 Abt 0913 - 0952 (39 years)
-
| Name |
GÂTINAIS Gerberge |
| Birth |
Abt 0913 |
Gatinais, Orleanais-Centre, France  |
| Gender |
Female |
| Death |
0952 |
Tours, Loire-Centre, France |
| Notes |
- Per the profile of Gerberge de Maine, wife of Fulk II Anjou, "Maurice Chaume decided that Count Foulk II must have married Gerberge, daughter of Geoffroy, Vicomte d'Orléans [Comte de Gâtinais et Nevers]," - given the conflation between Geoffroy d'Orléans and the mysterious Gâtinais de Fezensac, this would make this profile Gerberga du Gâtinais a likely duplicate of Maine-10. Rassinot-1 06:12, 27 October 2018 (UTC)
The pedigree of "Gerberge, Countess d'Anjou," is highly uncertain. She was the first wife of Foulk II the "Good," Count d'Anjou, who is known to have ruled this French province in the Loire-Centre region from 942 to 987 CE. He made peace with the Normans and was a scholar, diplomat and statesman. He helped found the Angevin dynasty from which many of Europe's royal houses descend.
Foulk named his first-born son, Geoffroy. Early 20th Century French Medieval historian Maurice Chaume decided that Count Foulk II must have married Gerberge, daughter of Geoffroy, Vicomte d'Orléans [Comte de Gâtinais et Nevers], and that they named their son after his maternal grandfather.[1] Unfortunately, many of the profiles that have been merged together on WikiTree conflate and confuse several different women named "Gerberge" who lived in early Medieval times. The result is a hodge-podge profile that needs to be carefully researched by someone very well versed in early French history so as to find some kernels of "truth".[2]
Although the pedigree of Gerberge (aka Gerberga), Countess of Anjou from 942 until her death 10 years later, remains unproven, the latest research, based on such scholars as Bernard Bachrach ("Fulk Nerra the Neo-Roman Consul," 1993; "State-building in medieval France," 1995) and Christian Settipani ("Les Comtes d'Anjou et leurs alliances aux Xe et XIe siecles," 1997) favors Maurice Chaume's choice of Geoffroy, Vicomte d'Orléans [Comte de Gâtinais et Nevers], b: 864 CE, as her father but adds that his wife was Ava de Arverne, b: 893, in Auvergne, who was her mother.[3]
If this is the case, then Gerberge was not born in the Province of Maine (Sarthe-Mayenne, today) but in the Gâtinais, an ancient French province now divided between the Ile de France & Loire-Centre regions. Its historic capital was Pithiviers (Loiret), about 30 miles NE of Orleans. If we follow Maurice Chaume, and recent scholars, Gerberge was born around 913 CE in the Gâtinais, not far from Orleans, which her grandfather, Vicomte Aubry d'Orleans, ruled. The family's origins are obscure but likely stemmed from a minor branch of the Carolingian (Charlemagne) dynasty that had ruled most of Europe in the 8th-10th Centuries. This bloodline, if known then, would have made her a very-marriageable woman in her time.
In 937 Gerberge de Gâtinais married Foulques II, son of Foulques I, Comte d'Anjou, a rich province strategically situated between Normandy, Brittany, Aquitaine and the Loire-Centre regions of France. Anjou was first made a province in the 800s when a succession of weak Carolingian French kings named close noblemen counselors as rulers there to fight the Bretons and Normans (Vikings) whose raids up the Loire & Seine threatened the viability of France. These "Robertians," as they were called, included relatives of prince Hughes Capet who usurped the French crown later on, in 987 CE, ending the Carolingian dynasty.[4][5]
By the time Gerberge married Foulques II, his father, a noted warrior, had obtained the title "Count of Anjou," which he passed along to his son, Foulques II (contrary to the earlier Frankish custom where such titles were not inherited by a son but had to be confirmed by a nobles' council). If her pedigree is accurate, she brought important lands to the Comté d'Anjou and no doubt a considerable dowry as the Gâtinais was a wealthy agricultural region. Her and Foulques II's court at Angers was known for its culture and civility and they generally were considered wise and just rulers, hence his added "title" of "Foulques le Bon" (Fowlkes the Good). During the 15 years of their marriage, Gerberge and Foulques II d'Anjou had 4 children who survived to maturity:[6]
GEOFFROY d'Anjou, born ca. 938/40; died: 21 July 987 CE; inherited as Comte d'Anjou in 958 CE. Called Grisegonelle: "Greymantle".
GUY (Guido) d'Anjou, b: after 940; died in 994; entered the Clergy, named Bishop of Le Puy, 975 CE
ADELAIS (Blanche) d'Anjou, b: ca. 947 CE; d: 29 May 1026 - Queen of France, divorced; then Queen of Aquitaine; had 4 husbands
DREUX (Drogo) d'Anjou, b: ca. 951/52; died 998 CE; entered the Clergy; succeeded his brother as Bishop of Le Puy, 995 to 998 CE.
The noble destinies of her children, testifies to the strategic importance of Anjou and the political abilities of its rulers in the turbulent early Middle Ages period. Unfortunately, Gerberge did not long survive the birth of her 3rd son, Drogo (Latin = Dreux in French). She is noted as dying in 952 CE, thereby leaving her still-young husband a widower. He soon remarried Roscille de Blois, sister of the Comte de Blois, a neighboring territory, and recent widow of Alain Barbetorte, Duc de Bretagne. This gave Foulques II control over the much-larger fiefdom of Brittany, as the dead Duke's son was just a child. He took a subsidiary title: Comte de Nantes, outright as his own. By 958, however, the "Good" Comte Foulques II was dead, under suspicious circumstances, and his son Geoffroy d'Anjou inherited his Angevin throne.
Sources
↑ Chaume, M. (1925) "Les origines du duché de Bourgogne" (Dijon) Vol. I, p. 534, cited on MedLands - Central France: Gerberge m. Foulques II Anjou
↑ Note by Chet Snow, Oct. 8, 2016.
↑ Your Heritage, Person Page 35655 Ava of Arverne This web page refers one to Jim Weber's RootsWeb genealogy. Investigating there leads to The Phillips, Weber, Kirk, & Staggs families of the Pacific Northwest by Jim Weber on RootsWeb - Gerberga de Gâtinais. Jim gives an excellent over-view of the most-recent scholarship about Gerberga/Gerberge's pedigree, concluding that the most-likely candidates are Geoffry, Count of Gâtinais and his wife, Ava of Arverne, sister of "William the Pious" of Auvergne.
↑ FMG Medieval Lands ANJOU
↑ Comté d'Anjou article in French on Wikipedia
↑ FMG Medieval Lands: Anjou Foulques II
"Royal Ancestry" by Douglas Richardson, Vol. V, page 485.
Medieval Lands: Central France - Anjou: Gerberge
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| Person ID |
I58365 |
Freeman-Smith |
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2026 |
| Family |
ANJOU Foulques, b. Abt 0905, Anjou, France d. Abt 0958 (Age 53 years) |
| Marriage |
Abt 0937 |
Anjou, Loire-Centre, France |
| Children |
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| Family ID |
F26026 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2026 |
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