A comital chancellor at the dawn of the thirteenth century: Gislebert of Mons and the making of the feudal and penal charters of Hainault (July 1200)

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1 1 A comital chancellor at the dawn of the thirteenth century: Gislebert of Mons and the making of the feudal and penal charters of Hainault (July 1200) Draft paper Following in the footsteps of Michael Clanchy, French historiography often describes the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as a time of documentary revolution. 1 It is well known, indeed, that, in the Latin West, these two centuries were marked by a growing use of the written word, an increase of charter production, and a diversification of the documentary typology. 2 In such a context, the lay aristocracy became more conscious of the political, administrative, and legal potentialities of the written word to say nothing of the royal and comital literary patronages, the princely libraries, or the lyric poetry composed by lay lords. 3 The high aristocracy at first, and then the second- and third-rank nobles, gradually incorporated the use of writing in their governance in northern France and Empire 4. These evolutions constituted a crucial factor in the emergence of centralized and bureaucratic forms of government. As well as so many other principalities, the county of Hainault experienced this process in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The rulers of this powerful border county became more and more familiar with the written word from the end of the eleventh 1. Michael T. Clanchy, From memory to written record : England, , 3 rd ed., Oxford, 2003; François Menant, Les transformations de l écrit documentaire entre le XII e et le XIII e siècle, in Écrire, compter, mesurer. Vers une histoire des rationalités pratiques, ed. id., Natacha Coquery, and Florence Weber, Paris, 2006, 33 50; Pierre Chastang, L archéologie du texte médiéval. Autour de travaux récents sur l écrit au Moyen Âge, in Annales. Histoire, Sciences sociales, 63 (2008), ; Paul Bertrand, À propos de la révolution de l écrit (X e -XIII e siècle). Considérations inactuelles, in Médiévales, 56 (2009), See, particularly, Paul Bertrand, Les écritures ordinaires. Sociologie d un temps de revolution documentaire (entre royaume de France et Empire, ), Paris, 2015 (Histoire ancienne et médiévale). 3. See, for instance, Martin Aurell, Le chevalier lettré. Savoir et conduite de l aristocratie aux XII e et XIII e siècles, Paris, 2011; Theodore Evergates, Henry the Liberal: Count of Champagne, , Philadelphia, 2016, 86 99, , and ; Florian Mazel, La compétition chevaleresque dans la poésie de langue d oc (XII e XIII e siècles), in Agôn. La compétition, V e XII e siècle, ed. François Bougard et al., Turnhout, 2012, ; Nicolas Ruffini-Ronzani, The Knight, the Lady, and the Poet: Understanding Huon of Oisy s Tournoiement des dames (c ),, in Noble warriors or warring nobles? The complications of knightly identity in the High Middle Ages, ed. Jeroen Deploige and David Crouch, Leuven, 2017, forthcoming. 4. On the use of writing by the second- and third-rank nobles, see Jean-François Nieus, Des seigneurs sans chancellerie? Pratiques de l écrit documentaire chez les comtes et les barons du nord de la France aux XII e - XIII e siècles,, in Bulletin de la Commission royale d histoire, 176 (2010), p , and Roman Zehetmayer, Urkunde und Adel. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Schriftlichkeit im Südosten des Reichs zur 11. bis zum frühen 14. Jahrhundert, Wien München, 2010.

2 2 century. 5 After a period of political instability in the 1120s due to the accidental death of Baldwin III ( ), 6 charter production grew continuously under the reigns of Baldwin IV ( ), Baldwin V ( ), and Baldwin VI ( /1206) (fig. 1). It seems beyond reasonable doubt, that a chancery, in the full sense of the word, 7 was constituted in Hainault towards Gislebert, the provost of St German in Mons, was the key player in the development of the comital administration in Hainault (and in Namur) in the last third of the twelfth century. He played, therefore, an essential role in the building of principality of Hainault, at a time when the counts became the most powerful rulers between France and Empire. In what follows, by using both diplomatic evidence, written laws, and narrative sources, I will interrogate the role and the function of a princely chancellor at a time when the documentary revolution was at its zenith. The first part of the paper will give the outlines of the history of Hainault at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Building on the works of Walter Prevenier, Gabriel Wymans, and Els De Parmentier, the paper s second section will examine Gislebert s role in the intellectual and material production of comital charters in Hainault. 9 I will be particularly interested in the emergence of new diplomatic forms at the comital chancery. I will then focus my attention on two documents which were probably written by or, at least, under the supervision of Gislebert in July 1200: the feudal and penal charters of Hainaut. These famous, but paradoxically poorly-studied, charters are often described as the oldest written laws produced by a prince in the Belgian area during the Middle Ages. 10 My aim is to get a better understanding of their making, as they are revealing of the development of institutional government in Hainault at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The study of these documents will show that Gislebert remained a key player in Hainault after the decease of Count Baldwin V, even if his role in the 5. Count Baldwin II ( 1098) was the first ruler of Hainault to use an equestrian seal by the middle of the 1080s. See René Laurent, Les sceaux des princes territoriaux belges du X e siècle à 1482, Brussels, 1993, vol. 1, 356, and vol. 2, pl On the early spread of aristocratic seal practice, see Jean-François Nieus, Early Aristocratic Seals: An Anglo-Norman Success Story, Anglo-Norman Studies 28 (2016): Charles Dereine, Emmissa de Valenciennes dite la Comtesse ( ): contribution à l étude des Ribemont-Bouchain, in Bulletin de la Commission royale d histoire, 147 (1981), For a more nuanced definition of the concept of chancery, see Nieus, Des seigneurs sans chancellerie?, Walter Prevenier (ed.), De oorkonden der graven van Vlaanderen (1191-aanvang 1206), vol. 1, Brussels, 1964, ; id., La chancellerie des comtes de Flandre dans le cadre européen à la fin du XII e siècle, in Bibliothèque de l École des chartes, 125 (1967), p ; Thérèse de Hemptinne, La chancellerie comtale (avant l époque bourguignonne), in Les institutions publiques régionales et locales en Hainaut et Tournai/Tournaisis sous l Ancien Régime, ed. Bernard Desmaele, Jean-Marie-Cauchies, and Florian Mariage, Brussels, 2009, Prevenier, De oorkonden, ; id., Chancellerie des comtes de Flandre, 34 93; de Hemptinne, Chancellerie comtale, ; Gabriel Wymans, Per manum Gilleberti, in Scriptorium, 33 (1979), 17 24; Els De Paermentier, La chancellerie comtale en Flandre et en Hainaut sous Baudouin VI/IX ( ) et pendant la régence de Philippe I er de Namur, in Bulletin de la Commission royale d histoire 176 (2010), Jean-Marie Cauchies, Coutume et législation en Hainaut du XII e au XVI e siècle, in Recueil d études d histoire hainuyère offertes à Maurice A. Arnould, ed. id. and Jean-Marie Duvosquel, vol. 2, Mons, 1983, 11.

