Shropshire

Who holds it

Name

William FitzAlan (II), lord of Oswestry and Clun

Title

Sheriff of Shropshire

Since

1190 (to 1201)

Born

Not pinned

Family

See FitzAlan.

Confidence

high

Wikipedia list of sheriffs of Shropshire (from the Pipe Rolls): William FitzAlan II 1190-1201. Staffordshire had its own sheriff until 1204, when the two shires were joined under one sheriff until 1344.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• The county farm and the profits of the shire and hundred courts
• Custody of Shrewsbury castle
• The fee farms of Shrewsbury (granted to the burgesses 1189) and Bridgnorth

Allies and rivals

The sheriff is a Marcher baron in his own right.

How things stand that morning

Quiet; a royal shire with a strong baronial sheriff.

Wealth

Wool, cattle, Severn trade, lead of the Stiperstones.

Military

The shire levy under the sheriff; baronial castles along the march.

Threats

• Raids from Powys

Sheriff in 1200

William FitzAlan (II), sheriff since 1190, in office until 1201; he accounts at the Exchequer for the county farm in his own name (deputies not pinned). Shropshire is NOT joined with Staffordshire in 1199-1200: the joint shrievalty begins in 1204.

Hundreds

The hundreds as reorganised in the 12th century: Bradford, Brimstree, Chirbury, Condover, Ford, Munslow, Overs, Pimhill, Purslow and Stottesdon, with the liberty of Wenlock priory; Oswestry and Clun are FitzAlan Marcher liberties outside the hundreds (later forms of the names; 1200 arrangement approximate).

Forests

Royal forests of the Long Forest, Shirlett, Morfe, Mount Gilbert (the Wrekin), Lythwood and the Stiperstones (Hayes); the bounds of 1200 were wider than after the 13th-century disafforestations.

Castles

Royal: Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth. Baronial: Ludlow (Lacy), Oswestry, Clun and Shrawardine (FitzAlan), Caus (Corbet), Wem (Pantulf), Knockin (Lestrange), Whittington (Meurig ap Roger), Ellesmere (Dafydd ab Owain), Cleobury (Mortimer), Holdgate, Corfham.

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. 1201FitzAlan's shrievalty ends.Depends on: Royal appointment Stopped by: John keeping him

Places of note

• Shrewsbury castle: Shire castle

Where the sources disagree

• The assignment asked whether Shropshire and Staffordshire shared a sheriff in 1199: they did not; the joint shrievalty dates from 1204. emd should write Staffordshire with its own sheriff.

Evidence: Sheriff from the Pipe-Roll-based list; hundreds from later medieval forms.

On the map: Historic county line traced roughly; Halesowen, a detached part of Shropshire, is not included in the polygon (see Dafydd ab Owain).

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.