Vouvant

Who he is

Name

Geoffrey of Lusignan (Geoffroy Ier de Lusignan)

Title

Lord of Vouvant and Mervent; count of Jaffa and Ascalon (title from the crusade)

Since

not pinned (Vouvant and Mervent through his wife, Eustachie Chabot)

Born

before 1150

Family

Brother of the late King Guy and of Aimery, king of Cyprus and of Jerusalem; uncle of Hugh IX and Ralph of Exoudun. Son Geoffrey the younger, later viscount of Chatellerault by marriage. Dies 1216.

Confidence

medium

fr.wikipedia (Hugues IX) names him lord of Vouvant and Mervent; the Chabot marriage is the usual account and was not re-checked.

Overlord

Eleanor as countess of Poitou

What it holds

• Castle of Vouvant
• Castle of Mervent and the forest between them

How it was acquired

By marriage (not dated here).

Allies and rivals

Allied to his nephews Hugh IX and Ralph; in 1202 he fought for Arthur at Mirebeau.

How things stand that morning

Holds Vouvant and Mervent; his position in the quarrels of 1199 is not pinned.

Wealth

Forest rights, tolls on the road from Fontenay to Parthenay; no figures.

Military

Two strong forest castles; crusading reputation.

Threats

• John's suspicion of the whole Lusignan kin

Places of note

• Moncontour: Lusignan castle in northern Poitou; whether Geoffrey held it in 1200 is not pinned

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Lordship confirmed by fr.wikipedia; his 1199-1200 movements are not documented here.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Angevin lands

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
• 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
• Chronicles of the Churches of Anjou (Saint-Aubin, Saint-Serge, Saint-Florent and others), Various (monks of Angers and the Loire) (11th to 13th centuries; the Saint-Aubin annals run to the 1220s). The Angevin houses' own annals of the succession crisis in their city: Arthur received at Angers in 1199 with Constance and the Breton and Angevin barons, John's counter-moves, the defection of William des Roches and the Angevin lords to John, and the peace of 1200 that left Arthur John's vassal. 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
• Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
• Chronicle; Deeds of the Kings, Gervase of Canterbury (Chronica about 1188 to 1199; Gesta Regum about 1199 to 1210). The Chronica stops in 1199, so for 1200 the witness is the briefer Gesta Regum, which notes John's peace with Philip, the coronation of Isabella at Westminster on 8 October 1200, and matters touching Canterbury: the archbishop Hubert Walter as chancellor, the cathedral priory's quarrel with him, and the Lambeth college dispute lately settled by the pope. Read online
• English Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall, Ralph of Coggeshall (about 1200 to 1224, in stages). Short but independent entries for 1200 from a Cistercian house in Essex: John's levy on the Cistercians and the carucage, the peace with Philip, the king's new marriage and the queen's coronation, and the death of Hugh of Lincoln. Read online

14 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.