3 3 princes entourage became less visible than before. This case study will therefore provide an opportunity to consider more closely the role of the chancellors in the emergence of institutionalised forms of government in northern Europe. 1. An unfinished success-story: Hainault at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries The history of the counts of Hainault in the second half of the twelfth century could be described as a success-story. Thanks to their matrimonial strategies, they became the most powerful lords in Lotharingia towards After several years of negotiations, Baldwin V inherited the county of Namur in 1190 by the right of his mother, Alice (fig. 2). As the two marriages of the Flemish count Philip of Alsace remained infertile, Baldwin V who had married Philip s sister became also the only heir to the county of Flanders after the count s death in the Third Crusade ( 1191). Consequently, Baldwin V and his son Baldwin VI were at the head of three major principalities located at the border of France at the beginning of the 1190s (fig. 3). 11 In such a context they were often able to put their own candidates on the episcopal sees of Cambrai and Liège, two vast and wealthy dioceses. 12 In sum, the political influence of the counts of Hainault was at its height at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. These events are well known, thanks to the Chronicle of Hainault (Chronicon Hanoniense) written soon after the decease of Baldwin V. 13 This masterpiece recounts in detail the history of the princes of Hainaut since the middle of the eleventh century. It is a unique source about the functioning of the machinery of government in Hainault during the second half of the twelfth century. It is also a panegyric of the illustrious prince Baldwin V, whose reign is depicted in a very favourable light. 14 The narrative was produced by Gislebert of Mons, the chancellor of Hainault, who drew his work upon his memories and the writings of a great many churches. 15 Even if Gislebert was still active in Hainault after 1195 as we will see, his chronicle ends with the decease of Baldwin V. 16 Gislebert did not tell a word about the short and disappointing reign of 11. These events are well known. See, for instance, Walter Mohr, Geschichte des Herzogtums Lothringen, vol. 2: Niederlothringen bis zu seinem Aufgehen in Herzogtum Brabant ( Jahrhundert), Sarrebrücken, Marinette Bruwier, Le Hainaut, le Cambrésis et l Empire au XII e siècle, in Fédération archéologique et historique de Belgique. XXXVI e congrès avril 1955, Gand. Annales, vol. 2, Ghent, 1956, ; Alexis Wilkin, Le legs de Baudouin V de Hainaut à la cathédrale Saint-Lambert de Liège: une générosité inexpliquée?, in Revue du Nord, 88 (2006), Léon Vanderkindere (ed.), La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, Brussels, For an English translation of the narrative, see Laura Napran (transl.), Gilbert of Mons. Chronicle of Hainaut, Woodbridge, Napran, Gilbert of Mons, ch. 284, p Napran, Gilbert of Mons, ch. 284, p Nevertheless, we cannot exclude that a part of Gislebert s work dealing with the reign of Baldwin VI is lost, as Gislebert indicates his intention to evoke the governance of the successors of Baldwin V in his preface (Napran, Gilbert of Mons, ch. 1, 3; see also Michel de Waha and Dugnoille, Mort et sépulture des comtes de Hainaut jusqu en 1195, in Sépulture, mort et représentation du pouvoir au Moyen Âge. Actes des 11es Journées lotharingiennes, septembre 2000, ed. Michel Margue, Luxemburg, 2006).

4 4 Baldwin VI, who acquired the prestigious title Emperor of Constantinople in 1204, but disappeared the next year in the defeat of Adrianople. 17 The unexpected death of Baldwin VI resulted in a major political crisis, as his wife Mary of Champagne died also in the Latin East, and his two daughters Joan and Margaret were only minors. The governance of Hainault and Flanders fell into the hands of Baldwin VI s younger brother, the marquis of Namur Philip the Noble ( 1212). 18 Philips regency was marked by several poor decisions, as well as the beginning of the reign of Countess Joan and her husband, Count Ferdinand of Portugal. The famous defeat of Bouvines (1214) against the French King Philip II August symbolized the political setbacks experienced by the rulers of Flanders and Hainault in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. 19 Gislebert of Mons was an eyewitness of the political rise of the Baldwins. As a member of the princes close entourage, he also experienced the crisis of the beginning of the thirteenth century. Gislebert was originated from Hainault. 20 He was probably born in a local noble family towards the middle of the twelfth century. The preamble of a document he wrote c indicates that he was educated at the court of Hainault from his childhood until his old age. 21 Gislebert was more than an average member of the counts entourage. He was provost of St German ( ) and St Waudru in Mons (probably after 1209), provost and custos of St Alban ( ) and St Peter at the Castle in Namur (before 1195 after 1198), and he had prebends in the chapters of Soignies, Maubeuge, Condé-sur-l Escaut, and St Lambert in Liège. 22 Along with William the Uncle Baldwin IV illegitimate son, Gislebert was the closest adviser of the princes, and particularly of Baldwin V. 23 As a diplomat, he took part in the negotiations with the Emperor about the inheritance of Namur in the 1180s, and kept the count informed of them. 24 He probably played a prominent role in the comital politics in Liège at the beginning of the 1190s. 25 In such circumstances, we could assume that Gislebert became a close friend of the counts of Hainault. This could explain why he produced epitaphs of 17. The mysterious disappearance was the cause of political troubles in Flanders and Hainault, as a false Baldwin appeared and claimed the governance of the two principalities in On this famous episode, see Gilles Lecuppre, L imposture politique au Moyen Âge: la seconde vie des rois, Paris, Maurice Walraet, Actes de Philippe I er, dit le Noble, comte et maquis de Namur ( ), Brussels, 1949, On this famous battle, see the classic Georges Duby, The Legend of Bouvines: War, Religion, and Culture in the Middle Ages, transl. Catherine Tihanyi, Cambridge, Jacques Pycke, Gislebert de Mons, chroniqueur hennuyer, in Dictionnaire d histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. 21, Paris, 1985 ; Napran, Gilbert of Mons. 21. [ ] predictus etiam Gillebertus, qui multis temporibus ecclesiarum Montensium preposituras obtinuerat et a pueritia sua in curia Hainoiensi usque ad senilem eatetm educates fuerat [ ] (Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, 335). 22. Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, XX XXII; Wilkin, Legs de Baudouin V, Daniel Dereck, Guillaume l Oncle (circa 1150-novembre 1219). Rôle politique, fortune et descendance d un fils naturel du comte de Hainaut Baudouin IV, in Annales du Cercle archéologique de Mons, 78 (1999), ; id., Guillaume l Oncle, in Nouvelle biographie nationale, vol. 6, Brussels, 2001, p Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons. 25. Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons. On the role of the counts of Hainault in Liège at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, see Wilkin, Legs de Baudouin V,

5 5 Baldwin IV ( 1171) and Baldwin V ( 1195), and why he probably wrote the testamentary dispositions of the latter Diplomatics: Gislebert and the chancery of Hainaut Gislebert described himself as the count s clericus in one of the last chapters of his Chronicle of Hainault. 27 Previously, he had used the term notarius. 28 In 1169, his name appeared for the first time in a charter, in which he is pointed out as Gislebertus capellanus. 29 The diplomatic sources also designate him as secundus notarius (1180 at the latest) and clericus (1188). 30 Furthermore, some charters indicate that they were written by the hand of Gislebert. 31 It is well known that the sense of some these words was quite vague in twelfth- and thirteenth-century charters. Historians have also noticed for a long time that one who is described as a notarius, clericus, or capellanus at the end of a charter did not necessary take part in the material production of the document. 32 These statements are unquestionably true. Gislebert did not write the 116 charters in which his name appears, as a palaeographical survey easily reveals. 33 Nevertheless, we know with certainty Gislebert s handwriting, thanks to some biographical indications about Philippe the Noble written at the back of a charter for St Peter at the Castle (1198), where Gislebert was custos from 1195 at the latest (fig. 4). 34 This handwriting appears in at least five original charters from Hainault and Namur, as Gabriel Wymans demonstrated. 35 It is therefore certain that Gislebert effectively took part in the redaction (scriptio) of some documents produced in the name of the counts. If Gislebert did not write most of the princely charters himself, it is beyond any doubt that he was the key player at the chancery of Hainault until Baldwin V s death in December The archive muniments of Hainault were kept in St German and 26. Fernand Vercauteren, Gislebert de Mons, auteur des épitaphes des comtes de Hainaut Baudouin IV et Baudouin V, in Bulletin de la Commission royale d Histoire 125 (1959), ; de Waha and Jean Dugnoille, Mort et sépulture,. 27. Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, ch. 254, Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, ch. 110, p Ignace De Coussemaker (ed.), Cartulaire de l abbaye de Cysoing et de ses dépendances, Lille, 1883, 38 (Diplomata Belgica [DiBe], 3715). 30. Benoît-Michel Tock (ed.), Les chartes de l'abbaye cistercienne de Vaucelles au XII e siècle, Turnhout, 2010, (DiBe, 3018); De Coussemaker, Cysoing, 64 (DiBe, 3721). 31. For instance, Mons, Archives de l État, Cartularies, 1: cartulary of the abbey of Aulne (13 th century), f. 138r-138v: Actum Montibus per manum Gilberti secundi notarii mei [ ]. For a list of the original charters referring to a per manum Gil(le)berti, see Wymans, Per manum Gilleberti, Prevenier, Chancellerie des comtes de Flandre, ; Benoît-Michel Tock, Auteur ou impétrant? Réflexions sur les chartes des évêques d Arras au XII e siècle, in Bibliothèque de l École des chartes 149 (1991), , particularly ; Olivier Guyotjeannin, Écrire en chancellerie, in Auctor et auctoritas. Invention et conformisme dans l écriture médiévale. Actes du colloque tenu à l Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (14-16 juin 1999), ed. Michel Zimmerman, Paris, 2001, Fernand Vercauteren, Note sur Gislebert de Mons, rédacteur de chartes, in Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 62 (1954), [ ] et in prepositura et custodia et prebenda Sancti Albani et in custodia et prebenda Sancti Petri Namurcensis (Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, ch. 254, 331). 35. Wymans, Per manum Gilleberti,

