Excerpts from and analysis of "Agreement between Count William V of Aquitaine and Hugh IV of Lusignan" (trans. Susan Reynolds, Jane Martindale and Paul Hyams, based on text ed. Jane Martindale in English Historical Review 84 (1969), 541-8).
Abels, Introduction to the Text. The 'Agreement' is Hugh IV of
Lusignan's partisan account of how he and his lord, William V Count of Poitiers and Duke of Aquitaine, entered into a conventum,
a 'treaty' or 'understanding,' which recognized Hugh's claim to the lands and
castles that had been held by his uncle Joscelin in return for renouncing his
claim to other territories and rights over men ('honors') that had been
held from the count by Hugh's father and other kinsmen. The events
described in the text occurred in Poitou (west central
The Conventum Hugonis is an odd text, a semi-literary
narrative of a dispute between Hugh and his lord William V, Duke of Aquitaine
and Count of Poitiers. What the text reveals is a political landscape in Poitou
in the early eleventh century characterized by shifting political alliances and
fortunes, as the great castellans (the holders of fortresses) struggled with
one another to increase their family holdings at the others' expense and the
count strove to maintain his own power and authority by playing his vassals off
against one another. That Count William continued to claim--and to make good
that claim--the right to license possession of castles represents the continuation
of the old principle of public authority. Both William and Hugh
acknowledged that no fortress could be legitimately held without comital
approval, even it were built on allodial land.
But by the 1020s these fortresses were already being regarded as family
properties by the great nobles of the region. The matter was complicated by the
count's endowing different noble families with partial authority over castles,
forcing them to share control over the fortresses. This was especially true on
the frontiers, where the count feared that a noble might transfer his
loyalty--and the castle--to a neighboring count. The Conventio
reflects the tensions created by the conflict between the count's claim to
control the holding of castles and the expectation of his nobles to inherit the
castles and lands held by their kinsmen.
The power of the castellans depended on their castles and on
the garrisons that held these fortresses for them. The caballari castri,
the 'horsemen of a castle,' served as the castellans' 'muscle' and also as the
guarantors of the convenientae that bound together the nobility in sworn
alliances and agreements. Sometimes to guarantee such an agreement, a
lord would have his 'knights' do homage to another lord. The political
world of the 'Agreement' was a confusion of homages, which eventually led to
the institution of liege homage or solidus homme (primary homage). By the time
of this text charters of homage were including exemption clauses that
bluntly stated that the vassal would serve the named lord before all other men
except the named nobles to whom he had a higher loyalty (salve fidelitate x).
The result was a hierarchy of lords and of lordships that stretched across western Europe from
The oath of fidelity at this time was called a securitas,
and its most critical element was the promise NOT to harm one's lord. It
was secured by an oath and was morally and spiritually binding upon the vassal,
and so not easily renounced. '
The famous Bishop
Fulbert of Chartres's letter to Count William V on the duties of a man to
his lord may well have been related to the dispute between Hugh and the
count. Count William needed to persuade his court of barons that he was
in the right and that Hugh had breached his fealty. Bishop Fulbert's
small treatise may have been ammunition for the count's attack upon Hugh in his
court..
Excerpt of text (paragraph divisions are added for purposes of
referencing the text. Editorial explanations are in square brackets):
[Summary of chapters 1 and 2: To resolve a dispute over the land and castles, Hugh the Chiliarch, viscount of Lusignan, agreed to marry the daughter of his rival and neighbor Ralph, viscount of Thouars. Fearing the alliance between two his mighty subordinates, Count William of the Aquitainians came to Hugh and demanded that he renounce the betrothal, promising him instead the widow and lands of Hugh's uncle Joscelin. "Hugh did what the count ordered and, out of love of the count and fidelity to him, he privately cast the woman off," and when Ralph went to war against Count William, "Hugh, for love of the count, began one with Ralph, and Hugh suffered heavy loss." As it turned out, Hugh ended up getting neither Ralph's daughter or Joscelin's widow or the lands that went with these marriages, and earned instead the enmity of the Thouars family, which outlasted their war against the count.]
