Earldom of Cornwall

Who he is

Name

Hugh Bardolf, with Osbert FitzWilliam as his deputy

Title

Sheriff of Cornwall and keeper of the earldom's lands for the king

Since

Easter 1199

Born

Not pinned (he dies in 1203)

Family

Hugh Bardolf is a royal justice and baron of the Exchequer, one of Henry II's and Richard's trusted administrators

Confidence

medium

The list of sheriffs drawn from the Pipe Rolls gives Hugh Bardolf, with Osbert FitzWilliam as under-sheriff, from Easter 1199 for both Devon and Cornwall; William of Wrotham and John of Torrington had the county from Michaelmas 1198. The Cornwall list on Wikipedia is muddled for 1200-02, so who follows him and when is not pinned.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• Launceston castle and the borough of Dunheved, the earls' caput on the Devon border
• The old comital manors (as the later duchy lists them): Helston in Kerrier, Helstone in Triggshire, Moresk by Truro, Tewington, Tybesta, Climsland, Calstock and Rillaton; which of them were farmed out in 1200 is not pinned. Liskeard, another comital manor, was granted by Richard I in 1194 to Earl Reginald's bastard Henry FitzCount (Henry FitzCount)
• The service of the honours held of the earldom: Cardinham (Robert de Cardinan) and Trematon (Roger de Valletort)
• The county farm and courts of Cornwall
• The whole county is royal forest in law until the Cornish buy their disafforestment in 1204

How it was acquired

The earldom escheated to the crown in 1175; John's grant of 1189 lapsed with his forfeiture in 1194 and his accession in 1199.

Allies and rivals

The Cornish tinners and landholders resent the forest law. Henry FitzCount, son of Earl Reginald, and Reginald's daughters' heirs are the obvious claimants if the king lets the earldom go.

How things stand that morning

In the king's hand under the sheriff. No resident earl, no court of a great lord; the castles of Launceston and Trematon and Cardinham are the only strongpoints, and Lydford across the Tamar is the king's prison for the stannaries.

Wealth

Tin above all (see Stannaries), with fish, slate, the cattle and sheep of the moors and the small harbours. No figures.

Military

Launceston castle; the knights of the honours held of the earldom. No campaign in Cornwall in living memory beyond the seizure of St Michael's Mount for John in 1193-94 by Henry de la Pomeroy.

Threats

• The grant of the earldom to a favourite would remake Cornish lordship
• Tinners' grievances against the warden and the forest

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. 1200-02The shrievalty of Cornwall changes hands among the king's men (William Briwere, Richard Fleming and others appear in the lists).Depends on: Routine royal appointments Stopped by: Nothing in particular

Places of note

• Launceston castle: Caput of the earldom
• St Michael's Mount: Priory held for John in 1193-94 and surrendered in 1194

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The vacancy since 1175 and John's tenure 1189-94 are well established; the sheriff for the winter of 1199-1200 rests on the PRO list as transmitted by Wikipedia; the manor list is the later duchy's and may include later additions.

On the map: The comital manors are drawn as small blocks around their centres; the county as a whole is drawn as the shire (Cornwall).

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.