 It was the cradle of the Plantagenet dynasty and became one of the intellectual centers of Europe during the reign of René of Anjou.Angers developed at the confluence of three rivers, the Mayenne, the Sarthe, and the Loir, all coming from the north and flowing south to the Loire.Their confluence, just north of Angers, creates the Maine, a short but wide river that flows into the Loire several kilometres south.