6 6 St Waudru chapters in Mons, 36 as well as many other important documents such as the Ministeria curie Hanonie and the Chronicle of Hainault itself 37. Since the middle of the eleventh century, the comital power was closely linked with these two churches, 38 where Gislebert was a canon, and then a provost. 39 In such circumstances, the title of cancellarius was given to him from the beginning of the 1170s. In 1172, a charter for St Callixtus in Cysoing pointed out Gislebert as capellanus et cancellarius. 40 In 1178, he appeared as cancellarius (1178) in a charter for Haumont abbey. 41 After the union between Flanders and Hainault in 1191, Gislebert was described as in Hainoa cancellarius (1192) and in Hainoa et in Namuco cancellarius (1192) in two documents. 42 As a chancellor, Gislebert was probably in charge of the prince s seal matrices. In his Chronicle, he describes very precisely the three artefacts used by Baldwin V and the circumstances in which the count updated his seals. 43 Gislebert s function probably went beyond the limits of the production of charters. The sources do not tell a word about that, but we could assume that Gislebert was also the private secretary of the prince. Furthermore, it is likely that he played a role in the estate management of the principality, as he certainly did in St Waudru in Mons towards As chancellor, Gislebert probably composed the dictamen of a great deal of princely charters. A general survey devoted to the 112 charters (48 original charters among them) written under the reign of Count Baldwin V might reveal the specific features of the ones produced under the supervision of Gislebert. Since the works of Fernand Vercauteren, one of these features is well known. 45 The protocols (and 36. Which, in fact, constituted one and the same institution. 37. [ ] conscripta et prolata ad memoriam, ut ipsa scripta penes ecclesiam beate Waldetrudis Montensem et penes ecclesiam Sancti Johannis Valencenensem custodienda permaneant (Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, 335); on the manuscript tradition of the Chronicle of Hainault, see 37. Napran, Gilbert of Mons, XXVIII-XXIX. 38. For instance, Counts Baldwin IV and Baldwin V chose to be buried in St Waudru (de Waha and Dugnoille, Mort et sépulture, ). This close association between a religious house and a prince as regards literacy practices was quite common in twelfth century Lotharingia and Flanders: the counts of Namur were linked with St Peter at the Castle (Pierre Dehove and Jean-François Nieus, Aux origines de la science princière des archives. Le premier chartrier des comtes de Namur et son inventaire de 1263, in Bibliothèque de l École des chartes 168 (2010), ), the counts of Flanders with St Donatian in Bruges 38. Fernand Vercauteren (ed.), Actes des comtes de Flandre ( ), Brussels, 1938, XLIX- LIX; Jean-François Nieus, Les chanoines, le comte martyr et l écrit manipulé. Comment le prévôt de Saint- Donatien devint chancelier de Flandre (avril 1127), in Bulletin de la Commission royale d histoire 183 (2017), forthcoming), the dukes of Limburg with the Rolduc abbey (Petrus Cornelis Boeren, De oudste oorkonden der abdij Rolduc en de Annales Rodenses, The Hague, 1949, ; Prevenier, Chancellerie des comtes de Flandre, 59), etc. 39. De Hemptinne, Chancellerie comtale,. 40. De Coussemaker, Cysoing, 39 (DiBe, 3716). 41. Charles Duvivier, Recherches sur le Hainaut ancien (pagus Hainoensis) du VII e au XII e siècle, Brussels, 1865, (DiBe, 3390). 42. Léopold Devillers, Chartes du chapitre Sainte-Waudru de Mons, vol. 1, Brussels, 1899, and (DiBe, 2181 and 2182). 43. Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, ch. 177 and 215, and Marinette Bruwier and Maurits Gysseling, Les revenus, les biens et les droits de Sainte-Waudru de Mons à la fin du XII e siècle, in Bulletin de la Commission royale d histoire, 121 (1956), Vercauteren, Note,

7 7 sometimes the dates) of the charters intellectually produced by Gislebert contain some biographical information about the counts and their relatives, as in the charter for St Peter at the Castle in Namur evoked above. Usually, these describe Baldwin as the count of Hainault, the fifth since Count Baldwin of Hasnon, but sometimes they are more prolix. 46 A charter for the Vaucelles abbey (1180) portrays Baldwin as the the fifth since Count Baldwin who held Flanders and Hainault and who rests in the abbey of Hasnon. 47 In 1188, a charter for the Aulne abbey written by the hand of Gislebert, [the] chancellor, depicts Baldwin as Count Baldwin of Hainault who married Margaret, the sister of Count Philip of Flanders and Vermandois, with who he had sons and daughters, [and] one of them, Elisabeth, was Queen Isabel, wife of King Philip of France ; Me, Count Baldwin, I said, who is the first to hold Namur. 48 These kind of descriptions are even more developed in some other charters written in 1189, in June 1194, and in December 1195, only a few times before Baldwin V s death. 49 The same kind of genealogical notes also appear in the epitaphs of Baldwin IV and Baldwin V written by Gislebert, 50 and in his Chronicle of Hainault. 51 These genealogies systematically establish a link between Baldwin V and the Flanders or, at least, between Baldwin V and his ancestor Baldwin I, who was both count of Flanders and Hainault. A major political crisis originated in the latter death in After the battle of Cassel (1071), the Baldwins lost their rights on Flanders, but maintained their authority over Hainault. 52 By underlining the relationship between the Hainault and the Flanders, Gislebert legitimated the governance of Flanders by the Baldwins. In the chancellor s view, the counts of Hainault only recovered the principality they had unfairly lost one century before. As well as the epitaphs of the counts, the protocols of the comital charters hammered out the legitimacy of the Baldwins to govern Flanders. Together, all these documents probably constituted a kind of comital propaganda, which was organized under the supervision of Chancellor Gislebert. Furthermore, it is likely that Gislebert introduced some new documentary practices at the chancery of Hainault. 53 Indeed, it seems that the use of the sealed chirograph appeared in Hainault soon after his appointment as cancellarius. Apart from two comital charters concerning religious houses located in or around the episcopal city 46. For instance, Charles Duvivier, Actes et documents anciens intéressant la Belgique, vol. 2, Brussels, 1903, and (DiBe, 3010 and 3021); Robert Fossier, Chartes de coutumes en Picardie (XI e - XIII e siècle, Paris, 1974, (DiBe, 3724); etc. 47. Tock, Chartes de Vaucelles, n 87, (DiBe, 3018). See also, Victor Barbier, Histoire de l abbaye de Floreffe, de l ordre de Prémontré, Namur, 1880, (DiBe, 2134), and De Coussemaker, Cartulaire de l abbaye de Cysoing, 64 (DiBe, 3721). 48. Mons, Archives de l État, Cartularies, 1: cartulary of the abbey of Aulne, f. 54v 55r. 49. Duvivier, Actes et documents anciens, vol. 2, , , and (DiBe, 3039, 3048, and 3051); Devillers, Chartes de Sainte-Waudru, vol. 1, and (DiBe, 2187 and 2188), etc. 50. Vercauteren, Épitaphes des comtes de Hainaut, For instance, Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, ch. 1 6, David Nicholas, Medieval Flanders, London, At the same time, some old traditions were still in use, like the use of the crux in the intitulatio.

