William the Conqueror King Henry in a campaign against him, the last known cooperation between the two. They succeeded in capturing an Angevin fortress, but accomplished little else. Geoffrey attempted to expand his authority into the county of Maine, especially after the death of Hugh IV of Maine in 1051. Central to the control of Maine were the holdings of the Bellême family, who held Bellême on the border of Maine and Normandy, as well as the fortresses at Alençon and Domfront. Bellême's overlord was the king of France, but Domfort was under the overlordship of Geoffrey Martel and Duke William was Alençon's
Hoël II, Duke of Brittany in the east and the House of Cornouaille in the west may have further strengthened Brittany at a time when external interference was attempted by William the Conqueror. After Hawise's death in 1072, Hoël acted as regent for his son, Alan IV, until the latter reached his majority in 1084. During his reign he faced several rebellions from Breton nobles. Geoffrey Grenonat of Rennes (a natural son of Duke Alan III of Brittany and thus a half-brother of Hawise) led a revolt and was joined by Ralph de Gael who had returned to Brittany from England after the failure of