Craon

Who he is

Name

Maurice III of Craon (Maurice de Craon)

Title

Lord of Craon

Since

12 July 1196, on the death of his father Maurice II

Born

1170s (eldest surviving son of the marriage of about 1170)

Family

Son of Maurice II of Craon (seneschal of Anjou under Henry II) and Isabelle of Meulan; half-brother of Juhel III of Mayenne; brother of Amaury (who succeeds him in 1207 and later marries Jeanne des Roches) and of Pierre the clerk; brother-in-law of Guy V of Laval.

Confidence

medium

Maurice II de Craon and Isabelle de Meulan articles; one account has Maurice III alive after 1224, the other gives his tenure as 1196-1207.

Overlord

John, as count of Anjou

What it holds

• Castle and town of Craon
• Châtelais
• Chantocé on the Loire, with its toll
• Fiefs in England

How it was acquired

Inherited 1196.

Allies and rivals

Mayenne and Laval kin; neighbours the Breton barons of La Guerche and Pouancé.

How things stand that morning

Holds Craon under John; no fighting known.

Wealth

The Chantocé toll on the Loire, Craon market, forest and mills.

Military

Castles of Craon and Chantocé.

Threats

• The Breton march
• A succession to his brother if he dies young

Places of note

• Castle of Craon: Seat
• Chantocé: Loire castle and toll

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Succession 1196 and the will are attested; the 1207 end of his tenure is given by one source and contradicted by another.

On the map: 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.