Villehardouin

Who he is

Name

Geoffrey of Villehardouin (Geoffroi de Villehardouin)

Title

Marshal of Champagne; lord in Villehardouin

Since

Marshal since 1185

Born

About 1150

Family

Younger son of Vilain, lord of Villehardouin, and Dameron. His son Erard later holds Lezinnes. His nephew Geoffrey, son of his brother John, will become prince of Achaea.

Confidence

medium

French Wikipedia: marshal from 1185, of Marie's council; captured at Acre in 1191 and back in Champagne by 1194; in 1198 he mediated with the archbishop of Sens between Theobald and the chapter of Troyes; took the cross at Ecry. fmg places Villehardouin near Piney and lists the family in the Feoda Campanie of 1172 under Rosnay. Who holds the family's main share of Villehardouin in 1200 is not pinned.

Overlord

Theobald III, count of Champagne

What it holds

• Lands and rights at Villehardouin (now in the commune of Val-d'Auzon)
• Fiefs held of the count in the castellanies of Troyes and Rosnay (not itemised)
• The office of marshal of Champagne

How it was acquired

Family inheritance; the marshal's office by the count's appointment (1185).

Allies and rivals

The count and the crusade barons; Milo the Brabancon, his fellow envoy.

How things stand that morning

Held. Geoffrey is in Champagne, a crusader preparing the expedition.

Wealth

Modest lands; the profits of office.

Military

Marshal of the count's host.

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 the Compiegne parliamentChosen as one of the six envoys to Venice (with Milo the Brabancon for Theobald); they reach Venice in February 1201 and agree the treaty in April 1201.Depends on: The crusade going ahead under Theobald. Stopped by: Theobald's death before the choice, or the barons' quarrels.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Geoffrey's office is certain; the family's landholding in 1200 is not pinned.

On the map: One commune for the family seat.

Primary sources for Champagne

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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• The Conquest of Constantinople, Robert de Clari, knight of Picardy (about 1205 to 1216). A rank-and-file crusader's account that begins with the preaching of the crusade and the taking of the cross in 1199 to 1200 by the counts of Flanders, Blois and Champagne and by the Picard lords, among them Peter of Amiens, Robert's own lord, then the negotiations with Venice. Read online

3 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.