Fulk III, Count of Anjou

Fulk was the son of Geoffrey I of Anjou, also known as Geoffrey Grisegonelle, and Adele of Meaux, daughter of Robert of Vermandois, Count of Meaux and Troyes, and Adelaide of Burgundy. He had an older sister, Ermengarde-Gerberga of Anjou, who married Conan of Brittany, and a younger brother, Geoffrey. A half-brother, Maurice, was born in 980. Fulk married Elisabeth of Vendôme (c. 979–999), daughter of Count Bouchard of Vendôme, and they had one daughter, Adèle, who married Bodon, son of Landry, Count of Nevers. Their eldest son, Bouchard, inherited Vendôme. There are varied stories regarding Elisabeth's death. One story was recounted in the Chronicles of Saint-Florent: Elisabeth occupied the citadel at Angers with some supporters and while under siege from Fulk, she fell from a great height, and then was burnt at the stake for adultery. Another story is that Nerra trumped up these charges of adultery, seeking to be rid of Elisabeth, because she had not given him a son. By age 20, she had only given birth to a daughter, and appeared to be sterile, as no other pregnancies occurred in the continuing years of their marriage. According to the account given in ''La Chronique de Saint Aubin d'Angers'', cited in Ina Caro's book, The Road from the Past, he "had her tried at an ecclesiastical court in Angers, by judges he knew would convict her; then he had her dressed in her gaiest clothes and personally led her out to be burned at the stake in the square in front of the cathedral." Fulk subsequently married Hildegarde of Sundgau, whose family was from Lorraine, around December 1005. They had two children: • Geoffrey II, in 1006, who became known as Geoffrey Martel and succeeded Fulk as Count of Anjou in 1040. • Ermengarde-Blanche, born sometime in 1017. == Combat ==

Fulk Nerra's first victory was in June 992 at the Battle of Conquereuil, where he managed to defeat Conan I, Duke of Brittany. Conan's territorial ambitions had been quashed by Geoffroy Grisgonelle in 980, and seven years later, he planned an ambush on Angers while Fulk was attending the crowning of Robert the Pious. Fulk and his men foiled the ambush, killing Conan's son, Alain, in the process. In 992 Fulk laid siege to Conan's castle at Nantes, but he slipped away to Conquereuil. Conan was killed in the subsequent battle, and Fulk installed a governor/regent, as the succeeding count was a child. While Fulk and Odo II fought many skirmishes over territory and alliances, their biggest battle occurred in July 1016 at the Battle of Pontlevoy. Odo marched 10,000 men southward toward Fulk's tower at Montboyau; meanwhile, Fulk and his much smaller group attacked him from behind. Fulk's men were routed, retreated, and Odo, thinking the battle won, went for a swim in the Cher River. Reinforcements led by Count Herbert Wake-Dog of Maine arrived to help Fulk, routing Odo's surprised men. Several thousand were reported killed. == Pilgrimages ==

Fulk also undertook four pilgrimages to Jerusalem—the first and second as a penitent seeking forgiveness for sins, and the third and fourth to protect pilgrims. In 1003, Fulk traveled to Jerusalem for his first pilgrimage. The voyage crossed the Alps at the Grand Bernard Pass in present-day Switzerland, then overland to Bari in the southern Italian peninsula (a stop in Rome was usually made) and by ship to the Holy Land. The journey took as long as six months, through deeply dangerous territory. Fulk made a second pilgrimage in 1008, obliged to do so by the king as punishment after Fulk ordered the murder of an enemy. For his third and fourth trips, Fulk had a moral obligation to protect pilgrims in the years following the desecration of Jerusalem by the "Mad Caliph" Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, and provided armed security against robbers, murderers and enslavers along the route. In 1035, he embarked upon a third pilgrimage with Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and in 1038, he made his final pilgrimage. He died in Metz in 1040 on his return from that trip, and was buried in the chapel of his monastery at Beaulieu. == Succession ==

His son Geoffrey II (Geoffrey Martel) succeeded him as Count of Anjou in 1040 and held the title until 1060. Since he had no living male children from either of his two marriages, the title to Anjou passed to his nephews, the two sons of his sister Ermengarde-Blanche (m. Geoffroy V of Château-Landon), upon his death. Geoffroy III Le Barbu (the Bearded) was Count of Anjou from 1060 to 1068; Fulk IV Réchin (the Mouth) was count from 1068 to 1109. Fulk IV's grandson, Geoffrey Plantagenet, married Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, and thus heir to the English throne, and began the Plantagenet line of English kings (which included Henry II, Richard the Lionheart [Richard I], and John Lackland, the only King John in English history). == Notes ==