Flanders and Hainaut

Who rules

Name

Baldwin IX of Flanders, VI of Hainaut (Baudouin, Boudewijn)

Title

Count of Flanders (as Baldwin IX) and count of Hainaut (as Baldwin VI); overlord of the marquisate of Namur

Since

Flanders from the death of his mother Margaret in November 1194; Hainaut from the death of his father Baldwin V on 17 December 1195

Born

July 1172 at Valenciennes, so 27 years old on 1 January 1200

Family

House of Flanders, Hainaut line. Son of Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders) and Margaret I of Flanders, heiress of the house of Alsace. Brother of the late Queen Isabella of Hainaut (died 1190), so maternal uncle of Prince Louis of France, for whom the king holds Artois.

Confidence

high

English and French Wikipedia lives of Baldwin; Gislebert of Mons for the family to 1195. Birth year given as 1171 by some, July 1172 by most.

Overlord

Philip II of France for crown Flanders (west of the Scheldt). The emperor for imperial Flanders (the Land of Aalst, the Four Ambachten, Waas and the Zeeland islands) and for Hainaut, which is also held of the bishop of Liege. The German throne itself is disputed between Philip of Swabia and Otto IV.

What the realm holds

• Crown Flanders west of the Scheldt: the castellanies of Bruges (with the Franc of Bruges), Ghent, Ypres, Kortrijk, Oudenaarde, Dixmude, Veurne, Bergues, Bourbourg, Cassel, Lille, Douai and Orchies (the southern and coastal castellanies are the dower of the dowager Matilda of Portugal, see Dowager Matilda)
• Imperial Flanders east of the Scheldt: the Land of Aalst with Geraardsbergen and Ninove, the Land of Waas, the Four Ambachten; overlordship of Zeeland west of the Scheldt, shared with the count of Holland
• Saint-Omer and Aire, taken by force in 1198 from the king's Artois and held by conquest (confirmed to him on 2 January 1200)
• The county of Hainaut (imperial): Mons, Valenciennes, Binche, Maubeuge, Le Quesnoy, Ath, Beaumont and the Ostrevant with Bouchain
• Overlordship of the marquisate of Namur, held of Hainaut by his brother Philip
• The great household offices and the provostship of Saint-Donatian at Bruges, which carries the chancellorship of Flanders
• The advocacy (protection and part of the justice) of the great Flemish abbeys, and the count's tolls, mints, forests, wastes and new polders along the coast

Threats

• The king holds the rest of Artois for Prince Louis and will claim more if Louis dies or Baldwin fails in his service
• The dowager Matilda's dower ties up a large part of southern and coastal Flanders for her lifetime
• John's alliance is worth little once John makes his own peace (Le Goulet, May 1200)
• The towns are rich, armed and self-governing; the count needs their consent for war money
• Imperial politics: the disputed German throne, Brabant and Liege on the eastern border, Theobald of Bar's claim to Namur (settled at Dinant in July 1199)
• A crusade will take the count, his brother Henry and many barons away for years, leaving a woman and small children

Consort

Marie of Champagne, born about 1174 (about 25), married in 1186 (the wedding at Chateau-Thierry, the feast at Valenciennes). Daughter of Henry I the Liberal of Champagne and Marie of France, so sister of Theobald III of Champagne, half-niece of both Philip Augustus and John, and a granddaughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Heirs and children

No son. A daughter, Joan (Jeanne), is born about 1199-1200: her exact date is unknown, and whether she is born by 1 January 1200 is not pinned (she was a little child of about two when Baldwin left in April 1202). A second daughter, Margaret, is not yet conceived; she is born in 1202. Heir presumptive if there is no living child: his brother Philip of Namur.

Brothers and sisters

Philip the Noble (born 1175, 24), marquis of Namur as Baldwin's vassal (see Namur); he was a prisoner of Philip Augustus in July 1199 and may still be one on 1 January 1200 (not pinned). Henry (born about 1176, about 23), landless, later Latin emperor. Eustace, the youngest, landless. Sisters: Yolanda (married 1193 to Peter of Courtenay), Sibylla (married to Guichard IV of Beaujeu). The late Isabella was Philip Augustus's first queen and mother of Prince Louis.

An illegitimate uncle, William 'the Uncle', son of Baldwin IV of Hainaut, is a close counsellor.

