The Fortitude of Friendship: Countess Ermengarde of Brittany and Bishop Marbode of Rennes

Abstract: At the International Congress on Medieval Studies in May 1991, I was on a panel entitled “Noblewomen in France and England.” My co-presenter was Linda Mitchell. Little could I know that this session would result in a deep and abiding friendship that would last decades. Together we have charted the fortitude of medieval women through our scholarship, which has been enriched, in turn, by the fortitude of our friendship. Countess Ermengarde of Brittany lived a long and rich life. She co-ruled Brittany with both her husband and son; she became a nun twice in her life and then subsequently left the convent; she traveled to the Holy Land where she built a church; she negotiated peace between monasteries, but also between her male kin and the church; she built churches and supported ecclesiastical reform in Brittany. The relationship between elite women and male clergy has garnered attention recently. Fiona Griffiths’s recent book, The Nuns’ Priests’ Tale, interrogates the accepted interpretation of latent clerical hostility toward women. Rather, Griffiths (and others), argue that male clergy were supportive of women and genuinely invested in the care of their souls. Countess Ermengarde’s relationship with several prominent male clergy supports this interpretation. This essay, however, will focus on the friendship between the countess and Bishop Marbode of Rennes,.What emerges is a different perspective on the relationship between clergy and aristocratic women; one of respect, mutual interest, and support. <br>