8 8 of Cambrai, 54 all the chirographs of the counts were produced after Amongst the original charters written between 1172 and 1195, almost one on four is a chirograph (11 on 47, to which we can add at least five copies that are described as chirographs in the text of the document). Most of them were produced after The chirographs sometimes have a very stylized legend (fig. 5). 56 The intriguing question of the use of chirographs in Hainault unquestionably needs further investigations, in order to determine which chirographs were written at the chancery of Hainaut and which were composed by the beneficiaries. Nevertheless, it makes no doubt the use of chirographs became very popular in Hainault at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in a context in which the use of written evidence became more and more important, to the detriment of oral testimonies. 57 Baldwin s death in December 1195 marked a break in Gislebert s career as chancellor, as Walter Prevenier and Els De Paermentier have demonstrated. 58 At the beginning the short reign of Baldwin VI, the chanceries of Flanders and Hainault were unified under the authority of the Flemish chancellor Gerard of Alsace (even if regional offices still existed in Valenciennes and Courtrai). Gerard was probably the only keeper of the seal in the two principalities. Consequently, Gislebert put his experience at the service of the chancery of Philip the Noble during the latter s regency ( ). In other words, he relocated a part of his activities in Namur at the dawn of the thirteenth century. 59 There, Gislebert probably organized the comital archive muniments, which was kept in St Peter at the Castle, where Gislebert was a canon since the beginning of the 1190s. 60 He developed good administrative practices in Namur, as he probably had done in St Waudru in Mons a few years before. 61 In Hainault, Gislebert s role in the 54. Lille, Archives départementales du Nord, 4 H 25/191 (St Sepulchre of Cambrai, 1158 DiBe, 8719); Duvivier, Recherches sur le Hainaut ancien, (Solesmes, 1162 DiBe, 3376). 55. Fossier, Chartes de coutumes, (DiBe, 3444); Mons, State archives, Trésorerie des comtes de Hainaut, 1 (DiBe, 2747); Jean-Pierre Gerzaguet (ed.), Les chartes de l'abbaye d'anchin ( ), Turnhout, 2005, (DiBe, 3017); Ghent, State archives, KK (DiBe, 2870); Aubert Le Mire et Jean-François Foppens (ed.), Opera diplomatica et historica, vol. 2, 834 (DiBe, 7590); Duvivier, Actes et documents anciens, vol. 2, (DiBe, 3032); Arras, Médiathèque municipale, ms. 1304/3 (DiBe, 10924); Prevenier, De oorkonden, vol. 2, (DiBe, 313); Duvivier, Actes et documents anciens, vol. 2, (DiBe, 3048); Mons, State archives, Trésorerie des comtes de Hainaut, 7 (DiBe, 2743); Devillers, Chartes de Sainte-Waudru, vol. 1, (DiBe, 2190). Original charters lost: Thérèse de Hemptinne and Adriaan Verhulst (ed.), De oorkonden der graven van Vlaanderen (juli 1128-september 1191), vol. 2/1 : Regering van Filips van de Elzas, Brussels, 2001, (DiBe, 2739); Devillers, Chartes de Sainte- Waudru, vol. 1, 31 32; Duvivier, Actes et documents anciens, vol. 2, (DiBe, 3051); Le Mire and Foppens, Opera diplomatica, vol. 1, 295 (DiBe, 3970); Mons, Archives de l État, Cartularies, 1: cartulary of the abbey of Aulne (13 th century), f. 56r-56v (DiBe, 12345). 56. DiBe, 7590 (St John chapter in Valenciennes, 1185), (St Aldegond abbey in Maubeuge, 1188), and 313 (Our Lady cathedral chapter in Cambrai, 1192). 57. See, for instance, Hubert Nélis, La rénovation des titres d asservissement en Belgique au XII e siècle, in Annales de la Société d émulation de Bruges 67 (1923), Prevenier, De oorkonden, vol. 1, ; id., Chancellerie des comtes de Flandre, 53 57; De Paermentier, Chancellerie comtale, De Paermentier, Chancellerie comtale, See also, Wymans, Per manum Gilleberti, Dehove and Nieus, Aux origines de la science princière, Bruwier and Gysseling, Les revenus, 245.

9 9 administration became less visible after Baldwin V s decease. Nevertheless, he never disappeared from the political scene, contrary to what Fernand Vercauteren affirmed sixty years ago. 62 His name still regularly appeared in the witness lists of the comital charters written after It is likely that Gislebert also took part in the governance of the principality in the aftermath of Baldwin VI s disappearance in Orient. Moreover, in 1200, he got involved in the writing of the famous penal and feudal charters of Hainault as we will see in one moment. Fifteen years later, he also produced a document defining the functions of the domestic officers at the comital court along with William the Uncle: the Ministeria curie Hanonie. 64 It works out the roles of all the aristocrats and domestic officers (coquus, pincerna, panetaria, pistor, etc.) who were members of the courts in Mons and in Valenciennes. This roll is now lost, because of the burning of the State Archives in Mons in The document was kept in the archives of St Waudru in Mons during the Middle Ages. Moreover, a copy of the text was kept in St John in Valenciennes, a religious house which was also closely associated with the comital power. 65 The Ministeria curie Hanonie was almost certainly issued between 1212 and 1214, at the very beginning of the reign Ferdinand of Portugal and his wife Joan of Hainault. As a foreigner, Ferdinand was probably keen to clarify the functions of the members of his entourage. Indeed, some of the domestic officers evoked by the document were also members of the high aristocracy in Hainault, such as the lord of St Aubert and the lord of Aulnois who were the steward (dapifer) and the cupbearer (pincerna) of the count. As appears in the preamble, William the Uncle and Gislebert of Mons were the authors of the document. Ferdinand probably asked them to compose this codification because of their experience as rulers and their excellent knowledge of the functioning of the machinery of government in Hainault. The Ministeria curie Hanonie which is a regulation for a small group of aristocrats was the last important text produced by Gislebert before his death towards 1224/ It proves that Gislebert remained a key player in Hainault until the middle of the 1210s, even if his role in the administration of the principality was less important than before Baldwin V s decease. 2. Written laws in Hainault: the feudal and penal charters of Baldwin VI (July 1200) The charters nowadays known as the feudal and penal charters of Baldwin VI of Hainault are often described as the oldest written laws applicable to an entire county 62. Vercauteren, Note, De Paermentier, chancellerie comtale, 265, n Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, [ ] conscripta et prolata ad memoriam, ut ipsa scripta penes ecclesiam beate Waldetrudis Montensem et penes ecclesiam Sancti Johannis Valencenensem custodienda permaneant (Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, 335) 66. Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, XXII.

