English Civil War of 1215–1217
The English Civil War of 1215–1217, also known as the First Barons’ War, arose from escalating tensions between King John of England and his barons. After a failed campaign to reclaim French territories, John faced widespread discontent due to heavy taxation and authoritarian rule. The conflict began in earnest when barons revolted, ultimately leading to the historic signing of the Magna Carta in June 1215, which aimed to limit the king's powers. However, John’s refusal to honor the charter sparked renewed hostilities, escalating the civil war.
The situation intensified with the arrival of Prince Louis of France, who was invited by the rebel barons and was later crowned as king in London. Following John's death in October 1216, his young son, Henry III, ascended the throne, with regents taking charge of the kingdom. The royal forces eventually achieved a decisive victory at the Second Battle of Lincoln in 1217, alongside the repulsion of a French naval fleet. The conflict concluded with peace negotiations that resulted in the Treaty of Lambeth in 1219, though the underlying issues of power dynamics between the monarchy and the barons persisted. This period marked a significant struggle for governance in England and set the stage for future disputes regarding royal authority.
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English Civil War of 1215–1217
At issue: The English throne; absolute monarchy vs. baronial rule; English land in France
Date: 1215–1217
Location: England
Combatants: Royalist forces vs. an alliance of English barons; Royalist forces vs. French
Principal commanders:English Royalist, King John (1167–1216), William Marshall (c. 1146–1219); Rebel baron, Lord Robert Fitzwalter (d. 1234); French: Louis VIII (1187–1226)
Principal battles: Siege of Rochester Castle (1216), Siege of Lincoln Castle (1217)
Result: Victory for King John
Background
The great ambition of King John was to secure all French lands belonging to the English crown. John’s military endeavors, which included campaigns in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, necessitated high taxes. These levies, combined with the king’s authoritarian and sometimes erratic style of ruling, led to discontent among many of his barons. During the summer of 1214, John made a determined effort, with Pope Innocent III’s support, to regain his French territories. The plan failed when John’s ally, Otto IV, was defeated at Bouvines, in Flanders. John returned to England, short of funds, to face a baronial rebellion.
Action
Refusing John’s offer of arbitration, the barons marched on London (April, 1215), where they were welcomed by most of the citizenry. For two months, John evaded this force of two thousand knights as it followed him around the south of England. On June 15, the two sides met at Runnymede and negotiated the Magna Carta, a document that conceded most of the baronial demands and limited the king’s exclusive right to govern. John had no intention of abiding by the terms of the charter and, heavily dependent on borrowed money and foreign mercenaries, he renewed hostilities in September, 1215.
While John was in the southeast trying to raise an army to fight the rebels, William d’Albini took control of Rochester Castle (1216) in an effort to block the king’s return to London. John employed a number of techniques including siege engines and tunneling to oust the rebels before waiting for starvation to run its course. Surrounded, without food, and with no prospect of military assistance, the rebels surrendered in November, two months after the siege had begun.
A new dimension was added to the civil war when Louis, the French king’s son and heir, arrived in England (May 21, 1216) at the invitation of the rebel barons. At the mouth of the Thames, the ships of twenty-one ports had been ready to confront the French invasion until a storm dispersed them. Louis was crowned king of England in London and his large army, which is believed to have numbered 35,000 at its peak, began driving the royal forces westward.
On October 23, 1216, John died at Newark and was succeeded by his nine-year-old son, Henry III. Two regents, William Marshall and Hubert de Burgh, temporarily ruled England. The principal rebel baron, Lord Robert Fitzwalter, raised an army of 600 knights and 20,000 French soldiers but Marshall wisely retreated to Nottingham and waited for reinforcements. Enjoying numerical superiority, Marshall laid siege to the rebel stronghold of Lincoln Castle (1217) and secured a decisive royalist victory in May. This defeat, combined with the repulsion of the French naval fleet off Sandwich, in Kent, forced Louis to accept peace terms. In return for a payment of 10,000 marks (more than a fifth of the English King’s total revenue), the French dauphin agreed to waive his claim to the English throne and to restore Normandy.
Aftermath
The Treaty of Lambeth in 1219 established a peace between France, the English barons, and supporters of Henry. Normandy was never returned to English control, and in 1222, Burgh was forced to put down an insurrection in Oxford supporting the claim of Louis (now King Louis VIII) to the English throne. Although Henry went on to rule England until 1272, the issue of regal versus baronial rights was never satisfactorily resolved during his reign.
Bibliography
Barlow, Frank. The Feudal Kingdom of England: 1042–1216. New York: Longman Higher Education, 1999.
Bartlett, Robert. England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings: 1075–1225. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Warren, W. L. King John. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997.