City · Lands of John and Eleanor · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Tours

The metropolis of a church province that spans John's Anjou and Maine and Arthur's Brittany, and the greatest pilgrimage town of the west.

Arthur was invested here in April 1199 and French troops were here in the summer; by the winter the count's side is John's again.

Who holds it

Name
John; Archbishop Bartholomew (of Vendôme); the chapter of Saint-Martin
Title
Count (John) and archbishop in the Cité; chapter of Saint-Martin, under the king of France as abbot, in Châteauneuf
Confidence
medium

Garrison that winter not pinned.

Lord in 1200

Two towns side by side. The Cité around the cathedral belongs to the archbishop, Bartholomew (since 1174), and to the count of Anjou, whose castle stands by the Loire. Châteauneuf, the walled burg around Saint-Martin's tomb, belongs to the chapter of Saint-Martin, whose abbot is the king of France: Philip Augustus has lawful rights inside John's chief Touraine city.

How things stand that morning

The Cité and castle John's as far as known (a French garrison of 1199 is not known to remain); Châteauneuf under the chapter and Philip as abbot.

Charter

No commune. The burgesses of Châteauneuf have repeatedly sworn communes against the canons of Saint-Martin (in 1122 and several times since) and been put down.

Council

None recognised.

Communities

Jews attested at Tours in the twelfth century; not pinned for 1200.

Fairs and markets

Not pinned (pilgrim fairs at Saint-Martin's feasts are likely).

Militia

The burgesses of Châteauneuf have fought the canons in their commune risings; no militia in royal war recorded.

Walls and castle

The Roman wall of the Cité with the cathedral and the count's castle; the tenth-century wall of Châteauneuf; the abbey of Marmoutier across the Loire.

Trade and crafts

The tournois penny, struck under the abbey of Saint-Martin; Loire trade, wine, pilgrim trade, the Loire bridge.

Where the sources disagree

  • campaign notes leave the archbishop's allegiance not pinned; nothing found to settle it.

Evidence: Institutions well known; garrisons of 1199-1200 not pinned.

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

  1. Weapons and Warfare: When Richard died in April 1199

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.