King's demesne (North)

Who he is

Name

John

Title

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

Since

6 April 1199 (Richard's death); crowned at Westminster 27 May 1199

Born

24 December 1166

Family

See the england realm record (ese). Married to Isabella of Gloucester until the annulment of 1199; the marriage to Isabella of Angouleme is 24 August 1200, not yet.

Confidence

high

The keepers named here follow the sheriffs' lists (Wikipedia) and the custody records cited in each part.

What it holds

• York castle (rebuilt in timber after the massacre of 1190) and the Old Baile, kept by the sheriff of Yorkshire
• Scarborough castle with the manor of Falsgrave
• Pickering castle and the forest of Pickering
• Bowes castle (built by Henry II on Richmond land) on the Stainmore road
• The forest of Galtres north of York, with Easingwold
• Royal manors in the East Riding, among them Driffield
• Knaresborough and Aldborough castles and Knaresborough forest (kept by William de Stuteville: Knaresborough (royal keeper))
• The honour of Tickhill (Tickhill (royal honour))
• Bamburgh castle and Bamburghshire; Newcastle castle (the New Castle, keep of 1172-77); the royal manors of Corbridge, Newburn and Rothbury
• Carlisle castle and city (Carlisle); the forest of Inglewood; Penrith, Sowerby, Langwathby and Scotby
• Appleby and Brough castles and the barony of Appleby (northern Westmorland), in hand since the 1170s; granted to Robert de Vieuxpont in 1203 (not yet)
• The honour of Lancaster: Lancaster castle, West Derby castle with Liverpool, Salford, and the Lancashire forests (Quernmore, Wyresdale, Bleasdale, Myerscough, Fulwood, Toxteth, Croxteth, Simonswood); Amounderness was granted to Theobald Walter (Amounderness)
• The royal boroughs of York, Scarborough, Newcastle, Carlisle, Appleby, Lancaster and Preston (town records)

How it was acquired

Crown demesne. The honour of Lancaster was granted to John by Richard in 1189, forfeited after John's rising in 1194 and kept by the crown (Theobald Walter as sheriff) for the rest of Richard's reign; it came back to John with the crown in 1199.

Allies and rivals

The sheriffs and keepers named in the parts; William the Lion claims Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland.

How things stand that morning

All in the king's hand. Keepers: the sheriffs keep the county castles (see the province records: Geoffrey FitzPeter in Yorkshire, William de Stuteville or Hugh Bardolf in Northumberland and Cumberland, Geoffrey FitzPeter or Stuteville in Westmorland, Theobald Walter in Lancashire); the keepers of Scarborough, Pickering and Bowes on 1 January 1200 are not pinned in the sources checked.

Wealth

The county farms, the forests, the boroughs' farms, the northern silver of Alston (the 'mine of Carlisle'), the Tyne and Lune ports.

Military

The strongest castle line in the North: York, Scarborough, Pickering, Knaresborough, Bowes, Bamburgh, Newcastle, Carlisle, Appleby, Brough and Lancaster. No garrison figures.

Threats

• William the Lion's claim to the three northern counties
• Theobald Walter's accounts as sheriff of Lancashire

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 1200John crosses from Normandy to England.Depends on: The truce with Philip holding Stopped by: Renewed war in Normandy
2. March 1200John goes north to York to receive William the Lion, who does not come; the Northumberland question is put off (general histories; not re-checked).Depends on: William's refusal to do homage without the northern counties Stopped by: A Scottish agreement or a Scottish attack
3. Early 1200John takes Theobald Walter's lands and the shrievalty of Lancashire from him.Depends on: The audit of his accounts Stopped by: Hubert Walter's intercession
4. 22 November 1200William the Lion does homage to John at Lincoln for his English lands; his claim to the northern counties is left unresolved.Depends on: Both kings willing to meet Stopped by: War
5. 1203 (after 1200)Appleby, Brough and Westmorland granted to Robert de Vieuxpont, hereditary from late 1203.Depends on: Vieuxpont's service in Normandy Stopped by: Nothing likely

Places of note

• York castle: Kept by the sheriff of Yorkshire
• Scarborough castle: Royal fortress
• Pickering castle: Royal castle and forest
• Bowes castle: Royal castle on the Stainmore pass
• Bamburgh castle: Royal castle
• Newcastle castle: Royal castle
• Carlisle castle: Royal castle
• Appleby castle: Royal castle
• Brough castle: Royal castle
• Lancaster castle: Royal castle
• West Derby castle: Royal castle

Where the sources disagree

• The keepers of the northern castles depend on the sheriffs' lists, which disagree for 1199-1200 (see the province records).

Evidence: The castles and forests are certain; their keepers that winter are pinned only where the sheriffs kept them.

On the map: Castles and forest blocks; the sheriffs' county-wide authority is drawn in the province records.

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.