Royal finance under King Henry III, 1216–72: the wardrobe evidence 1 By BENJAMIN L. WILD* Existing studies have shown how the royal wardrobe, the king’s personal adminis- trative office, regularly handled between a quarter and a half of the Crown’s annual cash income. Despite this, the financial contribution of the wardrobe to royal finance under Henry III is not fully understood. For a reign in which debates about royal fiscal strategies are so notable a feature, this represents a significant gap. This article will supplement existing studies of wardrobe finance under Henry III by collectively analysing all 15 of the king’s wardrobe accounts that are enrolled on the exchequer pipe rolls. The article makes two important findings. Firstly, the wardrobe was financially strong when the period of baronial reform began in 1258. Secondly, the wardrobe’s financial strength was the result of a new, and deliberate, approach to acquiring revenue beyond the treasury that targeted sources of income that could generate cash quickly. During Henry’s final years, this included greater reliance on credit. These findings suggest Henry III was not incapable of making adroit financial decisions.They also reveal that the foundations for the financial system developed by the three Edwards, which was more reliant on credit and sources of ready cash, were laid under Henry III. D uring the final years of the minority of King Henry III, the wardrobe emerged as the king’s personal administrative office. 2 Accompanying the king on his perambulations across England and France, the wardrobe was chiefly responsible for collecting and disbursing revenue for his daily needs. The wardrobe thereby superseded the chamber, to which government records make little further refer- ence until the late fourteenth century. 3 The activities of the wardrobe during the reign of Henry III are recorded in a sequence of 15 accounts. The product of an exchequer audit, the wardrobe accounts are enrolled for the most part on the exchequer pipe rolls. The Henrician wardrobe accounts are the first to survive for any English monarch. Beginning in 1224 and providing nearly continuous cover- age of what historians term Henry’s ‘personal rule’, the period after 1234 when the king ruled without a great minister at his elbow, the wardrobe accounts cover 35 years of Henry III’s 56-year reign. Recording a range of items that were purchased for the king, from victuals and drink to armour and tapestries, as well as gifts he received and distributed, the wardrobe accounts provide information about royal largesse, piety, and what can more generally be termed the material culture of the royal court. Historians have * Author Affiliation: Sherborne School. 1 I am most grateful to Richard Cassidy for reading a draft of this article, for fielding interminable questions, and generously sharing his research with me. David Carpenter also read a draft and offered many helpful comments. Any muddles or omissions are my fault. 2 Wild, ‘Wardrobe’, vol. I, pp. 11–15. 3 Jolliffe, Angevin kingship, pp. 268–73; Davies, ‘Journal’. Economic History Review, 65, 4 (2012), pp. 1380–1402 © Economic History Society 2012. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.