Region · as at first light, 1 January 1200

The British Isles

On the morning of 1 January 1200 the Atlas records 20 realms and principalities in The British Isles, with 246 lords and officers, 325 towns, ports and sites, 27 church lands and religious houses and 52 provinces, peoples and free lands.

The realms

  1. Kingdom of EnglandJohnKingdom

    On the morning of 1 January 1200 England is the richest and best-run part of John's lands and the part he has seen least.

  2. Palatine earldom of ChesterRanulf III, earl of Chester, called de BlondevillePalatine earldom

    The only county palatine on the Welsh border.

  3. GwyneddLlywelyn ap IorwerthWelsh principality

    Gwynedd is the mountain kingdom of north-west Wales, Eryri (Snowdonia) and Anglesey, the granary of Wales.

  4. PowysGwenwynwyn ab OwainWelsh principality

    The middle kingdom of Wales, lying across the upper Severn and the Dee and open to England along the Shropshire border, divided since 1160.

  5. DeheubarthGruffydd ap Rhys, contested by his brother Maelgwn ap RhysWelsh principality

    The kingdom of the south-west that the Lord Rhys made the strongest power in Wales between 1155 and his death on 28 April 1197.

  6. The March of WalesWilliam de Braose, William Marshal, Roger Mortimer, WalterMarcher lordships

    The March (Marchia Wallie) is not a state but a belt of lordships won from the Welsh by Norman and English lords since the 1060s, from Chester's border to Pembroke.

  7. Kingdom of ScotlandWilliam I, called the LionKingdom

    The kingdom of the Scots on 1 January 1200 is a composite realm.

  8. Lordship of GallowayRoland, Lochlann son of UhtredLordship

    Galloway is the Gaelic-Norse lordship of the south-west, from the Nith to the Rhinns: hill country, moss and coast, ruled by the descendants of Fergus under their own customs, with its own kindreds, its own infantry and its own bishop at Whithorn under York.

  9. Argyll and the southern islesClann Somairle: RagnallLordship of Somerled's heirs

    The heirs of Somerled hold the sea-lordship he built between Ardnamurchan and the Mull of Kintyre: Argyll and Lorn on the mainland, Kintyre, and the southern Hebrides (Islay, Jura, Mull, Coll, Tiree and the small isles), with claims north to the Uists and Skye

  10. Kingdom of Mann and the IslesRognvald son of GodredKingdom

    The kingdom of Mann and the Isles is the Norse-Gaelic sea-kingdom of the Irish Sea and the outer Hebrides: Mann itself with its Tynwald and its abbey of Rushen, and the northern isles (Lewis and Harris, Skye, the Uists and Barra) that Somerled's heirs did not

  11. Earldom of Orkney and CaithnessHarald MaddadssonEarldom

    The Norse earldom of the north: Orkney, rich farmland and a fleet, ruled from Kirkwall and Orphir, with St Magnus cathedral rising since 1137; and Caithness across the Pentland Firth, held of the king of Scots.

  12. Lordship of IrelandJohnLordship

    John's lordship of Ireland is not a block of land but a set of rights: the royal cities of Dublin, Waterford, Limerick and Cork with their hinterlands and the king's manors round Dublin; the overlordship of the great liberties held by English barons who rule a

  13. Kingdom of ConnachtCathal Crobderg Ua ConchobairGaelic kingdom

    The strongest Irish kingdom: the Ua Conchobair overkingship west of the Shannon, with the sub-kingdoms of Ui Maine, Moylurg, Iar Connacht, the Ui Fiachrach and Luigne under its hostages.

  14. Kingdom of ThomondConchobar Ruad Ua BriainGaelic kingdom

    The Dal Cais kingdom of north Munster, the Ui Briain realm that gave Ireland Brian Boru, shrunk since 1194 to Clare and the fringe east of the Shannon.

  15. Kingdom of DesmondDomnall Mor na Curra Mac CarthaigGaelic kingdom

    The Meic Carthaig kingdom of south Munster: Kerry and west Cork, with the sub-kingdoms of Loch Lein, Fir Maige, Ui Echach (Ua Mathgamna), Corca Loigde (Ua hEidirsceoil) and the incoming Ui Suilleabain and Ui Donnabain.

  16. Tír EógainAed Meith Ua NeillGaelic kingdom

    The kingdom of the Cenel nEogain (Tyrone, Derry and Inishowen), once the base of the Mac Lochlainn high kings, now ruled by the Ui Neill.

