King's demesne (Midlands)

Who he is

Name

John (Johan sans Terre, John Lackland)

Title

King of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou

Since

Richard I died on 6 April 1199; John was crowned at Westminster on 27 May 1199

Born

24 December 1166

Family

Youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. His marriages, heirs, officers and court are in the england realm record (ese).

Confidence

high

John knew these shires as his own before he was king: as count of Mortain under Richard (1189-94) he held Nottingham, Derby, the Peak, Bolsover, Tickhill and the honour of Peverel, and he lost them when his castles surrendered in 1194.

Overlord

None (the king)

What it holds

• Sherwood forest and the royal manors in and around it: Mansfield, Clipstone with the king's hunting house (the King's Houses), Edwinstowe, Arnold and the Nottingham castle fee; Kingshaugh by Darlton, a house John held as count
• The honour of Peverel of Nottingham, in the king's hand since William Peverel the younger fled in 1155: the castle of the Peak and the forest of High Peak, Bolsover, and Peverel manors in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire; the earl of Derby claims it through his grandmother Margaret Peverel
• The Nottinghamshire fees of the honour of Tickhill (Blyth, Harworth, Styrrup); Tickhill castle itself is in Yorkshire (eno)
• Chesterfield and the royal manors of Scarsdale (Chesterfield is granted to William Brewer only in 1204)
• Ashbourne and Wirksworth with the wapentake of Wirksworth and its lead: granted at fee farm to William de Ferrers, earl of Derby, soon after his girding in June 1199 (whether the grant was made by 1 January 1200 is not pinned; see Derby (Ferrers))
• Rockingham forest with the royal manors of Brigstock, Geddington, Kingscliffe and Corby; Salcey and Whittlewood forests with the hunting lodge at Silverstone
• Brill and the forest of Bernwood in Buckinghamshire; the Buckinghamshire fees of the honour of Wallingford (in the king's hand; John held Wallingford as count of Mortain)
• Feckenham forest with its hunting house, Kinver forest, Cannock forest and the forests of Ombersley and Horewell
• The soke of Grantham and the soke of Kirton in Lindsey; Godmanchester, an ancient demesne manor farmed by its men
• The honour of Eye (Suffolk), escheated: who held it on 1 January 1200 is not pinned (the duke of Brabant held the manor of Eye at some date, and William Longespee had the honour by 1205)
• The honour of Haughley (Suffolk), forfeited by Henry of Essex in 1163; its castle was taken and burnt by the earl of Leicester's Flemings in 1173
• The farms of the demesne boroughs: Norwich, Yarmouth, Ipswich, Dunwich, Orford, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Bedford, Northampton, Stamford, Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln, Grimsby, Torksey, Worcester, Stafford, Newcastle-under-Lyme
• The Jewries of Lincoln, Norwich, Northampton, Cambridge, Stamford, Nottingham and the rest, with their chests (archae) of 1194, which are royal property in all but name

How it was acquired

Royal demesne since the Conquest, enlarged by escheats: Peverel (1155), Haughley (1163), Eye (1159 and 1164), Tickhill (1102). Several of these were John's own as count of Mortain in 1189-94 and came back to the crown when his castles surrendered in March 1194.

Allies and rivals

The sheriffs answer for the shires (see the province records). The earl of Derby wants the Peverel lands; the earls of Chester have old claims from the civil war of Stephen's reign to Mountsorrel and to Peverel lands; the bishops of Lincoln, Norwich and Ely and the abbots of Bury, Peterborough and Ramsey hold great liberties where the royal writ passes through the Church's officers.

How things stand that morning

The demesne, forests and escheats are in royal hands under sheriffs and keepers. The king himself is across the Channel this winter (see the england realm record). He is in England from late February to late April 1200, when he collects the carucage and sells borough charters.

Wealth

The borough farms and the shire farms; forest fines and the profits of the forest eyre; the lead of the Peak (Wirksworth and Castleton); the Jewries' tallages; tolls on the Trent, the Ouse and the Fen rivers.

Military

The royal castles (see Royal castellans). The forests provide timber and venison for the castles and the court.

Threats

• The barons of the Peverel and Ferrers claims
• Forest grievances in Sherwood, Rockingham and Huntingdonshire
• Money for the war in Normandy: the carucage of 1200 and scutages

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. late February to late April 1200John comes to England, takes the carucage and sells charters: Northampton, Nottingham and Lincoln all have charters of John dated 1200 (Ballard).Depends on: John crossing to England after the January truce with Philip Stopped by: renewed war in Normandy keeping him overseas
2. Easter 1200A change of sheriffs: Robert FitzRoger leaves Norfolk and Suffolk; Hugh Bardolf takes Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in 1200.Depends on: the king's choice at the Easter Exchequer Stopped by: the king keeping the sitting sheriffs
3. 25 May 1200 and 29 June 1200Charters to Ipswich (25 May) and Dunwich (29 June).Depends on: the burgesses paying Stopped by: the king refusing or the money not found
4. 16 to 24 November 1200Hugh of Lincoln dies in London (16 November); William the Lion does homage to John at Lincoln (22 November); the two kings carry Hugh's bier at Lincoln.Depends on: Hugh's natural death; William coming south Stopped by: a change in Hugh's health or a break with Scotland

Places of note

• King's Houses, Clipstone: Royal hunting palace in Sherwood
• Kingshaugh: John's fortified house, held by him as count
• Geddington: Royal manor and hunting house in Rockingham forest
• Brill: Royal manor and hunting house in Bernwood forest
• Feckenham: Royal hunting house and forest court
• Eye: Caput of the escheated honour of Eye
• Haughley: Caput of the escheated honour of Haughley; castle burnt in 1173

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The demesne and the escheats are well known in outline from the Pipe Rolls; who kept each escheated honour on 1 January 1200 is mostly not pinned here.

On the map: Forests are drawn as royal because forest law was the king's, though many manors inside them belonged to others. The escheated honours were scattered: only their capita are 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.