Winchester

Who holds it

Name

King John (the city and its royal castle); the bishop of Winchester holds the eastern soke and the St Giles fair

Title

Lord of the city

Since

Royal city since the West Saxon kings

Confidence

high

The city is the king's; the bishop, Godfrey de Lucy, has his palace of Wolvesey inside the walls and his own soke outside the east gate.

Lord in 1200

The king, through the city's own officers and the sheriff of Hampshire; the bishop of Winchester rules the soke, and the whole city while his fair runs.

How things stand that morning

Royal city under its own officers. John is in Normandy; the treasury still keeps some royal treasure here.

Charter

Henry II's charter (about 1155-58) confirming the gild merchant and the liberties of Henry I's time; Richard I's charter of 1190 (freedom from toll and from pleading outside the city). Later charters of John are not yet granted.

Council

The citizens' own officers (reeves or bailiffs) and the aldermen of the gild merchant; Winchester has one of the earliest mayors in England, recorded about 1200 (the first named mayor and his date are not pinned).

Communities

The Jewry around Jewry Street, one of the richest in England, with its own archa for recording debts; a large clergy of the cathedral priory, Hyde Abbey and St Mary's nunnery.

Fairs and markets

St Giles's fair on the hill east of the city, the bishop's, beginning on the eve of St Giles (1 September) and running for many days; weekly markets in the High Street.

Militia

The citizens keep watch and ward on the walls; the castle has a royal garrison.

Walls and castle

Roman and Saxon walls with five gates; the royal castle at the west gate; Wolvesey palace in the south-east corner.

Trade and crafts

Cloth (weavers, fullers and dyers), wool, the fair's trade with Flemish, French and Italian merchants, leather; the treasury and the king's officers bring money and custom.

Places of note

• Winchester castle: Royal castle and hall

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The institutions are well known from the Winton Domesday and later charters; the first mayor's date is not pinned.

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.