(3) When Ralph [viscount of Thouars] died Hugh asked the count to give up to him the land which Ralph had taken away from him. The count said to Hugh: "I shall not make a settlement with Geoffrey the viscount, Ralph's nephew, or with the men of Thouars fortress until I hand over your land to you." None of this happened, but the count went off and made a settlement with viscount Geoffrey and with the men of Thouars, and made no settlement at all with Hugh and Hugh did not get his land And for the misdeeds which Hugh did on the count's behalf, Geoffrey took up the quarrel with Hugh and burned the fortress Mouzeil [held by Hugh], captured Hugh's horsemen and cut off their hands, and did enough other things too. The count in no way helped Hugh or made a good settlement between them, but Hugh is now still without his land and has lost the other land which he had held in peace on the count's behalf. And as Hugh saw that he was not going to have the land he captured forty-three of the best horsemen of Thouars. He ought to have been able to have peace and have his lands secure and justice for the offence and if he had been willing to accept a ransom he could have had 40,000 solidi [sous]. But when the count heard this and should have been delighted, he was upset and sent for Hugh and said to him: "Hand over the men to me." Hugh replied: "Why do you ask that of me, my lord?" All my losses arise from my fidelity to you." The count said: "I am not asking them from you because of your wrongdoing, but because you are mine to do my will. And I shall therefore take the men on these terms: either I shall make a settlement with your lands secured and the wrongdoing compensated, or I shall have the men surrendered to you. Act without doubt in my trust and faith, and if any harm come to you, you can know that I shall make it up to you." Hugh put his trust in God and in the count and surrendered the men to the count by this agreement. Afterwards Hugh got neither the men nor justice and he lost his land.
[Summary of chapters 4-6: Hugh now entered into a complicated and
violent dispute over possession of the
(7) After Aimery's death a great dispute arose between Aimery's son Aimery and Hugh. At that time Hugh came to the count and said to him: "Things are going badly for me now, my lord, because I have none of the property which you have caused me to acquire." The count replied to him: "I shall hold a court assembly with them so that if they do as they ought, well and good, otherwise I shall make over to you the fortress [at Malval] which I have begun." And the fortress was built by the advice of Bernard who up till now had helped Hugh in the dispute. But when the men of Civray saw the heavy demands Hugh made on them, and found them unbearable, they made a settlement with Bernard and handed over the fortress to him. He took it without consulting Hugh. Both Bernard and Aimery were against Hugh in the dispute and he was alone against them. Hugh came to the count and said to him: "My lord, things are very bad with me because the lord whom I have got by your advice has now taken away my property. I beseech and urge you by the faith which a lord owes to his man to aid him: let me have either a proper hearing, or my property as you have pledged me, or return me the hostages which I commended to you: and furthermore help me as you have pledged." But the count did not help at all, nor did he make a settlement with Hugh, nor did he return his hostages, but released them to Bernard. And after that the dispute between Bernard and Aimery and Hugh intensified.
(8) And as Hugh saw that the count was giving him absolutely no aid he went to seek advice from bishop Gerald of Limoges. Gerald and Hugh went off together into the March against Bernard and built a fortress. But the count, who ought to have been helping Hugh, instead seized the fortress from him and set fire to it. He and his son ordered that none of their men were to help Hugh on pain of death. Bernard took counsel with his own men how to do wrong to Hugh. By advice of the count they also accepted a date a fortnight off. During that fortnight the count insisted on a truce between Hugh and Bernard. Three days into the truce the count took Hugh with him in his army to the fortress of Apremont where there was further pleading about the fortress. From there the count travelled to Blaye to hold the court assembly he was due to hold there with count Sancho, and he told Hugh to go with him. Hugh answered "My lord, why do you summon me to go with you? You know how short my truce with Bernard is, and he is already threatening to do me harm." The count said to him: "Don't be afraid about anyone doing anything to you so long as you are with me." He took Hugh on with him by force and against Hugh's will. And while they were still at the assembly Hugh's men heard that Bernard was attacking him and they sent word to Hugh to come Hugh said to count: "Bernard is attacking me." And the count said: "Don't be afraid of him or anyone else attacking you. What is more, should they attack, I will come to your assistance and scatter them." In that very hour the count sent orders by his men and sent Hugh on ahead and followed after him. When Hugh came to Lusignan, Bernard was at the fortress of Confolens and had taken the burgum and barrium and set fire to everything, after taking plunder and prisoners and doing plenty of other bad things. A messenger rushed to Hugh and said to him: "Bernard has got your wife besieged in the old fortress, which hasn't been burnt yet." Hugh came to the count and said to him: "Now help me, my lord, because now my wife is being besieged." The count gave him neither help nor counsel. And by the time Bernard withdrew he and his men had done such evil to Hugh and his men that 50,000 s. cannot cover it. And Hugh suffered this loss within the truce which the count had arranged for him at Blaye.
