Odo, Count of Penthièvre


Odo of Rennes , Count of Penthièvre, was the youngest of the three sons of Duke Geoffrey I of Brittany and Hawise of Normandy, daughter of Richard I of Normandy. Eozen married Agnes of Cornouaille, the daughter of Alan Canhiart, Count of Cornouaille and sister of Hoel II, Duke of Brittany who was married in 1066 to Eozen's niece Hawise, Duchess of Brittany.

Role in Governance of Brittany

When Eozen's father Duke Geoffrey I died on 20 November 1008, both Eozen and his older brother Alan were minors.
Duke Geoffrey had initiated a dynastic double marriage with Richard II, Duke of Normandy by marrying Hawise of Normandy, one of Richard's sisters, in 996; this was followed by the marriage of Geoffrey's sister Judith of Brittany to Richard around the year 1000. Alan and Eozen were thus double-first cousins of Duke Richard II's children, including Richard III, Duke of Normandy and Robert I, Duke of Normandy, nephews of Emma of Normandy, and first cousins of Emma's children Edward the Confessor, Harthacnut, Goda of England, Gunhilda of Denmark and Alfred Aetheling.
At Geoffrey's death, Alan became de jure Duke, as Alan III, Duke of Brittany, Hawise took on the role of Regent, and Richard asserted the role of Guardian of Brittany, an arrangement reciprocated on the death of Robert I, Duke of Normandy in 1035.
Also in 1035, after a dispute between Eozen and Duke Alan III, their uncle Judicaël Bishop of Vannes arbitrated, and Alan III gave Eozen the bishoprics of Saint-Brieuc, Saint-Malo, Tréguier and Dol-de-Bretagne, as well as the counties and baronies of Penthièvre, Goëlo, Avaugour and Lamballe. Eozen placed his capital at Lamballe, where he began issuing coins in his own name.
Following the death of his brother Duke Alan III in 1040, Eozen ruled as regent of Brittany in the name of his nephew Conan II, holding Conan in custody. Conan was freed by his supporters in 1047. Eozen's regency should have ended when Conan reached his majority, but Eozen refused to relinquish control of the Duchy.
In 1054 Geoffrey, Viscount of Mayenne in Maine, affronted by William of Normandy's new fortifications at Ambrieres, "appealed to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou" who "called to his assistance Guy-William of Aquitaine and Count Eudo of Brittany"
In a charter dated to 1056/1060, Eozen granted land "in pago Belvacensi" to the Abbey of Angers Saint-Aubin. Witnesses included his wife Orguen and their sons Gausfridus, Alanus Rufus, Willelmus, Rotbertus and Ricardus.
By 1056 Conan gained the upper hand in Brittany, and in 1057 he captured his uncle Eozen and chained him in a prison cell. Eozen's eldest son Geoffrey Boterel continued to fight.
In 1062, peace was concluded between Conan and Geoffrey. Eozen, who was now free, continued the fight alone.
In histories favourable to the house of Penthièvre, Eozen is shown as effectively ruling Brittany between 1040 and 1062. In other histories his rule is shown as ending with his capture in 1057.
Conan was a legitimate contender for the title of Duke of Normandy, so he became a serious rival to Duke William.
In 1064, Eozen's liegeman Rivallon I of Dol invited Duke William to join him against Conan, thus initiating the Breton-Norman War of 1064–1065 in which Normandy, Anjou, Dol de Bretagne and the captive Harold Godwinson combined against Conan II, as depicted in three panels of the Bayeux Tapestry. Historians differ on whether William or Conan should be considered the victor in this conflict.

Involvement in the Preparations for the Norman Conquest of England

Eozen provided, trained and equipped 5000 Breton soldiers for William the Conqueror's army. Of these, 4000 were professionals, comprising light cavalry, heavy cavalry, archers, crossbowmen and axemen; he also trained 1000 levied spearmen. Eozen put these troops on 100 ships under the command of his sons Count Alan Rufus and Count Brian, and they sailed from Brittany to join the Norman forces gathering at Barfleur then on to William's staging point at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, in readiness to cross the Channel.

Rebellion against Hoel II of Brittany

Despite his advanced years, Eozen was involved in the failed 1075/1076 rebellion against Hoel II, Duke of Brittany, by Geoffrey Grenonat of Rennes and Ralph de Gael. Hoel II was supported by William the Conqueror, briefly placing Eozen and William on opposing sides once again, a situation that was soon resolved when, to William's disappointment, Hoel came to terms with the rebels.

Death

On 7 January 1079, at about 80 years of age, Eozen died in Cesson-Sévigné, an eastern suburb of Rennes. He was buried in Saint-Brieuc Cathedral.
In his memory, “Comes Alanus Rufus”, his second son, donated property to Swavesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire, for the soul of “patris sui Eudonis comitis”, by an undated charter witnessed by “…Ribaldus et Bardulfus fratres comitis…”.

Family

Thomas Forester's 1854 translation of volume 2 of Orderic Vitalis’s The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, book 5, chapter 9, section 43 and page 164, last paragraph, states concerning Eozen's sons:
“God also gave him seven sons, who became remarkable for the singular and changeable events of their lives. The studious might compose a long and pleasing history, from true accounts of their various fortunes.”
Eozen's children with Agnes include:
Sons of Eozen who were probably illegitimate include:
At least two of Eozen's sons were early participants in the Norman conquest of England.
Eozen's descendants formed the junior branch of the Breton ducal family, which gained control of the duchy in 1156 under Conan IV of Brittany.
Odo is a twenty-eighth great-grandfather of Cindy Crawford.