Alan "The Black" Duke Of BRITTANY 
Alan "The Black" Duke Of was born about 1095 in York, Yorkshire, England. Alan "The Black" Duke Of's father was Stephen Comte DE BRETAGNE and his mother was Hawise Comtesse DE GUINCAMP. He had a brother and three sisters, named Henri I, Alianore, Matilda and Olive. He died on September 15th, 1146 in Richmond, Surrey, England.General Notes
Name Prefix:<NPFX> 1st Earl Of Richmond
Name Suffix:<NSFX> 1st Earl Of Richmond
BIOGRAPHY: Alan Niger was an active partisan of King Stephe
n in his contest with the Enpress Maud. In 1142, he took th
e castle of Lincoln, with considerable treasure, from Ranul
ph, Earl of Chester, by scaling the walls at night. He als
o garrisoned the castle of Hotun, in Yorkshire, then part o
f the bishop of Durham's possessions, and made great spoi
l at Ripon upon the demesnes and tenants of thearchbishop o
f York. This Alan Niger, who is described as a most deceitf
ul, wicked person, wrote himself Earl of Brittany, Cornwall
, and Richmond; but notwithstanding that character, he appe
ars, like his progenitors, to have been a munificent benefa
ctor to the church. His lordship m. Bertha, dau. and heir o
f Conan le Gros, the 3rd Duke of Bretagne (and by this marr
iage acquired the title of Duke of Brittany) and had issue
, Conan le Petit, his successor, Brian, Guy, and Reginald
. He d. in 1165 and was s. by his eldest son. [Sir Bernar
d Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages
, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 162, de Dreux, Ea
rls of Richmond]
BIOGRAPHY: ----------
BIOGRAPHY: In the summer of 1140, Stephen with his amazingl
y consistent energy against new threats, brought an army t
o Cornwall to regain his own lands there. He recovered al
l the castles which had fallen into the hands of Reginald
, illegitimate son of Henry I, with the exception of the on
e Reginald himself inhabited. Stephen introduced his own lo
yal supporter, Alan of Penthièvre, into Cornwall, gave th
e recovered lands into his hands, and shortly afterwards cr
eated him Earl of Cornwall. However, Matilda gave Reginal
d the same title, and the two rival earls were left to cont
est their claims. In February, 1141, Alan fought alongsid
e Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln. After the defeat of Ste
phen's forces, Alan continued to fight on and tried to ambu
sh Ranulf of Chester but was captured, put in chains and to
rtured in a dungeon until he submitted to Ranulf, did homag
e to him, and handed over his castles. Another result of th
is humiliation for Alan was that it confirmed that his riva
l in the west country, Reginald, would keep the earldom o
f Cornwall. [Jim Bradbury, Stephen and Matilda, The Civil W
ar of 1139-53, Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd., Gloucestershire
, 1996]
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