  17. Tír ConaillEicnechan Ua DomnaillGaelic kingdom

    Donegal west of Inishowen, the kingdom of the Cenel Conaill.

  18. AirgiallaNiall Ua hEignigh, king of Fir ManachGaelic kingdom

    The confederation of the Airgialla between Tir Eogain, Breifne and the English: Fir Manach on Lough Erne, Fernmag (Monaghan) of the Meic Mathgamna, the Oirthir of the Ui hAnluain round Armagh, and Ui Chremthainn in the Clogher valley.

  19. BreifneUalgarg Ua RuaircGaelic kingdom

    The Ui Ruairc kingdom of Leitrim and Cavan, which under Tigernan Ua Ruairc (killed 1172) had ruled Meath.

  20. Other Gaelic lordshipsThe free Gaelic lords who answer to none of the provincialGaelic lordships

    The Gaelic lords of Leinster, Meath and the midlands whose old kingdoms were granted to English barons, and the Ulaid beyond de Courcy's colony.

Self-governing peoples and other lands

Records of this region that belong to no single realm page.

Primary sources for The British Isles

  • History of the Dukes of Normandy and the Kings of England, Anonymous of Bethune (a clerk in the household of Robert VII of Bethune) (about 1220). A Flemish lord's clerk writing twenty years on, with a soldier's interest in who fought whom.
  • Universal Chronicle of the Anonymous of Laon, Anonymous (an English-born canon of Laon) (about 1219). A Picard chronicle whose author had lived in England and keeps an eye on both kingdoms.
  • 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.
  • Annals of Clonmacnoise, Anonymous; English translation of a lost Irish chronicle by Conall Mac Geoghegan (medieval original lost; translated 1627). A midland chronicle, tied to Clonmacnoise and the kings of Meath and Connacht, surviving only in a 1627 translation.
  • Annals of Inisfallen, Anonymous (monks of Inisfallen, Kerry, and earlier of Emly and Lismore) (the manuscript was written in 1092 and continued at Inisfallen in many contemporary hands to 1450). The Munster chronicle, written in Kerry in a hand close to the events.
  • Annals of Loch Ce, Various (compiled for the Mac Diarmada of Moylurg) (compiled 1580s from older annals; the medieval section rests on a Connacht chronicle). The fullest Connacht account of the year: Cathal Carrach's seizure of the kingship, Cathal Crobderg's flight north, the Connacht expedition of de Courcy and the Ui Neill on Crobderg's behalf and its defeat, William de Burgh's role, and the devastation of the province's churches, with the names of the Connacht nobles and clergy who died.
  • Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, Various; compiled by Micheal O Cleirigh and others (1632 to 1636, from medieval annals now partly lost). A seventeenth century compilation but it draws on lost medieval annals, so its 1200 entries add names and incidents missing elsewhere: the Connacht war and the English of Meath and Munster, the deaths of Irish kings and churchmen across the island, and raids in Thomond and Desmond.
  • Annals of Ulster, Various; compiled by Cathal Mac Maghnusa (compiled about 1498 from much older annals; the entries for 1200 derive from contemporary record). The most reliable Irish annal for the north.
  • Annals of Wales, Anonymous (St Davids and other Welsh houses) (10th to 13th centuries; the B and C texts continue to 1286 and 1288). Short Latin annals whose later versions are kept at St Davids and Cistercian houses.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Courtiers' Trifles, Walter Map (about 1181 to 1193). Nothing on 1200 itself.
  • Early Sources of Scottish History, Various; collected and translated by A. O. Anderson (sources of the 6th to 13th centuries; collection published 1922). The quickest way to every non-English witness to Scotland and the Isles in 1200, in translation and in date order: the Irish annals on the Isles and Galloway, Orkneyinga saga and the Norwegian sagas on Harald Maddadsson of Orkney and Caithness and his war with William the Lion, the Chronicle of Mann on Ragnall and the Hebrides, Melrose and Holyrood, and Scottish charters.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Mac Carthaigh's Book (Miscellaneous Irish Annals), Anonymous (a Munster compilation) (compiled in the later Middle Ages from Munster annals; manuscript of the 17th century). A Munster annal with a Mac Carthaig and Desmond slant, giving for the years around 1200 the kings of Desmond and Thomond, their wars with each other and with the English of Cork and Limerick, and the castles the settlers were building.
  • Monastic Annals (Margam, Tewkesbury, Burton, Winchester, Waverley, Dunstable, Bermondsey, Worcester, Osney) (12th to 14th centuries). Nine sets of house annals, each with a short entry for 1200.
