Anjou is a former county (c.880), duchy (1360) and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire.
The name Anjou is from Latin Andegavia, referring to the Gallic tribe of the Andecavi .
The title of count of Anjou was held by two distinct dynasties each known as Angevins (angevin is the adjective from the same root as Anjou): the first, known from the 12th century also as Plantagenets, came to rule England and much of western France, but lost Anjou itself to the French crown in 1206.
The title of count of Anjou was revived by king Louis IX in 1246 for his younger brother Charles, later king of Naples and Sicily. His descendants also ruled Poland and Hungary for a time in the 14th century. The last duke of the line (Charles V of Anjou ) died in 1481, and Anjou reverted to the French crown (Louis XI of France).
The wife of Henry VI of England, Margaret of Anjou, came from this county.
See also
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Last updated: 09-12-2005 02:39:13
