28th great-grandmother
History may be driven in large part by men, but it's nurtured and nuanced by women, on so many levels. Men might be knights and conquerors, but it's really the women who determine the direction of ones lineage, even if it takes a few decades.
Take Ermengarde, Duchess d'Anjou. Some writers have her listed as Ermengarde-Gerberge, but many studies show that these are likely two different women, though sisters or related in some other way. That aside, I have found Ermengarde to be a key figure in all of European history.
Her first husband is my direct ancestor, Conan I of Bretagne, and together, they had Geoffrey I, Duke of Bretagne, and Judith of Bretagne. Geoffrey is my direct ancestor and his descendants ultimately joined the Randall/Randolph/Ranulf line which leads directly to me. Judith, on the other hand, married Richard of Normandy, and their grandson, William of Normandy, conquered England and started the Anglo-Norman culture there.
Ermengarde was widowed, and so like many aristocratic women of the time, married again, this time to Guillaume II de Taillefer, Count d'Anjou. The Counts of Anjou ultimately became the Plantagenets, who ruled both England and France for many centuries--these were the Angevin kings of England, which ultimately included Henry II (who imprisoned his wife after she sided with their son to overthrow him...)
There is a temptation to define Ermengarde by the men in her life, but I think that takes away from her importance as a woman with power of her own. She ruled as Regent of Bretagne for a time, and she had the ability to choose her allegiances, defined by what she saw as best for her own survival. Thus, after the death of Conan I, she allied herself with her brother, Foulques III, Count d'Anjou, who arranged her marriage with Guillaume, one of his closest allies. That kept family power potent, and by her choice and consent. That alliance gave rise to the Plantagenets dynasty.
We can never really know what Ermengarde's personality was like, as history tends to disregard women as baby-makers and little more, but I like to think that she was someone of personal and political power who could think and choose for herself, and who had the wisdom and ambition to make her own life better and stronger, both for herself and for her children and her family as a whole. To me, she symbolizes a strength and a tenacity that is both admirable and desirable, and I'm proud to have her as a part of my lineage.
Take Ermengarde, Duchess d'Anjou. Some writers have her listed as Ermengarde-Gerberge, but many studies show that these are likely two different women, though sisters or related in some other way. That aside, I have found Ermengarde to be a key figure in all of European history.
Her first husband is my direct ancestor, Conan I of Bretagne, and together, they had Geoffrey I, Duke of Bretagne, and Judith of Bretagne. Geoffrey is my direct ancestor and his descendants ultimately joined the Randall/Randolph/Ranulf line which leads directly to me. Judith, on the other hand, married Richard of Normandy, and their grandson, William of Normandy, conquered England and started the Anglo-Norman culture there.
Ermengarde was widowed, and so like many aristocratic women of the time, married again, this time to Guillaume II de Taillefer, Count d'Anjou. The Counts of Anjou ultimately became the Plantagenets, who ruled both England and France for many centuries--these were the Angevin kings of England, which ultimately included Henry II (who imprisoned his wife after she sided with their son to overthrow him...)
There is a temptation to define Ermengarde by the men in her life, but I think that takes away from her importance as a woman with power of her own. She ruled as Regent of Bretagne for a time, and she had the ability to choose her allegiances, defined by what she saw as best for her own survival. Thus, after the death of Conan I, she allied herself with her brother, Foulques III, Count d'Anjou, who arranged her marriage with Guillaume, one of his closest allies. That kept family power potent, and by her choice and consent. That alliance gave rise to the Plantagenets dynasty.
We can never really know what Ermengarde's personality was like, as history tends to disregard women as baby-makers and little more, but I like to think that she was someone of personal and political power who could think and choose for herself, and who had the wisdom and ambition to make her own life better and stronger, both for herself and for her children and her family as a whole. To me, she symbolizes a strength and a tenacity that is both admirable and desirable, and I'm proud to have her as a part of my lineage.