10 10 produced by a Belgian prince. 67 This assertion is not entirely true. First, because Baldwin VI promulgated some rules against usury in Hainault and Flanders a few months before the writing of the feudal and penal charters. 68 Secondly, because Gislebert evokes in his Chronicle the promulgation of some penal written laws by Baldwin V at the dawn of the 1170s. 69 Gislebert referred to these laws by using the word pax. The same term appears in the first line of the penal charter of 1200, and in so many other regulations in Hainault, such as the famous Peace of Valenciennes (1114) for instance. 70 Unfortunately, Baldwin V s penal laws are now lost. It is all but impossible that this charter was cancelled soon after the production of the documents of It is also likely that Gislebert took part in the production of Baldwin V s laws, as he became the chancellor of Hainault at the beginning of the 1170s. In such a context, we can no longer assert that the penal and feudal charter of Baldwin VI are the oldest written laws produced in the Belgian area. They are nevertheless the most famous ones. They are also the main legislative work of Baldwin VI, as he did not produce another as important text as the penal and feudal charters during his short reign. 71 Paradoxically, only a very few studies are devoted to them. 72 The content of the charters cannot be summarized easily (see the edition in appendix). They deal with two crucial fields in twelfth- and thirteenth-century Hainault: fiefs and justice. The question of the inheritance of fiefs and allods is at the centre of the feudal charter. A lot of scenarios and problems are envisaged (absence of heir, status of the dower, future of the properties acquired in common by husband and wife, etc.), and strong reflections are devoted to the rights of widows. Furthermore, the legal competences of the bailiff of Hainault are specified at the end of the text, and the legal age of majority is fixed at 15 for the boys and at 12 for the girls. The penal charter is longer than the feudal. The pax deals mainly with the repression of crimes by using corporal punishments, as it appears in the first article of the text (mortuum pro mortuo menbrum pro menbro). The main aim of the law was to prevent bloody feuds by introducing the practice of forjuratio. By forjuring, the familly of a murderder dissociate istelf from 67. Cauchies, Coutume et législation, Prevenier, De oorkonden, Ad hec, ipse Balduinus comes novus de communi hominum suorum consensus et consilio quondam in Hanonia pacem ordinavit et eam tenendam tam suo proprio quam hominum suorum majorum juramento confirmavit. In qua quidem pace expressum fuit pro homine interfecto hominem dbere interfici, homicidiam scilicet; pro membro vero ablato membrum ab ablatore debere tolli. [ ] Multa quidem et alia in pacis hujus institutione fuerunt composita (Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, ). 70. Philippe Godding and Jacques Pycke, La paix de Valenciennes de Commentaire et édition critique, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1981; for an English translation of this famous urban charter, see the draft translation of Geoffrey Koziol, The Peace of Valenciennes (translation), on Academia.edu ( The writing of the penal and feudal charters of 1200 was in line with the production of charters of franchise and liberties in the twelfth- and thirteenth-centuries Hainault. See Jean-Marie Cauchies and Françoise Thomas, Charteslois en Hainaut (XII e -XIV e siècle) : édition et traduction, Mons, Cauchies, Coutume et législation, 11, n Mainly Léopold Devillers, Description analytique de cartulaires et de chartes utiles à l histoire du Hainaut, vol. 4, Mons, 1869, p ; Wymans, Per manum Gilleberti, 17 24, and Cauchies, Coutume et législation,

11 11 its parent, in order to stop the feud process and restore peace in the principality. 73 A strong reflection is devoted to that practice in the penal charter, which also forbides the carrying of arms. Both charters were promulgated on the 28 th July 1200 at the castle of Mons, a place which was the epicentre of Baldwin VI s comital power in Hainault. According to Gabriel Wymans, the texts were written by Gislebert of Mons. Indeed, the handwriting is the same as in the notes at the back the charter for St Peter chapter in Namur. 74 In such circumstances, it is more than likely that the penal and the feudal charters were written at the chancery of Hainault, at a time when most of Baldwin VI s originals were produced in Flanders. Gislebert s (and William the Uncle s) long experience in politics could have been very useful to the comital power in the critical context of the preparation of the departure of Baldwin VI s to the Latin East. Indeed, it is likely that the former chancellor of Hainault had an excellent knowledge in feudal matters, as it appears for instance in his Chronicle, which often deals with the relationships between the counts of Hainault and their vassals. 75 Feudality was a crucial question everywhere in northern France and western Empire, but in Hainault particularly, as the county was a fief of the episcopal see of Liège and the counts were vassals of the bishops since The diplomatic form chosen by the chancelor was the chirograph, what is probably not an accident, as a significant part of the charters written under the supervision of Gislebert during the reign of Baldwin V were chirographs. If some diplomatic traditions were kept alive in 1200, it seems nevertheless that the former chancellor renounced to some of his old practices. The crux, which was usually drawn at the beginning of Baldwin V s charters, does not appear in the feudal and penal charters. Moreover, they do not contain nor genealogy nor biographical notes in their protocol. Both chirographs are sealed and contain witness lists. However, it must be noted that, for unknown reasons, more seals are attached and more witnesses are mentioned in the penal charter than in the feudal charter. Indeed, the names of a lot of petty lords do not appear in the feudal charter. Most of these third-rank nobles were settled around Mons, such as Drogo of Quaregnon, the provost Goswin of Soignies, or Gerard, the son of Otbert of Fantegnies. 77 Only the greatest lords from Hainault and their relatives are mentioned in both charters. Some of them were peers of Hainault (Adam of Walincourt, William of Quévy, etc.), 78 some others are described in the Chronicle of Hainault as former counsellors and comrade-in-arms of Baldwin V (Nicholas of Barbençon, Renardus of Strépy, etc.) 79, and a few of them 73. This definition is given by Cauchies, Coutume et législation, Wymans, Per manum Gilleberti, See, for instance, the way that the Chonicle of Hainault was used by François-Louis Ganshof in his Qu est-ce que la féodalité?, 4 th ed., Brussels, Jean-Louis Kupper, L inféodation du comté de Hainaut à l Église de Liège (1071), in Bulletin de la Commission royale d Histoire 181 (2015), See the editions in appendix. 78. On the peers of Hainault, see Jean-François Nieus, Du donjon au tribunal. Les deux âges de la pairie châtelaine en France du Nord, Flandre et Lotharingie (fin XI e -XIII e siècle), in Le Moyen Âge 112 (2006), Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons,

12 12 were Count Baldwin VI s relatives (his brother Philippe the Noble, or his uncle Henry of Hainault, for instance). It is likely that some of these aristocrats took part in the production of the laws. Indeed, the brief preamble of the feudal charter precises that the text was written with the common consent, agreement, deliberation, and sane recollection of the noble men and ministeriales of the county of Hainault. 80 Negociations, or at least discussions, might have preceded the production of the charters, but we don t know anything of their nature. Indeed, I think that the statement in the pramble of the feudal charter is more than a topoï, because Gislebert reveals in his Chronicle that the penal laws were also negotiated with the high aristocracy in the 1170s. 81 We don t know who were these noble men and ministeriales, but they probably were the former counsellors of Baldwin V whose names appear at the beginning of the witness list and some close associates to the counts, such as the experimented William the Uncle and Gislebert himself. I have another reason to believe that the great vassals of Hainault took part in the debates on the feudal and penal laws. According to the Chronicle of Hainault, the penal regulation of the 1170s was promulgated to end a feud between the prominent nobles families of Trith and Aulnois. 82 I am not able for the moment to determine if the penal and feudal charters of 1200 were also an answer to specific issues in the first years of Baldwin VI s governance, but we could easily imagine that the prince and his aristocracy would have liked to pacificate the principality and to clarify the customary practices only a few times before Baldwin VI s first (and last) departure to the Latin East. Indeed, it is striking that the promulgation of these laws happened at key moments in the history of the principality of Hainault. As Baldwin s VI feudal and penal charters, the penal laws of the 1170s were promulgated at the very beginning of the young Baldwin V s reign. Another regulation clarifying the functions of domestic officers at the court of Hainault the Ministeria curie Hanonie was also produced by Gislebert and William the Uncle at the beginning of the governance of Baldwin VI s successor, maybe only a few months before the battle of Bouvines. 83 Conclusion In the context of the documentary revolution of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Gislebert of Mons, the chancellor and close adviser of the counts, was unquestionably a key player in building of bureaucratic state in Hainault under the reigns 80. [ ] communi consensu et consilio ac deliberatione sana que recordatione virorum nobilium et ministerialium ad comitatum Hainoensem pertinentium (Devillers, Description analytique, 16 24). 81. Ad hec ipse Balduinus comes novus de communi hominum suorum majorum juramento confirmavit. In qua quidem pace expressum fuit [ ] (Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, 106). 82. Balduinus, sepedicti comitis filius, in comitatu Hanoniensi cum Marghareta uxore sua successit. Quasdam autem guerras et inimicicias mortales que per multos annos inter viros potentes illos, scilicet de Thrit et illlos de Aunoit duraverant, ipse Balduinus novus comes de consilio nobilium et sapientum suorum, illis licet invitis, concordavit (Vanderkindere, La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, 106). 83. On the Ministeria curie Hanonie, see above.

