Barons and castellans · Held directly of the king · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Beaujeu

The sires of Beaujeu built a lordship between the Saone and the Loire hills out of castles, abbey advocacies and new towns, above all Villefranche, founded about 1140 as a toll-town on the Saone road.

Guichard IV, married since 1196 to the queen's late sister's kin, is the king's brother-in-law by marriage and will serve him as envoy to Rome and Constantinople (1210) and die with Prince Louis in England (1216). He also holds Montpensier in the Limagne, his mother's inheritance, and lands in the Dombes beyond the Saone.

Who he is

Name
Guichard IV of Beaujeu
Title
Lord (sire) of Beaujeu and of Montpensier
Since
about 1192 (not pinned; his father Humbert IV's death is given as 1189 or 1202)
Born
about 1160
Family
Son of Humbert IV of Beaujeu and Agnes of Thiers, through whom Montpensier came to the house. Married in August 1196 Sibyl of Hainaut (born about 1179), sister of Baldwin IX of Flanders and of the late Queen Isabella, so brother-in-law of Philip Augustus. Their son Humbert V, the future constable of France, was born in 1197 or 1198.
Confidence
medium

fr.wikipedia Guichard IV de Beaujeu; en.wikipedia Humbert V de Beaujeu

Overlord

Mostly allodial: the Beaujolais answers to no prince but the king, and the Beaujeu do homage to the king; their lands across the Saone in the Dombes lie in the Empire; Montpensier lies in Auvergne under the king

What it holds

  • Beaujeu castle and the Beaujolais hills
  • Villefranche-sur-Saone, the new town and toll
  • Belleville and its abbey (the family's foundation)
  • Montpensier in Auvergne, with Aigueperse below it
  • lands in the Dombes across the Saone (Montmerle, Thoissey and others; extent in 1200 not pinned)

How it was acquired

Inheritance; Montpensier through Agnes of Thiers.

Allies and rivals

Brother-in-law of Baldwin IX and kin by marriage of the king. Rivals: the counts of Forez, the archbishop of Lyon, the count of Macon and Cluny.

How things stand that morning

Holds the Beaujolais and Montpensier; his first son is a baby. Across the Saone the Dombes and the Bresse lie in the Empire (the lords of Bage and Villars); south lies the archbishop of Lyon's Lyonnais.

Wealth

The Saone road tolls at Villefranche and Belleville; Beaujolais wine; the Limagne grain at Montpensier.

Military

Beaujeu castle, Pouilly-le-Chatel, Montpensier on its butte.

Threats

  • war with the Forez over the Roannais border

Places of note

  • Beaujeu: castle and seat
  • Villefranche-sur-Saone: new town and toll founded by the Beaujeu
  • Montpensier: castle in the Limagne, inheritance of Agnes of Thiers

Where the sources disagree

  • fr.wikipedia gives Humbert IV's death as 1189 or 1202; if 1202, the old lord may still be alive in religion in 1200. Guichard IV is treated as lord on 1 January 1200.

Evidence: Marriage and son dated; the exact year Guichard took over is not pinned.

On the map: Anse and the archbishop of Lyon's lands are excluded; the Dombes holdings are only marked.

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

  1. Guichard IV de Beaujeu (fr.wikipedia)
  2. Humbert V de Beaujeu (en.wikipedia)

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