http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/MAINE.htm

HUGUES [II] du Maine, son of [DAVID/HUGUES [Comte] du Maine & his wife E---] ([930/40]-before Dec 992). It is clear from the dates of the documents in which Hugues [II] is named that he must have been a different person from Hugues [I]. The parentage of Hugues [II] is not known with certainty. A series of dubious documents names "David" as his father, for example "Hugo, David filius, comes Cenomannorum" donated property to the abbey of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour du Mans for the soul of "meique genitoris David et genitricis mee E" by charter dated to [971/997], subscribed by "Hugo filius meus"[105]. The arguments for and against the existence of this person are set out above. If David did not exist, it is likely that Comte Hugues [II] was either the son of Comte Hugues [I] or of another otherwise unidentified Comte Hugues, as explained above. He succeeded as Comte du Maine. ["Hugonis ducis, filiorum eius Othonis et Hugonis, Odonis comitis, Hugonis comitis Cenomannorum, Hervei comitis Mauritaniæ, Lamberti vicecomitis" subscribed the charter dated 25 Jun 954 under which "Lambertus filius Ansberti cum Girberga sorore mea…" donated property "in territorio Corbonensi" to Chartres Saint-Père[106]. "Teutbaldi comitis, Teutbaldi junioris, Gausfredi comitis, Hugonis comitis Cenomannorum…" subscribed the charter dated Sep 960 under which "Aremburgis" donated property to Saint-Florent de Saumur[107]. "Hugonis comitis Cenomannorum" in these two documents could either refer to Hugues [I], Hugues [II] or the otherwise unidentified Comte Hugues.] The Actus pontificum Cenomannis names "Hugonem, Cenomanensium comitem" during the bishopric of "Segenfridi" (from 971 to 997)[108]. "Sigefredus Cinnomannicæ….episcopus" donated property to Tours-Saint-Julien, with the consent of "senioris nostri Hugonis…ac filiorum eiusdem…Hugonis et Fulchonis", by charter dated Feb 971[109]. "Hugo comes Cenomannus cum filiis meis ac filiabus" donated property to the abbey of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour du Mans by charter dated to [971/997], subscribed by "Hugonis filii eius"[110]. The date of his death is set by the charter dated Dec 992 under which Guillaume Comte de Poitou and his wife Emma donated property to Saint-Maixent held by "Fulcho frater Hugonis comitis Cinnomanensis"[111], showing that the brothers' father was deceased at the time.

m ---. The name of Hugues's wife is not known.

Hugues [II] & his wife had [five or more] children:

1. HUGUES [III] du Maine ([960/75]-[1014/6 Jul 1016]). "Sigefredus Cinnomannicæ….episcopus" donated property to Tours-Saint-Julien, with the consent of "senioris nostri Hugonis…ac filiorum eiusdem…Hugonis et Fulchonis", by charter dated Feb 971[112]. Hugues [III]'s birth date range is estimated by working back from the birth date range estimated for his grandson Comte Hugues [IV], which is reasonably robust as shown below. "Hugo comes Cenomannus cum filiis meis ac filiabus" donated property to the abbey of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour du Mans by charter dated to [971/997], subscribed by "Hugonis filii eius"[113]. He succeeded as Comte du Maine. “Hugo comes Cenomannus” [one manuscript reading “Hugo David”, a curious echo of the shady figure of David discussed above] donated “terras...Bernationum” to Saint-Pierre de la Couture “cum...filiis meis ac filiabus” by charter dated to 990, subscribed by “Hugonis comitis, Hugonis filii eius...”[114]. "Hugo Cinomannensis comes" donated property to the abbey of Saint-Victeur du Mans with the consent of "Hugonis filii Herbrannis" (not yet identified), by charter dated to [1000/15] which is subscribed by "Herbertus frater comitis"[115]. Guillaume of Jumièges recounts that "comitibus Hugone...Cenomanensi ac Waleranno Mellendesi" were among those who joined the army of Eudes Comte de Blois in attempting to capture the château de Tillières {Verneuil, Eure} from Richard II Duke of Normandy, and that Hugues escaped after hiding in a sheep's stable and disguising himself as a shepherd before regaining Le Mans, an event dated to the early 1000s[116]. "Hugo Cenomannensis comes" donated property to the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel by charter dated 1014, witnessed by "Roscelini vicecomitis, Hameli de Leido Castello, Haymonis de Medano, Herberti fratris comitis, Droci filii Milonis, Odilarii Drudi"[117]. He is assumed to have died before 6 Jul 1016, the date of a charter in which "Herbertus Evigilans canem cognomine" donated property to the abbey of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour du Mans[118]. m ---. The name of Hugues's wife is not known. Hugues [III] & his wife had [four or more] children:

