taking place in or around the early thirteenth century. It is surely not an
accident that the device became settled in this way at precisely the time of
the dynasty’s breakthrough into prominence and very greatest successes.
Likewise, it is quite believable that, from this point onwards, the‘Brienne
lion’spread into cadet branches, such as the house of Ramerupt, and
into related or subordinate families, such as the Joinvilles. It has to be
conceded, however, that it is hard to trace any of these developments
with confidence, simply because the lion is quite so ubiquitous as a
symbol. To quote a neat twelfth-century adage,‘Qui n’a pas d’armes
porte un lion’. We should therefore be reticent about claiming links
between the Briennes and other dynasties simply on the grounds of
heraldic similarities.^46
The Shadow of TroyesIt is no easy task to tease out the precise nature of the relationship
between the Briennes and the counts of Champagne. All that can really
be explored is the interaction between the heads of the families in
question, with only occasionalflashes of information about the cadet
Figure 1.1 The definitive arms of the house of Brienne, on the seal of
Count Hugh (d. 1296). Taken from A. Roserot,Dictionnaire historique
de la Champagne méridionale. (Aube) des origins à 1790, intro. and 3 vols.
(Langres, 1942–8), i, 245.(^46) This paragraph is based, primarily, on the comprehensive work of Baudin,Les sceaux des
comtes de Champagne, above all 391–9.
20 ‘Between Bar-sur-Aube and Rosnay’(c. 950–1191)