Malpas

Who he is

Name

Not pinned. After the line of Robert FitzHugh, the Domesday baron, the barony was divided in two; the families holding the halves on 1 January 1200 are not pinned in the sources checked

Title

Barons of Malpas

Since

Not pinned

Confidence

low

Overlord

Ranulf III, earl of Chester

What it holds

• Malpas castle (motte and bailey)
• The townships of the barony in Broxton hundred

How it was acquired

Divided inheritance from the Domesday barony.

Allies and rivals

Faces the princes of Powys Fadog across the Dee.

How things stand that morning

Held by its barons under the earl; no Welsh attack is recorded that winter.

Wealth

Farmland and the road; small.

Military

Malpas castle.

Threats

• Raids from Maelor (Powys Fadog)

Places of note

• Malpas castle: Caput

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The barony and castle are certain; its holders around 1200 are not settled here.

On the map: Rough block around the castle.

Primary sources for Chester

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.

• The Charter Rolls of King John (1199 to 1216, at the royal chancery). The enrolled charters of John's first years, beginning with his accession in 1199: confirmations to towns, bishoprics and abbeys, grants of land and office, and the great grants to men like William Marshal and the king's new allies in Poitou. Read online
• The Great Rolls of the Pipe for 1199 and Michaelmas 1200 (1199 and 1200, at the Exchequer). The audited accounts of every sheriff and farmer for the Exchequer year ending Michaelmas 1200: county farms, the scutage of 1199, the carucage of 1200, debts of magnates and towns, wardships, and the fines offered to the new king.