The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Devon. We have granted to our faithful son, Earl Henry, all the lands which previously belonged to William de Mandeville. Therefore, we order you to give possession of these lands to Earl Henry without delay. Witness myself at Trowbridge, 14th day of May.
The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Cornwall. We have given to Henry, our son, all the lands which previously belonged to Robert FitzWalter in your jurisdiction. Therefore, we order you to give full possession of these lands to Earl Henry without delay. Witness myself at Trowbridge, 24th day of May.
The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Devon. We have granted to our well-beloved and faithful Reginald de Vautort, all the lands in your jurisdiction which previously belonged to Robert de Vere. Therefore, we order you to give full possession of the lands and all chattels [material wealth] without delay. Witness myself at Trowbridge, 14th day of May.
The King sends greetings to Geoffrey de Marteny. We order that as soon as you have seen these letters, you take into our hands all the lands of Henry de Braybrook, demolishing utterly his houses, and taking his chattels [material wealth] for your own advantage. Witness as above.
The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Dorset and Somerset. We order that you give possession to our beloved and faithful Ralph de Raleigh, the manor of Gussage and all chattels [material wealth] found there, which previously belong to William de Mandeville. Witness as above.
The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Gloucester. We order that you give possession to Henry, son of the Earl, all of the land of the bishop of Hereford in your jurisdiction. Witness myself at Trowbridge, 15th day of May.
The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Somerset. We order that you give possession to Henry de Courtenay all of the lands in your jurisdiction which previously belonged to Joscei de Bayeux. Witness at Marlborough, 16th day of May.
I chose this document because it shows us who some of the leading rebel barons were and how John attempted to deal with them. Essentially John was taking away the lands of rebel barons and giving them to his son Henry.
If you are confused by the use of ‘we’ that is how rulers call themselves, it just means John.
The rebel barons who are having their land seized are William de Mandeville (brother of Geoffrey de Mandeville), Robert FitzWalter, Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, Henry de Braybrooke, Giles de Briouse, Bishop of Hereford and Joscei de Bayeux.
Orders from King John May 1214
C54/10
The National Archives
Test your understanding
Where was the King’s order to the Sheriff of Somerset witnessed?
That's not right I'm afraid...
Why don't you study the document once more and listen to the transcript?
Excellent, excellent - you obviously studied the document in detail! Marlborough is the right answer.
Why does King John face rebellion?
- Is King John responsible for the rebellion?
- Are the barons responsible for the rebellion?
- It is the view of this chronicle that the great rebellion of 1215 has come about for the following reasons...