(12) Hugh surrendered the fortress [of Gencay] to the count against the wishes of his men on such terms that Aimery was not to have it unless Hugh was consulted and suffered no harm. Hugh received his fee in pledge, after hearing these untrustworthy words, and the count gave it to him on condition that if he was misleading Hugh over the agreement, he would not owe him service for Gencay in future. And he released him from the oaths so that he would no longer do anything for him on their account, but without any ill will. The count did surrender Gencay without consulting Hugh and received money and domain land. Hugh did suffer damages from men killed and houses burned and plunderings and lands being seized and many injuries which in truth he cannot count. After the period was over, the count gave Hugh a day and promised to give him a benefice, either from what was Hugh's right or from something else acceptable to him. The day came and went and he did nothing for Hugh, but sent word to him: "Don't expect me to do anything for you. And if all the world were mine I would not give you what I could lift with my finger."
(13) When Hugh heard this, he went to the count's court and put his case before him about his right, but it did him no good. Hugh was enraged and broke off faith with the count, saving the count's city and person, in the hearing of all. Before Hugh or his men had done any damage, the count's men seized the benefice of Hugh's men in the name of war. When Hugh saw this, he went to the fortress of Chize which had belonged to his uncle and which Peter was holding unjustly to Hugh's loss. He captured the tower and threw out Peter's men. Hugh did this because he thought he had the right, because the tower had been his father's or some other kinsmen's and he had lost it. When the count heard about it, he was most enraged and sent orders to Hugh to give him the tower which he had stolen from Peter. Hugh told the count that he should give up to Hugh his father's honour and the other things which belonged to his kinsmen and to which he had right, and he would surrender to the count the tower and all that he had taken inside it, and all Joscelin's honour which the count had given him. The count gave this due consideration and they entered negotiations. The count said to Hugh: "I shall not hand over to you the honours you demand of me, but I shall make a gift to you of the honour which belonged to your uncle -- the fortress, the tower, and the whole honour -- on condition that you will no longer demand the honour which belonged to your father or your other kinsmen, nor anything else you demand as your right."
(14) When he heard this Hugh was very suspicious of the count, because he had often deceived him maliciously in the past. He said to the count: "I dare not do this, because I fear that you threaten wrong to me as you have done on many other matters." The count said to Hugh: "I shall give you such guarantees that you will not distrust me in future." Hugh said to him: "What guarantees?" The count said: "I shall produce a serf to undergo the ordeal for you, so that you cannot doubt but that the settlement we have made between ourselves shall be good and firm. And no further loss shall come to you from all the affairs which have taken place in the past, but the agreement will be firmly maintained without any trickery." When Hugh heard the count talking this way, he said: "You are my lord; I shall not take a guarantee from you, but put myself only in the mercy of the Lord and in your service" The count said to Hugh: "Give up all the plaints you have brought against me in the past, and swear fidelity to me and to my son, and I shall give you your uncle's honour or something in exchange of equal value to you." And Hugh said: "My lord, I pray you by God and by this holy cross which is made in the image of Christ, that, if you and your son in future wish to threaten me, you will not have it done to me in an underhand fashion." The count said: "I shall do this on my faith, and my son too, without trickery." Hugh said: "And once I have have sworn fidelity, you may [at some stage] require the fortress of Chizé from me, and if I do not surrender it to you, you may say that it is unjust of me to deny you the fortress which I have from you; and if I hand it over to you, you and your son will take it away from me because you have made me no guarantee except before God and at your mercy." The count said: "We shall not do that. And if we do demand it from you, don't give it up to us."
(15) They received Hugh as their man in faith and trust on the strength of
the agreement as it was finally pronounced, that the count and his son would
bear faith to Hugh without trickery. And they made Hugh renounce all that he
had demanded from them in the past. And he swore fidelity to them and they gave
him the honour of Joscelin his uncle as he had held it one year before he died.
THIS IS THE END OF THE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE COUNT AND HUGH
Translation by Paul Hyams of
This text is listed as part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Paul Halsall Jan 1996
halsall@murray.fordham.edu