Description:

What was formerly the province of Anjou today takes in the department of Maine-et-Loire but Anjou has a much longer and chequered history than the modern day department which only came into existence after the French revolution in 1789. Even today, the area is more commonly referred to as ‘Anjou’ rather than by its administrative name of Maine-et-Loire.

In a café in the southern part of Saumur stands a dolmen (the massive stone table-like structures at the centre of Neolithic burial chambers) as a reminder of the scattered prehistoric communities that settled in the region. Angers has retained just a few remnants of Juliomagus, as the main settlement in Anjou was called during the long period of Roman occupation, before Christianity became established. At the town of Gennes, bordering the river Loire, there remains a vestige of the Roman period in the shape of a Roman theatre.

Not very much remains of the Dark Ages that followed, except for a startling underground find, a quarry for extracting much-prized sarcophagi (stone tombs) at Doué-la-Fontaine. During the 9th century, the Vikings came up the river Loire sowing terror and destruction in what was to become Anjou before calming down somewhat and, as they had done elsewhere, notably in Normandy, settling in the region and adding to the racial mix.

An Empire from Scotland to Spain (and ruling Jerusalem)

Famously, however, Anjou was the cradle of a succession of powerful medieval rulers in the early Middle Ages who were to leave their mark not only in this region of France, but also on Britain, Europe and the Mediterranean. A whole line of these Angevin leaders were called Foulques, or Falcon. The bellicose Foulques III Nerra (Black Falcon) expanded Angevin territories at the start of the second Christian millennium.  Foulques III Nerra had the earliest stone keeps in France built around his territories to guard their frontiers. In the ensuing period during the Crusades, Foulques V of Anjou even became king of Jerusalem in the mid-12th century. 

Foulques V’s son and successor, Geoffroy V of Anjou, acquired the nickname Plantagenêt (genêt being the French for the plant, broom). Legend has it that this was because Geoffroy V of Anjou liked to plant a sprig of broom in his helmet, or because he liked dashing over broom-covered heaths on his hunting expeditions. And so, through Geoffroy V of Anjou, would be born the Plantagenêt dynasty which was to hold sway over large parts of present day France, England and further afield until Tudor times.

Geoffroy V of Anjou married Matilda, daughter of King Henry I of England. While their son Henri kept what was at that time the nickname, Plantagenêt, he proved to be an immensely forceful character and put pressure on his beleaguered cousin King Stephen of England to make sure that Henri would inherit that throne. Henri Plantagenêt got his way and came to be crowned King Henry II of England in Westminster Abbey in 1154, founding the Plantagenet dynasty who would go on to rule England until 1485. This is the principal reason why Anjou, and other parts of Pays de la Loire such as Le Mans in Sarthe department – the Cité Plantagenêt, have such strong historical links across the English Channel.

In 1152 Henri Plantagenêt had married the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, who held many territories in southwest France. The result of this marriage was that King Henry II ruled over a small empire stretching from Scotland to Spain. Henry II and Eleanor’s progeny included two future kings of England namely Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard the Lionheart) and John (later of Magna Carta fame), but they spent much of their time in their French territories. Alison Weir’s recent historical bestseller, Eleanor of Aquitaine, by the Wrath of God, Queen of England, provides a fascinating insight into the Plantagenets’ ambitions and shenanigans, concentrating as much on Henry II and Richard as on Eleanor of Aquitaine herself. All three would find their final resting places in Anjou, at the Abbaye de Fontevraud, in what is now one of the very best preserved abbeys in France. King John would later lose his Angevin possessions to the French king Philippe II Auguste, although these were not given up without a violent struggle.

Like this article? Why not use our RSS feed and receive updates as soon as they are posted? Or join us as a member and receive a monthly newsletter.

Check out Guide2Paysdelaloire for Property in Pays de la Loire, Events, News, Classifieds, Places to Stay, Pays de la Loire Attractions and Business Directory.