Bishops' city lordships · Other imperial lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Valence

The bishop of Valence is lord of his city on the Rhone under imperial grant, with regalian rights that later emperors confirmed.

His great rivals are the counts of Valentinois of the house of Poitiers, who hold the country round the city and, since 1189, the Diois as well. The see is in transition in 1200: Falcon's long episcopate is ending and a Carthusian is about to succeed.

Who holds it

Name
Falcon (Falco, Foulques) de Dionay
Title
Bishop of Valence
Since
1187
Confidence
medium

The lists give Falcon from 1187 to 1200, followed in 1200 by the Carthusian Humbert de Miribel (1200-1220, later honoured as blessed). Neither the month of Falcon's death nor of Humbert's election is pinned, so on 1 January 1200 the see may already be vacant or newly filled; Falcon is the likeliest holder.

What it holds

  • Valence: lordship of the city and its regalian rights (justice, tolls, market), by imperial grant
  • Episcopal coinage of Valence [the start of the mint is not pinned]
  • Rural castles of the see [not pinned for 1200]

How it was acquired

By grants of the kings of Burgundy and the emperors, confirmed in the twelfth century; later emperors (Frederick II, for Guillaume de Savoie) confirmed the see's ancient privileges and regalia.

How things stand that morning

The bishop holds the city; the Poitiers counts hold the countryside. A change of bishop is due during 1200.

Wealth

Rhone traffic and the tolls of Valence; the city market; the estates of the see.

Threats

  • Encroachment by the counts of Valentinois
  • A disputed or slow succession when Falcon dies

Advocates and rivals

The counts of Valentinois (Aymar II of Poitiers), masters of the country round Valence and of the Diois since 1189. The abbey of Saint-Ruf, head of the canons of Saint-Ruf, has stood at Valence since the 1150s. The citizens of Valence, unruly in the next decades.

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.

  1. 1200 (month not pinned)Falcon dies and the Carthusian Humbert de Miribel becomes bishop.Depends on: Falcon's natural death and a peaceful election. Stopped by: A contested election, or the count of Valentinois pushing a candidate of his own.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The episcopal list is consistent across sources; the content of the bishop's lordship in 1200 rests on general accounts.

On the map: City only. Rural castles later held by the bishops of Valence are not drawn because their tenure in 1200 is not pinned.

Primary sources for Empire

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.

8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. Liste des eveques de Valence (France) (fr.wikipedia)
  2. Roman Catholic Diocese of Valence (en.wikipedia)
  3. Valence (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)

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