Duchy of Anjou
| Anjou | ||
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| Country | France | |
| Time zone | CET | |
| Rulers | 870–98, Ingelger 1480–81, Charles IV of Anjou |
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Anjou (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ʒu]; Latin: Andegavia) is an historical and cultural region of France, a former French county (in that it was ruled by a count, from c. 880), duchy (1360), and province. Its capital was the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley. The territory has no very clear geographical borders but instead owes its territory and prominence to the fortunes of its various rulers.
Henry "Curtmantle", count of Anjou, inherited the kingdom of England on October 25, 1154, becoming Henry II. The resulting Angevin Empire would, at its peak, spread from Ulster to the Pyrenees. Henry's son Richard I had no legitimate issue upon his death, so in 1199 Anjou passed to his nephew, Arthur of Brittany (the posthumous son of Henry II’s fourth son Geoffrey), while the Crown of England passed to Henry II’s fifth son and Richard’s youngest brother, John. Count Arthur was taken prisoner by his uncle the king in 1203 and disappeared under suspicious circumstances. In 1205, the county was seized by Philip II Augustus of France. Its status was elevated to that of a duchy for Prince Louis, the second son of Jean II and remained as such until the Revolution. Anjou corresponds largely to the present-day department of Maine-et-Loire.
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