-angers, 1874-1878), vol. ii. pp. 254-256. a history of geoffrey le bel has yet to be written; there is a biography of him written in the 12th century by jean, a monk of marmoutier, _historia gaufredi, ducis normannorum et comitis andegavorum_, published by marchegay et salmon; "chroniques des comtes d'anjou" (_societe de l'histoire de france_, paris, 1856), pp. 229-310. (l. h.*) geoffrey (1158-1186), duke of brittany, fourth son of the english king henry ii. and his wife eleanor of aquitaine, was born on the 23rd of september 1158. in 1167 henry suggested a marriage between geoffrey and constance (d. 1201), daughter and heiress of conan iv., duke of brittany (d. 1171); and conan not only assented, perhaps under compulsion, to this proposal, but surrendered the greater part of his unruly duchy to the english king. having received the homage of the breton nobles, geoffrey joined his brothers, henry and richard, who, in alliance with louis vii. of france, were in revolt against their father; but he made his peace in 1174, afterwards helping to restore order in brittany and normandy, and aiding the new french king, philip augustus, to crush some rebellious vassals. in july 1181 his marriage with constance was celebrated, and practically the whole of his subsequent life was spent in warfare with his brother richard. in 1183 he made peace with his father, who had come to richard's assistance; but a fresh struggle soon broke out for the possession of anjou, and geoffrey was in paris treating for aid with philip augustus, when he died on the 19th of august 1186. he left a daughter, eleanor, and his wife bore a posthumous son, the unfortunate arthur. geoffrey (c. 1152-1212), archbishop of york, was a bastard son of henry