Angoumois (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ɡumwa]), historically the County of Angoulême, was a county and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of Aquitaine, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional vineyards throughout. Its capital was Angoulême with its citadel and castle above the river Charente.
It almost corresponds to the Charente Department which also takes in the east of the coastal comté de Saintonge.
Bernard II (died February 844) was the count of Poitou from 840 until his death. His ancestry is uncertain. He was most likely the son of Bernard I, on the basis of onomastics. He was probably a member of the Guilhemid family. His brothers were Turpio (died 863) and Emenon (died 866), counts of Angoulême and Périgord, respectively.
According to Ademar of Chabannes, writing 150 years after the events, Emenon was count of Poitou in 838, when King Pippin I of Aquitaine died. He supported the succession of Pippin's son, Pippin II, but the Emperor Louis the Pious instead bestowed the kingdom of Aquitaine on his own youngest son, Charles. Bernard was resident in Poitiers in 839, when the emperor led an army against it, forcing Emenon to flee to their brother Turpio at Angoulême and Bernard to flee to Renaud, count of Herbauges. Ademar of Chabannes refers to Bernard as a "Poitevin count", comes pictavinus, but it is not clear if he means to imply that Bernard was count of Poitou at this time or just that he held the rank of count and was from the Poitou. Louis named Ranulf I as count of Poitou in Emenon's place.
The House of Lusignan (/ˈluːzɪn.jɒn/ LOO-zin-yon; French: [lyziɲɑ̃]) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries during the Middle Ages. It also had great influence in England and France.
The family originated in Lusignan, in Poitou, western France, in the early 10th century. By the end of the 11th century, the family had risen to become the most prominent petty lords in the region from their castle at Lusignan. In the late 12th century, through marriages and inheritance, a cadet branch of the family came to control the kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus. In the early 13th century, the main branch succeeded to the Counties of La Marche and Angoulême.
The County of Poitou (Latin comitatus Pictavensis) was a historical region of France, consisting of the three sub-regions of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. Its name is derived from the ancient Gaul tribe of Pictones. The county was bounded on the north by the Duchy of Brittany, the counties of Anjou and Touraine, on the east by the County of La Marche and on the south by the County of Angoulême. The seat of the county was at Poitiers.
Poitou was ruled by the count of Poitou, a continuous line of which can be traced back to an appointment of Charlemagne in 778. From the 950s on, the counts were also dukes of Aquitaine. After the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine with Louis VII of France in 1138, the Seneschal of Poitou was responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the county. From 1154, through Eleanor's second marriage, Poitou passed to the kings of England.