Glastonbury

Who holds it

Name

Savaric fitzGeldewin

Title

Bishop of Bath, claiming the abbey ('bishop of Bath and Glastonbury')

Since

Bishop of Bath since September 1192; enthroned at Glastonbury on Whit Sunday 1199

Confidence

high

A kinsman of the late Emperor Henry VI through his mother (the exact link is unclear). After his consecration he traded the city of Bath to the king in return for the abbey, with Celestine III's backing. The monks resisted; their appeal was dismissed in 1196, but Richard took their side and let them elect William Pica abbot in 1198. After John's accession Savaric received the submission of the senior monks and was enthroned at Glastonbury on Whit Sunday 1199, setting his see in the abbey.

Pica and his party have appealed to Innocent III.

What it holds

• The Twelve Hides: the abbey site and precinct, its demesne, and the islands of Meare, Panborough and Edgarley with their neighbours, free of geld and outside the hundred
• Glastonbury town and market
• The abbey's great estates across Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire, now under Savaric's control (in 1202 a commission at St Albans divides them, giving Savaric ten manors including Pucklechurch and Winscombe)
• The pilgrim shrines: the Old Church, St Dunstan, and the graves of Arthur and Guinevere exhumed in 1191

How it was acquired

Royal grants from the 7th century onward; the Twelve Hides' exemption rested on Anglo-Saxon charters. In 1191 the abbot gained the right to wear the mitre and other episcopal ornaments.

How things stand that morning

Savaric holds the abbey and its lands since mid-1199; the convent is divided and Pica's party is pursuing its appeal at Rome.

Wealth

The richest monastic estates in England; pilgrim offerings revived after the fire of 1184 by the 'discovery' of Arthur's tomb; fisheries, peat and meadow of the Somerset levels.

Threats

• A papal judgment for the monks
• A divided convent and wasted revenues
• The rebuilding after the fire of 1184 is stalled

Advocates and rivals

The monks and their elect William Pica, at or on the way to the curia; Savaric and his officials; the pope, who must judge; John, whose accession let Savaric in.

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. June 1200Innocent annuls Pica's election and confirms the union of the abbey with the see of Bath; Pica and some companions die unexpectedly at Rome, and the monks suspect poison.Depends on: The pope deciding for Savaric. Stopped by: A papal judgment for the monks.

Places of note

• Glastonbury Abbey: Abbey of the Isle of Avalon, rebuilding after the fire of 1184

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The Victoria County History (Somerset) gives a detailed narrative. Secondary accounts differ on when Savaric first made the exchange of Bath (1192-93 or 1197); the enthronement of Whit Sunday 1199 is the decisive step.

On the map: The Twelve Hides is drawn as one district joining Glastonbury and its island villages; its exact bounds are not traced.

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.