Guy of Dampierre is a Champenois baron who has become a great lord of the centre by marriage: lord of Dampierre on the Aube and of Saint-Dizier, the walled town on the Marne at the Lorraine border, and since 1196 lord of Bourbon in his wife's right.
He has served Philip Augustus and been rewarded with Montlucon. He is the uncle of the seneschal of Champagne and brother-in-law of John of Montmirail. Dampierre was the seat of the Tosafist Isaac of Dampierre (died about 1189).
Who he is
- Name
- Guy II of Dampierre (Gui II de Dampierre)
- Title
- Lord of Dampierre, Saint-Dizier and Moeslains; lord of Bourbon by his wife
- Since
- About 1174 (English Wikipedia; fmg gives 1161)
- Born
- About 1155
- Family
- Son of William I of Dampierre and Ermengarde of Toucy (or Mouchy). Married Mathilde of Bourbon in 1196 and is lord of Bourbon in her right (the Centre researcher covers Bourbon). Children: Archambaud (later lord of Bourbon), William (later lord of Dampierre and Saint-Dizier, husband of Margaret of Flanders), Guy (Saint-Just), and daughters. Sisters: fmg makes Helvide of Dampierre the wife of Geoffrey IV of Joinville and mother of the seneschal; French Wikipedia makes Helvide of Dampierre, Guy's sister, the wife of John of Montmirail. Both ties are reported; the two women may have been confused in one of the sources.
- Confidence
- high
English Wikipedia and fmg: lord of Dampierre, Saint-Dizier and Moeslains; styled constable of Champagne (office not hereditary); the king gave him Montlucon for his service in 1199 (English Wikipedia; fmg has 1202); died 18 January 1216.
Overlord
Theobald III for Dampierre and Saint-Dizier; Philip II for Montlucon; Bourbon held of the king in his wife's right
What it holds
- Dampierre (Dampierre, Aube): castle and village
- Saint-Dizier: castle and town on the Marne (see Saint-Dizier), with its mills
- Moeslains near Saint-Dizier
- The office of constable of Champagne (late twelfth century; on 1 January 1200 not pinned)
- Bourbon and Montlucon in the Bourbonnais (covered by the Centre researcher)
How it was acquired
Dampierre and Saint-Dizier by inheritance; Bourbon by marriage in 1196; Montlucon by royal grant.
Allies and rivals
Philip Augustus; the Joinvilles (his nephew); John of Montmirail (brother-in-law). His Bourbon interests set him against the count of Auvergne.
How things stand that morning
Held. His attention is split between Champagne and the Bourbonnais.
Wealth
Marne traffic and mills at Saint-Dizier; Aube lands; the much larger Bourbon inheritance.
Military
Castles of Dampierre and Saint-Dizier; a royal captain in the king's wars.
Threats
- Divided interests between Champagne and the Bourbonnais
- Border with Bar and Lorraine at Saint-Dizier
Places of note
- Castle of Saint-Dizier: Walled town and castle on the Marne at the Lorraine border.
Where the sources disagree
- Whether Guy is still constable of Champagne on 1 January 1200 is not pinned: fmg gives the title from about 1170 without an end date.
Evidence: Good on his person and marriages; the bounds of Dampierre and of Saint-Dizier's land are reconstructed.
On the map: Small clusters; the Bourbonnais lands are drawn by the Centre researcher.
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.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.