Meaux, the old capital of the Brie on a loop of the Marne, is the one town of the county with a sworn commune before 1200, granted by Henry the Liberal in 1179.
The episcopal city on the north bank faces the Market (the Marche) on the peninsula across the river, the count's fortified quarter.
Who holds it
- Name
- Theobald III, count of Champagne (count of Meaux), with Bishop Anseau of Meaux; John of Montmirail is viscount
- Title
- Lords of the city
- Confidence
- high
The counts of Champagne hold Meaux since the tenth century; Count Henry I granted the commune in 1179 (Flags of the World, after local histories).
Lord in 1200
Count Theobald III as count of Meaux, beside Bishop Anseau (bishop from 1196 or 1197 until his death on 8 June 1207, a jurist and envoy of Philip Augustus) and the viscount John of Montmirail; the commune governs the townsmen under the count.
How things stand that morning
At peace under count, bishop and commune.
Threats
- Quarrels between commune and bishop
Charter
Commune granted by Count Henry I in 1179. Its officers (mayor and jures on the pattern of Soissons) are not checked here.
Council
Commune officers under the count (detail not pinned).
Communities
The cathedral chapter; Jews (not detailed); the canons of Notre-Dame de Chaage.
Fairs and markets
Markets on the Marche; not one of the six fairs.
Militia
The commune's men owe the count service (not detailed).
Walls and castle
The walled episcopal city and the fortified Marche across the Marne (the Cornillon canal is first attested in 1235).
Trade and crafts
Marne river traffic and grain of the Brie; mills on the Marne.
Places of note
- The Marche of Meaux: The count's fortified quarter on the Marne peninsula.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1179 commune is attested; its constitution is not checked here. Bishop's dates from the French Wikipedia list of the bishops of Meaux.
On the map: Approximate banlieue of the commune.
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.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.