The scandalous count who may have invented the long-toed shoe
In short: Fulk IV of Anjou was a man of deep contradictions: a ruler who imprisoned his own brother, a chronicler who may have written his own history, and a nobleman whose fashion choices were so controversial they were eventually banned by the Church.
Known as Fulk le Réchin, the Count of Anjou (r. 1068–1109) lived a life marked by political strife and personal scandal. His rise to power was fraught with familial conflict; after the death of his uncle Geoffrey Martel, Fulk contested the succession of his older brother, Geoffrey III. Following a period of imprisonment and civil unrest that saw the loss of territories like Saintonge, Fulk eventually secured his rule, though his reign required constant maneuvering to manage the French king and the Duchy of Normandy.
Fulk's personal life was equally turbulent. Contemporary clerics, such as Orderic Vitalis, criticized his many marriages and perceived sexual deviance. His romantic history included a series of complex unions, some of which were repudiated on grounds of consanguinity. His most famous marriage was to Bertrade, daughter of Simon I of Montfort, a union that involved political extortion of Robert Curthose. The relationship ended in scandal when Bertrade allegedly abandoned Fulk for King Philip I of France, eventually becoming Queen of France in 1092.
Beyond politics and romance, Fulk left a peculiar mark on medieval fashion. He is often credited with popularizing the 'pigaches'—narrow, long-toed shoes. While some legends suggest he wore them to hide bunions from his fifth wife, historians note they may have evolved from Norman battle footwear. These pointed shoes were so reviled by the Church that they were subject to multiple bans, including at the 1102 Synod of Westminster and the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. Interestingly, Fulk may have also been a rare lay historian, having allegedly authored a partial history of Anjou around 1096 to bolster his own legitimacy.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Fulk IV of Anjou
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