Breteuil

Who he is

Name

Robert de Beaumont (Robert FitzParnell, Robert IV of Leicester)

Title

Earl of Leicester; lord of Breteuil, Pont-Saint-Pierre and Grandmesnil

Since

1190, on his father's death

Born

Not pinned

Family

Son of Robert, earl of Leicester (died 1190) and Petronilla (Parnel) of Grandmesnil. Wife: Loretta, daughter of William de Briouze (married after 1196). No children: his heirs are his sisters Amice (wife of Simon de Montfort) and Margaret (wife of Saer de Quincy).

Confidence

high

After helping defend Rouen against Philip (1193) he tried to retake his castle of Pacy and was captured; held three years, released in 1196, and Pacy stayed Philip's (Wikipedia). Dies 20 or 21 October 1204.

Overlord

John, duke of Normandy

What it holds

• Honour of Breteuil
• Pont-Saint-Pierre castle on the Andelle
• Grandmesnil
• Title to Pacy-sur-Eure (held by Philip)
• The earldom and honour of Leicester in England

How it was acquired

Inherited 1190 (Breteuil from his grandmother's Breteuil line, Grandmesnil from his mother).

Allies and rivals

Son-in-law of William de Briouze; cousin of the count of Meulan; rival of Philip over Pacy.

How things stand that morning

Holds Breteuil and Pont-Saint-Pierre for John; Pacy lost.

Wealth

Iron and forest of the Pays d'Ouche around Breteuil; the Andelle mills.

Military

Pont-Saint-Pierre; Breteuil (slighted); knights of the honour.

Threats

• Philip's Pacy and Evreux next door

Places of note

• Pont-Saint-Pierre: Castle on the Andelle

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Wikipedia; date of the Pacy capture (1194) not given there.

On the map: Castle districts only.

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.