A royal market town and fortress on the Paris to Orleans road, with the great quatrefoil keep of Guinette.
Philip abolished its commune in 1199 at the complaint of the churches and the knights, so on 1 January 1200 the town is back under the prevot. From 1201 Ingeborg is held in the castle.
Who holds it
- Name
- Philip II
- Title
- Lord
- Since
- Capetian demesne
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
The king, through his prevot.
Allies and rivals
The chapters of Notre-Dame and Sainte-Croix against the former commune.
How things stand that morning
Under the prevot after the suppression of the commune.
Wealth
Grain and road tolls.
Military
Royal castle.
Threats
- Townsmen resentful at the loss of the commune.
Charter
The commune (granted by Louis VII) was abolished by Philip in 1199.
Council
None since the abolition.
Communities
Jews readmitted after 1198; the collegiate church of Sainte-Croix was founded in 1183 on the site of the synagogue confiscated in 1182.
Fairs and markets
Grain market of the Beauce [fair dates not pinned].
Militia
Owes sergeants to the host as a royal town.
Walls and castle
The Guinette keep and royal castle; town walls.
Trade and crafts
Grain, mills on the Juine and Chalouette, tanning; a royal coin of Etampes.
Places of note
- Guinette: Royal keep.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1199 abolition is in the king's acts.
Primary sources for France (royal)
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 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
- 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
- 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
- Flowers of History, Roger of Wendover (about 1220 to 1235 at St Albans). For 1200 Wendover is mostly Howden rewritten, so he is a second witness only where he adds St Albans material: a long account of Hugh of Lincoln's last months, death and funeral, and anecdotes about John's conduct toward the Cistercians and his new queen. Read online
15 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.