Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
| Geoffrey II | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Duke of Brittany | |
| Reign | July 1181 – 19 August 1186 |
| Predecessor | Constance |
| Successor | Constance |
| Born | 23 September 1158 |
| Died | 19 August 1186 (aged 27) Paris, France |
| Burial | Notre Dame de Paris |
| Spouse | Constance, Duchess of Brittany |
| Issue Detail |
Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany Arthur I, Duke of Brittany |
| House | Plantagenet / Angevin |
| Father | Henry II of England |
| Mother | Eleanor of Aquitaine |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Geoffrey II (23 September 1158 – 19 August 1186) was Duke of Brittany and 3rd Earl of Richmond between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage with the heiress Constance. Geoffrey was the fourth of five sons of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.
He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. He was a younger brother of Count William, Henry the Young, Duchess Matilda, and King Richard. He was also an older brother of Queen Eleanor, Queen Joan and King John. He was also the half-brother of his father's illegitimate sons Archbishop Geoffrey, Earl William Longespée, and Bishop Morgan, provost of Beverley Minster. He was named after his grandfather, Geoffrey V of Anjou.
In the 1160s, Henry II began to alter his policy of indirect rule in Brittany and to exert more direct control. Henry had been at war with Conan IV, Duke of Brittany. Local Breton nobles rebelled against Conan, who now sought Henry II's help. In 1164, Henry intervened to seize lands along the border of Brittany and Normandy and, in 1166, he invaded Brittany to punish the local barons. Henry then forced Conan to abdicate as duke and to give Brittany to his five-year-old daughter, Constance, who was handed over and betrothed to Henry's son Geoffrey. This arrangement was quite unusual in terms of medieval law, as Conan might have had sons who could have legitimately inherited the duchy. They eventually married in July 1181.
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