Somerset and Dorset

Who holds it

Name

Robert Belet

Title

Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset

Since

Easter 1199

Born

Not pinned

Family

Of Broomfield and West Quantoxhead in Somerset

Confidence

medium

The Somerset Archaeological Society's list of sheriffs gives William de Cahaignes 1194-97, Peter de Scudamore from Easter 1197, Robert Belet from Easter 1199, then Hubert de Burgh, the king's chamberlain, with Alan de Whitton and Henry de Stokes as deputies; Hubert's term begins in 1200.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• The farms and courts of both shires

How it was acquired

Shires of Wessex, joined under one sheriff.

Allies and rivals

Bishop Savaric of Bath against the Glastonbury monks (campaign notes, Part 8, 11).

How things stand that morning

Under Robert Belet as sheriff. Across the borders: Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to the north and east, Hampshire to the east of Dorset, Devon to the west; Glamorgan across the Bristol Channel.

Wealth

Wool, cloth, the Bristol Channel ports, Mendip lead, Bridport hemp, Purbeck stone and Dorset salt. No figures.

Military

Corfe and Sherborne; the barons' castles listed.

Threats

• The Glastonbury quarrel
• Forest grievances

Sheriff in 1200

Name

Robert Belet

How

Sheriff of both shires

Since

Easter 1199

Hundreds

Somerset has some forty hundreds (Abdick and Bulstone, Andersfield, Bath Forum, Bempstone, Brent, Bruton, Cannington, Carhampton, Catsash, Chew, Crewkerne, Frome, Glaston Twelve Hides, Hartcliffe, Horethorne, Houndsborough, Keynsham, Kilmersdon, Kingsbury, Martock, Milverton, North Curry, North Petherton, Norton Ferris, Pitminster, Portbury, Somerton, South Petherton, Taunton, Wellow, Wells Forum, Whitley, Williton, Winterstoke and others); Dorset about thirty-four (Badbury, Beaminster, Bere, Bridport, Cerne, Cogdean, Cranborne, Culliford Tree, Eggardon, Fordington, Gillingham, Hasler, Knowlton, Pimperne, Redlane, Rowbarrow, Sherborne, Sturminster Newton, Uggescombe, Whitchurch, Winfrith and others). The lists are later medieval and approximate for 1200.

Forests

Somerset: Exmoor, Mendip, Selwood, Neroche and North Petherton. Dorset: Gillingham, Blackmore, Powerstock and the Purbeck chase.

Castles

Dorset: Corfe and Sherborne (royal), Wareham. Somerset: Taunton (bishop of Winchester), Dunster (Mohun), Stogursey (Courcy), Nether Stowey, Richmont at East Harptree, Montacute; Castle Cary is slighted.

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. 1200 (not pinned)Hubert de Burgh, the king's chamberlain, becomes sheriff of Somerset and Dorset and holds the shires to 1204, governing through deputies.Depends on: Royal appointment Stopped by: Another choice

Places of note

• Ilchester: Shire town of Somerset
• Dorchester: Shire town of Dorset

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Sheriffs from the Somerset Archaeological Society list and Wikipedia; hundreds after the VCH, approximate.

On the map: Traced at a coarse scale; the border parishes exchanged between Dorset, Somerset and Devon in the nineteenth century (Thorncombe, Chardstock, Hawkchurch, Sandford Orcas, Trent) are roughly followed.

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.