The metropolitan city of Gascony, on a hill above the Gers, seat of an archbishop whose province covers every Gascon see from Bayonne to Couserans, and old seat of the counts of Fezensac.
Archbishop and count share the city and quarrel over it.
Who holds it
- Name
- The archbishop of Auch (name thin: a Bernard is attested in 1201) and Count Gerald IV
- Title
- Lords of the city: the archbishop of Auch and the count of Armagnac and Fezensac
- Confidence
- low
The division of the city between archbishop and count in 1200 is not pinned.
Lord in 1200
Shared: the archbishop holds the cathedral hill of Sainte-Marie and his part of the city; the count of Armagnac and Fezensac holds the comital rights and castle (shares not pinned).
Overlord
The duke of Aquitaine over the count; the archbishop is metropolitan of all Gascony.
How things stand that morning
Shared and quarrelsome; in the ducal sphere.
Wealth
Archiepiscopal revenues, market tolls.
Military
Walls of the upper town.
Threats
- Disputes between the archbishop and the count
Charter
Not pinned for 1200.
Council
Not pinned (consuls appear later).
Walls and castle
Upper town walled round the cathedral; the count's castle (not pinned).
Trade and crafts
Market for the grain, wine and cattle of the Gascon hills; the road from Toulouse to Bayonne.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign notes leave the archbishop of Auch unnamed ('BERNARD attested in 1201, thin'); we found nothing firmer.
Evidence: General; no dated act of 1199-1200 consulted.
On the map: City and nearest parishes.
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.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.