Brienne

Who he is

Name

Walter III of Brienne (Gautier III de Brienne)

Title

Count of Brienne

Since

1191, on the death of his father Erard II at the siege of Acre

Born

After 1166 (not pinned)

Family

Son of Count Erard II and Agnes of Montbeliard. Brothers: John (born about 1170-75, the future king of Jerusalem), William (lord of Pacy, husband of Eustachie of Courtenay, died between 1194 and 1199), Andrew. Sister Ida, wife of Arnoul of Reynel. His cousin Erard holds Ramerupt (Ramerupt).

Confidence

high

Married Elvira (Albinia) of Sicily, daughter of King Tancred, at Melun in 1200 at a meeting called by Philip II (fmg gives 'Melun 1200'; Alberic of Trois-Fontaines gives 1201). He took the cross after Ecry, sold or pledged his lands by April 1201 and reached the kingdom of Sicily by late spring 1201 (English Wikipedia). Died of wounds in June 1205.

Overlord

Theobald III, count of Champagne

What it holds

• Brienne: castle and small town on the Aube (Brienne-le-Chateau), with the villages of the Aube valley around it
• The county's justice, tolls on the Aube and woods
• Herbisse, held by his brother John until he exchanges it with Count Theobald by a charter dated March 1200 (fmg; March 1201 if the year is counted from Easter, so John probably still holds it on 1 January 1200)

How it was acquired

Hereditary in the house of Brienne since the tenth century; held of the counts of Champagne.

Allies and rivals

Philip Augustus, who arranges the Melun marriage; Innocent III, whose recognition he needs; the Champagne crusaders. Enemies to come: the German captains in Apulia (Diepold of Vohburg) and Markward. Earlier quarrels in the 1190s with Peter of Courtenay and Herve of Donzy.

How things stand that morning

Held and governed by Walter in person; he has taken the cross and is negotiating his Sicilian marriage.

Wealth

Aube valley land, mills and woods; he will sell or pledge much of it by April 1201 to fund Italy.

Military

Castle of Brienne; household knights. Takes a small force to Italy in 1201.

Threats

• Over-reach in Italy
• Debt from selling and pledging his lands
• His crusade vow, which he will turn to Apulia

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. 1200Marries Elvira of Sicily at Melun before Philip II (Alberic dates it 1201).Depends on: Philip's goodwill and Sibylla's consent. Stopped by: A rival match or the king's refusal.
2. 1200 to spring 1201Seeks Innocent III's recognition of Elvira's claims to Lecce and Taranto; the pope recognises them but not her claim to the Sicilian throne. Walter sells or pledges his lands and leaves for Italy, leaving his brother John in charge of Brienne.Depends on: The pope's support against the German captains. Stopped by: Innocent refusing; lack of money.

Places of note

• Castle of Brienne: Seat of the counts.

Where the sources disagree

• The assignment describes Walter as 'away in southern Italy' on 1 January 1200. The sources place his marriage at Melun in 1200 (or 1201) and his arrival in the kingdom of Sicily in late spring 1201, so on 1 January 1200 he is in France. The Annales Ceccanenses mention him expelling Diepold from a castle under 1199 (fmg), which looks misdated.

Evidence: Walter's Italian career is well documented; the extent of the county in 1200 is reconstructed.

On the map: Only the core around Brienne is drawn; outlying fiefs are not pinned.

Primary sources for Champagne

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 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
• 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
• 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
• The Conquest of Constantinople (Villehardouin), Geoffrey of Villehardouin (about 1207 to 1213). Opens with the preaching of Fulk of Neuilly and the tournament at Ecry (28 November 1199) where Theobald III of Champagne and Louis of Blois took the cross, then the taking of the cross by Baldwin of Flanders, Hugh of Saint-Pol, Geoffrey of Perche and others through early 1200, the assemblies at Soissons and Compiegne in 1200, and the six envoys sent to Venice in the winter of 1200 to 1201. Read online
• The Conquest of Constantinople, Robert de Clari, knight of Picardy (about 1205 to 1216). A rank-and-file crusader's account that begins with the preaching of the crusade and the taking of the cross in 1199 to 1200 by the counts of Flanders, Blois and Champagne and by the Picard lords, among them Peter of Amiens, Robert's own lord, then the negotiations with Venice. Read online

3 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.