Outside the walls of Paris on the left bank, the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés is lord of the bourg that has grown at its gate, with its own justice.
Its meadow by the Seine, the Pré-aux-Clercs, is fought over with the scholars of Paris (a clash is recorded in 1179), and the abbey defends it with papal privileges going back to 1107.
Who holds it
- Title
- Abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
French Wikipedia's article does not list the abbots of these years.
What it holds
- The bourg Saint-Germain: lordship and justice of the suburb round the abbey
- The Pré-aux-Clercs meadow, disputed with the Paris scholars
- Villages of the abbey round Paris (not detailed here)
How it was acquired
Merovingian royal foundation; papal privileges of 1107 and of Alexander III.
How things stand that morning
Held.
Wealth
Rents and dues of the bourg and the abbey's estates round Paris.
Threats
- The scholars of Paris
- The Ingeborg interdict
Advocates and rivals
The king, whose new walls are closing round Paris; the scholars of Paris; the bishop of Paris.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The bourg and its justice are attested; the abbot on 1 January 1200 and the list of villages are not established here.
On the map: A small disc for the bourg.
Primary sources for France (royal)
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 Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. 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
- Chronicle of Robert of Auxerre, Robert of Auxerre (Robert of Saint-Marien) (about 1190 to 1211; continued at Saint-Marien to 1227). A universal chronicle whose last twenty years are contemporary and well informed from Burgundy and the Auxerrois. Read online
- Chronicles of the Churches of Anjou (Saint-Aubin, Saint-Serge, Saint-Florent and others), Various (monks of Angers and the Loire) (11th to 13th centuries; the Saint-Aubin annals run to the 1220s). The Angevin houses' own annals of the succession crisis in their city: Arthur received at Angers in 1199 with Constance and the Breton and Angevin barons, John's counter-moves, the defection of William des Roches and the Angevin lords to John, and the peace of 1200 that left Arthur John's vassal. 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
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Flowers of History, Roger of Wendover (about 1220 to 1235 at St Albans). For 1200 Wendover is mostly Howden rewritten, so he is a second witness only where he adds St Albans material: a long account of Hugh of Lincoln's last months, death and funeral, and anecdotes about John's conduct toward the Cistercians and his new queen. Read online
15 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.