Royal castles in Wales

Who he is

Name

King John

Title

King of England, holding these castles in demesne through constables

Since

Carmarthen royal since Henry I; Gower in the king's hand since 1184; Cardigan since Maelgwn sold it in 1199; the Three Castles royal since the 12th century

Born

24 December 1166

Family

See ese.

Confidence

high

Wikipedia (Carmarthen Castle, Skenfrith Castle, Cardigan Castle); the Cardigan burgess charter of 3 December 1199.

What it holds

• Carmarthen castle and borough with the royal demesne about it
• Cardigan castle and town with the commote of Cardigan, remitted to the king by Maelgwn (1199)
• Gower (Gower Anglicana and Gower Wallica) with Swansea castle and borough, Loughor and Oystermouth
• Skenfrith, Grosmont and White Castle (Llantilio) with their manors

How it was acquired

Royal since the 12th century, except Cardigan (purchase from Maelgwn, 1199).

Allies and rivals

Maelgwn ap Rhys is the king's client; Gruffydd ap Rhys is the threat to Cardigan and Carmarthen.

How things stand that morning

All held for the king. Cardigan is a royal island in Gruffydd's Ceredigion.

Wealth

Borough rents and tolls of Carmarthen, Cardigan and Swansea; the Gower manors; the king's courts.

Military

Royal garrisons (strength not recorded). Swansea held out against the Lord Rhys for ten weeks in 1192.

Threats

• Gruffydd ap Rhys and his brothers
• The Welsh of Gower Wallica

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. 1201John grants the Three Castles to Hubert de Burgh.Depends on: John's favour to Hubert Stopped by: Play
2. 1203Gower is granted to William de Braose.Depends on: As above Stopped by: As above

Places of note

• Carmarthen castle: Royal castle
• Cardigan castle: Royal since 1199
• Swansea castle: Caput of Gower
• Skenfrith: One of the Three Castles
• Grosmont: One of the Three Castles
• White Castle: One of the Three Castles

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Royal holding is certain; constables not named.

On the map: The royal districts round Carmarthen and Cardigan are small and approximate.

Primary sources for March of Wales

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.

• Annals of Wales, Anonymous (St Davids and other Welsh houses) (10th to 13th centuries; the B and C texts continue to 1286 and 1288). Short Latin annals whose later versions are kept at St Davids and Cistercian houses. 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
• Monastic Annals (Margam, Tewkesbury, Burton, Winchester, Waverley, Dunstable, Bermondsey, Worcester, Osney) (12th to 14th centuries). Nine sets of house annals, each with a short entry for 1200. Read online
• The History of William Marshal, Anonymous (a poet called John, writing for the Marshal family) (about 1224 to 1226). A knight's view of the Angevin succession: the council at Vaudreuil in April 1199 where the Marshal and Hubert Walter argued for John over Arthur, the Marshal's crossing to secure England, John's coronation, and the Marshal's part in Normandy in 1199 and 1200 as holder of Longueville and Orbec and a go-between with Philip. Read online
• The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
• 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.

3 more in the sources library for The British Isles.