Fulk III Nerra

count of Anjou
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://mainten.top/biography/Fulk-III-Nerra
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Also known as: Foulques le Noir, Fulk the Black
Quick Facts
Byname:
Fulk the Black
French:
Foulques le Noir
Born:
c. 970
Died:
June 21, 1040, Metz, Fr.
Notable Family Members:
son Geoffrey II

Fulk III Nerra (born c. 970—died June 21, 1040, Metz, Fr.) was the count of Anjou (987–1040), the most powerful of the early rulers of the Angevin dynasty.

Exposed at first to the attacks of the counts of Brittany, Fulk had to fight for a long time to defend his frontiers, finally driving the Bretons back beyond the frontiers of Anjou. Having made himself master in the west, he turned his attention to the east and came into conflict with the count of Blois, Eudes II, over the territory of Saumur and a considerable part of Touraine. He defeated Eudes at Pontlevoy in 1016 and surprised and took Saumur 10 years later. Despite occasional conflicts, Fulk generally supported his overlords, the Capetian kings.

A ruthless warrior who burned and pillaged the monasteries in his path, Fulk nevertheless felt the need for penance, making three pilgrimages to the Holy Land and founding or restoring several abbeys, including those in or near Angers, Loches, and Saumur. He also built strongly fortified castles of stone (instead of wood) along the border of his territory. For this reason he was called le Grand Bâtisseur (“the Great Builder”). He died on his return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, having reigned 53 years.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.