a) HUGUES du Maine (-[1013/14]). Hugues Doubleau donated the priory of Tuffé to the church of Château-du-Loir by charter dated [1013], subscribed by "Hugonis Cenomannensis civitatis comitis, Avesgaudi episcopi ipsius civitatis…Hugonis ipsius militis qui hoc preceptum fieri iussit, Hugonis filii eius…"[119]. “Hugo comes Cenomannus” [one manuscript reading “Hugo David”] donated “terras...Bernationum” to Saint-Pierre de la Couture “cum...filiis meis ac filiabus” by charter dated to 990, subscribed by “Hugonis comitis, Hugonis filii eius...”[120]. It is assumed that Hugues predeceased his father.
b) HERIBERT [I] "Evigilans Canis/Eveille-chien" du Maine ([990/1000]-15 Feb [1032/35]). “Widdo Lononis filius” donated “Gaudiacus” to Saint-Pierre de la Couture, with the consent of “dominis meis Hugone atque Herberto comitibus et vice comite Radulpho eiusque filii” by undated charter dated to [1000/15][121]. He succeeded his father in [1014/15] as Comte du Maine. - see below.
c) daughters . “Hugo comes Cenomannus” [one manuscript reading “Hugo David”] donated “terras...Bernationum” to Saint-Pierre de la Couture “cum...filiis meis ac filiabus” by charter dated to 990, subscribed by “Hugonis comitis, Hugonis filii eius...”[122]. It is not known how many daughters were involved.

2. FOULQUES du Maine ([960/65]-after Dec 992). "Sigefredus Cinnomannicæ….episcopus" donated property to Tours-Saint-Julien, with the consent of "senioris nostri Hugonis…ac filiorum eiusdem…Hugonis et Fulchonis", by charter dated Feb 971[123]. A charter dated Dec 992 records a donation by Guillaume Comte de Poitou and his wife Emma of property to Saint-Maixent which was held by "Fulcho frater Hugonis comitis Cinnomanensis"[124].

3. HERIBERT "Baco" du Maine ([965/75]-after 1 Apr 1046). Hugues Comte du Maine donated land at Voivres to the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel by charter dated 1014, subscribed by "Herberti fratris comitis"[125]. "Hugo Cinomannensis comes" donated property to the abbey of Saint-Victeur du Mans with the consent of "Hugonis filii Herbrannis" (not yet identified), by charter dated to [1000/15] which is subscribed by "Herbertus frater comitis"[126]. "Hugo Cenomannensis comes" donated property to the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel by charter dated 1014, witnessed by "Roscelini vicecomitis, Hameli de Leido Castello, Haymonis de Medano, Herberti fratris comitis, Droci filii Milonis, Odilarii Drudi"[127]. He was regent for his great nephew Hugues [IV] Comte du Maine [1032/35]-1046. The Actus pontificum Cenomannis names "Herbertus comes, cognomento Baco, avunculus Herberti" when recording his disputes with "Avesgaudi episcopi"[128]. He was deposed as regent and sent to a monastery[129].

4. daughters . The charter dated to [971/997] under which "Hugo comes Cenomannus cum filiis meis ac filiabus" donated property to the abbey of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour du Mans[130] shows that Hugues [II] had more than one daughter, but no information has been found to indicate how many daughters there were or whether they married.