Officers 1 january in 1200

Chancellor: Gerard of Alsace, provost of Saint-Donatian at Bruges, a natural son of Count Thierry and so Baldwin's half-uncle; the provostship carries the chancellorship of Flanders, and Gerard also heads Baldwin's Hainaut chancery. Seneschal of Flanders: the hereditary office of the house of Wavrin (the holder that morning not pinned here). The other great Flemish offices (butler, chamberlain, constable) are hereditary in baronial houses; their holders on 1 January 1200 are not pinned here.

In each Flemish castellany a castellan holds the castle by inheritance, while the count's salaried bailiffs, brought in by Philip of Alsace, do his justice and collect his revenues. In Hainaut: Robert of Jemappes, bailiff of Hainaut and member of the count's court at Valenciennes; William the Uncle, the count's illegitimate uncle and adviser (bailiff of Hainaut in 1202); the peers of Hainaut, of whom Walter of Avesnes and Alard of Chimay are the count's closest allies. Gislebert of Mons, chancellor of Hainaut under Baldwin V, now works mostly for Philip at Namur.

Court that winter

Baldwin is at or on the road to Peronne, the king's town on the Somme, where he seals the peace with Philip Augustus on 2 January 1200. His usual seats are Bruges, Ghent (the Gravensteen), Lille, Valenciennes (the Salle-le-Comte, where he was born) and Mons.

Treaties and wars

1191, treaty of Arras: on the death of Philip of Alsace, Baldwin's father had to accept that the king kept the dowry of Queen Isabella (Arras, Saint-Omer, Aire, Hesdin, Bapaume, Lens and the homage of Boulogne, Guines and Saint-Pol), to be held for Prince Louis, and that the widow Matilda kept a large dower. 1196: Baldwin did homage to Philip Augustus at Compiegne. 1196-1197: he turned to Richard: an alliance sealed at Rouen in September 1196 and renewed at Les Andelys in 1197, each side swearing to make no separate peace.

1197: he besieged Arras; when Philip invaded Flanders the Flemings cut the roads and let in the water along the Yser, and the king had to treat to get his army out. 1198: Baldwin took Aire and, after a siege, Saint-Omer. 1199: after Richard's death (6 April 1199) he renewed the alliance with John. In July 1199, with his brother Philip a prisoner of the French king, he ended the Namur war by the treaty of Dinant (26 July 1199) with Theobald I of Bar, ceding Namur's lands on the right bank of the Meuse.

In 1199 he also legislated against usury in Flanders. By the end of 1199 he has opened talks with Philip, which end at Peronne on 2 January 1200. No fighting on the Artois border is recorded after the 1198 campaign, so no raiding belt is drawn for the winter of 1199-1200.

Rome and the interdict

The interdict decreed by the legate Peter Capuano at Dijon in December 1199 falls on the king's own lands. It will touch royal Artois (Arras, Bapaume, Lens, Hesdin) and the king's commune of Tournai, but not the count's Flanders, Hainaut or Namur, which are not the king's demesne. The Flemish sees (Arras, Therouanne, Tournai) and Cambrai belong to the province of Reims, whose archbishop William is the king's uncle. Baldwin stands well with Rome: he is about to take the cross.

The crusade fortieth ordered at the end of December 1199 will fall on the rich Flemish and Hainaut abbeys.

Crusade

Not yet. Baldwin and Marie take the cross together at Saint-Donatian in Bruges on Ash Wednesday, 23 February 1200, with his brother Henry and many Flemish and Hainaut barons. His brother-in-law Theobald III of Champagne was chosen to lead at Ecry on 28 November 1199, and his uncle by marriage Hugh IV of Saint-Pol is among the first crusaders.

Coinage

The count strikes his own silver pennies at Flemish mints and the count of Hainaut strikes the penny of Valenciennes; the Arras penny passed to the king with Artois in 1191. Details for 1200 are thin.

The host

The count's host of Flemish and Hainaut knights, summoned through the castellanies and the peers of Hainaut; the militias of the great towns, which serve under their own banners; the coastal levies of the maritime castellanies; and Brabancon mercenaries, recruited on the count's own borders. The Flemish know how to defend the low country by cutting bridges and flooding the land, as Philip learned in 1197. No numbers are recorded.

