Rigord

Life & Legacy

Rigord (Rigordus) (c. 1150 – c. 1209) was a French chronicler. He was probably born near Alais in Languedoc, and became a physician.
After becoming a monk he entered the monastery of Argenteuil, and then that of Saint-Denis, and described himself as "regis Francorum chronographus".
Rigord wrote the Gesta Philippi Augusti, dealing with the life of the French king, Philip Augustus, from his coronation in 1179 until 1206. The work, which is very valuable, was abridged and continued by William the Breton. The earlier part of the Gesta speaks of the king in very laudatory terms, but in the latter part it is much less flattering in its tone.
Rigord also wrote a short chronicle of the kings of France.