The Albret are lords of Labrit in the Grande Lande, a country of heath, marsh and pine between the Bazadais and the Marsan.
In 1200 they are a middling Gascon baronage, not yet the great house of the later Middle Ages, but they are well married: Amanieu V's mother was a Taillefer of Angouleme, which makes him a cousin of the girl John will marry in August 1200.
Who he is
- Name
- Amanieu V of Albret
- Title
- Lord of Albret (sire de Labrit)
- Since
- Between 1187 and 1191, on the death of his father Amanieu IV
- Born
- About 1165-1170, so about 30-35
- Family
- Son of Amanieu IV and Almodis of Angouleme, daughter of Count William VI Taillefer, so first cousin of Isabella of Angouleme. Sister Regine, married to Arnaud of Lomagne, lord of Batz (dowry charter 29 September 1195). Son Amanieu VI, born about 1190-1195, who will marry Assalide of Tartas and fight at Termes in 1210. His own wife is not pinned.
- Confidence
- medium
FMG (Seigneurs d'Albret): charters of 1155, 1164, 1171 and 1195; a testament of 'Amanieu d'Albret' dated 2 August 1209 whose author is uncertain.
Overlord
The duke of Aquitaine.
What it holds
- The castle of Labrit and the surrounding parishes of the Grande Lande (Vert, Brocas, Cere, Garein, Maillères)
- Rights over heath, pasture and resin across the Landes (extent not pinned)
How it was acquired
Inherited; the family name comes from Labrit.
Allies and rivals
The Taillefer of Angouleme, his mother's kin; the viscount of Lomagne's family through his sister; the viscounts of Tartas (a later marriage); the Marsan to the south.
How things stand that morning
Holds Labrit of the duke; no war known. Casteljaloux and Nerac, later Albret seats, are not shown as theirs in 1200.
Wealth
Poor land: pasture, resin, honey and tolls on the Landes roads from Bordeaux to Bayonne and Mont-de-Marsan.
Military
Castle of Labrit; a small knightly following.
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.
- 24 August 1200John marries Isabella of Angouleme, Amanieu's first cousin, which ties the Albret more closely to the court.Depends on: John's marriage plan going ahead. Stopped by: The Lusignan betrothal being kept.
Places of note
- Castle of Labrit: Seat of the lords of Albret.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Genealogy from dated charters (FMG); extent of the lordship in 1200 is small and approximate.
On the map: Only the core round Labrit is drawn.
Primary sources for Angevin lands
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
- 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
- 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
- Chronicle; Deeds of the Kings, Gervase of Canterbury (Chronica about 1188 to 1199; Gesta Regum about 1199 to 1210). The Chronica stops in 1199, so for 1200 the witness is the briefer Gesta Regum, which notes John's peace with Philip, the coronation of Isabella at Westminster on 8 October 1200, and matters touching Canterbury: the archbishop Hubert Walter as chancellor, the cathedral priory's quarrel with him, and the Lambeth college dispute lately settled by the pope. Read online
- English Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall, Ralph of Coggeshall (about 1200 to 1224, in stages). Short but independent entries for 1200 from a Cistercian house in Essex: John's levy on the Cistercians and the carucage, the peace with Philip, the king's new marriage and the queen's coronation, and the death of Hugh of Lincoln. Read online
14 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.