Chinon and Loches

Who he is

Name

Not pinned for 1 January 1200

Title

Castellans (keepers) of Chinon and Loches for John

Since

Chinon: Robert of Turnham held it with Richard's treasure in April 1199 and handed both to John; John then gave Anjou's seneschalship and, it seems, Chinon to Aimery VII of Thouars, and demanded the castle back from him in September 1199 (Roger of Howden). Loches: retaken by Richard on 13 June 1194; by 1202-1205 it is held for John by Gérard d'Athée, who defended it until Easter 1205.

Confidence

low

The keepers in the winter of 1199-1200 are not named in the sources consulted. Hubert de Burgh held Chinon in 1202-1205 and Gérard d'Athée Loches; neither is pinned for January 1200.

Overlord

John, as count of Anjou

What it holds

• Chinon castle (three linked enclosures) and the town at its foot
• Loches castle, keep and the walled town with the collegiate church

How it was acquired

Comital castles of the counts of Anjou since the eleventh century.

Allies and rivals

William des Roches as seneschal; the Thouars brothers next door in Poitou, who held Chinon in 1199.

How things stand that morning

Both held for John; keepers not pinned.

Wealth

The castellanies' tolls, mills and forest rights; Chinon's treasury role.

Military

Among the strongest fortresses in western France: Loches held out against Philip for a year (taken Easter 1205), Chinon until June 1205.

Threats

• Treason of a keeper
• A French siege if the truce fails

Places of note

• Chinon castle: Comital fortress and treasury
• Loches castle: Comital fortress

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Fortress history well known; the keepers in January 1200 are not named in the sources consulted.

On the map: Castellany limits are approximate.

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.