Arras is two towns: the Cité, round the cathedral, which is the bishop's, and the Ville, the merchant town that grew round the abbey of Saint-Vaast, founded in 667.
The abbey is the Ville's great landlord and the engine of its wealth, with the eldest of the house of Béthune as hereditary advocates of Arras. Since 1191 Arras and the rest of southern Artois have been in the French crown's hands, through Philip's first wife Isabelle of Hainaut, for their son Louis.
Who holds it
- Title
- Abbot of Saint-Vaast
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
The French Wikipedia list consulted gives no dated abbots for these years.
What it holds
- The Ville of Arras: lordship of the town round the abbey, shared with the count's officers (now the king's; the shares are not pinned here)
- Estates and villages of the abbey in Artois (not detailed here)
How it was acquired
Foundation by Saint Aubert in 667 on the relics of Saint Vaast; the town grew round the abbey.
How things stand that morning
Held, under royal administration of Artois.
Wealth
Arras is one of the great cloth and money towns of the north; the abbey draws rents, dues and market profits from it.
Threats
- The Ingeborg interdict, since Arras is in the king's hands
- The Flemish war over Artois, ended by the Treaty of Péronne on 2 January 1200
Advocates and rivals
The advocates of Arras, the senior line of the house of Béthune; the king, holding Artois for Prince Louis; the bishop, lord of the Cité; the rich merchants of the Ville.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 2 January 1200Treaty of Péronne: Arras stays with the crown while Saint-Omer and Aire go to Flanders.Depends on: Both sides sealing the treaty. Stopped by: A last-minute breakdown.
Places of note
- The Cité of Arras: The bishop's town round the cathedral, separate from the abbey's Ville
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The double town and the Béthune advocacy are attested; the abbot on 1 January 1200 and the exact division of lordship in the Ville are not.
On the map: A small disc for the abbey's town; the modern commune of Arras also covers the bishop's Cité.
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.