Ponthieu

Who he is

Name

William Talvas (William IV in English Wikipedia's numbering; William II in French, William III in some lists)

Title

Count of Ponthieu

Since

1191, on the death of his father John I at Acre

Born

1179, so 20

Family

Married on 20 August 1195 to Alys of France (born 1160), daughter of Louis VII, half-sister of Philip Augustus, once Richard's betrothed. Their daughter and heiress Marie was born in 1199, so she is an infant on 1 January 1200.

Confidence

high

English Wikipedia (William IV, Count of Ponthieu).

Overlord

The king of France.

What it holds

• Abbeville (castle and commune)
• Rue and Le Crotoy on the Somme bay
• Crecy and its forest
• Waben and the Authie coast
• Doullens (thin)
• The advocacy of Saint-Riquier (thin)

How it was acquired

Inheritance; the royal marriage of 1195.

Allies and rivals

Brother-in-law of the king; neighbour of the Norman county of Eu (Normandy researcher), of Saint-Valery and of the royal town of Montreuil.

How things stand that morning

Holds Ponthieu for the king; Montreuil-sur-Mer to the north is royal, Saint-Valery across the bay belongs to Thomas of Saint-Valery, Eu and Aumale to the south are Norman.

Wealth

Abbeville's port and woad, salt marshes, fisheries, the Somme crossing.

Military

Castles at Abbeville, Rue, Le Crotoy, Waben.

Threats

• The Norman frontier on the Bresle
• Angevin raids from the sea (Richard sacked Saint-Valery in 1197)

Places of note

• Abbeville: Seat
• Le Crotoy: Port and castle

Where the sources disagree

• The assignment calls him William III; the numbering varies by source (II, III or IV).

Evidence: Holder and marriage sure; the list of castles is from general knowledge.

On the map: Approximate; the Vimeu south of the Somme is left to its own lords and to Eu.

Primary sources for Held of the king

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 Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. Read online
• Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. 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
• 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
• 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
• Deeds of Philip Augustus; The Philippide, William the Breton (Guillaume le Breton) (Gesta about 1214 to 1220; Philippide 1214 to 1224). William abridged Rigord for the years before 1207 and then continued him, so for 1200 the Gesta is a shortened Rigord with a few added touches: the Le Goulet settlement, Blanche's marriage, and the interdict. Read online
• History of the Counts of Guines, Lambert of Ardres (about 1196 to 1203, unfinished). A house history of the counts of Guines and lords of Ardres, written while Count Baldwin II and his son Arnold were alive and finishing in 1203. Read online

4 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.