Courtenay

Who he is

Name

Peter II of Courtenay

Title

Lord of Courtenay (and count of Auxerre and Tonnerre, covered by the Centre researcher)

Since

1183, on the death of his father Peter I

Born

about 1155; aged about 44

Family

Capetian cadet: son of Peter I (a son of Louis VI) and Elisabeth, heiress of Courtenay; first cousin of Philip Augustus. First wife Agnes, countess of Nevers (died 1192), mother of Mahaut, who married Herve of Donzy in 1199 and carried Nevers to him. Second wife (1193) Yolanda of Flanders, sister of Baldwin IX; their young children include Philip and Robert. Brothers Robert (lord of Champignelles) and William (lord of Tanlay).

Confidence

high

en.wikipedia for birth and marriages; the 1199 Nevers settlement is the Centre researcher's.

Overlord

Philip II

What it holds

• Courtenay and its castle
• Chateau-Renard
• Charny [medium confidence]
• Through his brothers: Champignelles (Robert) and Tanlay (William)

How it was acquired

Inherited through his mother, heiress of the first house of Courtenay.

Allies and rivals

The king; Baldwin IX (brother-in-law); Herve of Donzy (son-in-law, a recent enemy); the bishop of Auxerre.

How things stand that morning

In possession; the Nevers quarrel settled in 1199 with Gien passing to the king.

Wealth

Gatinais lands; the Auxerrois wine country (Centre researcher).

Military

Castles of Courtenay and Chateau-Renard.

Threats

• Debts and the Donzy rivalry.

Places of note

• Courtenay: Seat.
• Champignelles: His brother Robert's lordship.

Where the sources disagree

• fr.wikipedia (Gien) says Peter of Courtenay ceded Gien to Philip in 1199; others give the cession to Herve of Donzy as the price of the king's consent to his marriage. Either way Gien is royal on 1 January 1200.

Evidence: Holder firm; the Gatinais holdings are approximate.

On the map: Approximate; Auxerre and Tonnerre are drawn by the Centre researcher.

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.