seems, rumours came through that the castellan of Gagliano, somefifty
miles north-west of the town, was on the verge of defecting to the
Angevin side. This presented Robert with a tempting opportunity to
sweep inland and claim the prize. We are told that he intended, atfirst,
to lead the expeditionary force in person but was dissuaded by his
Aragonese wife. Whatever the truth on this point, Robert entrusted the
command to his kinsman, the count of Brienne. The events that followed
reflect the battle of Gaza in 1239, however, with Walter neatly reversing
the role once played by his grandfather and namesake. As night fell and
the little army climbed into the hills, the count angrily refused pleas to
call off the enterprise. This would have been the right course of action,
though. Gagliano itself was a trap, carefully planned by its castellan in
full consultation with Blasco of Alagona. In the terrible situation that
emerged in the morning light, Walter rejected, once again, any thought
of flight, invoking both the honour of hisgensand the code of his
company.‘French knights do notflee in this way. After all, what is death
to us?’The end result was a foregone conclusion. We are told that Walter
would surrender only to Blasco himself.^167
In this way, Walter began a second and far shorter period of captivity,
which would last until thefinal peace treaty of Caltabellotta in 1302. It is
interesting to note that we know far less about what happened to Walter
in this period than we do about the efforts that were made to administer
his Italian territories in his absence. Charles II entrusted these lordships
to Philip of Toucy, laying down precise guidelines for his guardian-
ship.^168 Indeed, Walter even sent a letter from prison concerning a debt
that he owed to his former enemy, Roger of Lauria. King Charles agreed
to pay off the sum if Walter’s representative, John of Capite, was not able
to do so.^169
Walter had returned to France by June 1303, and it seems that he was
based there for the nextfive years.^170 The key event in this period was his
marriage to Jeanne of Châtillon, daughter of Count Gaucher of Porcien,
constable of France. Whilst there were many good reasons to marry into
the celebrated house of Châtillon, it is tempting to suggest that Walter
was consciously following in the footsteps of his kinsmen, the house of
Eu. The wedding had taken place by October 1305. However, Walter
(^167) For a more detailed account of the Gagliano campaign, seeibid., 167–75.
(^168) Ibid., 175 n. 1. For the role of the Toucy family in southern Italy, see Dunbabin,The
French in the Kingdom of Sicily, 149–52.
(^169) See de Sassenay,Brienne, 175 n. 1. John of Capite clearly acted as Hugh of Brienne’s
right-hand man before going on to serve his son, Count Walter. For more on John, see
170 RCA, xxix, reg. 5, nos. 69–70, and xliv, reg. 43, no. 50.
‘Catalogue’, nos. 199–206. See also de Sassenay,Brienne, 176 n. 3.
136 The Angevins and Athens (c. 1267–1311)