Cambridge

Who holds it

Name

King John

Title

King of England

Confidence

high

Lord in 1200

The king; the sheriff (Robert de Lisle) answers for the borough until the burgesses get the fee farm in 1201.

How things stand that morning

Royal borough, at peace.

Charter

Henry I (1120-31: all the river traffic of the shire to land at Cambridge); Henry II (1185). John's charters of 1201 (fee farm, gild merchant) and 1207 are not yet (Ballard).

Council

The burgesses under the king's reeve; the gild merchant confirmed in 1201.

Communities

A Jewry with one of the chests of 1194.

Fairs and markets

Markets at the river hithes; the Stourbridge and Midsummer fairs belong to later grants.

Militia

None recorded.

Walls and castle

The royal castle; no stone walls.

Trade and crafts

Corn, malt, fen produce (turf, reed, fish) and goods carried up from Lynn.

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. 8 January 1201John grants the burgesses the fee farm and the gild merchant (just after 1200).Depends on: payment Stopped by: the king refusing

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Charter dates firm.

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.