Reading

Who holds it

Name

Elias (Helias)

Title

Abbot of Reading

Since

1199

Confidence

medium

Succeeded Hugh II, who left Reading in 1199 to become abbot of Cluny (the Hugh V of the campaign notes). Innocent III took him and the abbey under protection in 1207, confirming Reading, Cholsey and Leominster. Abbot until 1212. The month of his election in 1199 is not pinned.

What it holds

• Reading: lordship of the town, its hundred court and all pleas; market, fairs and mint; the townsmen's guild under the abbot
• Leominster in Herefordshire and its members, run as a cell of Reading
• Cholsey and Thatcham in Berkshire, from the founder's endowment
• The hand of St James and over 230 other relics

How it was acquired

Henry I's foundation charter of 1121 with Reading, Cholsey and Leominster (and Battle Abbey's former land in Reading, exchanged for Appledram); monks from Cluny and Lewes.

How things stand that morning

Elias holds it, newly in office.

Wealth

Reading's market, mint and Thames traffic; Leominster's lands and wool; pilgrims to St James's hand.

Threats

• The townsmen's guild pressing for self-government

Advocates and rivals

The townsmen of Reading; the bishop of Hereford, over taxing the Leominster clergy; the king, for whom Reading is a royal house.

Places of note

• Reading Abbey: Henry I's abbey and burial place

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Reading's lordship over the town is well attested in the Victoria County History; Leominster's extent is not traced here.

On the map: Reading and Leominster are drawn as districts; Leominster's members spread wider than shown.

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.