City · Kingdom of Scotland · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Glasgow

The bishop's burgh beside the cathedral and St Kentigern's shrine, made a burgh by William's charter to Bishop Jocelin in the 1170s, with a weekly market and, from about 1190, a yearly fair in July.

Who holds it

Name
William Malveisin, elect of Glasgow and chancellor
Title
Lord of the burgh (bishop-elect)
Since
Elected October 1199
Confidence
high

Lord in 1200

The bishop of Glasgow is lord of the burgh: on 1 January 1200 the elect, William Malveisin, who is also the king's chancellor (the see lost Bishop Jocelin and the elect Hugh de Roxburgh in 1199).

Threats

  • Toll quarrels with the royal burgh of Rutherglen (thin)

Charter

William's charter to Bishop Jocelin (1175-1178) creating the burgh with a Thursday market; the fair granted about 1190.

Council

The bishop's bailies and the burgesses (thin).

Communities

Thin.

Fairs and markets

Thursday market; the fair in July (granted about 1190).

Militia

Burgess watch and ward.

Walls and castle

No wall; the bishop's castle near the cathedral is later.

Trade and crafts

Market for Clydesdale; Clyde fishing; pilgrims.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Charter dates well known; the elect's status is from the campaign notes.

Primary sources for Scotland

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 Holyrood, Anonymous (canons of Holyrood, Edinburgh) (about 1150 to 1170, with later additions). Gives nothing for 1200: its original text ends in 1163 and the few additions stop before William the Lion's last decades. 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 Kings of Mann and the Isles, Anonymous (monks of Rushen abbey, Mann) (about 1257, with continuations to 1316). The only native record of the kingdom of Mann and the Hebrides. Read online
  • History of English Affairs, William of Newburgh (about 1196 to 1198). Ends in 1198, so it gives no 1200 entries of its own; the Stanley continuation has only a line or two for 1200. Read online
  • Saga of the Earls of Orkney, Anonymous (Icelandic) (about 1200 to 1230; surviving text mainly from Flateyjarbok, about 1390). The saga's last chapters are about Earl Harald Maddadsson, who in 1200 held Orkney under King Sverre of Norway and Caithness under William the Lion: his long rule, his quarrel with the Scottish king that cost him Caithness in 1196 to 1197, his recovery of it, and the maiming of Bishop John of Caithness and the king's revenge in 1201 to 1202. 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 Great Life of Saint Hugh of Lincoln, Adam of Eynsham (about 1210 to 1215). The last book is a day by day account of Hugh's final year by the chaplain who was with him: his dealings with John at the start of the reign, his journey to France and the Grande Chartreuse in 1200, his illness in London, his death at the Old Temple on 16 November 1200 and the funeral at Lincoln on 23 November attended by King John, William the Lion of Scotland, three archbishops and a crowd of bishops and earls. Read online

2 more in the sources library for The British Isles.

Sources and studies

  1. Glasgow Fair (Wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.