Westminster

Who holds it

Name

William Postard

Title

Abbot of Westminster

Since

9 October 1191

Confidence

high

Prior under Abbot Walter before his election, chosen by the monks over Henry Longchamp, brother of Richard I's chancellor William Longchamp. He gave his vill of Parham to the monastery. Dies on 4 May 1200; Ralph of Arundel succeeds (1200-1214).

What it holds

• The vill of Westminster beside the royal palace, under the abbot's court, with the abbey's sanctuary
• Half the town of Pershore, granted by Edward the Confessor and shared with Pershore Abbey, whose tenants and Westminster's live side by side
• Worcestershire manors from the same grant, including Longdon, Powick and Eldersfield
• Deerhurst in Gloucestershire, given by the Confessor
• Scattered manors in the home counties

How it was acquired

Edward the Confessor's endowment of his rebuilt abbey (consecrated 1065), confirmed by William I.

How things stand that morning

Held by William Postard in his last months.

Wealth

Rents of the Worcestershire and home-county manors; offerings at the Confessor's shrine; royal patronage.

Threats

• Postard's death on 4 May 1200 and the vacancy that follows
• Friction with Pershore over the shared town

Advocates and rivals

Pershore Abbey (Abbot Anselm, 1198-1203), which disputes the abbot of Westminster's rights in Pershore (it complained in the 13th century of the 'oppression of the abbot of Westminster'); the bishop of London, from whom Westminster claims exemption; the king, its patron and neighbour.

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. 4 May 1200Abbot William Postard dies; Ralph of Arundel succeeds later in 1200.Depends on: His natural death. Stopped by: Nothing likely.

Places of note

• Westminster Abbey: Coronation church and shrine of Edward the Confessor

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Postard's dates come from the abbey's own records. The list of Westminster's Worcestershire manors is from Domesday-based knowledge and not checked manor by manor here.

On the map: The Westminster disc stands for the vill and precinct; the western manors are shown as small districts.

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.