Abbeys and priories · Held directly of the king · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Fleury

Fleury on the Loire, which claims the body of Saint Benedict, is a royal abbey: King Philip I lies in its choir (1108), and its great Romanesque church with its west tower is being finished (completed 1218).

The abbey is lord of its village of Saint-Benoît and of estates in the Orléanais.

Who holds it

Name
Garnier
Title
Abbot of Fleury
Since
1183
Confidence
high

Abbot from 1183 to 1210 by the list of abbots; nothing more is pinned here.

What it holds

  • Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire: lordship of the abbey's village
  • Estates and priories elsewhere (not detailed here)

How it was acquired

Royal and noble gifts since the seventh century.

How things stand that morning

Held.

Wealth

Pilgrims to Saint Benedict, the abbey's estates and Loire traffic.

Threats

  • The Ingeborg interdict, in the king's own lands

Advocates and rivals

The king, its patron; the bishops of Orléans.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The abbot and the royal links are attested; the abbey's lordship beyond its village is not established here.

On the map: Only the abbey's village is drawn.

Primary sources for Held of the king

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

  • Chronicle of Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. Read online
  • Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
  • Chronicles of Saint-Martial of Limoges, Bernard Itier and other monks of Saint-Martial; Geoffrey of Vigeois for the earlier chronicle (Geoffrey's chronicle to 1184; Bernard Itier's notes about 1195 to 1225). Bernard Itier, librarian of Saint-Martial, kept dated notes through 1200 of what reached Limoges: Richard's death at Chalus in 1199, the viscounts of Limoges and the lords of the Limousin, John's passage through Aquitaine in 1200 and the affairs of Angouleme and the Lusignans, and the abbey's own elections and prices. Read online
  • The Great Chronicle of Tours, Anonymous (a canon of Saint-Martin of Tours) (about 1227). The Loire valley's view of the Angevin succession. Read online
  • Universal Chronicle of the Anonymous of Laon, Anonymous (an English-born canon of Laon) (about 1219). A Picard chronicle whose author had lived in England and keeps an eye on both kingdoms. Read online
  • Deeds of Philip Augustus, Rigord (about 1186 to 1206, in stages). The French court's own chronicle for the year, from the monk of Saint-Denis who called himself the king's chronographer. Read online
  • Deeds of Philip Augustus; The Philippide, William the Breton (Guillaume le Breton) (Gesta about 1214 to 1220; Philippide 1214 to 1224). William abridged Rigord for the years before 1207 and then continued him, so for 1200 the Gesta is a shortened Rigord with a few added touches: the Le Goulet settlement, Blanche's marriage, and the interdict. Read online
  • History of the Counts of Guines, Lambert of Ardres (about 1196 to 1203, unfinished). A house history of the counts of Guines and lords of Ardres, written while Count Baldwin II and his son Arnold were alive and finishing in 1203. Read online

4 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.

Sources and studies

  1. Liste des abbés de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (techno-science, from fr.wikipedia)
  2. Fleury Abbey (en.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.