Hereditary lords · Flanders and Hainaut · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Castellan of Ghent

The hereditary castellan of Ghent keeps the old count's castle and commands its knights, with fiefs in the Oudburg, the castellany around the town.

By 1200 the count's bailiff does most of the justice, and the castellan is a great baron of the town and the court rather than its governor.

Who he is

Name
Siger (Zeger) II of Ghent, by the usual list; the date of his succession is not pinned
Title
Castellan (burggraaf) of Ghent
Since
Not pinned (1190s)
Born
Not pinned
Family
The hereditary castellans of Ghent
Confidence
low

From the usual list of castellans, not checked against a dated charter of 1199-1200.

Overlord

The count of Flanders.

What it holds

  • The castellany office of Ghent, with its fiefs and dues in the Oudburg (not mapped in detail)

How it was acquired

Inheritance.

Allies and rivals

The count; the échevins of Ghent; the abbots of Saint-Peter's and Saint-Bavo's.

How things stand that morning

In office under the count.

Wealth

Fiefs and dues.

Military

The castellan leads the castellany's knights in the count's host.

Threats

  • The count's bailiffs and the échevins eroding his rights

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The holder's name is not checked against a dated charter.

On the map: Marks the seat only.

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.

Sources and studies

  1. Baudouin Ier de Constantinople (French Wikipedia): the castellans of Bruges, Ghent and Lille on the 1202 regency council

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