Faucigny

Who he is

Name

William (Guillaume) of Faucigny

Title

Lord of Faucigny

Since

about 1197, on the death of his father Henry

Born

not pinned

Family

Eldest son of Henry of Faucigny (d. about 1197) and Comtesse, lady of Clermont, daughter of Amadeus I of Geneva. His younger brother Aymon II succeeds him late in 1202, still a minor.

Confidence

medium

fr.wikipedia Aymon II de Faucigny.

Overlord

The emperor; the counts of Geneva claim overlordship (recognised by Aymon II only in 1229)

What it holds

• Castle of Faucigny
• The Arve valley (Cluses, Chatillon) and the Giffre (Taninges, Samoens)
• The Sallaz lands north of Faucigny, disputed with the bishop of Geneva

How it was acquired

Hereditary since the eleventh century.

Allies and rivals

Kin of the counts of Geneva; Savoy backs the family under Aymon II.

How things stand that morning

Holds Faucigny; the advocacy of the priory of Chamonix is still Geneva's (it passes to Faucigny in 1202).

Wealth

Pasture, the Arve road toward the Alps.

Military

Castle of Faucigny and Chatillon.

Threats

• Geneva's claims
• The bishop of Geneva over the Sallaz

Places of note

• Castle of Faucigny: Seat

Where the sources disagree

• The assignment names Aymon II for Faucigny; fr.wikipedia makes his elder brother William lord from about 1197 to late 1202, so Aymon II is not yet lord on 1 January 1200.

Evidence: One modern account; dates approximate.

On the map: Core only; the upper Arve (Sallanches, Chamonix) is not drawn.

Primary sources for Empire

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.

• Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
• Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
• Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
• Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
• Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
• Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
• Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. 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

8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.