Gauthier I. de Villebéon

Gauthier I. de Villebéon (also called Gautier de La Chapelle , he himself always drew as Galterus camerarius , * around 1125 probably in Paris; † October 23 or 25, 1205 ), was Seigneur de Villebéon et de La Chapelle en Brie , then through his marriage to Seigneur de Nemours , and for almost 50 years Grand Chamberlain of France of Kings Louis VII and Philip II until his death. He is a member of the Le Riche family .

origin

Gauthier was of simple origin, neither a soldier nor a cleric, and despite his prominent position hardly appears in the chronicles. Alberich von Trois-Fontaines only mentions him with "Fuit nobilior gestis quam genere" ("More noble through his career than through his origins"). The names of his parents are not mentioned in any document, what is known is only that they were buried in the church of Montmartre , it is assumed that the fief of Villebéon comes from his mother. Gauthier had two older siblings, a brother, Etienne de La Chapelle , later Archbishop of Bourges , and a sister, Pétronille, who married Tiboud Le Riche, one of the wealthiest citizens of Paris

Life

Under Louis VII, 1147–1180

Gauthier took part with Urson de Nemours and his only son Hervé in the Second Crusade (1147–1149), where these two died. Gauthier married Aveline, daughter and now heiress of Ursons, although it is unclear whether the marriage was concluded before or after the crusade; in any case, he hurriedly returned from the Holy Land after the death of her relatives to ensure that Aveline's inheritance claims as Dame de Nemours would not be jeopardized.

Upon his return, Gauthier entered the service of the king. He began his career as a subaltern civil servant under Maître-Chambellan Adam, but soon rose to the top: Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis, who directed affairs of state for Louis VII, died in 1151; previously he had advised the king not to rely on the clergy in the future and began to set up a system of secular officials; Ludwig VII continued on this path, Gauthier in his retinue, whom after some time he made his lord of the chamberlain.

Queen Konstanze died in 1160, the so far heirless King Ludwig VII married for the third time, Adela von Champagne (* around 1145) - the Counts of Champagne and Blois, the brothers Heinrich and Theobald , betrothed to two daughters of Ludwig, were his only support against the English under Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine ; when the brothers were in Paris, they lodged in a house of Thibaud le Riches, Gauthier's brother-in-law.

1161 was Étienne de La Chapelle, Gauthier's brother, was elected bishop of Meaux - William of Blois , another brother of the new queen, was dean of the Cathedral of Meaux (it was 1164 Bishop of Chartres ). 1164 married Ludwig's daughter Marie Heinrich von Champagne and Ludwig's daughter Alix Theobald von Blois.

In the same year, Philip, the long-awaited heir to the throne, was born. After his birth, the queen had considerable influence over the king, she managed to get her brother Wilhelm to take over the business of government, who in turn gave Gauthier full power in the Palais de la Cité . Gauthier took advantage of this to accommodate his favorites in the palace, especially the Clément du Mez with Robert III. Clément as the Crown Prince's tutor and pioneer of the family's influence in the first half of the 13th century. Gauthier also made it easier for the most important members of the Parisian bourgeoisie to have access to the Queen, who also relied entirely on the Lord Chamberlain.

At the end of the decade, Maurice de Sully , Bishop of Paris , wanted to appoint Philippe Le Riche, Tiboud's son and hitherto ordinary canon in Paris, archdeacon to please the Chamberlain - against the opposition of the papal legate Pietro da Pavia , who was subsequently made by Pope Alexander III after the intervention of Étienne de La Chapelle, it was informed in writing (July 20, 1169) that Rome supported this person; the appointment took place, the legate succeeded Etienne as Bishop of Meaux in 1171 and as cardinal in 1173. Étienne de La Chapelle became Archbishop of Bourges in 1171, Thomas le Riche, a brother of Philippe le Riches, Vogt of Paris .

1172 was the Chancellor Hugues de Champfleury , Bishop of Soissons , by Ludwig VIII and Alexander III. - against the will of the Archbishop of Reims , a brother of the king - replaced in his state office, the reasons for this being unclear. Gauthier's brother Étienne - the chancellor had to belong to the clergy - failed to succeed because he lost his mind around the same time: he had to retire to the monastery of Saint-Victor , where he died of poisoning in 1174. Gauthier responded to the loss of his most important support by thwarting the appointment of a new chancellor and taking over the management of the chancellery (and the royal seal) himself without the title of chancellor.

