Editing Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (section)

==Life==

In the 1160s, Henry II began to alter his policy of indirect rule in Brittany and to exert more direct control.<ref>Everard (2000), pp. 41–42.</ref> Henry had been at war with [[Conan IV, Duke of Brittany]]. Local Breton nobles rebelled against Conan, so Conan sought Henry II's help. In 1164, Henry intervened to seize lands along the border of Brittany and Normandy and, in 1166, he invaded Brittany to punish the local barons.<ref name=Everard2000P42>Everard (2000), p. 42.</ref> Henry then forced Conan to abdicate as duke and to give Brittany to his five-year-old daughter, [[Constance, Duchess of Brittany|Constance]], who was handed over and betrothed to Henry's son Geoffrey.<ref name=Everard2000P42/> This arrangement was quite unusual in terms of medieval law, as Conan might have had sons who could have legitimately inherited the duchy.{{sfn|Everard|1999|pages=43–44}}{{efn|Henry never formally became Duke of Brittany as he was only holding the duchy on behalf of Geoffrey and Constance.}} Geoffrey and Constance eventually married, in July 1181.<ref>Warren, Wilfred Lewis, ''King John'', (University of California Press, 1973), 574.</ref>

Growing tensions between Henry and [[Louis VII of France]] finally spilled over into open war in 1167, triggered by a trivial argument over how money destined for the [[Crusader states]] of the [[Levant]] should be collected.{{sfn|Warren|2000|page=105}} Louis allied himself with the Welsh, Scots and Bretons and attacked Normandy.<ref>Dunbabin, p. 59.</ref> Henry responded by attacking Chaumont-sur-Epte, where Louis kept his main military arsenal, burning the town to the ground and forcing Louis to abandon his allies and make a private truce.<ref>Dunbabin, p. 59</ref>{{sfn|Warren|2000|p=106}} Henry was then free to move against the rebel barons in Brittany, where feelings about his seizure of the duchy were still running high.<ref>Everard (2000), pp. 45–46.</ref>

Geoffrey was fifteen years old when he joined the first revolt against his father. He later reconciled to Henry in 1174 when he participated in the truce at [[Gisors]].{{efn|The meetings leading to the Truce of Gisors probably occurred at the [[Château de Gisors]] which had been built by [[Henry I of England]].}}{{efn|Richard was absent from Gisors and would reconcile with Henry II later at a place between Tours and Amboise.}} Geoffrey prominently figured in the second revolt of 1183, fighting against [[Richard I of England|Richard]], on behalf of [[Henry the Young King]].

Geoffrey was a good friend of Louis VII's son [[Philip II of France|Philip]], and the two men were frequently in alliance against King Henry. Geoffrey spent much time at Philip's court in Paris, and Philip made him his [[seneschal]]. There is evidence to suggest that Geoffrey was planning another rebellion with Philip's help during his final period in Paris in the summer of 1186. As a participant in so many rebellions against his father, Geoffrey acquired a reputation for treachery. [[Gerald of Wales]] wrote the following of him: "He has more [[aloes]] than honey in him; his tongue is smoother than oil; his sweet and persuasive eloquence has enabled him to dissolve the firmest alliances and by his powers of language able to corrupt two kingdoms; of tireless endeavour, a hypocrite in everything, a deceiver and a dissembler."<ref>Dan Jones, "The Plantagenets", p. 102</ref>

Geoffrey also was known to attack monasteries and churches in order to raise funds for his campaigns. This lack of reverence for religion earned him the displeasure of the Church and, as a consequence, of the majority of chroniclers who wrote about his life.