13 13 of Baldwin V and Baldwin VI, and in Namur under the governance of Marquis Philip the Noble. Even if his political role was less visible after the death of Count Baldwin V in 1195, Gislebert remained a key figure at the court of Hainault until his death in the 1220s. His role in the redaction and the material production of comital charters, and the innovations he introduced in this field, are relatively well known. But, Gislebert s function did not boil down to the redaction of charters. He was also a talented chronicler singing his masters praises, a chancellor (re)organizing the archive muniments of the princes, and an intellectual able to produce written laws applicable to all the territory of a principality. Indeed, it makes no doubt that Gislebert played an important role in the writing of the penal and feudal charters of Hainault. A lot of questions remain unsolved about these two charters, particularly the problem of the application of the penal and feudal charters after the departure of Baldwin VI to the Latin East. These two charters unquestionably need further investigation. I hope to answer to the question as soon as possible, by examining their thirteenth-century French translations. Nevertheless, by examining Gislebert s career path, I hope that I have illustrate the role of individuals in the patient process of the construction of institutionalised forms of government in northern Europe. Dr Nicolas Ruffini-Ronzani FNRS / University of Namur (Belgium)

14 14 APPENDIX THE PENAL AND FEUDAL CHARTERS OF HAINAULT (28 TH JULY 1200) Feudal charter of Baldwin VI of Hainault / IX of Flanders concerning the inheritance of fiefs and allods in the county of Hainault. Mons, Castle 28th July 1200 A. ORIGINAL written on parchment (42 x 33 cm). Chirograph, legend: CYROGRAPHV. Five pendent seals on leather tags. Mons, Archives de l État, Conseil souverain de Hainaut. B. COPY of the thirteenth century in a cartulary of the county of Hainault: Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 784, f. 7r-11v and 220v-221r. C. Translated copy of the thirteenth century in the cartulary of the lords of Audenarde: Lille, Archives départementales du Nord, B 1570, f. 3r-4r. D. Translated copy of the fifteenth century in a cartulary of Hainault: Mons, Archives de l État, Cartularies, ms. 22, f. 5v-9v. E. Translated copy of the seventeenth century in a cartulary of Hainault: Mons, Archives de l État, Cartularies, ms. 21, f. 1r-4v. F. Copy of the eighteenth in a book entitled Commentaires sur les chartes de Hainaut: Brussels, Royal Library, ms. II.4393, p G. Translated copy of the eigteenth century in a copy of the cartulary of the lords of Audenarde: Lille, Bibliothèque municipale, Godefroy collection, ms. 83, f. 16v-21v. H. Fragmentary copy of the eighteenth century in a book entitled Recueil de diplômes relatifs à l histoire de Belgique: Brussels, State Archives of Belgium, Manuscrits divers collection, ms. 5523, f. 14r-v. EDITIONS: a) DEVILLERS, Léopold, Description analytique de cartulaires et de chartes utiles à l histoire du Hainaut, vol. 4, Mons, 1869, p b) FAIDER, Charles, Coutumes du pays et comté de Hainaut, vol. 1, Brussels, 1871, p c) BRASSART, Félix, Histoire du château et de la châtellenie de Douai, vol. 3 : Preuves, Douai, 1877, p (transl.). DATABASE: a) Diplomata Belgica, n o b) Chartae Galliae, n o F13630 (transl.). Hec est declaratio legum in curia et comitatu Hainoensi, communi consensu et consilio ac deliberatione sanaque recordatione virorum nobilium et ministerialium ad comitatum Hainoensem pertinentium, discretius conscriptarum sigillisque et juramentis domini Balduini comitis Flandrensis et Hainoensis et fidelium hominum suorum ad comitatum et dominationem Hainoensem pertinentium ad perpetuam observationem confirmatarum. 1) Firmatum est igitur ad legem, ut si homo tenens feodum duxerit uxorem et ex ea filiam habuerit et non filium, ipsa filia succedet patri et matri in feodis. 2) Si prima hominis uxore defuncta, homo aliam duxerit uxorem et ex ea filium habuerit, filius succedet in feodis suis patris set non filia prime uxoris. 3) Est quoque ad legem firmatum, ut si homo tenens feodum habuerit filios vel filias tantum, et primus filius vel prima filia habuerit heredem proprii corporis, et moriatur ipse primus filius vel ipsa prima filia antequam pater, heres illius non succedet avo in feodo, set succedet ei in feodi tenore morienti propinquior heres supervivens, filius scilicet vel filia, in feodo. 4) Si homo tenens feodum moriatur absque proprii corporis herede, feodi successio deveniet ad propinquiorem eius heredem illum, scilicet qui de illa fuerit consanguinitate de qua feodum illud antea descenderat. 5) Eadem est lex de femina tenente feodum, si absque proprii corporis herede decesserit.

15 6) Si homo ducens uxorem de feodo eam dotare voluerit, hoc per dominum feodi et per testimonium hominum ipsius domini fieri oportet. 7) Si homo absque proprii corporis herede decesserit, eius uxor in feodis eius vel in allodiis que ex parte viri jure hereditario provenerint nichil retinebit, nisi tantummodo dotalicium et mobilia in terra cultibili illius anni. 8) Est etiam ad legem, ut si homo et femina per matrimonium convenerint et ex parte unius vel utriusque feoda seu allodia provenerint, et moriatur homo vel femina absque proprii corporis herede, feoda vel allodia que ex parte hominis mortui vel femine mortue provenerant ad suos propinquos heredes statim redibunt, ita quod vir in uxoris hereditate nichil retinebit nec femina in sui viri, nisi dotalicium, salvis tamen utriusque mobilibus in terra cultibili illius anni. 9) Si homo moriatur antequam eius uxor, heres eius, si etatem habuerit, succedat patri statim in feodis, ita quod uxor nichil inde retinebit, nisi dotalicium et mobilia illius anni in terra cultibili, que vulgariter waignale dicitur. 10) Similiter si femina decesserit antequam eius vir, heres eius, si etatem suam habuerit, succedet statim matri in feodis ita quod vir in illis nichil retinebit, nisi mobilia que supra terram suam cultibilem, id est waignale, fuerint illius anni. 11) Ad legem etas hominis est quindecim annorum, femine vero duodecim. 12) Habetur etiam ad legem, ut si homo et eius uxor feodum pariter acquisierint, et homo absque proprii corporis herede decesserit, feodum illud ad propinquum ipsius hominis heredem statim devenire debet, ita quod heres propinquior illud a domino feodi recipiet, et ei hominium faciet et munitionen, si qua fuerit, habebit et hominia ad feodum pertinentia ; uxor vero, dum vixerit, medietatem commodorum et proventuum habebit in illo feodo absque servitio faciendo et absque justitia facienda domino feodi. Heres vero aliam medietatem, qui inde servitium et justitiam facit domino feodi. 13) Si homo et femina allodium pariter acquisierint, et decesserit homo sine proprii corporis herede, femina, quo advixerit, totum allodium tenebit ; post decessum vero femine, totum allodium ad propinquos viri heredes deveniet. Si femina decesserit, ex cuius parte feoda vel allodia provenerint, vir eius ante puerorum suorum plenam etatem in ipsis pueris et in feodis eorum et bonis baiulationem habebit, quousque pueri etatem suam habuerint. Similiter si homo decesserit, ex cuius parte feoda vel allodia provenerint, femina in pueris suis et eorum feodis et bonis eandem baiulationem habebit ; homo autem, dum vixerit, allodia uxoris sue, licet pueros habeant, tenebit ; femina vero viri sui allodia eodem modo tenebit. 14) Si homo et femina decesserint antequam pueri eorum etatem suam habeant, propinquior heres puerorum, qui de illa fuerit proximitate, in pueris et eorum feodis et allodiis baiulationem habebit, quousque pueri etatem suam habuerint. Servus aliquis allodium suum a manu sua nullatenus potest eicere vel feodum facere, nisi assensu domini sui. 15) Baiulus domini comitis Hainoensis, supra omnes alios baiulos sub testimonio hominum domini comitis constitutus, justiciam potest facere de uno homine contra alium et exercere de omnibus rebus tamquam dominus comes. Homines vero domini comitis pro illo justiciam plenarie debent facere de uno scilicet homine contra alium, tamquam pro domino comite. 16) Ipse autem baiulus de possessionibus et tenuris et hereditate domini comitis placitare non potest, quod comes per illius iusticiam vel manu tenementum perdere possit ; non potest baiulus aliquem domini comitis hominem trahere in causam, vel querelam de tenuris suis, vel hereditate eius, nisi in presentia domini comitis. 15

