Giraud II of Montreuil-Berlay explained

Giraud II of Montreuil-Berlay (died c. 1155) was a twelfth-century feudal lord of Montreuil-Bellay, near Saumur in France. He was dispossessed of the Château de Montreuil-Bellay by Geoffrey Plantagenet.

He was made seneschal of Poitou by Louis VII of France. Later, from 1149, he led a rebellion against Geoffrey Plantagenet of local lords in southern Anjou, including André de Doué and Aimery d'Avoir. After a year's siege he was captured and imprisoned by Geoffrey; later being released through the support of Louis.

He was part of the family Berlay-Le-Vieux the son of Berlay II of Montreuil-Berlayhttp://www.richesheures.net/epoque-6-15/chateau/49montreuilbellay-historique.htm, or of Berlay III of Montreuil-Berlay. The old spelling of the commune over which he exerted his lordship was Berlai.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Thomas N. Bisson, The Crisis of the Twelfth Century. Power, Lordship, and the Origins of European Government, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2009, pp. 310-312.