The lord of the Bray: the castle of Gournay on the Epte, facing the Beauvaisis and Philip's Gisors, with La Ferte-en-Bray and Gaillefontaine.
Brother-in-law of the count of Boulogne. Gournay is one of the gates of Normandy and will be Philip's first great siege of 1202.
Who he is
- Name
- Hugh of Gournay (Hugues V de Gournay)
- Title
- Lord of Gournay
- Since
- Not pinned (he was at the siege of Acre in 1190)
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- Wife: Julienne of Dammartin, sister of Renaud, count of Boulogne. Son: Hugh (born about 1180); daughter Melisende (born 1183).
- Confidence
- medium
Founded the Premonstratensian abbey of Bellozanne in 1198 and a priory of Saint-Aubin in 1200; lost Gournay to Philip's siege in 1202 and went over to Philip in 1203-04 (French Wikipedia, which warns the family's numbering is uncertain).
Overlord
John, duke of Normandy
What it holds
- Castle and town of Gournay-en-Bray
- La Ferte-en-Bray (La Ferte-Saint-Samson)
- Gaillefontaine
- Patronage of Bellozanne Abbey (founded 1198)
How it was acquired
Inherited.
Allies and rivals
Kin of Renaud of Boulogne; faces the bishop of Beauvais's lands (the bishop is John's prisoner) and Philip's Gisors.
How things stand that morning
Holds Gournay for John.
Wealth
The Bray's pasture, cattle and butter; Epte mills and tolls.
Military
Gournay castle with its water defences; La Ferte; Gaillefontaine.
Threats
- Philip's Gisors and the Beauvaisis across the Epte
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200Founds the priory of Saint-Aubin.
Places of note
- Bellozanne Abbey: Founded 1198
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: French Wikipedia; numbering of the Hughs uncertain.
On the map: Approximate extent of the honour in the Bray.
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.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.