Arthur I | |
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![]() Arthur of Brittany as portrayed in a genealogical roll in the British Library | |
Duke of Brittany | |
Reign | 1196–1203 |
Predecessor | Constance |
Successor | Alix |
Co-ruler | Constance (1196–1201) |
Count of Anjou | |
Reign | 1199–1203 |
Predecessor | Richard I of England |
Successor | John Tristan, Count of Anjou |
Born | 29 March 1187 Nantes, Brittany |
Died | presumed c. 1203 (aged 15–16) |
House | Plantagenet |
Father | Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany |
Mother | Constance, Duchess of Brittany |
Arthur I (Breton: Arzhur 1añ[a]; French: Arthur 1er de Bretagne) (29 March 1187 – presumably 1203) 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. Through Geoffrey, Arthur was the grandson of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the nephew of King Richard I of England.
In 1190 Arthur, whose father had died, was arguably designated heir to the throne of England and its French territory, but as he was dying in 1199, Richard I, named his youngest brother John of England heir to the throne, as Arthur was still just a child. Philip II of France thought to make use of a potential succession crisis in England and Brittany and for awhile Arthur joined him.
Nothing is recorded of Arthur after his imprisonment by John in Rouen Castle in 1203. While his precise fate is unknown, it is generally believed he was killed by John.
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