Avesnes

Who he is

Name

Walter II of Avesnes (Gautier d'Avesnes)

Title

Lord of Avesnes, Leuze, Conde, Landrecies and Guise

Since

1191, on the death of his father James of Avesnes at Arsuf

Born

About 1170, so about 30

Family

Son of James of Avesnes, the hero of Arsuf. Brothers Bouchard (a cleric, later the husband of Margaret of Flanders) and Guy. Not yet married on 1 January 1200.

Confidence

medium

General accounts; his later marriage to Margaret of Blois is dated after Otto I of Burgundy's death on 13 January 1200.

Overlord

The count of Hainaut for Avesnes, Leuze and Conde; the king of France for Guise.

What it holds

• Avesnes (castle and town)
• Landrecies and the Thierache of Hainaut
• Leuze
• Conde on the Scheldt
• Guise in the kingdom

How it was acquired

Inheritance from James of Avesnes (died 1191).

Allies and rivals

One of Baldwin's two closest Hainaut allies, with Alard of Chimay; he seals the charters of Hainaut on 28 July 1200. Neighbour of the king's Thierache and of the Coucy.

How things stand that morning

Holds his lands in peace.

Wealth

Forests, tolls at Conde, rents.

Military

Castles of Avesnes, Guise and Conde.

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, after 13 JanuaryMay marry Margaret of Blois, widow of Otto I of Burgundy, who is murdered at Besancon on 13 January 1200 (the marriage date is not pinned).Depends on: Otto's death and the Blois family's consent. Stopped by: Otto surviving, or another match.

Places of note

• Castle of Avesnes: Seat
• Guise: Castle in the kingdom

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The holdings are well known; the 1200 details are thin.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Flanders

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 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
• 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
• 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
• Annals of Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. Read online
• Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. 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

8 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.