Southampton

Who holds it

Name

King John

Title

Lord of the borough

Since

Royal borough

Confidence

high

A royal borough with a royal castle. Its charters confirm the gild merchant and freedom from toll; whether John granted a new charter in his first year, and on what terms, is not pinned in the sources checked.

Lord in 1200

The king; the burgesses' own officers answer for the borough.

How things stand that morning

Royal port, busy with the traffic of the war in France.

Charter

Henry II's charter confirming the gild merchant and freedom from toll; any charter of John's first year is not pinned in the sources checked.

Council

Reeves (bailiffs) and the gild merchant with its alderman.

Communities

French and Norman merchants in French Street; a small Jewish presence.

Fairs and markets

Weekly markets; its fairs are not pinned for 1200.

Militia

The townsmen guard the walls and quays; ships and seamen are pressed for the king's crossings.

Walls and castle

Royal castle in the north-west of the town; walls and earthworks, parts dating from about 1175.

Trade and crafts

Wine imports, wool and cloth exports, Caen stone, woad, salt; shipping and shipbuilding.

Places of note

• Southampton castle: Royal castle and wine store

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The castle, walls and trade are well attested; the 1199 charter's content is not checked.

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.