Canterbury

Who holds it

Name

Hubert Walter

Title

Archbishop of Canterbury

Since

Elected 29 May 1193, enthroned 7 November 1193

Confidence

high

Born about 1160, so about 40; son of Hervey Walter and Maud de Valognes, brother of Theobald Walter (a great lord in Ireland), raised in the household of his uncle Ranulf de Glanvill. Bishop of Salisbury 1189-93, on the Third Crusade with Richard, justiciar 1193-98, legate 1195-98. He crowned John on 27 May 1199 and became his chancellor the same day; he works closely with the justiciar Geoffrey fitz Peter on taxation. Founder of West Dereham Abbey (1188).

Innocent has ruled for the Christ Church monks in the Lambeth dispute and ordered him to pull down what he had built there. He opposes Gerald of Wales's election to St Davids. He later holds Rochester castle (custody from 20 July 1202). Dies 13 July 1205.

What it holds

• Kent: the archbishop's manors and their courts at Otford, Wingham, Maidstone, Charing, Aldington, Teynham, Gillingham, Northfleet, Wrotham, Bishopsbourne, Lyminge and Reculver
• Saltwood castle, held of the archbishop by knight service since the Conquest; Henry II gave it to Ranulf de Broc, and Richard I returned it to the archbishop
• Sussex: South Malling (with Ringmer, Uckfield, Buxted, Framfield, Mayfield and Wadhurst), Pagham with Slindon and Tangmere, and Tarring
• Surrey and Middlesex: Croydon, Mortlake with Wimbledon, Harrow and Hayes; Lambeth, acquired in the 1190s
• In Canterbury, the archbishop's palace beside Christ Church; the city itself is the king's borough

How it was acquired

Ancient endowments of the see from Kentish and West Saxon kings, recorded in Domesday; Saltwood restored under Richard I.

How things stand that morning

Hubert holds the see and the chancellorship. The Lambeth quarrel is before the pope, who has backed the monks.

Wealth

Kentish corn and wool, marsh grazing on Romney Marsh and the Thames estuary, timber and iron of the Weald around South Malling; offerings at Becket's shrine go to the monks.

Threats

• The Christ Church monks' appeals to Rome over Lambeth
• Opposition from Gerald of Wales and the Welsh princes over St Davids
• Rome's dislike of a bishop in royal office

Advocates and rivals

The monks of Christ Church, who hold their own great estates and are fighting Hubert over his planned college at Lambeth; St Augustine's Abbey, exempt and a rival; the knights who hold the archbishop's fees; the Kentish towns.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 8 October 1200Hubert crowns Isabella of Angoulême queen at Westminster, with John wearing his crown.Depends on: John marrying Isabella on 24 August 1200, which depends on her betrothal to Hugh of Lusignan being set aside. Stopped by: No Angoulême marriage.

Places of note

• Saltwood castle: The archbishop's castle above Hythe
• Canterbury cathedral: Christ Church, Becket's shrine, and the archbishop's palace
• Otford: Archbishop's great manor house in west Kent

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Hubert is well documented; the manor list is the archbishop's Domesday holdings and the main later residences, not checked one by one here. South Malling's hundreds (Loxfield and Ringmer) as the archbishop's franchise are thin for 1200.

On the map: Only the archbishop's main manors and blocks are drawn; his many lesser holdings and the separate estates of the Christ Church monks are left out.

Primary sources for England

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond, Jocelin of Brakelond (about 1198 to 1203). An inside account of Bury St Edmunds under Abbot Samson, written while the events were fresh. Read online
• Chronicle of Melrose, Anonymous (monks of Melrose abbey) (about 1173 to 1270, in many hands; the 1200 entries are near contemporary). The main Scottish annal for the year, kept at a Cistercian house on the Tweed. Read online
• Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
• Chronicle of the Princes, Anonymous (Welsh translation of a lost Latin chronicle kept at Strata Florida) (Latin original to about 1282, compiled from contemporary annals; Welsh versions about 1300 and later). The native Welsh record of the year. Read online
• Chronicle; Deeds of the Kings, Gervase of Canterbury (Chronica about 1188 to 1199; Gesta Regum about 1199 to 1210). The Chronica stops in 1199, so for 1200 the witness is the briefer Gesta Regum, which notes John's peace with Philip, the coronation of Isabella at Westminster on 8 October 1200, and matters touching Canterbury: the archbishop Hubert Walter as chancellor, the cathedral priory's quarrel with him, and the Lambeth college dispute lately settled by the pope. Read online
• English Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall, Ralph of Coggeshall (about 1200 to 1224, in stages). Short but independent entries for 1200 from a Cistercian house in Essex: John's levy on the Cistercians and the carucage, the peace with Philip, the king's new marriage and the queen's coronation, and the death of Hugh of Lincoln. Read online
• Flowers of History, Roger of Wendover (about 1220 to 1235 at St Albans). For 1200 Wendover is mostly Howden rewritten, so he is a second witness only where he adds St Albans material: a long account of Hugh of Lincoln's last months, death and funeral, and anecdotes about John's conduct toward the Cistercians and his new queen. Read online
• Images of History, Ralph de Diceto (about 1188 to 1202). A London view of the year from the dean of St Paul's, who knew the justiciar and the bishops personally. Read online

22 more in the sources library for The British Isles.