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Henry Project: https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject/data/hugh0002.htm

Hugues II
Count of Maine, before 955-976×992.

The first certain appearance of Hughes II is in a charter of Saint-Père de Chartres on 25 June 955 ["S. Hugonis, comitis Cenomannorum." Cart. S.-Père de Chartres 1: 199 (#LXXIII), which gives 25 June 954; for the date, see Latouche (1910), 137, n. 4]. In September 960, he was a witness at the donation of a certain Éremburge to Saint-Florent de Saumur ["S. Hugonis comitis Cenomannorum." Latouche (1910), 162 (Pièce justificative #1)]. Hugues and two of his sons were witnesses to a donation of a certain Girard, canon of Saint-Martin, to Saint-Julien de Tours in March 967 ["Signum Hugonis, Cinomannorum comitis. Signum Hugonis, filii ejus. Signum Fulcuini, filii e[jus similit]er." Grandmaison (1885-6), 229 (#XXI)], and they signed a donation of Seifrid, bishop of Le Mans, in February 971 ["Signum + domni Hugonis comitis. Signum Hugonis et Fulchonis filiorum ejus." ibid., 233 (#XXIII)]. In September 976, along with count Geoffroy Grisegonelle of Anjou, he signed a charter at Saint-Aubin d'Angers ["Signum Hugonis Cenomannici comitis." Cart. S.-Aubin, 58 (#34)]. Two other undated charters in which he appears with two of his sons are probably from late in his reign, one with the consent of his sons Hugues and Herbert ["... Carta vero est Hugonis comitis Cenomanens[ium], in qua, filiis ejus consentientibus Hugone et Herberto, ..." Latouche (1910), 162 (Pièce justificative #2)], and one with his son Hugues ["S. Hugonis comitis. S. Hugonis filii ejus." Latouche (1910), 162 (Pièce justificative #3)].

It is possible that he appears as early as 936×7, when two counts named Hugues appear in a Poitevin charter ["S. Willelmi comitis, Hugoni comitis, item Hugoni, ..., Radulfi vicecomitis, ..." Car.t S.-Cyprien, 325 (#549)]. This would depend on the identification of these two counts Hugues as being Hugues I and Hugues II of Maine. See the page of Hugues I for more.

Date of Birth: Unknown.
Place of Birth: Unknown.

Date of Death: 976×992.
He was still living in September 976, when he was witness to a charter at Saint-Aubin (see above), but his son had succeeded by December 992, when his son Fulcoin appears as "Fulcho, frater Hugoni comitis Cinnomanensis." [Cart. S.-Maixent, 1: 78 (#LXI)]. Place of Death: Unknown.

Father: Uncertain. Mother: Uncertain. The commonly made assertion that he was a son of count Hugues I is undocumented, and is discussed in the Commentary section.

Spouse(s): Unknown. See the Commentary section for a conjecture. Since Herbert Bacon appears in sources well into the eleventh century, he may have been a much younger son by a second marriage.

Children:

MALE Hugues III, d. 1014×5, count of Maine.

MALE Fulcoin/Foulques, fl. 967-992. He appears as a witness with his father in March 967 and February 971 [Grandmaison (1885-6), 229 (#XXI), 233 (#XXIII)], and he appears as the brother of count Hugues of Maine in December 992, holding land in Poitou ["Tenuit etiam ipsam terram Fulcho, frater Hugoni comitis Cinnomanensis." Cart. S.-Maixent, 1: 78 (#LXI); Richard (1903), 1: 114, 119, 125, 136].

