Counts · Lands of John and Eleanor · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Armagnac and Fezensac

The counts of Armagnac have held Fezensac, the county round Auch and Vic, since the two lines were joined in the 1140s.

Gerald IV, called Trencaleon, rules the Bas-Armagnac round Aignan, Nogaro and Riscle and the Fezensac round Vic, Lavardens and the count's quarter of Auch, which he shares uneasily with the archbishop. He is the duke's man, rewarded by John in 1202, but looks also towards Toulouse and Lomagne, where his kin hold land.

Who he is

Name
Gerald IV 'Trencaleon' (Geraud IV)
Title
Count of Armagnac and of Fezensac
Since
1193, on the death of his father Bernard IV (some lists say 1190)
Born
Not pinned
Family
Son of Count Bernard IV (a Lomagne by birth, adopted into Armagnac) and Stephanie (Etiennette). Brothers Bernard and Arnaud-Bernard (who may succeed him), sister Marie. His wife in 1200 is not pinned. Kin of the viscounts of Lomagne ('Odo Leomanie eius consanguineus', 1204) and of the viscount of Fezensaguet.
Confidence
medium

FMG: charter of 7 April 1189 by 'B. Armaniacensis, comes Fezensiacensi et Armaniaci, et G. filius eius'; King John's order of 18 May 1202 granting 'Castell Novum' to 'Gerald de Armignac et Bern de Armignac fratri suo'; witness to the peace of 4 June 1204 between Vezian II of Lomagne and Toulouse. Died before 8 June 1215.

Overlord

The duke of Aquitaine (Eleanor, with John as heir); John's grant of 1202 shows the count in the Angevin service.

What it holds

  • Fezensac: Vic-Fezensac, the castle of Lavardens and the comital rights in Auch beside the archbishop (the share of each in 1200 not pinned)
  • Armagnac: Aignan, the old seat, with Nogaro and Riscle on the Adour
  • Overlordship of the viscounts of Fezensaguet (his kin) and of the lesser Armagnac barons (Montesquiou and others)

How it was acquired

Inherited; Fezensac came to Armagnac by Count Gerald III's marriage to the heiress Anicella in about 1140.

Allies and rivals

The archbishop of Auch, his partner and rival in the city. His kinsmen of Lomagne and Fezensaguet. Gaston VI (for Gabardan) on his western edge; the counts of Astarac and Pardiac to the south.

How things stand that morning

Holds both counties of the duke; not at war on 1 January 1200 as far as the sources show. Across his borders: Gabardan (Gaston VI, for the duke) to the west, Astarac and Pardiac to the south, Lomagne and Fezensaguet to the east, and the Agenais of Raymond VI round Condom to the north.

Wealth

Wheat and wine of the hills, cattle, the markets of Vic, Nogaro and Auch; tolls on the roads from Toulouse to Bayonne and from Agen to the passes.

Military

Castles of Lavardens, Vic and Aignan; the Gascon knights of the two counties.

Threats

  • Quarrels with the archbishop of Auch over the city
  • Succession among the brothers (Bernard, Arnaud-Bernard)

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. 18 May 1202 (after the year)John grants Gerald and his brother Bernard a 'Castell Novum'.Depends on: Gerald staying in the Angevin service. Stopped by: A change of side.

Places of note

  • Castle of Lavardens: Comital castle of Fezensac.
  • Aignan: Old seat of the counts of Armagnac.
  • Vic-Fezensac: Chief town of Fezensac.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Holder and dates from dated charters (FMG); the counties' limits are drawn from the later counties of Armagnac and Fezensac.

On the map: Traced from the later counties; the Eauzan and the Tenareze edge towards Condom are uncertain, and the archbishop's share of Auch is not separated. Gaure: the later county of Gaure round Fleurance (a bastide of 1274) is a 13th-century creation; in 1200 its ground lies between Fezensac, Fezensaguet and Lomagne and its lord is not pinned, so it is left to the anchors.

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

  1. FMG Medieval Lands, Gascony: Central Gascony

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