Anjou

The 13th-century moated castle of Angers, in Anjou, western France. Anjou formed part of the so-called Angevin empire under the control of the Plantagenet king, Henry II. In the 1170s the territorial extent stretched from northern Britain southward through what is now western France to the Pyrenees.

Former province of northern France. Its capital was Angers, and it is now covered by the département of Maine-et-Loire and parts of Indre-et-Loire, Mayenne, and Sarthe. In 1154 the count of Anjou became king of England as Henry II, but in 1204 the territory was lost by King John to Philip Augustus of France. In 1480 Anjou was annexed to the French crown. The people are called Angevins, a name also applied by the English to the first three Plantagenet kings.

History The province's former name of Angers was derived from the Andecavi, the inhabitants of the region during the Roman period. Henry, the son of Geoffrey V of Anjou by Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, came to the English throne as Henry II in 1154, and thus founded the Angevin line. After taking the province, Philip Augustus of France later bestowed it as a fief upon Charles, the son of Louis VIII, who, by conquering Naples and Sicily, became the founder of the Angevin line there. Charles was also the count of Provence, and for nearly half a century Anjou and Provence were united. Margaret, daughter of Charles II of Naples, took Anjou with her as part of her dowry to Charles of Valois. In 1328, on the accession of her son, Philip VI of France, it was joined to the French crown. In 1360 it was made a duchy and, with Louis I, returned to the dominion of Naples. After Anjou was finally annexed to the French crown, the Duke of Anjou became an honorary title given to princes of the royal family of France.

Anjou

A largely residential, French-speaking town in south Québec, Canada, adjacent to Montréal; population (1991) 37,200. It forms part of the Montréal Urban Community.