Harvey II, Viscount of Léon

According to William of Malmesbury,[1] Harvey declined an invitation from King Henry I of England (1100–35) to attend his court.

Around 1139, in reward for his service to Stephen, who was at the time secure on his throne, Harvey received the hand in marriage of the king's illegitimate daughter Sybilla.

[4] In 1140, Harvey somehow negotiated the surrender of Devizes Castle, preventing it from falling into the hands of Robert, Earl of Gloucester.

"[7] The following year, however, he was embarrassed when Devizes was overtaken by a mob of countrymen (comprovinciales) and he abandoned it to Matilda's men.

He expanded his power and began styling himself "Count of Léon" (comes Leoniæ), but he struggled to maintain his de facto independence from his immediate overlord, the Duke of Brittany, and from the influence of the England.