Hereford

Who holds it

Name

King John (castle and fee farm)

Title

Lord of the town

Since

See lord_1200

Confidence

medium

Lord in 1200

King John (castle and fee farm); the citizens farm the city; the bishop (see vacant since 24 December 1198) holds the cathedral close and the bishop's fee with its own court and fair.

How things stand that morning

Royal and quiet; the see is vacant and the king's custodians take its revenues.

Threats

• Welsh raids into Archenfield and the Golden Valley

Charter

Richard I's charter of 1189 grants the city to the citizens at fee farm. John's later charter (1215) is not in force.

Council

The citizens answer for the farm through their bailiffs (names not pinned); no mayor yet.

Communities

A Jewry with an archa (chest for recording Jewish bonds) by 1194; the financier Hamo of Hereford is active. The cathedral canons and the vacant see.

Fairs and markets

The bishop's great fair of St Ethelbert in May (the bishop's, not the city's); weekly markets.

Militia

The citizens and the shire levy; the castle is the sheriff's.

Walls and castle

Royal castle on the Wye; the old burh rampart and ditch; the Wye bridge. Stone walls come later in the 13th century.

Trade and crafts

Welsh cattle, wool, hides, cloth, the Wye river trade, and the moneylending of the Jewry.

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. 1200 (consecrated 24 September 1200)Giles de Braose, William's son, becomes bishop.Depends on: Election and royal assent Stopped by: Papal quash

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Charter of 1189 and the 1194 Jewries are standard; town officers not named.

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.