Counts · Flanders and Hainaut · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Guines

An old, small, very well documented county between Calais and Saint-Omer, held by the learned and much-married Count Baldwin II, for whom Lambert of Ardres is writing his family history.

His heir Arnold holds Ardres from his mother and Bourbourg through his wife. The house has long feuded with Boulogne: Arnold was betrothed to Ida of Boulogne before Renaud of Dammartin carried her off. Its homage has been claimed by the king with Artois since 1191; the treaty of Peronne gives it back to the count of Flanders.

Who he is

Name
Baldwin II of Guines
Title
Count of Guines
Since
1169
Born
About 1135, so about 64
Family
House of Guines. Widower of Christine of Ardres (died 1177), heiress of Ardres. Eldest son Arnold (II), lord of Ardres, married in 1194 to Beatrice of Bourbourg, heiress of the castellany of Bourbourg; many other children, lawful and not.
Confidence
high

English Wikipedia (Baldwin II, Count of Guines); Lambert of Ardres, History of the Counts of Guines, written for this count and his son and running to 1203.

Overlord

The count of Flanders by old right. Since 1191 the king has claimed the homage of Guines with Artois; at Peronne (2 January 1200) it is restored to Baldwin IX.

What it holds

  • County of Guines: castle and town of Guines, with Tournehem, Audruicq (the Bredenarde) and the forest
  • Ardres (Arnold's, from his mother), with its castle and market
  • Castellany of Bourbourg (Arnold's, by his wife Beatrice), a Flemish office with its own lands
  • Rights over the Calaisis marshes, shared and disputed with Boulogne

How it was acquired

Inheritance; Ardres by marriage (about 1169-1177); Bourbourg by Arnold's marriage in 1194.

Allies and rivals

Allied to Baldwin IX; rivals of Renaud of Dammartin and Ida of Boulogne.

How things stand that morning

Count Baldwin and his son hold their lands. Their homage is owed to the king's Artois until the next day's treaty returns it to Flanders; which side they served in the war of 1197-1199 is not pinned here. Boulogne lies to the west, the Flemish-held Saint-Omer to the south-east.

Wealth

Rents, marsh grazing, peat and salt, the market of Ardres, the tolls of the Aa.

Military

Castles of Guines, Ardres, Tournehem, Audruicq and Bourbourg; Arnold's household knights.

Threats

  • Renaud of Boulogne
  • Divided homage until Peronne

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.

  1. 2 January 1200Peronne returns the homage of Guines and Ardres to the count of Flanders.Depends on: The peace. Stopped by: A rupture.
  2. After 1200 (2 January 1205 or 1206)Baldwin II dies after a captivity in Renaud of Boulogne's hands; Arnold succeeds.Depends on: Later feud with Boulogne. Stopped by: Peace with Boulogne.

Places of note

  • Castle of Guines: Count's seat
  • Ardres: Arnold's castle and town
  • Bourbourg: Arnold's castellany

Where the sources disagree

  • The year of Baldwin II's death is given as 1205 (English Wikipedia) and 1206 elsewhere (the date 2 January either way); it is after 1200 in any case.

Evidence: Lambert of Ardres writes about this very family in these very years.

On the map: The county's limits with Boulogne in the Calais marshes are approximate.

Primary sources for Flanders

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 Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. 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
  • 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
  • Annals of Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. 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

8 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.

Sources and studies

  1. Baldwin II, Count of Guines (English Wikipedia)
  2. Comte d'Artois (French Wikipedia, via mirror): Peronne terms

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.