Northumberland

Who holds it

Name

William de Stuteville (probable), with John l'Aleman

Title

Sheriff of Northumberland

Since

John gave him charge of Northumberland and Cumberland at his accession (Howden, via the Dictionary of National Biography); the county list names him for 1200. Hugh Bardolf was sheriff 1194-98 or 1199

Confidence

medium

Overlord

King John

How things stand that morning

Quiet that winter. William the Lion's envoys pressed his claim on John in 1199; John sent Eustace de Vescy to promise him his rights. Howden tells that William raised an army in 1199 but was warned off at St Margaret's tomb in Dunfermline and disbanded it (from Howden as generally reported; not re-checked here). No raid is recorded for the winter of 1199-1200, so no raiding belt is drawn.

Sheriff in 1200

William de Stuteville (probable), with John l'Aleman. John gave him charge of Northumberland and Cumberland at his accession (Howden, via the Dictionary of National Biography); the county list names him for 1200. Hugh Bardolf was sheriff 1194-98 or 1199

Answers for

The county farm; the profits of justice; custody of Newcastle and Bamburgh castles and of the royal manors (Corbridge, Newburn, Rothbury); cornage, the old northern render for cattle.

Hundreds

• No hundreds: the old shires and later wards (Bamburgh, Coquetdale, Glendale, Tynedale, Castle, Morpeth); the county court meets at Newcastle

Forests

• Royal forest in the county is not pinned; Redesdale is the Umfravilles' forest; Tynedale's chases are the Scots king's

Castles

• Royal: Newcastle, Bamburgh
• Baronial: Alnwick, Prudhoe, Harbottle, Warkworth, Mitford, Morpeth, Wark on Tweed
• Church: Norham (bishop of Durham)

Liberties

Tynedale (king of Scots); Redesdale (Umfraville); Hexhamshire (archbishop of York); Tynemouth (St Albans); Norhamshire, Islandshire and Bedlingtonshire (bishop of Durham: outside the shire, drawn with Durham).

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. March 1200John waits at York for William, who does not come.Depends on: William's demand for the northern counties Stopped by: An agreement
2. 22 November 1200William does homage to John at Lincoln; the northern counties stay English and the claim is postponed.Depends on: Both kings willing Stopped by: A Scottish invasion, which would turn the shire into a raiding belt
3. 1201 (after 1200)Robert FitzRoger becomes sheriff.Depends on: Royal appointment Stopped by: Nothing likely

Places of note

• Newcastle castle: Shire castle and county court
• Bamburgh castle: Royal fortress

Where the sources disagree

• The county lists disagree on the change from Hugh Bardolf to William de Stuteville (1199 or 1200). Bardolf's own article gives him Northumberland 1194-98 and Cumberland 1198-99, then Cornwall and Devon from 1199.

Evidence: Sheriff from the Wikipedia lists and the DNB; the Dunfermline story is Howden's.

On the map: Historic county; the bishop of Durham's Norhamshire, Islandshire and Bedlingtonshire are cut 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.