Barons and castellans · Other imperial lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Neuchâtel-Bourgogne

A castle on the heights east of the Doubs above Pont-de-Roide, built about 1139 by a cadet of the house of Montfaucon to protect the villages of the Fermetey, with the lordship round it: the Fermetey itself (Pont-de-Roide, Vermondans, Dambelin, Remondans), the provostry of Mathay down the Doubs toward Montbéliard and villages on the Lomont ridge.

It holds of the Montfaucon counts of Montbéliard. The house's great growth (Baume-les-Dames, the Lucelle lands, the Montbéliard inheritance) all comes later in the thirteenth century.

Who he is

Name
not pinned (a descendant of Amédée of Montfaucon, who built the castle about 1139 and took its name)
Title
Lord of Neuchâtel (Neufchâtel)
Since
not pinned
Born
not pinned
Family
A cadet branch of the house of Montfaucon: Amédée of Montfaucon, with his brother Hugh 'of Charmoille', probably built the castle about 1139 and took the name of Neuchâtel. A Richard of Neuchâtel married Marguerite of Montfaucon-Montbéliard (date not pinned). The house's documented acts resume only in 1242 with Thiébaud I.
Confidence
low

fr.wikipedia Neuchâtel-Urtière

Overlord

The house of Montfaucon, counts of Montbéliard (Richard of Montfaucon in 1200); later the counts and dukes of Burgundy.

What it holds

  • Neuchâtel-Urtière castle
  • The Fermetey: Pont-de-Roide, Vermondans, Remondans, Vaivre, Dambelin
  • The provostry of Mathay: Mathay, Bourguignon, Écot
  • Villages on the Lomont: Vyt, Valonne, Vellerot, Villars-sous-Dampjoux (extent in 1200 not pinned)

How it was acquired

Castle built about 1139 by Amédée of Montfaucon, the line's founder.

Allies and rivals

Kin and vassals of the counts of Montbéliard; neighbours the abbey of Lucelle's lands toward Saint-Hippolyte, the lords of Belvoir and Cusance (later their own vassals), the count palatine's castle of Clerval downstream.

How things stand that morning

Held by the house; the lord that winter is not named in the sources checked. It follows the counts of Montbéliard, who are in arms against Count Otto I of Burgundy.

Wealth

Mixed farming, forest and the Doubs crossing at Pont-de-Roide.

Military

One castle on a strong site and the knights of the Fermetey; no numbers.

Threats

  • The feud between the counts of Montbéliard and Otto I of Burgundy, which drags in the Montfaucon kin
  • The count palatine's castle of Clerval on the Doubs below

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. 13 January 1200Count Otto I of Burgundy, Philip's brother, is murdered at Besançon (campaign notes, Part 6 C); the county passes to his daughter Joan, aged about eight or nine, under her mother Margaret of Blois, and every lord of the county has a new overlord.Depends on: Otto being at Besançon among his enemies as on 1 January Stopped by: Any change in play to Otto's movements or to the feud that kills him

Places of note

  • Neuchâtel castle: castle of about 1139 above the Doubs

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The foundation of the castle and the lordship's villages come from the fr.wikipedia commune article, which describes the later lordship; which villages were held in 1200 is not pinned.

On the map: Drawn from the later lordship's oldest parts; the 1200 extent is not documented.

Primary sources for Empire

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.

8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. fr.wikipedia: Neuchâtel-Urtière

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