The count of Auvergne rules the northern Limagne from Riom and his new castles of Tournoel and Chatel-Guyon, the Combrailles through his wife, and comital rights in the city of Clermont beside his brother the bishop.
Auvergne changed overlord in 1196 when Richard ceded it to Philip; that year Philip besieged Issoire, Guy and his cousin the Dauphin asked Richard for help, Richard let them down, and they refused to fight for him later in the summer. From 1197 Bishop Robert excommunicated Guy, laid his lands under interdict and ravaged them with hired soldiers for about two years. In 1199 Guy had the bishop seized by Pons of Chapteuil and held at Vertaizon.
Pope Innocent III let Archbishop Henry of Bourges absolve Guy on penance, and in July 1199 Henry reconciled the brothers; Guy did homage to the bishop for the castle of Lezoux. Henry died in September 1199. On 1 January 1200 the brothers are reconciled on paper, with no formal peace yet; one is made in May 1201.
Who he is
- Name
- Guy II (Gui II d'Auvergne)
- Title
- Count of Auvergne
- Since
- after his elder brother William IX died (1195-1197); recorded as count from May 1198
- Born
- about 1165
- Family
- Son of Count Robert IV and Matilda of Burgundy (daughter of Duke Odo II, so first cousin of Odo III). Brother of Robert, bishop of Clermont. Wife Petronille of Chambon, who brought him the Combrailles. Children include William (born 1195, later William X), Alice (married to Raymond IV of Turenne by contract of December 1208), Ermengarde (born about 1196), Marguerite (born 1200), Hugh (later bishop of Clermont) and Guy (later archdeacon of Lyon).
- Confidence
- high
fmg, Medieval Lands (Auvergne); en.wikipedia Guy II of Auvergne and Robert of Auvergne
Overlord
Philip II, king of France, since Richard I gave up the suzerainty of Auvergne to him in the treaty of Louviers (January 1196); before that the duke of Aquitaine
What it holds
- Riom and the northern Limagne (Ennezat and the plain)
- the castles of Tournoel (at Volvic) and Chatel-Guyon, built by Guy
- comital rights in Clermont until 1202, when he commits the city to the bishop
- the castle of Lezoux, held of the bishop since 1199
- the Combrailles (Chambon, Evaux, Auzances) through his wife
- the guard of royal and comital abbeys such as Mozac (which he later sacks, 1211)
How it was acquired
Inheritance from his father and brother; the Combrailles by marriage.
Allies and rivals
Rival and brother of Bishop Robert of Clermont, whom the king backs. Cousin and sometime ally of the Dauphin Robert. Cousin of Duke Odo III. Former vassal of Richard; leans Angevin again in 1202.
How things stand that morning
Holds his county in full; reconciled with his brother since July 1199 but without a formal peace. No raiding belt is drawn: the bishop's mercenary raids of 1197-1199 stopped with the July 1199 reconciliation, so the Limagne can be sown and held that winter, though it may still show the damage. West of the Combrailles lie the county of La Marche and the Limousin, Angevin ground under Eleanor's duchy of Aquitaine; north lies the Bourbonnais.
Wealth
Grain and wine of the Limagne, the most fertile plain in the centre; tolls on the Allier crossings; the Combrailles pastures.
Military
New castles of Tournoel and Chatel-Guyon; Riom. The bishop hired routiers against him in 1197-1199.
Threats
- the bishop's lawsuits and the king's backing for him
- Philip's direct overlordship since 1196
- the ravaged Limagne after two years of the bishop's mercenaries
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.
- May 1201 (later course)A formal peace with Bishop Robert, mediated by Odo III of Burgundy according to the charter as read in Medieval Lands.Depends on: the reconciliation of July 1199 holding Stopped by: a new seizure of the bishop or royal intervention
- 1202 to 1213 (later course)Guy sides with John (1202), imprisons the bishop again (1207), sacks Mozac (1211) and is crushed by the royal army under Guy of Dampierre (1211-1213), losing most of the county to the crown.Depends on: Guy's choices Stopped by: lasting peace with the king and the bishop
Places of note
- Riom: the count's chief town
- Tournoel castle: Guy's new castle above the Limagne
- Chatel-Guyon: castle built by Guy
- Vertaizon: castle of Pons of Chapteuil where the bishop was held in 1199
- Lezoux: castle Guy holds of the bishop by homage of 1199
Where the sources disagree
- en.wikipedia's Guy II of Auvergne makes him count only from 1199; fmg (Medieval Lands) cites his letter to Innocent III of May 1198 as count. 1198 or earlier is followed.
- en.wikipedia's Robert of Auvergne credits the May 1201 peace to Archbishop Henry of Bourges, who died in September 1199; Medieval Lands reads the charter as mediated by Odo III. Odo is followed.
Evidence: The 1197-1199 quarrel is well documented through papal letters; the comital demesne's limits in 1200 are drawn from the later Terre d'Auvergne and the comte of 1213.
On the map: The count's lands were interleaved with the bishop's (Clermont, Billom, Vertaizon), the Dauphin's, Thiers and Montpensier (Beaujeu); Montpensier and Aigueperse are drawn under Beaujeu. The southern Limagne (Vic-le-Comte, Issoire) is left undrawn: its lordship in 1200 is not pinned.
Primary sources for Held of the king
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 Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. 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
- 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
- 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
- Deeds of Philip Augustus, Rigord (about 1186 to 1206, in stages). The French court's own chronicle for the year, from the monk of Saint-Denis who called himself the king's chronographer. Read online
- Deeds of Philip Augustus; The Philippide, William the Breton (Guillaume le Breton) (Gesta about 1214 to 1220; Philippide 1214 to 1224). William abridged Rigord for the years before 1207 and then continued him, so for 1200 the Gesta is a shortened Rigord with a few added touches: the Le Goulet settlement, Blanche's marriage, and the interdict. Read online
- History of the Counts of Guines, Lambert of Ardres (about 1196 to 1203, unfinished). A house history of the counts of Guines and lords of Ardres, written while Count Baldwin II and his son Arnold were alive and finishing in 1203. Read online
4 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.