A great baronial house of the Auxois, whose castle on a hilltop above the Armancon valley commands the road from Dijon to Saulieu and Autun.
Stephen of Mont-Saint-Jean was seneschal of Burgundy, took the duke's side in the Vergy war, and gave up the seneschalship in exchange for ducal lands when the office passed to Hugh of Vergy in 1199.
Who he is
- Name
- the house of Mont-Saint-Jean; Stephen of Mont-Saint-Jean, the duke's former seneschal, is its leading man in the 1190s
- Title
- Lord of Mont-Saint-Jean
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- House of Mont-Saint-Jean, barons of the Auxois
- Confidence
- low
fr.wikipedia Eudes III de Bourgogne (after Petit); which member held the castle on 1 January 1200 is not pinned
Overlord
Odo III, duke of Burgundy
What it holds
- the castle of Mont-Saint-Jean and its castellany
- Charny and Salmaise (family holdings; their exact holder in 1200 not pinned)
- ducal lands received in exchange for the seneschalship (not pinned)
How it was acquired
Ancient family holding; the exchange for the seneschalship about 1199.
Allies and rivals
The duke's men in the Vergy war; rivals of the Vergy for the seneschal's office.
How things stand that morning
Held by the family as ducal vassals; the individual head of house is not pinned.
Wealth
Auxois farmland and the road tolls toward Saulieu; detail not pinned.
Military
Mont-Saint-Jean castle, a strong hilltop keep.
Places of note
- Castle of Mont-Saint-Jean: seat
- Salmaise: castle of the family
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Only the seneschal's role is reported from Petit in the sources seen; the genealogy for 1200 was not checked against charters.
On the map: Rough castellany; Salmaise and other family lands not drawn.
Primary sources for Burgundy
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 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
- 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
- The Conquest of Constantinople (Villehardouin), Geoffrey of Villehardouin (about 1207 to 1213). Opens with the preaching of Fulk of Neuilly and the tournament at Ecry (28 November 1199) where Theobald III of Champagne and Louis of Blois took the cross, then the taking of the cross by Baldwin of Flanders, Hugh of Saint-Pol, Geoffrey of Perche and others through early 1200, the assemblies at Soissons and Compiegne in 1200, and the six envoys sent to Venice in the winter of 1200 to 1201. Read online
- Documents of the French Royal Treasury of Charters, vol. 1 (755 to 1223) (755 to 1223; the archive was organised from the 1190s). The treaties and bonds the French crown kept in its own archive, printed in date order. Read online
- The Acts of Philip Augustus, with Delisle's Calendar, Various (the French royal chancery) (1179 to 1223). The king's own charters and treaties for the year: the peace of Peronne with Baldwin IX in January 1200, the treaty of Le Goulet with John on 22 May 1200, the marriage settlement for Louis and Blanche, the privilege for the scholars of Paris, grants to towns, abbeys and Norman lords, and the first acts of the king's new acquisitions in the Vexin, Evreux and Berry. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.