Geoffrey of Briel

Geoffrey of Briel
Baron of Karytaina
Reign	1238–1275
Predecessor	Hugh of Briel
Successor	Isabella de la Roche
Born	c. 1223
Died	1275
Spouse	Isabella de la Roche
Father	Hugh of Briel
Mother	Alice of Villehardouin
Religion	Roman Catholic

Geoffrey of Briel, in older literature Geoffrey of Bruyères, was a French knight and the third lord of the Barony of Karytaina in the Principality of Achaea, in Frankish Greece. He led a colourful and turbulent life, narrated in detail in the Chronicle of the Morea. Accounted the finest knight in the Principality, he fought in the wars against the Byzantine Greeks, was captured in the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259, and was sent back to Achaea bearing the Byzantine terms in 1261. Geoffrey was twice deprived of his barony, once for rebelling against his uncle, the Prince of Achaea William II of Villehardouin, and then for abandoning the Principality without leave in order to spend time with a mistress, the wife of one of his feudatories, in Italy. He was pardoned both times, but henceforth held his title as a gift of the Prince. He died childless in 1275, and the Barony of Karytaina was split up.

Geoffrey was the son of Hugh of Briel and Alice of Villehardouin, a daughter of the Prince of Achaea, Geoffrey I of Villehardouin. The family, which hailed from Briel-sur-Barse in the French province of Champagne, is variously named in the sources, e.g. Brieres or Prieres (Μπριέρες or Πριέρης in Greek), Bruières, Briers, Briel or Brielle. Geoffrey's father inherited the Barony of Karytaina sometime around 1222 from his brother, Renaud of Briel. The Barony was the third largest (after Akova and Patras) in the Principality of Achaea, counting 22 knights' fiefs and being responsible for keeping watch over the rebellious inhabitants of the mountainous Skorta area.

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