Wiltshire

Who holds it

Name

William Longespee, earl of Salisbury, with Robert de Berneres as deputy

Title

Sheriff of Wiltshire

Since

Michaelmas 1199 (the Exchequer year 1199-1200)

Born

In or before 1167

Family

The king's half-brother; see Salisbury

Confidence

medium

The list of sheriffs gives Stephen of Turnham and Wandregisil de Courseulles for 1199 (the account closed at Michaelmas 1199) and William Longespee with Robert de Berneres for 1200-03.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• The shire farm and courts
• Custody of Old Sarum castle (the earls of Salisbury's claim)

How it was acquired

Shire of Wessex.

Allies and rivals

The bishop of Salisbury at Old Sarum, Ramsbury and Potterne; Malmesbury, Wilton and Shaftesbury abbeys; the bishop of Winchester at Downton.

How things stand that morning

Under the earl of Salisbury as sheriff. Across the borders: Gloucestershire to the north-west, Berkshire and Hampshire to the east, Dorset and Somerset to the south and west.

Wealth

Wool and the cloth of the west Wiltshire towns, Salisbury Plain corn. No figures.

Military

The royal castles listed; the earl's knights.

Threats

• Forest grievances
• Quarrels between the castle and the canons at Old Sarum

Sheriff in 1200

Name

William Longespee, earl of Salisbury

How

Sheriff, with Robert de Berneres acting for him

Since

Michaelmas 1199 (not pinned to the day)

Hundreds

Alderbury, Amesbury, Bradford, Branch and Dole, Calne, Cawdon, Chalke, Chippenham, Cricklade, Damerham, Downton, Dunworth, Elstub and Everleigh, Frustfield, Heytesbury, Highworth, Kingsbridge, Kinwardstone, Malmesbury, Melksham, Mere, Potterne and Cannings, Ramsbury, Selkley, Staple, Swanborough, Underditch, Warminster, Westbury and Whorwellsdown (later medieval list).

Forests

Savernake, Chute, Clarendon, Grovely, Melchet, Melksham, Chippenham, Pewsham, Braydon and Selwood.

Castles

Old Sarum, Marlborough, Ludgershall and Devizes (royal); Trowbridge (Bohun); Castle Combe; Downton (bishop of Winchester); Malmesbury.

Places of note

• Old Sarum castle: Royal castle
• Wilton: Old shire town

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Sheriff from the PRO list via Wikipedia; the handover at Michaelmas 1199 is inferred from the regnal-year entries.

On the map: Traced at a coarse scale; the parishes moved to Hampshire and Gloucestershire after 1844 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.