Lincoln castle (Camville and Haye)

Who he is

Name

Gerard de Camville and his wife Nicola de la Haye

Title

Keeper of Lincoln castle and sheriff of Lincolnshire (Gerard); hereditary constable of Lincoln castle (Nicola)

Since

Nicola inherited the constableship from her father Richard de la Haye in 1169. Gerard held the castle and the shrievalty from 1189; William Longchamp tried to remove him in 1191 and Nicola held the castle through the siege; Richard removed him in 1194; John restored castle and shrievalty to him in 1199 (the year is firm, the day is not)

Born

Nicola about 1150; Gerard not pinned

Family

Nicola was first married to William fitz Erneis (died before 1185). Children of Gerard and Nicola: Richard, who marries Eustacia, widow of Thomas de Verdun, in 1200; Matilda; and Nicola, later wife of Oliver Deincourt. Gerard inherited Middleton Stoney (Oxfordshire), King's Sutton and Duddington (Northamptonshire) and lands in Berkshire from his father Richard de Camville (died 1191).

Confidence

medium

Both Wikipedia articles give the restoration as 1199. The lists of sheriffs give Robert de Tattershall for 1199 and Gerard (with Hugh FitzRichard) for 1200-05, so on 1 January 1200 Gerard may only just have taken the shire over from Tattershall: castle certain, shrievalty probable.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• Custody of Lincoln castle (with its two mottes, the Lucy Tower and the later Observatory Tower)
• The shrievalty of Lincolnshire, restored in 1199 (see Lincolnshire)
• Nicola's Haye inheritance in Lincolnshire: Swaton, where she died, and manors such as Fillingham, Ingham, Riseholme, Horbling and Spanby (from the list of her lands at death in 1230: the 1200 extent is not pinned)
• Gerard's inheritance in Oxfordshire (Middleton Stoney, with a castle), Northamptonshire and Berkshire

How it was acquired

Nicola by inheritance (1169); Gerard by marriage (by 1185) and by John's favour.

Allies and rivals

John's man since 1191; enemies of Longchamp; the bishop of Lincoln (Hugh of Avalon) and the citizens share the hill and the city.

How things stand that morning

Gerard and Nicola hold Lincoln castle on 1 January 1200. Gerard is sheriff, or about to be (see research).

Wealth

Nicola's Lincolnshire manors; the sheriff's profits; Gerard's southern manors.

Military

Lincoln castle, one of the strongest in England; held against a royal siege in 1191 (the Wikipedia account: Nicola held out for about a month).

Threats

• A change of royal favour (Richard removed Gerard in 1194)

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 (date not pinned)Richard de Camville marries Eustacia, widow of Thomas de Verdun.Depends on: the fine for the marriage being accepted Stopped by: the king giving the widow elsewhere
2. 22 to 24 November 1200William the Lion does homage to John at Lincoln, and Hugh of Lincoln is buried in his cathedral: both kings are at Lincoln, under the castle's guard.Depends on: William's journey and Hugh's death on 16 November Stopped by: a break with Scotland

Places of note

• Lincoln castle: Royal castle in the upper city
• Swaton: Haye manor, Nicola's later residence

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Castle custody firm; the start of Gerard's second shrievalty is not pinned to a term.

On the map: The Haye lands are drawn from the list of Nicola's lands at her death; Gerard's southern lands 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.