Trade

Cloth made from English wool in Ghent, Ypres, Douai, Lille, Bruges, Arras and Saint-Omer is the wealth of Flanders. The Flemish merchants trade to England through the Flemish Hanse of London and to Champagne through the fairs, along the road that runs through the king's Artois (the Bapaume toll). The count's own fair cycle (Ypres, Lille, Messines, Torhout and Bruges) moves the cloth through the year. Bruges reaches the sea through the Zwin and its new outport of Damme (about 1180).

The dependence on English wool is the reason the count looks to England.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 2 January 1200Treaty of Peronne. Baldwin does homage to Philip. The king accepts that Baldwin keeps Saint-Omer and Aire and the homage of the fiefs of Guines, Ardres, Lillers, Richebourg and La Gorgue, with the advocate of Bethune's lands beyond the ditch, and drops his claims over Mortagne. The king keeps Arras, Bapaume, Lens and Hesdin, and the homage of Boulogne, Saint-Pol and Bethune. If Prince Louis dies without an heir, Artois returns to Flanders. The release of Philip of Namur, if he is still held, belongs with this peace (not pinned).Depends on: Both sides keeping to the terms already agreed; Baldwin choosing the king over John. Stopped by: A better offer from John, a breakdown over the castles, or an attack by either side in the night.
2. 23 February 1200 (Ash Wednesday)Baldwin and Marie take the cross at Saint-Donatian in Bruges, with Henry of Flanders and many barons.Depends on: Peace with the king; the preaching of the crusade in Flanders. Stopped by: Renewed war, or a quarrel with the king over the Peronne terms.
3. 22 May 1200At Le Goulet John accepts that the counts of Flanders and Boulogne are the French king's vassals and promises not to back them against him. The Angevin alliance is over.Depends on: John and Philip both willing to settle. Stopped by: If Le Goulet fails, Baldwin could again be courted by John.
4. 28 July 1200At the castle of Mons, as count of Hainaut, Baldwin issues the two general charters of Hainaut, one on fiefs and inheritance, one on the peace and criminal law, sealed by himself, William the Uncle, Philip the Noble, Walter of Avesnes, Alard of Chimay and probably Henry of Hainaut, with dozens of Hainaut nobles as witnesses.Depends on: Peace and the count's presence in Hainaut. Stopped by: War or absence.
5. 1200-1201Crusade preparations: envoys of Baldwin, Theobald and Louis of Blois go to Venice in early 1201 to hire a fleet; Baldwin leaves on 14 April 1202.Depends on: Peace in the west and money from the towns. Stopped by: A new war with the king or with Hainaut's neighbours.
6. during 1200, not pinnedBirth of Joan, if she is not yet born on 1 January.Depends on: Nature. Stopped by: Nothing in play.

Places of note

• Saint-Donatian, Bruges (the count's chapel and chancery): Where the count takes the cross on 23 February 1200
• Gravensteen, Ghent: The count's castle, rebuilt in stone by Philip of Alsace in 1180
• Salle-le-Comte, Valenciennes: The counts of Hainaut's palace, Baldwin's birthplace
• Peronne: The king's town where the peace is sealed on 2 January 1200

Where the sources disagree

• The campaign notes (Part 6 A) are consistent with this record on the Flemish sees: Tournai under Stephen of Tournai, Cambrai under Peter of Corbeil, in the province of Reims. They do not discuss the Flemish war.
• French Wikipedia (Comte d'Artois) dates the first Anglo-Flemish treaty to Rouen, September 1196, renewed at Les Andelys in 1197; many English accounts give only 1197. Not decisive for 1 January 1200.

Evidence: Baldwin's war and peace are well recorded by Rigord, William the Breton, Roger of Howden and Gislebert of Mons, and the Peronne treaty survives. The household officers on the morning of 1 January and his daughter's birth date are thin.

On the map: The realm is drawn through its lord records: the count's Flanders (Flanders (count)), the dowager's dower (Dowager Matilda), Hainaut (Hainaut), Namur (Namur) and the Flemish vassals.

Primary sources for this realm

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 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
• 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
• Annals of Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. 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
• 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
• History of the Dukes of Normandy and the Kings of England, Anonymous of Bethune (a clerk in the household of Robert VII of Bethune) (about 1220). A Flemish lord's clerk writing twenty years on, with a soldier's interest in who fought whom. 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

4 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.