16 17) De mobilibus autem inter comitem et homines suos potest baiulus potestative placitare et de catallis. 18) Cause preterite et querele que antea judicate fuerant rate manent, sicut inde judicatum fuerat. Dominus vero comes, Balduinus Flandrensis et Hainoensis, et fideles homines sui, Philippus scilicet marchio Namucensis, ipsius comitis germanus ; Henricus, etiam eiusdem comitis germanus ; Walterus de Avennis ; Alardus de Cimaco ; Rasso de Gavera ; Gerardus de Jacea ; Nicholaus de Barbencione ; Eustachius de Rues ; Willelmus avunculus predicti domini comitis ; Willelmus de Chevi ; Renerus de Trit ; Nicholaus de Ruminio ; Walterus de Kauren ; Egidius de Trasiniis ; Engelbertus de Aengien ; Henricus, patruus domini comitis ; Gerardus de Sancto Oberto ; Willelmus de Hausi ; Adam de Wallencurt ; Egidius de Berlenmont ; Arnulfus de Aldenarda ; Walterus de Sotenghien ; Osto de Waudripont ; Walterus de Villa ; Nicholaus de Condato ; Egidius de Brena ; Henricus castellanus Binciensis ; Gerardus prepositus Duaci ; Walterus castellanus Duaci ; Petrus de Duaco ; Gerardus senascalcus Buscheni ; Stephanus de Deneng ; Arnulfus de Kauren ; Hugo de Sancto Oberto ; Willelmus de Gominiis ; Gillenus castellanus Bellimontis ; Henricus castellanus Montensis ; Osto de Arbro ; Hugo de Gaia ; Renardus de Strepi ; Achardus de Verli ; Hugo de Crois et quamplures alii hec omnia, tactis sacrosanctis, se observaturos juraverunt, suo addentes juramento quod siquis hominum has leges conscriptas in aliqua parte infringere presumpserit, omnes alii contra illum erunt ad plenam omnium predictorum observationem. Actum anno Verbi Incarnati millesimo ducentesimo, Montibus in castro, V o kalendas augusti, feria VI ante festum sancti Petri ad Vincula. 16

17 17 Penal charter of Baldwin VI of Hainault / IX of Flanders concerning the administration of justice in the county of Hainault. Mons, Castle 28th July 1200 A. ORIGINAL written on parchment (53 x 40 cm). Chirograph, legend: CYROGRAPHV. Six pendent seals on leather tags. Mons, Archives de l État, Conseil souverain de Hainaut. B. COPY of the thirteenth century in a cartulary of the county of Hainault: Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 784, f. 219r-220v. C. Copy of the thirteenth century in a cartulary of the cathedral church of Tournai: Tournai, Cathedral Archive, Cartulary D, f. 314r-316r. D. Translated copy of the thirteenth century in the cartulary of the lords of Audenarde: Lille, Archives départementales du Nord, B 1570, f. 2v-3r. E. Copy of the fifteenth century in a cartulary of Hainault: Mons, Archives de l État, Cartularies, ms. 22, f. 1v-5r. F. Copy of the fifteenth century in a cartulary concerning Mons and some other towns in Hainault: Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 869, f. 120v- 123v. G. Copy of the sixteenth century in a cartulary concerning the Hainault: Lille, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 718, f. 1r-2r and 2r-4v. H. Translated copy of the seventeenth century in a cartulary of Hainault: Mons, Archives de l État, Cartularies, ms. 21, f. 5r-9r. I. Copy of the eighteenth in a book entitled Commentaires sur les chartes de Hainaut: Brussels, Royal Library, ms. II.4393, p J. Copy of the eigteenth century in a cartulary of the abbey of Bonne-Espérance: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, f. 37r-41r. K. Copy of the eighteenth century in register concerning the Hainault: Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale, ms L. Translated copy of the eigteenth century in a copy of the cartulary of the lords of Audenarde: Lille, Bibliothèque municipale, Godefroy collection, ms. 83, f. 10r-16r. EDITIONS: a) SAINT-GENOIS, Jules de, Monumens anciens, essentiellement utiles à la France, aux provinces de Hainaut, Flandre, Brabant, Namur [ ] et autres pays limitrophes de l Empire, vol. 1, Brussels, 1782, p b) DEVILLERS, Léopold, Description analytique de cartulaires et de chartes utiles à l histoire du Hainaut, vol. 4, Mons, 1869, p c) FAIDER, Charles, Coutumes du pays et comté de Hainaut, vol. 1, Brussels, 1871, p DATABASE: a) Diplomata Belgica, n o Hec est forma pacis in toto comitatu Hainoensi quam dominus comes Flandrensis et Hainoensis Balduinus et viri nobiles et alii milites juramentis suis assecuraverunt et confirmaverunt, appositisque sigillis suis tam domini comitis quam virorum nobilium roboraverunt. 1) De hominibus igitur qui milites vel filii militum non fuerint, mortuum pro mortuo menbrum pro menbro. 2) Filii vero militum qui usque ad vicesimum quintum etatis sue annum non fuerint facti milites, post vicesimum quintum annum tales erunt ad pacem quam rustici. 3) Siquis homo hominem invaserit, quod vulgariter assallire dicitur, et homo qui assallitus erit supra corpus suum defendendum interfecerit, illum qui eum assallaverit pacem firmam inde debet habere erga dominum et erga amicos occisi. 4) Siquis in custodia fructuum terrarum suarum vel nemorum vel aquarum per se vel per servientem suum panna seu vadia accipere voluerit, et ei pannum vel vadium denegatum, id est sconditum fuerit, et inde inter eum et illum qui vadium denegaverit, id est scondiverit, quem supra suum invenerit rixe et contentiones vel conflictus moveantur, et ille cuius fuerit terra vel nemus vel pratum vel aqua illum interfecerit quem supra suum invenerit, nulla in eum fiet vindicta nec ille faciet emendationem aliquam, sed pacem firmam habere debet.

