Barons and castellans · Lands of John and Eleanor · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Laval

Lord of the castle and bridge-town of Laval on the Mayenne, on the road from Le Mans to Rennes, facing Vitré across the Breton march.

Part of the Mayenne-Craon kin bloc. He dies in 1210 and his son in 1211, after which Laval passes to his daughter Emma, who may be a baby or not yet born on 1 January 1200.

Who he is

Name
Guy V of Laval (Guy de Laval)
Title
Lord of Laval
Since
Not pinned in the sources consulted (succeeded his father Guy IV)
Born
Not pinned
Family
Married Avoise (Havoise) of Craon, eldest daughter of Maurice II of Craon; children Guy VI (died 1211, childless) and Emma (born about 1200, the eventual heiress, later wife of Matthew II of Montmorency). Brother-in-law of Juhel III of Mayenne and Maurice III of Craon.
Confidence
high

House of Laval article; accession date not given.

Overlord

John, as count of Maine

What it holds

  • Castle and town of Laval with its bridge over the Mayenne
  • Montsûrs and lands east of Laval
  • Lands toward the Breton march (Loiron, Saint-Ouën-des-Toits)

How it was acquired

Inherited; the Laval family has held it since the eleventh century.

Allies and rivals

Kin of Mayenne, Craon and Vitré; neighbour of the Breton barons of Vitré across the march.

How things stand that morning

Holds Laval under John; no fighting there that winter.

Wealth

The Laval bridge and toll on the Rennes road, the town market, mills on the Mayenne.

Military

Castle of Laval; Montsûrs.

Threats

  • The Breton march if Arthur's war resumes
  • A disputed succession (his son dies young)

Places of note

  • Castle of Laval: Seat

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Holder and family attested; his acts of 1199-1200 not found.

On the map: Approximate castellany.

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

  1. House of Laval (Wikipedia)

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