MALE Herbert Bacon, acting count of Maine, 1032×5-1038. Herbert is mentioned in a charter along with his father Hugues and his brother Hugues [Latouche (1910), 162 (see above)]. He appears as "Herbertus frater comitis" in two charters of his brother Hugues III, one from 1014 and the other undated [Cart. S.-Victeur, 4 (#3), 6 (#4)]. He appears in the Actus as an avunculus of count Herbert I "Wake-Dog" ["... Herbertus, comes, cognomine Baco, avunculus Herberti ..." Act. Pont. Cenom., 363]. On the death of Herbert "Wake-Dog" in 1032×5, Herbert Bacon, who must have been rather old by that time, became guardian of the young count Hugues IV. His years as acting count included a struggle with Gervais, bishop of Le Mans, ending with his capture (1038) and relegation to a monastery [Act. Pont. Cenom., 363-5; Halphen (1906), 69-70; Latouche (1910), 26-7]. Commentary

Supposed father (legendary, existence unlikely): David, count of Maine. The only early sources to state the parentage of Hugues II are two false charters which would make him the son of a certain David. First, there is a supposed donation of Hugues, son of David, to the canons of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour, signed by his son Hugues and bishop Seifrid ["Ego Hugo, David filius, comes Cenomannorum, ...; Hoc testificantur Hugo, filius meus; Seingfredus, episcopus; ..." Latouche (1910), 158 (#76), 166-7 (Pièce justificative #6)]. In addition, there is the supposed confirmation by count Hugues of a concession given by his father David to the chapter of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour ["... ego Hugo, David filius, Cenomannorum comes, dono et confirmo cuncta donaria que pater meus David ecclesie Beati Petri de Curia dedit ..." Latouche (1910), 158 (#77), 167-8 (Pièce justificative #7)]. The fact that both of these acts are said to be witnessed by bishop Seifrid and the appearance of a son Hugues in the first one show that Hugues son of David would have to be Hugues II. There is also a short notice of an act of Hugues David, father of Herbert, to the canons of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour [Latouche (1910), 158 (#78); Elbenne & Denis (1910), cliv]. Discussing these charters, Latouche showed that they were twelfth century falsifications [Latouche (1910), Appendice II (pp. 105-112)]. Works of the twelfth century also have a number of other references to count David of Maine, said to be a contemporary of a king Robert and of count Geoffroy Grisegonelle of Anjou [e.g., Hugues de Clers, De majoratu et senescalcia Franciæ, Marchegay & Salmon (1856), 389; Gesta consulum Andegavorum, ibid., 77-8; Chron. Robert de Torigny, s.a. 1169, MGH SS 6: 518]. Given the lateness of these sources, their evident connection with the false charters, and the fact that neither Robert I nor Robert II was a contemporary of Geoffroy Grisegonelle of Anjou, these sources are not reliable for the history of the tenth century. Recently, Keats-Rohan has attempted to use De majoratu et senescalcia Franciæ as a source for the history of Hugues II, suggesting that it is perhaps significant that Charles the Bald (grandfather of Hugues I) is known to have modelled himself on the biblical king David [Keats-Rohan (1997), 192-3, 200-1].

Conjectured father (uncertain): Hugues I, count of Maine. Given the continuing use of the name Hugues by the counts of Maine, it is not surprising that some have believed that Hugues II was a son of Hugues I. This conjecture has sometimes been stated with some kind of qualification [e.g., "peut-être un fils de Hughes Ier ou un autre de ses parents" Latouche (1910), 16; "probably his son" Barton (2004), 41; "probably his son" Keats-Rohan (1997), 192, but without qualification on the table on p. 194], but the relationship has often been stated without such qualification [Werner (1967), 461; Keats-Rohan (1996), 27 (table); Keats-Rohan (2000), 65 (table); Settipani (2000), 258 (table); Settipani (2004), 233, 235 (table)]

Unfortunately, there is a twenty-four year gap between the last confirmed appearance of count Hugues I and the first confirmed appearance of Hugues II. (Here, I am regarding the identification with the counts Hugues appearing in two Poitevin charters from the 930's and the 939 appearance of a count Hugues in Le Baud, a very late source, as unconfirmed. See the page of Hugues I.) Indeed, there might even be enough room for a possible additional generation between Hugues I and Hugues II, although too little is known about the chronology to be sure in that regard (and even if there was an extra generation it would be rash to assume that the intervening individual was named David). Lacking better information, the above cautious statement by Latouche seems to reflect the situation well.