Under Philip II, 1180–1205

Gauthier Stern threatened to decline when Ludwig VII withdrew from politics in 1179 after a stroke. Although the Queen took on political responsibility together with her brother Wilhelm, who was meanwhile Archbishop of Reims, she now met resistance from her growing son Philip II , whose tutor Robert Clément and godfather Philip of Flanders himself seized power and Philip even married to a niece of Philip, Isabella von Hainaut . The (now) Queen Mother withdrew from court, the power of the House of Champagne was coming to an end. Gauthier remained Camerarius , but had to hand over the royal seal (and management of the chancellery) to Hugues du Puiset . Robert Clément died in 1181, the disputes in the extended royal family (Champagne, England, Flanders) were settled, and when Le Puiset also died in 1185, Gauthier was able to take over the management of the firm again - and remained so until his death. At this time, the title of Chancellor of France was held by the knight of the order Guérin , who was first mentioned in 1197 in the vicinity of the king.

In March 1190 Queen Isabella died, the heir to the throne was not even three years old, in July Philip II and Richard the Lionheart set out from Vézelay on the Third Crusade . Philipp brought his mother back to the court and handed over the regency to her and her brother Wilhelm, but installed regional councils of Prud'hommes , without whose participation no decision could be made: it can be assumed that the document that regulated this regency, in the office led by Gauthier (in the details also in terms of content). Gauthier himself was one of the few high officials of the kingdom, which did not take part in the crusade, but gave the king his eldest son Philippe in which he had intended as his successor, but just as in the Siege of Acre (1189-1191) died like Theobald von Blois, the brother of the Queen Mother and Seneschal of France - which after the return of the King after an 18-month absence led to the fact that the office of Seneschal was no longer occupied among the grand offices of the French Crown , which was in fact abolished, which Gauthiers did Room for maneuver further increased. At the same time, the office of connétable of France was also vacant, since Raoul le Roux , Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis , had also died before Accons; Not until 1193 was Dreux de Mello appointed a successor in view of the outbreak of war in Normandy . The blank space was filled in by the Marshal of France - the first marshal was the son of the royal tutor Robert Cléments, Albéric Clément (he also died before Acre), the second was his brother Henri I. Clément , who was quickly engaged to a granddaughter of Gauthier who was born in 1191 has been.

In August 1193, King Philipp married Ingeborg of Denmark , daughter of the Danish King Waldemar I , who had no connection with the French ruling class and therefore did not pose a threat to Gauthier. Gauthier's son Etienne, Bishop of Noyon , picked her up from her family and brought her to France. The aversion that Philip II showed to his new wife from their wedding night resulted in Gauthier's order to obtain a divorce. The French clergy were understanding, the Pope was not - in 1196 Étienne had to go to Rome, but had with Celestine III. no success, while Philip II already entered into the next marriage with Agnes-Maria von Andechs-Meranien , which in turn became an interdict for France from January 13, 1200 and the excommunication of the king by the new Pope Innocent III. led; this time another son of Gauthier, Gauthier II. de Villebéon , traveled to Rome to conduct the necessary negotiations with the Pope. The interdict was lifted on September 7, 1200, Agnes died in 1201, and the charge of bigamy was thus eliminated. The divorce from Ingeborg continued, but was never achieved.

Gauthier continued his official business until his death. In 1204 he took part in the siege of Rouen in the war against Johann Ohneland , during which he signed the 30-day armistice, at the end of which was the surrender of the city, which had not been liberated by the English king during this time.

family

Gauthier's fortune had grown considerably in his long life. The lords of Villebéon and La Chapelle had been family property, and Nemours had brought his wife into marriage. In 1198 he was in the possession of the estate of his brother-in-law Tiboud le Riche, who owned numerous properties in Paris but had survived all of his descendants. Gauthier had acquired the Châtellenie de Méréville , the Combs-la-Ville fiefdom , numerous estates in the Brie and Gâtinais , as well as a hundred fiefdoms around his most important residences. In a Partage des biens of 1198 he excluded those of his sons who were in the clerical state and therefore had large benefices , and divided the rest (apart from individual legacies and transfers that had already taken place) into four equal parts, which he gave his survivors Sons Orson, Gauthier and Jean, as well as his grandson Gauthier II. De Nemours, the son of his elder Philippe, who had already died, and did not forget to obtain the consent of the heirs for this arrangement, which was unusual at the time.

