The Donziais is a compact barony of forest and small towns west of the Nivernais, between the Loire at Cosne and the Puisaye.
Its lords had made themselves 'counts of Gien' by usurpation in 1156. Herve IV quarrelled with his lord Peter of Courtenay over Gien in 1199, beat him near the abbey of Saint-Laurent by Cosne, took him prisoner, and came out of it with Peter's daughter and the county of Nevers. The king, who mediated the peace, took Gien as his reward: it is royal from 1199.
Who he is
- Name
- Herve IV of Donzy
- Title
- Lord (baron) of Donzy, lord of Saint-Aignan and Montmirail
- Since
- 1187 (death of his father Herve III)
- Born
- about 1175
- Family
- House of Donzy; brother William (died 1191) had held Gien
- Confidence
- high
fr.wikipedia Herve IV de Donzy; fr.wikipedia Gien
Overlord
Formerly the count of Nevers-Auxerre, whose vassal he was until 1199 (for Gien at least); now he is himself count of Nevers. Saint-Aignan and Montmirail are held of the neighbouring princes (not pinned).
What it holds
- Donzy castle and the Donziais (Entrains, Chateauneuf-Val-de-Bargis, Suilly)
- Saint-Aignan on the Cher (inherited)
- Montmirail in the Perche-Gouet (from his mother)
- Alluyes (date not pinned)
How it was acquired
Inheritance (1187) and his mother's lands.
Allies and rivals
The king's man; Peter of Courtenay's enemy.
How things stand that morning
Held by Herve in person; Gien no longer his (royal since 1199). Gien to the north-west is royal since 1199; the Sancerrois (Champagne's vassal) faces Cosne across the Loire.
Wealth
Forest, iron and the Loire road at Cosne; Saint-Aignan's crossing of the Cher.
Military
Donzy castle; the knights who beat Peter in 1199.
Threats
- Peter of Courtenay's revenge
Places of note
- Donzy castle: seat
- Abbey of Saint-Laurent near Cosne: where Herve beat and captured Peter of Courtenay in 1199
Where the sources disagree
- fr.wikipedia's Gien says Gien was ceded to Philip Augustus by Peter of Courtenay in 1199; the Donzy lords held it until the 1199 war. Who formally made the cession (Peter as overlord, Herve as holder, or both in the settlement) is not pinned.
Evidence: Holdings by inheritance are reported from Medieval Lands; boundaries of the barony drawn from the later Donziais.
On the map: Saint-Aignan and Montmirail lie in other researchers' areas and are drawn only as the castle communes.
Primary sources for Nevers
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 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
- The Acts of Philip Augustus, with Delisle's Calendar, Various (the French royal chancery) (1179 to 1223). The king's own charters and treaties for the year: the peace of Peronne with Baldwin IX in January 1200, the treaty of Le Goulet with John on 22 May 1200, the marriage settlement for Louis and Blanche, the privilege for the scholars of Paris, grants to towns, abbeys and Norman lords, and the first acts of the king's new acquisitions in the Vexin, Evreux and Berry. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.