Devon

Who holds it

Name

Hugh Bardolf, with Osbert FitzWilliam as deputy

Title

Sheriff of Devon

Since

Easter 1199

Born

Not pinned (dies 1203)

Family

A royal justice and baron of the Exchequer

Confidence

medium

The list of sheriffs gives William of Wrotham and John of Torrington from Michaelmas 1198, Hugh Bardolf with Osbert FitzWilliam from Easter 1199, and William Briwere from Easter 1200.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• The shire farm and courts
• Custody of Exeter castle (normally the sheriff's; the Courtenays claim it)

How it was acquired

Shire of Wessex.

Allies and rivals

The earl of Devon and the Courtenays; the bishop of Exeter (Henry Marshal, William Marshal's brother); the tinners under their own warden.

How things stand that morning

Under Hugh Bardolf through his deputy. Across the borders: Cornwall over the Tamar, Somerset and Dorset to the east. Lundy in the Bristol Channel belongs to the shire; its lords the Mariscos are not pinned for 1200.

Wealth

Tin, wool, cloth, the ports of Exeter, Topsham, Dartmouth, Plymouth and Barnstaple. No figures.

Military

The castles listed; Dartmouth is a gathering port for fleets (the crusaders sailed from it in 1147 and 1190).

Threats

• The forest law
• Tinners' quarrels with landholders

Sheriff in 1200

Name

Hugh Bardolf

How

Sheriff, with Osbert FitzWilliam as under-sheriff

Since

Easter 1199

Hundreds

Axminster, Bampton, Black Torrington, Braunton, Budleigh, Cliston, Coleridge, Colyton, Crediton, Ermington, Exminster, Fremington, Halberton, Hartland, Hayridge, Haytor, Hemyock, Lifton, Ottery St Mary, Plympton, Roborough, Shebbear, Shirwell, South Molton, Stanborough, Tavistock, Teignbridge, Tiverton, Winkleigh, Witheridge and Wonford (later medieval list).

Forests

The whole shire is royal forest until the charter of 1204, which keeps only Dartmoor and Exmoor.

Castles

Exeter and Lydford (royal); Okehampton (Courtenay); Plympton and Tiverton (earl of Devon); Totnes (Nonant); Barnstaple; Bampton (Paynel).

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. Easter 1200William Briwere becomes sheriff of Devon.Depends on: Royal appointment Stopped by: Another choice

Places of note

• Exeter castle: Royal castle

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Sheriff from the PRO list via Wikipedia.

On the map: Traced at a coarse scale along the Tamar and the Somerset and Dorset borders.

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.