Conjectured mother (uncertain): NN, daughter of count Gauzlin. See the page of Hugues I.

Conjectured spouse (very uncertain): NN of Vermandois, daughter of Heribert II? This conjecture of Keats-Rohan is based on the possession of the name Herbert by a son and further descendants of Hugues [Keats-Rohan (1997), 196 & n. 38, 204]. While such a marriage cannot be ruled out, the use of the word "probably" by Keats-Rohan to describe the marriage is a considerable overstatement.

Conjectured daughter (conjecture later abandoned): Godehilde, m. Yves I, lord of Bellême. [Keats-Rohan (1994), 16, 19; however, see Keats-Rohan (1996), 18, conjecturing a different origin for Godehilde] Bibliography

Act. Pont. Cenom. = Busson & Ledru, eds., Actus Pontificum Cenomannis in urbe Degentium (Archives Historiques du Maine 2, Le Mans, 1902).

Barton (2004) = Richard E. Barton, Lordship in the County of Maine c.890-1160 (Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 2004).

Cart. S.-Aubin = Bertrand de Broussillon, Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Aubin d'Angers, 3 vols. (Angers, 1903).

Cart. S.-Cyprien = Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Cyprien de Poiters (Archives historiques du Poitou 3, 1874).

Cart. S.-Maixent = Alfred Richard, Chartes et documents pour servir à l'histoire de l'abbaye de Saint-Maixent, 2 vols. (Archives Historiques du Poitou 16, 1886; 18, 1887).

Cart. S.-Père de Chartres = M Guérard, Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, 2 vols. (Paris, 1840).

Cart. S.-Victeur = Paul de Farcy, ed., Cartulaire de Saint-Victeur au Mans (Paris, 1895).

Elbenne & Denis (1910) = Le chapitre royal de l'église collégiale de Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour Sainte-Chapelle du Mans (Archives Historiques du Maine, 10, Le Mans, 1910).

Grandmaison (1885-6) = Charles de Grandmaison, ed., "Fragments de chartes du xe siècle provenant de Saint-Julien de Tours", Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes 46 (1885): 373-429; 47 (1886): 226-273.

Halphen (1906) = Louis Halphen, Le comté d'Anjou au XIe siècle (Paris, 1906).

Keats-Rohan (1996) = K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, "Politique et Parentèle: Les comtes, vicomtes et évèques du Maine c. 940-1050", Francia 23 (1996): 13-30.

Keats-Rohan (1997) = K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, "'Un vassal sans histoire'?: Count Hugh II (c.940/955-992) and the origins of Angevin overlordship in Maine", in K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, ed., Family Trees and the Roots of Politics (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997): 189-210.

Keats-Rohan (2000) = K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, " 'Bilichildis' Problèmes et possibilités d'une étude de l'onomastique et de la parenté de la France du nord-ouest", in Keats-Rohan & Settipani, eds., Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval (Oxford, 2000), 57-68.

Latouche (1910) = Robert Latouche, Histoire de comté du Maine (Paris, 1910).

Marchegay & Salmon (1856) = Paul Marchegay & André Salmon, Chroniques d'Anjou (Paris, 1856).

MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.

Richard (1903) = Alfred Richard, Histoire des comtes de Poitou 778-1204, 2 vols. (Paris, 1903).

Settipani (2000) = Christian Settipani, "Les vicomtes de Châteaudun et leur alliés", in Keats-Rohan & Settipani, eds., Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval (Oxford, 2000), 247-261.

Settipani (2004) = Christian Settipani, La Noblesse du Midi Carolingien (Prosopographia et Genealogica 5, 2004).

Werner (1967) = Karl Ferdinand Werner, "Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen bis um das Jahr 1000 (1.-8. Generation)", Karl der Große 4 (1967): 403-483.

Compiled by Stewart Baldwin

Uploaded 10 January 2008.