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- BIOGRAPHY
Aimery was the eldest son of Geoffroy V, vicomte de Thouars. His mother is given in some sources as Aimée de Lusignan, a daughter of Hugues VII 'le Brun' de Lusignan. Before 1179 Aimery married Sibylle (Cécile) de Laval, daughter of Guy V, sire de Laval, and his wife Agathe. Of their children Guy I and Aimery would have progeny. The origins of his second wife, Marie, are unknown.
Aimery completed the reconstruction of the castle of Thouars before 1188. He joined the sons of King Henry II in their revolt against their father and he then sided with Henry's son Richard, who supported his father, against Richard's brother Henry 'the Young King'.
With Geoffroy I de Lusignan, count of Jaffa and Caesarea, and Raoul de Mauléon, he remained loyal to Richard even when he was faced with a revolt by the nobles of Poitou. In 1194 he was with Richard at Speyer in Germany, a sign of his commitment to him. When Richard died in 1199, Aimery, like most of Poitevin lords, paid homage to Richard's brother John 'Lackland', whereas the lords of Anjou, Maine and Touraine paid homage to Arthur, duke of Brittany, the posthumous son of John's elder brother Geoffrey, who was supported by Philippe II August, king of France.
In 1199 Aimery and Hugues 'le Brun' de Lusignan, comte de la Marche, captured Tours by surprise while Arthur was being admitted as a canon in the Abbey of St. Martin of Tours. However Arthur managed to escape.
At the castle of Thouars in February 1202 Aimery confirmed to Henry's widow Eleanor de Poitou, duchesse d'Aquitaine, who had recently fled to the Abbey of Fontevraud, his fidelity to her son King John. King Philippe II August had declared war on John following John's kidnapping of Isabella d'Angoulême, who had been betrothed to Hugues 'le Brun' de Lusignan, sire de Lusignan, comte de la Marche. Most Poitevin barons sided with Philippe August. His ally Arthur, duke of Brittany, then tried to capture Mirebeau where Eleanor was staying, but John and Aimery de Thouars were also there and captured Arthur. Shortly afterwards Arthur was imprisoned at Falaise and then at Rouen, where he was murdered on the orders of King John on 3 April 1203. This crime greatly disturbed those lords of Poitou who had previously supported John. Aimery de Thouars opened hostilities in November 1203 against the supporters of the king of France, but quickly signed a truce until January 1204.
In 1204 Philippe August succeeded in regaining Aimery's loyalty by naming him seneschal of Poitou and Aquitaine, and ceding to him the city of Loudon. Aimery then paid homage to the king as his vassal. Meanwhile his brother Guy became head of the nobles of Brittany against King John. Philippe August took advantage of these circumstances to seize Normandy.
In 1205 Savary de Mauléon had seized Niort on behalf of King John. Aimery laid siege to the city and recaptured it on behalf of Philippe August. But the following year he changed his allegiance again and welcomed John to La Rochelle. Assisted by Aimery, John then seized Angers. However when Philippe August arrived in October 1206 with his army, John retired to England. Philippe August returned in 1207 to besiege Thouars, and the city and its viscount were forced to surrender. The king also seized Airvault and Parthenay. In 1208 Aimery, allied with Savary de Mauléon, rose up again, but Guillaume des Roches defeated them and captured Aimery's son of the same name as well as Aimery's brother Hugues. They were released when Aimery again swore loyalty to the king of France.
In 1214 King John landed again in La Rochelle, and Aimery and his brother Hugues rejoined him, along with Savary de Mauléon. Prince Louis (son of Philippe II August) routed them at the Battle of La Roche aux Moines and the region of Thouars was devastated by the French royal army. Aimery obtained an agreement with Philippe August through his brother Guy de Thouars, former regent of Brittany. However in 1216 he sided with King Henry III of England (the son of King John), and in 1220 he signed a truce with the king of France. When it came to an end in 1224, the war resumed and the new king of France, Louis VIII, assembled an army at Tours to invade the viscountcy of Thouars. At Montreuil-Bellay negotiations between the king and Aimery led to a new one-year truce.
After all these episodes, Aimery became a key player in the struggle between England and France. He became de facto representative of England in France and negotiated directly with Louis VIII, whom he recognised as his liege-lord in 1225. He died in 1226, and was buried in the Abbey of Chambon at Mauze-Thouars.
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