Geoffrey "the Handsome" Plantagenet, Count of Anjou (24 August 1113-7 September 1151) was Count of Anjou from 1129 to 7 September 1151, succeeding Fulk V and preceding Henry Curtmantle. From 1144 to 1149, he also claimed the Duchy of Normandy after conquering Rouen from Stephen of Blois during The Anarchy, as he sided with his wife Matilda of England during the struggle. His son would become Henry II of England, and the House of Plantagenet ruled England for nearly 350 years.
Biography[]
Geoffrey was born on 24 August 1113, the elder son of Fulk of Jerusalem (who was known as Fulk V of Anjou until 1131) and Eremburga de La Fleche. He was named for his great-grandfather Geoffrey II of Gatinais. On 10 June 1128, Henry I of England had Geoffrey marry his daughter Matilda of England after learning of Geoffrey's talents and prowess, and he was knighted in Rouen by Henry before becoming Count of Anjou in 1129. The year after, Fulk moved to the Kingdom of Jerusalem to become king, leaving Geoffrey in control of Anjou. He supported his wife's claim to the Kingdom of England, and he aided in her 1139 invasion of England, securing Normandy for her between 1142 and 1143. However, Geoffrey could not invade England himself, as his younger brother Elias II of Maine stirred up dissent against him from 1145 to 1151, forcing Geoffrey to deal with his rebellion. On 14 January 1144, Geoffrey entered Rouen, usurping the Duchy of Normandy as his new title - he would give this title to his son Henry Curtmantle in 1149 with permission from Louis VII of France. He died of sudden fever at Chateau-du-Loir, France in 1151.