  • Rolls of the King's Court, 1196 to 1201 (1196 to 1201, by the clerks of the king's court). The plea rolls of the king's court at Westminster for the terms of 1199 and 1200: pleas of land, dower, advowson and debt, essoins, and the orders of the justices under Geoffrey fitz Peter.
  • 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.
  • Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers, Various; collected and translated by A. O. Anderson (sources of the 8th to 13th centuries; collection published 1908). Every passage about Scotland in Howden, Diceto, Newburgh, Coggeshall, Gervase, Wendover and the rest, translated and dated.
  • The Charter Rolls of King John (1199 to 1216, at the royal chancery). The enrolled charters of John's first years, beginning with his accession in 1199: confirmations to towns, bishoprics and abbeys, grants of land and office, and the great grants to men like William Marshal and the king's new allies in Poitou.
  • The Dialogue of the Exchequer, Richard fitz Nigel (about 1177 to 1179). Not an account of 1200 but the manual for reading its records: how the Exchequer sat at Easter and Michaelmas, how sheriffs accounted and were tallied, what the pipe rolls record, and the rules on danegeld, scutage, murder fines, the forest, Jews and the king's debtors.
  • 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.
  • The Great Rolls of the Pipe for 1199 and Michaelmas 1200 (1199 and 1200, at the Exchequer). The audited accounts of every sheriff and farmer for the Exchequer year ending Michaelmas 1200: county farms, the scutage of 1199, the carucage of 1200, debts of magnates and towns, wardships, and the fines offered to the new king.
  • The History of William Marshal, Anonymous (a poet called John, writing for the Marshal family) (about 1224 to 1226). A knight's view of the Angevin succession: the council at Vaudreuil in April 1199 where the Marshal and Hubert Walter argued for John over Arthur, the Marshal's crossing to secure England, John's coronation, and the Marshal's part in Normandy in 1199 and 1200 as holder of Longueville and Orbec and a go-between with Philip.
  • The Journey through Wales; The Description of Wales, Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis) (Itinerarium 1191, revised to about 1214; Descriptio 1194). The standing description of Wales a decade before 1200: the cantrefs and their lords, the castles of the March, the bishoprics, the Welsh way of fighting and living, and Gerald's advice on how the Welsh might be conquered and how they might resist.
  • The Patent Rolls and Close Rolls of King John (1201 to 1216 (patent), 1204 to 1227 (close), at the royal chancery). Not direct witnesses to 1200: the surviving patent rolls begin in May 1201 (3 John) and the close rolls in 1204.
  • The Rolls of Offerings and Fines of King John's Reign (1199 to 1216, at the royal chancery). The record of what men offered the new king for his favour: fines for lands, wardships, marriages, offices, pardons and the king's goodwill, from the first months of the reign.
  • The Song of Dermot and the Earl, Anonymous (an Anglo-Norman clerk drawing on Morice Regan, Diarmait Mac Murchada's interpreter) (about 1200 to 1225). Ends in the 1170s, so it has no 1200 events, but it was composed about then for the Marshal interest in Leinster and lists the enfeoffments by which Strongbow and Hugh de Lacy parcelled out Leinster and Meath.
  • The Topography of Ireland; The Conquest of Ireland, Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis) (Topographia 1187 to 1188; Expugnatio 1189, revised later). The Conquest ends in 1185 and the Topography describes the island as Gerald saw it in 1183 to 1185, so neither covers 1200, but they explain the lordship of Ireland as John found it: the grants of Leinster and Meath, the de Courcy conquest of Ulster, the Irish kings and their customs, and Gerald's advice on governing the country.
  • Treatise on the Laws and Customs of the Kingdom of England (Glanvill), Anonymous, traditionally ascribed to Ranulf de Glanvill (about 1187 to 1189). The law John's courts were applying in 1200: the writs of right, novel disseisin and mort d'ancestor, the grand assize, dower, wardship and relief, debt, villeinage, and the pleas of the crown.

The whole sources library

How these entries are made

Every entry describes one morning, 1 January 1200, and keeps later events in a dated "what the year holds" list with the conditions each depended on. Each entry names its sources, rates its confidence and says where the sources disagree. Published 4 November 2026. Corrections are welcome.