Dunster

Who he is

Name

Reginald de Mohun (born 1185), a minor

Title

Lord of Dunster

Since

1193, on the death of his father William de Mohun on crusade

Born

1185

Family

Son of William de Mohun (died 1193). He will marry Alice, daughter of William Briwere, in 1205; their son Reginald is born in 1206.

Confidence

medium

About fourteen on 1 January 1200, so his lands are in wardship; who holds the wardship that winter is not pinned (Briwere, his future father-in-law, is a likely candidate but not proved here).

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• Dunster castle
• Demesne manors of Dunster, Minehead, Cutcombe, Kilton and Carhampton in Somerset and Ham in Dorset
• About forty-six and a half knights' fees (under William de Mohun, died 1176)

How it was acquired

William de Mohun held Dunster at Domesday.

Allies and rivals

Neighbours: the royal forest of Exmoor; the Courcys of Stogursey.

How things stand that morning

In wardship; the lord a minor.

Wealth

Exmoor wool, the harbours of Minehead and Dunster, coastal trade with Wales and Ireland. No figures.

Military

Dunster castle, held for the Empress against Stephen in the 1140s.

Threats

• Wardship exploitation

Places of note

• Dunster castle: Caput

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Descent from the feudal barony page; the guardian is not pinned.

On the map: Kilton and the Dorset manor are not 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.