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The Seneschal of Anjou (siniscallus, Vulgar or old Frankish Latin, also dapifer) was an officer of an aristocratic household assigned to manage the domestic affairs of the lords of Anjou. During the course of the twelfth century, the seneschalship also became an office of military command.
The seneschal came also to act as a business manager, coordinating between the receivers of various landholdings and the chamber, camera or treasury, and the chancellory or chapel. When the counts of Anjou began acquiring large territorial holdings outside of their traditional patrimony, their rule became more and more absentee. With the rule of Henry II of England, the office of seneschal had become almost vice-regal. The seneschals of Anjou, like those appointed in Normandy, Poitou, and Gascony had custody of demesne fortresses, the regional treasuries, and presidency of the highest court of regional custom. Although there is no direct evidence that an Exchequer court of Anjou existed, traces of a Poitevin Exchequer and detailed records of the Gascon Exchequers during the reign of Henry III of England would indicate that there most likely was a functioning exchequer, probably at Chinon which served as the central treasury and chief stronghold of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.
The office continued down the male line of the Craon family.
Arthur I was 4th Earl of Richmond and Duke of Brittany between 1196 and 1203. He was the posthumous son of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, and Constance, Duchess of Brittany. His father, Geoffrey, was the son of Henry II, King of England.
Andre de Chauvigny (1150–1202) was a Poitevin knight in the service of Richard I of England. He was the second son of Pierre-Hélie of Chauvigny and Haois of Châtellerault. Haois was the great-aunt of King Richard making Andrew and Richard second cousins.
William des Roches was a French knight and crusader who acted as Seneschal of Anjou, of Maine and of Touraine. After serving the Angevin kings of England, in 1202 he changed his loyalty to King Philip II of France and became a leading member of his government.
Robert of Thurnham was an English soldier and administrator. The namesake of his landowner father, he was the younger brother of Stephen of Thurnham. Robert made his reputation in connection with the conquest of Cyprus in 1191 during the Third Crusade. On order of King Richard I, he led half the fleet in that battle. Subsequently, he was responsible for controlling the island when the Crusaders moved on, first jointly with Richard de Camville and then independently, when he defeated a group of Cypriot rebels. After he left Cyprus, Robert became more closely identified with Richard I. As the king's familiaris, he carried Richard's equipment from the Holy Land to England. When Richard I was captured in 1192 in Vienna, among the terms of his release was the presentation of men to stand as "pledges" that the ransom would be paid. Robert was among these hostages, though evidently not for long, as he was back by the king's side in 1194 at Poitiers. Appointed Seneschal of Anjou, he served in France with Richard I, primarily in Anjou and Normandy, throughout the rest of Richard's reign. At around the same time, he was also appointed High Sheriff of Surrey, but he did not return to England until after Richard's death. In 1196, he led troops at Richard's behest into Brittany on an unsuccessful attempt to capture the child Duke of Brittany Arthur, whose mother Constance was resistant to Richard's control. In 1197, King Richard arranged for Robert to marry Isabella Fossard, daughter and heiress of the powerful Yorkshire baron William Fossard. The Fossard inheritance included the castle, honor, and lordship of Mulgrave with 34.5 attached knight's fees.
Marguerite de Sablé, Dame de Sablé, was a French noblewoman and one of the wealthiest heiresses in the counties of Anjou and Maine. She was the eldest daughter of Robert IV de Sablé, and the wife of William des Roches, Seneschal of Anjou, who two years after his marriage to Marguerite became one of the greatest barons in Anjou and Maine, her considerable inheritance having passed to him upon her father's death in 1193.
Isabelle de Craon, Dame de Fougères, was a French noblewoman, being the daughter of Amaury I, Sire de Craon, a wealthy baron who was the possessor of many lordships in Anjou and Maine. She was the wife of Raoul III, Sire de Fougères, by whom she had one daughter, Jeanne de Fougères, who became the heiress to her father's seigneury.
Jeanne des Roches, Dame de Sablé was a French noble heiress, ruler of de baronies of La Suze, de Briollay, de Mayet, de Loupeland, de Chateauneuf-sur-Sarte, de Genneteil, de Precigné, de Agon, and de Craon; and the suo jure seneschal of Anjou, from 1222. The seneschalship passed to her husband, Amaury I, Sire de Craon, as well as the vast Sablè barony.
Isabelle de Meulan, Dame de Mayenne, Dame de Craon was a French noblewoman, being the daughter of Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester, Count of Meulan. Isabelle married twice; firstly to Geoffroy, Seigneur de Mayenne, and secondly to Maurice II, Sire de Craon. Her eldest son Juhel III de Mayenne was a celebrated Crusader.
The County of Anjou was a French county that was the predecessor to the Duchy of Anjou. Its capital was Angers, and its area was roughly co-extensive with the diocese of Angers. Anjou was bordered by Brittany to the west, Maine to the north, Touraine to the east and Poitou to the south. Its 12th century Count Geoffrey created the nucleus of what became the Angevin Empire. The adjectival form is Angevin, and inhabitants of Anjou are known as Angevins. In 1360, the county was raised into the Duchy of Anjou within the Kingdom of France. This duchy was later absorbed into the French royal domain in 1482 and remained a province of the kingdom until 1790.
Maurice II de Craon was Lord of Craon, Governor of Anjou and Maine under Henry II, a military figure and Anglo-Norman of the 12th century. Maurice II also possessed fiefs in England which he held courtesy of Henry II.
Amaury I of Craon (1170–1226), was Lord of Craon, of Chantocé, Ingrandes, Candé, Segré, Duretal, Baugé and of Lude.
William FitzRalph was the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests from 1169 to 1177. After, he was the seneschal of Normandy for 22 years under two dukes of Normandy, Henry II and Richard I, from 1178 to 1200.
Etienne de Tours or Stephen of Tours and Later Stephen of Marçey was a Seneschal of Anjou in the 12th century. He was appointed in 1181 CE by the Angevin King Henry II of England. He was imprisoned by Henry's son the future King Richard I of England on suspicion of fiscal mismanagement. He was freed after being absolved of any wrong. He was restored to the position from 1190 to 1196. Between his two terms, the position was held by Payen de Rochefort-sur-Loire.
The Seneschal of Gascony was an officer carrying out and managing the domestic affairs of the lord of the Duchy of Gascony. During the course of the twelfth century, the seneschalship, also became an office of military command. After 1360, the officer was the Seneschal of Aquitaine. There was an office above the seneschalcy, the Lieutenancy of the Duchy of Aquitaine, but it was filled only intermittently.
Amaury IV of Craon, Lord of Craon, Chantocé, Ingrandes, Briollé, Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe, Précigné and Sablé, Sainte-Maure, Nouâtre, Pressigny and Marcillac, Châteauneuf-sur-Charente and Jarnac, was a French noble, who was part of the Hundred Years' War.
Stephen du Perche was a French nobleman and crusader. He was a partisan of the Plantagenets in their conflict with the French crown and held fiefs from them. A younger son, he governed the County of Perche on behalf of his father and brother during their absence on crusade. He himself joined the Fourth Crusade in 1202 and travelled to the Holy Land. Afterwards, he went to the Latin Empire and was appointed duke of Philadelphia in Asia Minor in 1204. He died in battle against the Bulgars.