he had been a child and too young to defend himself, the Church‘had
sent enemies into Apulia in the guise of protectors...’^35
For his part, Walter was astute enough to realize that the concessions
that Innocent had made were quite sufficient to give him a free hand in
southern Italy. Leaving his wife and mother-in-law in Rome, Walter
returned to Champagne to prepare his expedition.^36 In truth, though,
he had already started to do this, as a number of charters attest.^37 In
February 1200, for example, Walter had ceded suzerainty over several
border villages to the count of Champagne, in exchange for another
village that Walter was authorized to sell–presumably to raise money
for the projected campaign.^38 On his return from Rome, Walter did still
more to generate ready cash. For instance, we know that he sold various
rights in the village of Molins to the monastery of Saint-Loup for 100l.de
Provins.^39 However, a much more interesting idea has been provided by
d’Arbois de Jubainville. He suggested that, in late 1200 or early 1201,
Walter pledged to his brother, John, his possessions between the Seine
and the Aube (and this denotes a very large proportion indeed of
Walter’s territory).^40 It would seem that John stood to benefit because
his older brother, William, had died not long beforehand, leaving behind
a widow and young children.^41 Some of William’s land, though, such as
the village of Herbisse, could well have passed to John rather than to
William’s immediate family. In March 1201, John ceded the village to
Count Theobald of Champagne, in return for a range of possessions and
780 l. We may infer that John paid most or all of this sum over to his
brother, Count Walter, but the charter does insist that, having paid
Walter, John then had to use any remaining money to purchase land
held infief from the count of Champagne.^42 A month later (and this part
of the money-raising process is much clearer!), Walter certainly mort-
gaged all his land to Count Theobald, for 700l.^43 As a result, it seems,
(^35) For this, see Honorius III’s response in hisRegesta, ed. P. Pressutti, 2 vols. (Rome,
1888 – 95), ii, no. 5967.
(^36) The Deeds of Pope Innocent III, ch. 25.
(^37) For the charters that Walter and his brother John issued around the turn of the century,
see‘Catalogue’, nos. 110–7, 119–124. Some unpublished charters can be found in the
BnF: MS Français 20690, fols. 171, 181, 195, and Collection de Champagne, vol.
cxxxix, fol. 334. In addition, there are a number of pertinent documents in the
Archives départementales de l’Aube: 27 H 3, nos. 29, 36 and 36bis. See also Perry,
John, Appendix 1, no. 4.
(^38) ‘Catalogue’, no. 111. See also Perry,John, 34. (^39) ‘Catalogue’, no. 122.
(^40) Seeibid., no. 119.
(^41) SeeLe premier cartulaire de l’abbaye cistercienne de Pontigny, nos. 227–30, 259; and also
42 Perry,John,33–4.
43 ‘Catalogue’, no. 119, which does not spell out the full terms of the transaction.
Ibid., no. 124.
The Life and Death of Walter III 41