18 5) Si homo hominem interfecerit et ille homicida aufugerit, eius amici et proximi eum abjurare et forjurare debent, et sic pacem habere debent. Qui vero forjurare noluerit, talis erit qualis et homicida qui aufugerit, quousque eum forjuraverit. Siquis cum homicida fugerit vel occasione illa se absentaverit et patriam exierit, quod homicidam abjurare noluerit, infra annum redire potest et forjurationem facere ; post annum vero non plus redire potest quam ille qui malefactum perpetraverit, et infra annum illum dominus in cuius justitia manserit mobilia illius habebit ubicumque fuerint illa in comitatu Hainoensi. 5) Amici autem et cognati illius hominis qui occisus fuerit debent assecurare omnes homines illos qui homicidam forjuraverint ; qui uero illos assecurare noluerit, in eodem puncto erit quo et ille qui malefactum fecerat, hoc tamen addito quod postquam ammonitus fuerit de assecuratione illa facienda, de die in crastinum usque ad vesperam patriam potest exire, et dominus in cuius justicia manserit mobilia illius habebit, sicut predictum est. Si vero post amonitionem patriam non exierit, de die in crastinum de eo fiet idem quod de illo deberet fieri qui malefactum perpetraverat, hic etiam infra annum redire potest ad assecurationem faciendam. 6) De menbro ablato erit ad pacem eodem modo ad valentiam facti videlicet de ablatione menbri, et de forjuratione et de assecuratione. 7) Homicide qui fugerit et illius hominis qui alii menbrum abstulerit et aufugerit dominus in cuius justicia manserit mobilia omnia, ubicumque fuerint in comitatu Hainoensi, et fructus terre unius anni habebit. 8) Fugitivi quidem vel banniti hominis terram ultra annum dominus tenere non potest, sed transacto anno propinquus heres illius hereditatem et terram eius habebit, si eum abjuraverit. 9) De occiso homine mortuam manum habeat ille cuius servus vel de cuius advocatia fuerit. 10) Si homo fugitivus, qui hominem interfecerit vel homini menbrum abstulerit vel bannitus in patriam, redierit nulla villa libera nullus que dominus vel homo illum tueri vel garantire potest quin ubicumque inventus fuerit eum capere possit omnis qui pacem jurauerit, captum vero debet presentare illi supra cuius justiciam captus fuerit, ut ille de eo justiciam et vindictam predictam faciat ; quod si ille non fecerit justiciam et vindictam dominus comes Hainoensis eam facere debet. 11) Si homo vulneratus fuerit, vel graviter lesus unde de morte vel menbri perditione dubitetur, uulnerator vel lesor tenendus est et custodiendus quousque visum fuerit quid de vulnere illo vel lesione evenerit. 12) Si miles hominem illum tentum in custodia habuerit et ei evaserit, miles jurare debet se tercio militum quod absque culpa sua ei evaserit, salva tamen bona pacis veritate. Si autem villico alicui vel baiulo vel cuilibet homini qui miles non fuerit homo, ille tentus et custodiendus evaserit se septimo hominum juret quod absque culpa sua ei evaserit, salva tamen bona pacis veritate. 13) Qui cultellum cum puncta portaverit nisi sit venator vel coquus vel macellarius vel alienus homo transiens per patriam, emendare debet per sexaginta solidos denariorum illi in cuius justicia inuentus fuerit ; si autem pre paupertatem emendationem illam solvere non potuerit, auris ei amputetur. 14) Emendatio malefactorum in omnibus villis in quibus forum non currit, de vicino scilicet contra vicinum, tam in hominibus domini comitis quam aliorum, hec est : de homine roisnato vel de menbro fracto, quinquaginta solidi denariorum dandi sunt, unde homo lesus triginta solidos habeat, dominus vero in cuius justicia manserit homo lesus 18

19 viginti solidos. De effusione sanguinis, triginta solidi de quibus homo lesus medietatem habeat, dominus vero in cuius justicia manserit homo lesus aliam medietatem. De capillatione vel percussione sine sanguine, quindecim solidi unde capillatus vel percussus medietatem habeat, dominus vero in cuius justicia manserit aliam medietatem. 15) Hec omnia per bonam veritatem comprobanda sunt, si vero veritas non comparuerit, ille qui alterum inculpaverit juret solus quod ille eum leserit aut percusserit vel capillaverit, alter vero se tercio juret quod inde culpabilis non sit et per hoc pacem debet habere. In juramentis istis, nulle occasiones sunt amiscende que gitta dicuntur. 16) Siquis hominum quorum emendationes sunt in quinquaginta solidis vel triginta vel quindecim missus fuerit illi ad quem pertinet justicia pro homine suo qui lesus fuerit, si infra quindecim dies emendationem solvere non potuerit vel noluerit, dominus justiciam inde faciet secundum malefactum ; si autem ille aufugerit, fugabitur sicut alii banniti et cum fugabitur amici eius pacem habebunt. 17) Per has emendationes pax firma debet esse inter dominos et vicinos et homines, tam de hominibus domini comitis quam aliis. Hec omnia dominus comes Flandrensis et Hainoensis Balduinus et homines sui viri nobiles et alii milites quorum subsecuntur nomina, tactis sacrosanctis, se plenarie observaturos juraverunt. Philippus videlicet marchio Namucensis sepedicti, domini comitis germanus ; Henricus etiam eiusdem comitis germanus ; Walterus de Avethnis ; Alardus de Cimaco ; Rasso de Gavra ; Gerardus de Jace ; Eustachius de Ruez ; Nicholaus de Barbencione ; Willelmus, prefati comitis patruus ; Egidius de Trasiniis ; Willelmus de Kevi ; Renerus de Trit ; Nicholaus de Ruminio ; Engelbertus de Aenghien ; Arnulfus de Morelmeiz ; Godefridus de Tuin ; Willelmus de Hausi ; Alulfus, filius eiusdem Willelmi ; Walterus de Villa ; Walterus de Kavren ; Nicholaus de Condato ; Hugo de Gaia ; Bernerus de Roucurt ; Nicholaus de Manwat ; Hugo de Beverna ; Egidius de Brena ; Henricus, frater eius, castellanus Binciensis ; Osto de Wadripont ; Nicholaus de Flamengeria ; Henricus castellanus Montensis ; Gillenus castellanus Bellimontis ; Osto de Arbro ; Balduinus de Sancto Remigio ; Walterus de Soteghien ; Arnulfus de Aldenarda ; Gerardus de Sancto Oberto ; Henricus, patruus sepedicti comitis ; Adam de Walencurt ; Egidius de Berlenmont ; Hugo de Sancto Oberto ; Gerardus prepositus Duacensis ; Walterus castellanus Duacensis ; Petrus de Duaco ; Stephanus de Deneng ; Johannes de Semeriis ; Johannes de Herirpont ; Balduinus de Strepi ; Alardus et Nicholaus et Walterus, filii eiusdem Balduini ; Egidius de Hovis ; Ulbaldus de Harven ; Balduinus de Valencenis ; Renardus de Strepi ; Robertus de Loviniis ; Nicholaus de Montinio ; Hugo de Harven ; Walterus de Harven ; Franco de Fellui ; Fastredus de Cambron ; Renerus de Montibus ; Karolus de Cruce ; Drogo de Quarinun ; Romundus de Quarinun ; Gossuinus prepositus Sonegiensis ; Walterus de Blanden ; Gerardus, filius eius Obertus de Fantiniis ; Egidius de Montibus ; Willelmus de Montinio ; Balduinus de Curtisolra ; Alardus de Grandirivo ; Gillebertus Cornutus ; Willelmus Flaons. Actum anno Verbi Incarnati millesimo ducentesimo, Montibus in castro, V o kalendas augusti, feria VI ante festum sancti Petri ad Vincula. 19

20 20 Figure 1 Figure 2

21 Figure 3 21