The greatest lay barony of Devon after the earl's: the honour that Baldwin the sheriff built after the Conquest, with its castle above the West Okement on the northern edge of Dartmoor, a small borough below it, and well over a hundred manors across the shire.
It came to the Courtenays through Hawise de Courcy's marriage to Reginald de Courtenay. The lords of Okehampton remember that their founder was sheriff of Devon and keeper of Exeter castle, a claim the Courtenays will press later.
Who he is
- Name
- Hawise de Courcy (de Curci), widow of Reginald de Courtenay; her son Robert de Courtenay is her heir
- Title
- Lady of Okehampton
- Since
- Heiress through her mother Maud d'Avranches (died 1173); widowed 1194
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- Daughter of William de Curci and Maud d'Avranches, heiress of the Domesday sheriff Baldwin FitzGilbert's barony. Married Reginald de Courtenay (died 1194), of the French house of Courtenay. Her son Robert de Courtenay (died 1242) will later marry Mary de Redvers, daughter of the earl of Devon.
- Confidence
- medium
Hawise lived until 1219 and the barony descended through her; whether she still ran it herself on 1 January 1200 or had handed it to Robert is not pinned.
Overlord
King John
What it holds
- Okehampton castle and the borough of Okehampton
- The honour's manors across Devon (176 holdings in Domesday) and town houses in Exeter and Barnstaple
- An old claim, as heirs of Baldwin the sheriff, to the shrievalty of Devon and the keeping of Exeter castle
How it was acquired
Baldwin FitzGilbert (de Meules), sheriff of Devon, held it in 1086; it passed through the Avranches line to Maud, her daughter Hawise, and so to the Courtenays.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the king's forest of Dartmoor and Lydford, the abbey of Tavistock, the earl of Devon. The Courtenays are in the earl's orbit and will marry into his family.
How things stand that morning
Held by Hawise and the Courtenays without challenge.
Wealth
Dartmoor-edge pasture, tin ground, the Okehampton market. No figures.
Military
Okehampton castle (motte with a stone keep); the honour's knights' fees (Cartae Baronum, 1166).
Threats
- The forest law that covers all Devon
- Tinners' digging on the honour's land
Places of note
- Okehampton castle: Caput
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Descent from the feudal barony page (after Sanders); who managed the barony that winter is inferred.
On the map: Only the caput district is 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.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.