Lusignan

Who he is

Name

Hugh IX le Brun of Lusignan (Hugues IX le Brun)

Title

Lord of Lusignan, Couhe and Chateau-Larcher; count of La Marche (see La Marche)

Since

1172, succeeding his grandfather Hugh VIII

Born

in the 1160s (en.wikipedia gives 1163/1168; fr.wikipedia 'before 1151')

Family

Son of Hugh le Brun (died before his father) and grandson of Hugh VIII. Brother of Ralph of Exoudun, count of Eu. Nephew of Geoffrey of Lusignan (Vouvant) and of Aimery of Lusignan, king of Cyprus and of Jerusalem. A first marriage (possibly to Agathe of Preuilly, annulled 1189) gave him a son Hugh, later Hugh X (born about 1182 to 1195; disputed). Betrothed to Isabella of Angouleme, about 12, heiress of Count Aymer; a chronicle says the match was made in 1199 with the king's assent.

Confidence

high

fr.wikipedia and en.wikipedia (Hugh IX), both citing charters: lord of Lusignan and Chateau-Larcher in 1196, of Lusignan and Couhe on 23 February 1200; homage to John at Caen on 28 January 1200 for La Marche.

Overlord

Eleanor as countess of Poitou, with John as her heir

What it holds

• Castle and town of Lusignan, the family seat
• Couhe
• Chateau-Larcher, gained by purchase or marriage before 1196
• Castle of Frontenay on the edge of the Niort marshes
• The county of La Marche (separate record)

How it was acquired

Lusignan by inheritance (1172); Chateau-Larcher before 1196; La Marche by seizure in 1199 and the duchess's grant, extorted on her journey south.

Allies and rivals

Allies: his brother Ralph of Exoudun, count of Eu; his uncle Geoffrey of Lusignan; Aimery of Thouars. Rivals: the count of Angouleme, also a claimant to La Marche until the betrothal; the duchess, whom he has just coerced; John, whose interest in Isabella will turn the family against him.

How things stand that morning

Holds Lusignan, Couhe, Chateau-Larcher and Frontenay, and La Marche. Has very recently held the duchess captive (most likely in December 1199) and wrung La Marche from her; seeks John's acceptance, which comes at Caen on 28 January 1200.

Wealth

Tolls and markets of Lusignan and Couhe on the road from Poitiers to Saintes and Bordeaux; the revenues of La Marche; no figures.

Military

Lusignan is one of the strongest castles in Poitou; the family can raise its kin and vassals across Poitou and La Marche and was a byword for rebellion against Henry II and Richard.

Threats

• John repudiating the extorted grant
• John's interest in Isabella
• The Angouleme claim to La Marche

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.

In 1200

1. 28 January 1200Does homage to John at Caen for La Marche.Depends on: John's need of the Lusignans. Stopped by: John refusing the grant.
2. 24 August 1200John marries Isabella of Angouleme, Hugh's betrothed. Hugh marries instead Mathilde of Angouleme, daughter of the late Count Vulgrin III (about 1200-1201), keeping a claim to Angouleme alive.Depends on: John choosing Isabella when he tours the south in summer 1200. Stopped by: The marriage of Hugh and Isabella being completed before John arrives.

Later, on the likely course

1. 1201-1202The Lusignans rise against John and appeal to Philip II, the appeal that leads to the confiscation of 1202.Depends on: John's seizure of Isabella and his attacks on Lusignan castles (Driencourt in Normandy, La Marche). Stopped by: John compensating Hugh.

Places of note

• Castle of Lusignan: Family seat
• Castle of Frontenay: Lusignan castle on the Niort marshes

Where the sources disagree

• fr.wikipedia's birth date for Hugh IX ('before 1151') conflicts with en.wikipedia (1163/1168); his succession in 1172 as a young man fits the later date better.

Evidence: Dated charters of 1196 and 23 February 1200 and the Caen homage of 28 January 1200; the capture's date is inferred.

On the map: Castellany outlines are approximate; the Lusignan fiefs and rear-fiefs across Poitou are not drawn.

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.