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found at findagrave.com on 10/16/2023
Fulk “Le Noir” Grisegonelle III
Birth: 972 Metz, Departement de la Moselle, Lorraine, France
Death: 21 Jun 1040 (aged 67-68) Metz, Departement de la Moselle, Lorraine, France
Burial: Abbaye de Beaulieu, Beaulieu-les-Loches, Departement d'Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France
Plot: Chancel
Memorial #: 85222859
Bio:
Born around 972∼Fulk III - Count of Anjou "le Noir" ("the Black")
Foulogues or Fulk, was the eldest son of Geoffrey I Grisonelle "Greymantle" and Adelaide of Vermandois, and grandson of Fulk II and Gerberga du Maine, Robert, Count Vermandois and Adelaide of Burgundy. He had three older sisters, Hermengarde, Gerberge and Adelaide, who married Dukes and Counts of Aquitaine, Brittany and Provence.
Fulk married his cousin, Elisabeth de Vendôme and had one daughter, Adele. Little is known of either the mother or daughter except that Elizabeth fell from a great height and after was burnt at the stake for adultery in her wedding gown after being found with a goatherd in December of 999. This would become his most notorious act of evil. Adele married Bodon, the son of Landry, Count of Nevers. Her eldest son, Bouchard, would inherit Vendrome.
Secondly, he married Hildegarde de Sundgau, the daughter of the Duke of Upper Lorraine, who was born in Jerusalem. They were married in 1005 and had two children:
* Geoffroy II d'Anjou, the next Count of Anjou
* Ermengarde-Blanche, her line leads to the Plantagenet Kings of England
Fulk III was the founder of Angevin power, only fifteen when his father died and he succeeded as the Count of Anjou, and responsible for building an estimated one hundred castles. The first castle was the Chateau de Langeais east of Angers on the banks of the Loire, starting as a wooden tower replaced and fortified with stone, and included a dungeon. However, he built the castle on the property of his life long rival and bitter enemy, Odo II, the Count of Blois, who was Fulk's equal in temperament as well as determination. The two men exchanged "towns, followers and insults throughout their lives." Odo and Fulk fought over the castle in 994, Odo died suddenly of a heart attack, and his son, Odo II, did not manage to evict Fulk from his castle. On 6 July 1016, he defeated Odo II at the Battle of Pontlevoy. Fulk's next castles would follow an encirclement of Tours, one at a time, and fortified many others.
He was known to be a natural horseman with an intense military mind that out smarted most of his combatants. He was a devout Christian, endowing or enlarging many abbeys and monasteries as well as a school for poor students although he himself never learned to write. These numerous pious foundations, however, followed many acts of violence against the church. Fulk built the great abbey at Beaulieu-lès-Loches and went on four pilgrimages to Jerusalem in an attempt to save his soul, seeking forgiveness for his many, many horrible sins.
Fulk had a violent temperament, was partial to acts of extreme cruelty as well as penitence. One description of him revealed his darker side. "Fulk of Anjou, plunderer, murderer, robber, and swearer of false oaths, a truly terrifying character of fiendish cruelty, founded not one but two large abbeys. This Fulk was filled with unbridled passion, a temper directed to extremes. Whenever he had the slightest difference with a neighbor he rushed upon his lands, ravaging, pillaging, raping, and killing; nothing could stop him, least of all the commandments of God."
Fulk fought against the claims of the counts of Rennes, defeating and killing his brother-in-law, Conan I of Rennes at the Battle of Conquereuil on 27 June 992. He then extended his power over the Counties of Maine and Touraine. In 1025, after capturing and burning the city of Saumur, Fulk reportedly cried, "Saint Florentius, let yourself be burned. I will build you a better home in Angers." However, when the transportation of the saint's relics to Angers proved difficult, Fulk declared that Florentius was a rustic lout unfit for the city, and sent the relics back to Saumur.
Fulk died in Metz while returning from his last pilgrimage. He is buried in the chapel of his monastery at Beaulieu.
Family Members
Parents
Geoffroy I d'Anjou Unknown-987
Adele of Meaux 950-980
Spouses
Elisabeth de Vendome 970-1000
Hildegarde de Metz 974-1046
Siblings
Maurice d'Anjou Unknown-1012
Ermengarde D'Anjou Bretagne De Rennes 958-1022
Gerberge de Anjou 974-1040
Children
Geoffroy d'Anjou 1006-1060
Ermengarde d'Anjou 1018-1076
Created by: Brett Williams (47234529)
Added: 19 Feb 2012
URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85222859/fulk-grisegonelle
Citation: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85222859/fulk-grisegonelle: accessed 16 October 2023), memorial page for Fulk “Le Noir” Grisegonelle III (972-21 Jun 1040), Find a Grave Memorial ID 85222859, citing Abbaye de Beaulieu, Beaulieu-les-Loches, Departement d'Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France; Maintained by Brett Williams (contributor 47234529).
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found at findagrave.com bef 10/16/2023
Fulk "The Black" of Anjou
Birth: unknown
Metz, France
Death: Jun. 21, 1040
Metz, France
Fulk III also known as "the Black". He was born about 972 and was Count of Anjou from July 21, 987 to his death on June 21, 1040.
He was the son of Geoffrey Greymantle and Adelaide of Vermandois.
He was only fifteen when he succeeded his father, and had a violent but also pious temperament, was partial to acts of extreme cruelty as well as penitence. In his most notorious act, he had his first wife (and cousin) Elisabeth of Vendôme burned at the stake in her wedding dress, after he discovered her in adultery with a goatherd in December 999. On the other hand, he made four pilgrimages to the Holy Land in 1002, 1008, and 1038 and, in 1007, built the great abbey at Beaulieu-lès-Loches. As a result, historiography has this to say about him
Fulk of Anjou, plunderer, murderer, robber, and swearer of false oaths, a truly terrifying character of fiendish cruelty, founded not one but two large abbeys. This Fulk was filled with unbridled passion, a temper directed to extremes. Whenever he had the slightest difference with a neighbor he rushed upon his lands, ravaging, pillaging, raping, and killing; nothing could stop him, least of all the commandments of God.
Fulk fought against the claims of the counts of Rennes, defeating and killing Conan I of Rennes at the Battle of Conquereuil on June 27, 992. He then extended his power over the Counties of Maine and Touraine.
He had more than a hundred castles, donjons, and abbeys constructed, including those at Château-Gontier, Loches (a stone keep), and Montbazon. He built the donjon at Langeais (990), one of the first stone castles. These numerous pious foundations, however, followed many acts of violence against the church.
Fulk died in Metz while returning from his last pilgrimage. He is buried in the chapel of his monastery at Beaulieu. By his first wife, Elisabeth, he left one daughter, Adela. By his second wife (1001), Hildegard of Sundgau, he had two children, Geoffrey Martel, his successor, and Ermengarde, through whom he was an ancestor of Geoffrey Plantagenet and the Plantagenet kings of England.
Family links:
Parents:
Adele of Meaux
Spouse:
Hildegarde de Metz (____ - 1046)*
Children:
Ermengarde de Anjou (1018 - 1076)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Abbaye de Beaulieu
Beaulieu-les-Loches
Departement d'Indre-et-Loire
Centre, France
Plot: Chancel
Created by: Mad
Record added: Jul 06, 2012
Find A Grave Memorial# 93123902
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S Butler and S Hibbs Family History Our Family's Journey Through Time
972 - 1040 (68 years)
