Shrewsbury

Who holds it

Name

King John

Title

Lord of the town

Since

See lord_1200

Confidence

high

Lord in 1200

King John; the burgesses hold the town at fee farm under Richard I's charter; the castle is the king's, kept by the sheriff William FitzAlan; the abbot of Shrewsbury rules the Abbey Foregate suburb.

How things stand that morning

Royal and quiet; the burgesses are buying their liberties from the new king.

Threats

• War with Powys or Gwynedd

Charter

Richard I's charter of 11 November 1189 grants the town to the burgesses at a fixed annual farm. John confirms a lost charter of Henry II on 13 April 1200 and grants the burgesses the election of their own provosts on 20 April 1200: both after 1 January, so not yet in force.

Council

The burgesses answer for the farm through officers of their own choosing in practice; the formal right to elect two provosts comes only on 20 April 1200. No mayor.

Communities

Welsh traders from Powys and Gwynedd; the Benedictine abbey of St Peter and St Paul (founded 1083 by Roger of Montgomery); the collegiate churches of St Chad, St Mary (a royal free chapel), St Alkmund and St Juliana.

Fairs and markets

Weekly markets; the abbey's fair at the feast of St Peter's Chains (1 August, Lammas), from the abbey's early grants (not pinned in detail). The town's own fair comes with John's charter of 1205.

Militia

The burgesses and the shire levy defend the town; the castle garrison is the sheriff's.

Walls and castle

Royal castle across the neck of the loop; the town relies on the river and earthworks (the first grant of murage in England, for stone walls, is of 1218).

Trade and crafts

Welsh cattle, hides and wool; cloth; leather; the Severn trade downstream to Bridgnorth, Worcester and Bristol.

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. 13 April 1200John confirms Henry II's lost charter.Depends on: Payment and the king's favour Stopped by: None likely
2. 20 April 1200John grants the burgesses the election of their provosts.Depends on: As above Stopped by: As above

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Dated royal charters (VCH Shropshire).

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.