Ermengarde OF MAINE Countess of Maine 2171
- Born: 3 July 1094, , Poitou-Charentes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France 2171
- Marriage (1): Fulk "the Younger" King of Jerusalem on 11 July 1110 in , , , France 2247
- Died: 17 June 1126, Maine-de-Boixe, Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France at age 31 2171
FamilySearch ID: LHZT-ZL9
General Notes:
LifeSketch
Ermengarde de Maine was born around 1096 as the only child and heiress of Élie I, Count of Maine, and Mathilde de Château-du-Loir. Through her father she inherited the ancient Hugonid line of the counts of Maine, and through her mother she carried the lordship of Château-du-Loir. From childhood she was recognized as the future ruler of Maine, a position that made her one of the most sought-after heiresses in western France.
In 1110 she married Fulk the Younger, Count of Anjou, a union that permanently united Anjou and Maine under a single dynasty. Their marriage strengthened the Angevin position in northern France and laid the territorial foundations for the later Plantagenet empire. As Countess of Anjou and Comtesse du Maine, Ermengarde played a central role in consolidating the two counties, supporting her husband's rule and ensuring the transmission of her hereditary rights to their children.
Ermengarde and Fulk had four children: Geoffroy V "le Bel", future Count of Anjou and father of King Henry II of England; Élie II, briefly Count of Maine; Mathilde, later Abbess of Fontevraud; and Sibylla, who became Countess of Flanders. Through them, Ermengarde became the matriarch of the Angevin\endash Plantagenet line.
She died in 1126, before Fulk departed for the Holy Land and became King of Jerusalem. Her early death meant she never saw the full rise of her descendants, but her inheritance and marriage shaped the political map of 12th-century Europe. As the last ruling heiress of the independent County of Maine, Ermengarde stands at the heart of the dynastic transformation that produced the Plantagenet world.
Noted events in her life were:
1. She has conflicting birth information of 7 September 1096 and Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France. 2248
Ermengarde married Fulk "the Younger" King of Jerusalem, son of Foulques IV "le Réchin" DE CHÂTEAU-LANDON comte d'Anjou and Bertrade DE MONTFORT, on 11 July 1110 in , , , France.2247 (Fulk "the Younger" King of Jerusalem was born on 19 February 1089 in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France,2171 died on 13 November 1143 in Acre, Jerusalem, , Judea 2171 and was buried in November 1143 in , Jerusalem, , Judea 2171.)
|
