Balliol

Who he is

Name

Eustace de Balliol (also called Eustace de Helicourt)

Title

Lord of Bywell and of Barnard Castle

Since

1190, as cousin and heir of Bernard de Balliol, who died childless (Wikipedia: he accounted for Richard's scutages as Bernard's heir, and John remitted the debt)

Born

Not pinned

Family

Of the Helicourt branch in Picardy. His son Hugh de Balliol, who joins him in a quitclaim of chapels at Barnard Castle in 1200, succeeds him about 1209; the later king of Scots, John Balliol, descends from Hugh.

Confidence

medium

Wikipedia (Eustace de Balliol).

Overlord

King John (Barnard Castle is claimed by the bishop of Durham as held of him)

What it holds

• The barony of Bywell (Bywell, Stocksfield and manors on the Tyne)
• Barnard Castle and the lordship of Gainford in Teesdale (inside the Durham liberty; not drawn)
• Hitchin in Hertfordshire (ese)
• Bailleul-en-Vimeu in Picardy (France map)

How it was acquired

Granted under William Rufus and Henry I.

Allies and rivals

Rival of the bishop of Durham over Barnard Castle.

How things stand that morning

Held.

Wealth

Tyne and Tees valley manors.

Military

Barnard Castle (a great stone castle). No figures.

Places of note

• Bywell: Caput of the Northumberland barony
• Barnard Castle: Balliol castle in Teesdale (Durham liberty)

Where the sources disagree

• The GM's Church map draws Durham; Barnard Castle sits inside it but is a lay barony disputed between the Balliols and the bishop.

Evidence: Holder from Wikipedia (Eustace de Balliol); the extent of the barony is general.

On the map: Only the Northumberland barony is drawn.

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.