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Birth:          1138 
Death:          20 Feb 1171 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_Huntingdon,_Duchess_of_Brittany
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_IV,_Duke_of_Brittany
Conan IV of Penthièvre (1138 – February 20, 1171), (Breton: Konan IV Penteur, and 
Konan Breizh) called "the Young", was duke of Brittany, from 1156 to 1166. He was 
the son of Bertha, Duchess of Brittany, and her first husband, Alan, 1st Earl of 
Richmond. Conan IV was his father's heir as 2nd Earl of Richmond and his mother's 
heir as Duke of Brittany.[a] From his father's side, Conan was great-great-grandson of 
duke Geoffrey I and great grandson of Odo of Brittany. Conan and his daughter 
Constance would be the only representatives of the Penthièvre dynasty of Brittany to 
hold the Duchy's crown.
Accession[edit]

Conan was the son of Duchess Bertha by her first husband, Alan, 1st Earl of 
Richmond. With the death of his mother in early 1156, Conan IV expected to inherit 
the ducal throne. However, he was denied his inheritance by his stepfather, Odo, 
Viscount of Porhoet, who refused to relinquish authority. Odo may have entered into a 
pact with Conan's maternal uncle, Hoel, Count of Nantes, with the goal of dividing 
Brittany between them. Being under threat of rebellion in Nantes, sponsored by 
Geoffrey VI, Count of Anjou, Hoel could not send Odo any aid. Within the year Conan 
IV was able to capture and imprison Odo and claim his inheritance.

Conan also inherited the title Earl of Richmond from his father Alan. According to the 
English Heritage website for Richmond Castle, the ancestral home of the Earls of 
Richmond, the inheritance of both the Earldom and the Duchy "meant that he was 
subject to both the King of England and the King of France."

Plantagenet ambitions[edit]

Henry II of England, the Count of Anjou, attempted to obtain control of the Duchy of 
Brittany, which neighboured his lands and had traditionally been largely independent 
from the rest of France, with its own language and culture.[1] The Breton dukes held 
little power across most of the duchy, which was mostly controlled by local lords.[2] In 
1148, Duke Conan III died and civil war broke out.[3] Henry claimed to be the 
overlord of Brittany, on the basis that the duchy had owed loyalty to Henry I, and saw 
controlling the duchy both as a way of securing his other French territories and as a 
potential inheritance for one of his sons.[4][b] Initially Henry's strategy was to rule 
indirectly through proxies, and accordingly Henry supported Conan IV's claims over 
most of the duchy, partly because Conan had strong English ties and could be easily 
influenced.[6] Conan's uncle, Hoel, continued to control the county of Nantes in the 
east until he was deposed in 1156 by Henry's brother, Geoffrey, possibly with Henry's 
support.[7]

When Geoffrey of Anjou died in 1158, Conan attempted to reclaim Nantes but was 
opposed by Henry who annexed it for himself.[8] Louis took no action to intervene as 
Henry steadily increased his power in Brittany.[9] Conan's control of Nantes had the 
effect of reuniting Brittany. Henry II, responded by seizing the Earldom of Richmond, 
Conan's paternal inheritance, and demanded the return of Nantes. Conan and Henry 
made peace, and in 1160 Conan married Henry's cousin Margaret, sister of the 
Scottish king William the Lion. Conan and Margaret had at least one daughter, 
Constance.[10][c] A son of Conan's named William appears to have still been alive 
towards 1200.[11][d][e]

Unrest and abdication[edit]

Conan faced several revolts from his own nobles, rebellions possibly covertly 
supported by England. To put down the unrest, the Duke appealed for help to Henry 
II, who, in return, demanded the betrothal of Constance to Henry's younger son 
Geoffrey.[12]

While local Breton nobles began to rebel against Conan IV, Henry had begun to alter 
his policy of indirect rule in Brittany and started to exert more direct control.[13] In 
1164 Henry intervened to seize lands along the border of Brittany and Normandy, and 
in 1166 invaded Brittany to punish the local barons.[14] Henry then forced Conan to 
abdicate as duke and to give Brittany to his daughter Constance[f]; Conan also 
betrothed Constance to Henry's son Geoffrey.[14] This arrangement was quite unusual 
in terms of medieval law, as Conan might have had sons who could have legitimately 
inherited the duchy.[g] [15]

According to the histories that record the abdication of Conan IV, he died in 1171 
sometime after his abdication.

Henry II had claimed to be Overlord of Brittany, as would his son Richard the 
Lionheart. Henry never claimed the Dukedom of Brittany. After Conan IV abdicated, 
Henry II held guardianship over Brittany for Conan's daughter Constance, until such 
time as Henry II's fourth legitimate son, Geoffrey Plantagenet, could marry her.

Parents
DE BRITTANY Alan (ABT 1098 - 15 Sep 1146)
OF BRITTANY Bertha (ABT 1115 - AFT 1155)

Siblings
____ Conan IV (1138 - 20 Feb 1171)

Marriage To OF HUNTINGDON Margaret (1145 - 1201)
    m. 1160 

Notes

Parents
OF HUNTINGDON Henry (ABT 1114 - 12 Jun 1152)
DE WARENNE Ada (ABT 1120 - 1178)

Children by OF HUNTINGDON Margaret 1145 - 1201
OF BRITTANY Constance (1161 - ABT 5 Sep 1201)

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