Note 161 — Chapter II · FATHER AND SONS 1179-1183

The district in which Clairvaux stood—the Loudunais—had originally belonged to Poitou; it was annexed to Anjou towards the end of the tenth century by Geoffrey Greygown, who held it under homage to the Poitevin Count William III. This homage became obsolete after Geoffrey Martel’s victory over William VIII in 1033. Richard may possibly have had some idea of reviving the Poitevin claim to the overlordship of the Loudunais; but it is more likely that he simply did not know, and did not care to ascertain, exactly where the frontier line ran.