Le Puy

Who holds it

Name

Bertrand of Chalencon, bishop of Le Puy

Title

Lord of the town and count of Velay

Since

1198

Confidence

medium

Lord in 1200

The bishop, lord of the town and, since Louis VII took the county from William of Auvergne in 1162 and gave it to the bishop, count of the Velay. The see is exempt, subject directly to Rome. The viscounts of Polignac share the tolls.

How things stand that morning

Episcopal city and county. The Gevaudan to the south-west and the Vivarais to the east lie beyond the Velay.

Charter

No recognised commune or consulate on 1 January 1200 that the sources show.

Council

None recognised.

Communities

Cathedral chapter of Notre-Dame; the chapel of Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe on its needle of rock.

Fairs and markets

Pilgrim feasts of the Annunciation; fairs not pinned.

Militia

Not pinned. The town bred the Capuchonnes, the peace confraternity born at Le Puy in 1183 that fought the routiers.

Walls and castle

The cathedral close and the old enclosure; the great town walls are built later, between 1220 and 1240.

Trade and crafts

The great Marian pilgrimage to the Black Virgin and the start of the road to Compostela; a royal grant let the bishop levy thirteen deniers on each load entering the town: five for the bishop, three for the church, five for the viscount of Polignac (year not pinned).

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: 1162, 1183 and the walls from fr.wikipedia; the bishop's name from the campaign notes and the fr.wikipedia list.

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.