Wallingford

Who he is

Name

Not pinned (a royal keeper)

Title

Keeper of Wallingford castle and the honour for the king

Since

1199, when John recovered the castle on his accession

Confidence

low

The keeper for the winter of 1199-1200 has not been found in the sources checked. The castle was John's from 1189; he seized it in his revolt of 1191, had to give it up, forfeited it in 1194 and took it back as king in 1199.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• Wallingford castle, one of the largest motte-and-bailey castles in England
• The knights' fees of the honour in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and other shires (many in the Midlands researcher's ground)
• Demesne manors around Wallingford

How it was acquired

Escheated to the crown in the 1150s after Brian FitzCount; granted to John in 1189; back with the crown since 1194 and merged with it in 1199.

Allies and rivals

The borough of Wallingford is royal and proud of Henry II's charter of 1155. Reading Abbey holds Cholsey next door.

How things stand that morning

In the king's hand. The honour's knights owe service to the king directly while it is in hand.

Wealth

Thames tolls and the river crossing, corn of the vale, the honour's reliefs and wardships. No figures.

Military

A great castle of the Thames valley, held for the Empress through the long sieges of the 1140s and 1150s.

Threats

• A grant of the honour to a favourite or a royal kinsman

Places of note

• Wallingford castle: Castle of the honour

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The honour's history is well known; its keeper that winter is not.

On the map: Only the caput 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.