Renaud d'Herbauges in the context of "Count of Nantes"

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 [fr], 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.