Brien FitzCount (also known as Brian de Insula, Brian des Illes and Brian of Wallingford), was the Lord of Wallingford and Baron Abergavenny, and a staunch supporter of the Empress Matilda during the Anarchy of King Stephen's reign in England in the 1140's. Map sources for Wallingford at grid reference SU6089 Wallingford is a small town in Oxfordshire in southern England. ... The title Baron Abergavenny (or Bergavenny) was a barony by tenure in the Peerage of England. ... Empress Matilda (February, 1101 — September 10, 1167; Saxon form Maud or Maude) — was the daughter and dispossessed heir of King Henry I of England. ... The Anarchy in English history commonly names the period of civil war and unsettled government that occurred during the reign (1135–1154) of King Stephen of England. ... Stephen (1096 - October 25, 1154), the last Norman King of England, reigned from 1135 to 1154, when he was succeeded by his cousin (or, as the gossip of the time had it, his natural son) Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet Kings. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II...

He was the illegitimate son of Alan IV, Duke of Brittany. His date of birth is unknown but Brien was almost certainly born before his father became a monk in 1112. He was sent to be fostered at the court of King Henry I of England. Alan IV of Cornwall (died 1119) was duke of Brittany, from 1084 to 1112. ... Events The people of Laon, France, proclaim a commune and murder their bishop Salzwedel, Germany is founded The German state of Baden is founded Afonso I becomes Count of Portugal Otto of Ballenstedt is made Duke of Saxony by Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor Births Deaths October 5 - Sigebert of... Henry I (circa 1068 – 1 December 1135) was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and the first born in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. ...

He married an English heiress, Matilda D'Oyly, widow of Miles Crispin, and through her obtained Wallingford by 1127. Brien also inherited the castle and Barony of Abergavenny from his uncle, Hamelin de Balon. He declared for the Empress Matilda in 1139, and was besieged by the forces of King Stephen, but the monarch failed to take Wallingford Castle and had to retreat. Miles Crispin (died 1107) (also known as Miles or Milo of Wallingford) was a wealthy Norman landowner, particularly associated with Wallingford Castle in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). ... Conrad III establishes the Hohenstaufen dynasty when he is crowned antiking to the Holy Roman Emperor, Lothair II. First coalition of the Norman princes against Roger II of Sicily. ... Abergavenny Castle is a castle in the town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. ... Abergavenny (Welsh: ), meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a town in the principal area of Monmouthshire, Wales. ... July 26, Independence of Portugal from the Kingdom of León and Castile declared after the Battle of Ourique against the Almoravids lead by Ali ibn Yusuf: Prince Afonso Henriques becomes Afonso I, King of Portugal, after assembling the first assembly of the estates-general of Portugal at Lamego, where... Wallingford Castle 1913. ...

Brien and Matilda had two sons who were both stricken with leprosy, and who died young. Brien made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and died there sometime around 1147. Matilda became a nun at Bec and died a few years later, and as they had no heirs their lands and castles reverted to the Crown. For the malady found in the Hebrew Bible, see the article Tzaraath. ... Events King Afonso I of Portugal and the Crusaders capture Lisbon from Muslims First written mention of Moscow. ... For other uses, see Nun (disambiguation). ... Bec Abbey (French: Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec) in Le Bec-Hellouin, Normandy, France, is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure département, in a valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. ...

Briens des Illes appears as a character in Arthurian romance by Chrétien de Troyes. A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early 15th century) by Peter Vischer, typical of later anachronistic depictions of Arthur. ... Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. ...

References

• Ford, David Nash. (2001). 'Brian FitzCount' in Royal Berkshire History.
• Round, J. Horace. (1889). 'Fitzcount, Brian' in Leslie Stephen's Dictionary of National Biography.
• Weston, J.L. (1925). Who was Brian des Illes? Modern Philology, 22, 405-411.

External links

• Royal Berkshire History: Brian FitzCount