His wife Aveline de Nemours died on October 7, 1196. Three or four years later, around 1200, maybe 1198, at least according to his inheritance settlement, he entered into a new marriage. His second wife was called Perseis and was a rich widow from the Gâtinais; her late husband was Aubert de Pithiviers, Sire d' Aschères et de Rougemont. Perseis had two daughters from this marriage, Marguerite and Isabelle, who were married to Gauthier's grandsons, so that their inheritance ultimately increased the assets of the Camerarius family : Marguerite married Gauthier II. De Nemours, Isabelle married Guy de Nemours, Urson's son.

Gauthier died on October 23 or 25, 1205 and was buried in the monastery of Barbeau at the feet of King Louis VII (just as his great-grandson Pierre de Villebéon found his grave in Saint-Denis at the feet of Louis the Saint).

progeny

Gauthier married Aveline de Nemours (* probably 1130/40), heir to Urson, Seigneur de Nemours, and Aveline de Traci. The couple had eight sons:

• Guillaume († probably 1172/74)
• Philippe (I.) de Nemours, (* probably 1150/55, † February 18, 1191 during the siege of Acre), Seigneur de Guercheville ; as chamberlain he went with King Philip II to the Holy Land for the Third Crusade ; ∞ Aveline de Melun (* probably 1155/60, † January 2, 1191), daughter of Joscelin de Melun, Vicomte de Melun, and Alpais
• Gauthier (II.) De Villebéon († in Syria probably November 1219/1220), Seigneur de Nemours, in 1205 Chamberlain of France ; ∞ Elisabeth († 1234, probably on April 5), Dame de Mondreville, buried in Le Jard Abbey
• Étienne de Villebéon († 1222), 1188 Bishop of Noyon
• Pierre II. De la Chapelle , also Pierre de Villebéon († 1219 at the siege of Damiette ), 1208 Bishop of Paris
• Guillaume de Villebéon, († 1221), 1213 Bishop of Meaux
• Urson de Nemours († 1233), chamberlain to the king; ∞ NN, probably the heiress of Méréville
• Jean († probably 1210); ∞ Marie; she married the second marriage before 1213 Ferry (III.) de Palaiseau.

Remarks

1. ↑ The names de Villebéon and de La Chapelle are unhistorical
2. ↑ Richemond (1906)
3. ↑ Villebéon belonged to the Lords of Chevry and came to the Sires du Bignon at the beginning of the 12th century ; Richemond assumes that Villebéon came to Gautier du Bignon as the dowry of a Chevry daughter, whose daughter in turn was the mother of Galterus camerarius , Gauthier was named as the younger son after his maternal grandfather; Cawley suspects that Gauthier's mother was called Ameline: "Miles ... Gaufridus de La Capelata et Amelina mater eius" (Cartulaire du prieuré Saint-Pierre de Néronville, Château-Landon).
4. ↑ La Chapelle en Brie, today La Chapelle-Gauthier , probably owned by his father
5. ↑ Tiboud Le Riche owned extensive property in the Saint-Gervais district in what is now the 4th arrondissement , and rue du Bourg Tibourg reminds of him
6. ^ Probably son of Foulques, Vicomte de Château-Landon , and Biote de Montlhéry (Cawley, Richmond (1907))
7. ↑ In the six-member council for Paris there were at least three citizens who were related to Gauthier or who were dependent on him: his brother-in-law Tiboud le Riche in the first place, then Athon de La Grève and Evroin Le Changeur, who were liable to Gauthier, as well as Robert de Chartres and finally probably Baudouin Bruneau and Nicolas Bocel, closely associated with Tiboud
8. ↑ According to Alberich von Trois-Fontaines ( Historiens de France , Volume 18, p. 769), Aveline de Traci (i.e. Treuzy at Nemours) (* probably 1110/20) was a sister of Renaud de Monfaucon en Berry (since 1662 Villequiers ) and niece of Rainald von Châtillon , Prince of Antioch (Cawley, based on it: her mother was probably NN de Châtillon-sur-Loing )

literature

• André Châtelain, Châteaux forts et féodalité en Ile de France, du XIe au XIIIe siècle , 1983
• Émile Louis Richemond, Un diplome inédit de Philippe-Auguste - Acte de partage des biens du chambellan Gautier fondateur de Nemours , in: Annales de la Société historique et archéologique du Gâtinais , 1906, pp. 1–77 ( online )
• Émile Louis Richemond, Recherches généalogiques sur la famille des seigneurs de Nemours du XIIe au XVe siècle , Volume 1, 1907 ( online ), Volume 2, 1908 ( online )

Web links

• Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Seigneurs de Nemours ( online )