also reaffirms the count’s loyalty to the beleaguered Angevins. It isfirmly
sited in the reign of Charles of Anjou’s successor, Charles of Salerno,
even though the latter was still languishing in Aragonese captivity.^141 As
we have seen, the effective regent, at this time, was Count Robert of
Artois. Consequently, Hugh would have a great deal to do with him, for
more thanfive years, until 1291.^142
An opportunity for Hugh to get his revenge on Rogerfinally emerged
in the late spring of 1287. However, the‘Battle of the Counts’(23 June)
was, in fact, a depressing re-run of the clash in the bay of Naples, fought
in almost exactly the same place.^143 Once again, Hugh was one of a large
number of prestigious Angevin captives. Wise after the events of 1284,
the Aragonese demanded an enormous ransom in exchange for his
freedom. Hugh was obliged to leave his son and heir in honourable
custody, whilst he himself retired north to begin raising the money.^144
This proved to be important for the future, as we shall see.
It is reasonable to infer, then, that Hugh’sfinal visit to France was, in
large measure, a fundraising venture. It is unfortunate that we know so
little about how the county of Brienne was administered in his
absence.^145 It is possible that Hugh Chauderon served asbaillithere,
perhaps until his death in 1294.^146 Certainly, we can discern a sudden
rush of charters in the late summer and autumn of 1288–that is, when
Hugh of Brienne himself was back in the county–and several of these are
not very well-known.^147 In particular, it is worth noting a pair of docu-
ments in which Hugh scrutinizes the donations of his predecessors to the
Teutonic commandery of Beauvoir.^148 We may guess that he wanted to
be sure that he was not losing revenue unnecessarily. However, the
count’s aim was not simply to claw back any concessions. In October,
he himself issued a charter for his kinswoman Sibylla, abbess of La Piété.
(^141) The document in question can be found in the BnF: Duchesne 76, fol. 181.
(^142) See, for example,RCA, xxviii, reg. 4, no. 72; xxix, reg. 5, nos. 69–70, 88–9. For an
excellent short summary of Robert’s career, see Dunbabin,The French in the Kingdom of
Sicily, 101–19.
(^143) The battle is neatly summarized in Rose,Medieval Naval Warfare,49–50.
(^144) De Sassenay,Brienne, 161. See alsoRCA, xxix, reg. 5, nos. 69–70.
(^145) See, for example,‘Catalogue’, nos. 194–5. It is worth noting Roserot’s suggestion,
however, that no. 194 was actually issued on 5 April 1273, when Hugh was back in
Brienne for a brief visit (Dictionnaire, i, 246).
(^146) For Hugh Chauderon and his connection with the Brienne family, see Baudin,Les
sceaux des comtes de Champagne et de leur entourage, 402–3.
(^147) ‘Catalogue’, no. 196, and see the next footnote.
(^148) Ibid., no. 197, and the following charter in the Archives départementales de l’Aube: 3
H 3528. See also Polejowski,‘The Counts of Brienne and the Military Orders in the
Thirteenth Century’, 293.
The Briennes of Lecce and Athens 131