Counts · Held directly of the king · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Saint-Pol

A veteran of Acre and a royal favourite, who received Pont-Sainte-Maxence, Verneuil and Pontpoint from Philip in 1194 for his service.

His county in the Ternois sits between the king's Artois and Ponthieu. He is Baldwin's uncle by marriage and a crusader to be: Villehardouin names him just after Baldwin IX's cross-taking at Bruges on Ash Wednesday, 23 February 1200 ('Afterwards took the cross, Count Hugh of St. Paul'), so he has not yet taken the cross on 1 January 1200; he will go east with his nephew Peter of Amiens.

Who he is

Name
Hugh IV of Campdavaine (Candavene)
Title
Count of Saint-Pol
Since
1174
Born
Not pinned
Family
Married to Yolande of Hainaut, sister of Baldwin V, so Baldwin IX's aunt. Daughters: Elizabeth (born 1179), married (about 1196) to Gaucher III of Chatillon (Champagne researcher), and Eustachie (born 1180), married to John of Nesle. No son.
Confidence
high

English Wikipedia (Hugh IV, Count of Saint-Pol).

Overlord

The king of France (the homage stays with the king at Peronne).

What it holds

  • Saint-Pol (castle and town)
  • Lucheux (castle)
  • Frevent and Pernes
  • Avesnes-le-Comte (thin)
  • Pont-Sainte-Maxence, Verneuil and Pontpoint, granted by the king in 1194

How it was acquired

Inheritance (1174); royal grant (1194).

Allies and rivals

The king; his nephew Baldwin; his son-in-law Gaucher of Chatillon, who will succeed him.

How things stand that morning

Holds his county for the king. His side in the war of 1197-1199 is not pinned here; his homage stays with the king at Peronne.

Wealth

Rents, the Ternois markets, the royal grant on the Oise.

Military

Castles of Saint-Pol and Lucheux.

Threats

  • The crusade will take him away

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. 1200, after 23 February (day not pinned)Takes the cross, with his nephew Peter of Amiens (Villehardouin names him right after Baldwin IX's cross-taking at Bruges on Ash Wednesday, 23 February 1200; English Wikipedia says 1200).Depends on: The crusade preaching. Stopped by: Nothing likely.

Places of note

  • Castle of Lucheux: Main fortress

Where the sources disagree

  • Hugh did not take the cross at Ecry: Villehardouin names him only after Baldwin IX's cross-taking at Bruges on Ash Wednesday, 23 February 1200 ('Afterwards took the cross, Count Hugh of St. Paul'), and English Wikipedia says 1200. The GM's character sheet puts his vow at Ecry on 28 November 1199.

Evidence: Holder and family sure; his castles from general knowledge.

On the map: Approximate.

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.

Sources and studies

  1. Hugh IV, Count of Saint-Pol (English Wikipedia)
  2. Villehardouin, Memoirs or Chronicle of the Fourth Crusade, trans. F. T. Marzials (Project Gutenberg 6032): 'Afterwards took the cross, Count Hugh of St. Paul', placed after Baldwin's cross-taking at Bruges on 23 February 1200

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