Marsan

Who he is

Name

Petronilla of Comminges, with Gaston VI

Title

Viscountess of Marsan (with Bigorre); her husband Gaston VI of Bearn governs

Since

1192-1196, with Bigorre

Born

About 1184

Family

See Bigorre.

Confidence

medium

French Wikipedia gives Petronilla as viscountess of Marsan and countess of Bigorre; her mother Beatrix was countess of Bigorre and viscountess of Marsan. The viscounts of Marsan became counts of Bigorre in the 1140s and the two went together thereafter.

Overlord

The duke of Aquitaine.

What it holds

• Mont-de-Marsan, castle and market town
• Roquefort on the Douze, a castle on the road to Bordeaux
• The heath and pine country between Tartas, Albret, Gabardan and Tursan

How it was acquired

Inherited with Bigorre through Petronilla's mother.

Allies and rivals

Gaston VI; the viscount of Tartas to the west; the Albret to the north; the abbey of Saint-Sever to the south.

How things stand that morning

Held by Petronilla and Gaston VI of the duke.

Wealth

River trade on the Midouze down to the Adour; resin, pasture, the market of Mont-de-Marsan.

Military

Castles of Mont-de-Marsan and Roquefort.

Threats

• Bernard IV of Comminges's claim through his daughter
• The marriage's childlessness

Places of note

• Mont-de-Marsan: Viscount's castle and town.
• Roquefort: Castle on the Douze.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The descent of Marsan with Bigorre is well attested; its limits are drawn from the later pays.

On the map: Drawn from the later pays of Marsan; the edges against Tursan, Tartas and Albret are approximate.

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.