Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou
Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Handsome, the Fair (French: le Bel) or Plantagenet, was the Count of Anjou, Touraine and Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also Duke of Normandy by his marriage claim, and conquest, from 1144.
| Geoffrey Plantagenet | |
|---|---|
Enamel effigy from Geoffrey's tomb at Le Mans. His decorated shield suggests early origins of the three lions of the Royal Arms of England. | |
| Count of Anjou | |
| Reign | 1129 – 7 September 1151 |
| Predecessor | Fulk the Younger |
| Successor | Henry II |
| Duke of Normandy | |
| Reign | 1144–1150 |
| Predecessor | Stephen |
| Successor | Henry II |
| Consort of the English monarch | |
| Tenure | 8 April 1141 – 1148 |
| Born | 24 August 1113 |
| Died | 7 September 1151 (aged 38) Château-du-Loir, France |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue Detail |
|
| House | Ingelger (by birth) Plantagenet (founder) |
| Father | Fulk, King of Jerusalem |
| Mother | Eremburga, Countess of Maine |
Geoffrey's marriage to Empress Matilda, daughter of King Henry I of England and Duke of Normandy, led through their son, Henry II, to the 300-year long reign of the Plantagenet dynasty in England. Although it was never his family name or last name, "Plantagenet" was taken for the dynasty from Geoffrey's epithet, long after his death. Geoffrey was 'of Anjou', his ancestral domain of Anjou in north central France gives rise to the name Angevin, and what modern historians name as the Angevin Empire in the 12th century.