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Henry III. or which extended between the Rhone, the Loire, the A.D. 1216. Pyrenees, and the Western Ocean. Touraine, Poitou, Angoumois, Saintonge, Guienne, Gascony, le Berri, la Manche, le Limousin, and the greatest part of Auvergne belonged to him. The Count of Toulouse did him homage for that province, of which he had always defended the independance; and the possessions of the King of Aragon, along the Mediterranean, from Perpignan to the mouths of the Rhone, were placed, by treaties of alliance, in a sort of dependance on him. The power, or influence, of England, thus extended over forty-seven of the departments, while Philip Augustus hardly ruled over twenty."

and

Philip Augustus desired to obtain possession of the whole country. The various duchies, which only feudally submitted to him, had maintained an independance which he wished to destroy; and whenever he had, for a time, subjected them, they soon began to be dissatisfied with his government, and welcomed back John. But Philip Augustus took how lost. nearly the whole of Aquitaine from John, in the beginning of the 13th century; and by a treaty signed at Parthenay, in 1214, a truce for five years was agreed on between John and Philip Augustus, the conditions of which were, that John should give up all his possessions north of the Loire, viz. Normandy, Brittany, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. Thus Philip Augustus greatly increased the domain of the King of France, and Henry the Third, at his accession, possessed only Gascony, and part of Guienne. He probably held some castles, and had some indefinite hold on parts of Poitou, but the province itself, as a whole, had submitted to Philip Augustus.

We must now see what success Louis had obtained

HENRY'S POSITION ON HIS ACCESSION.

161

in England. He had landed at Sandwich, and had Henry III. then laid siege to, and taken, the castle of Roches- A D. 1216. ter. In London, he had been received with open French acarms, barons and citizens meeting him in procession. in England.

quisitions

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Siege of Castle. (From Royal MSS. E. G. 6. St. Denis, 343.

Brit. Mus.)

All the counties, in the neighbourhood of the capital, submitted to him, and the men of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire declared in his favour. He possessed a great part of the open country, but every fortress of importance was garrisoned by Henry's troops, or was in the possession of those who had been John's partisans.

Henry's Position on his Accession to the Throne.

But, position for

This was a difficult position for the young King. Difficult At John's death Henry was only nine years old. while John was still alive, Louis had turned

away King.

Henry III. many barons from his own cause by his profuse gifts A.D. 1216. of power and honours to his countrymen. He had

The Earl of

Pembroke

made the Count de Nevers, Earl of Winchelsea, and Gilbert de Gand, Earl of Lincoln. Many powerful barons had in consequence returned to King John, who was very liberal of promises to those who came to his help. From these causes, at Henry's accession he had a powerful body of friends to support him, and his youth enlisted others on his side. Many were naturally touched with the helplessness of the youth, willing to support him in defence of his throne against a foreigner, and hopeful, that from him they might obtain those rights, which his father had wrested from them. Henry too was sure of the Pope's support, which in those days was a matter of great moment. The Pope had excommunicated Louis, and all John's opponents, and of course lent his spiritual aid to the young King.

William Mareschal, Earl of Pembroke, a powerful appointed baron, who had remained true to John, was appointed guardian. guardian of the kingdom, and the young King was placed under his care. He was a man of great abi lity, and it was mainly to his wisdom, that Henry was indebted for the speedy possession of his throne.

So soon as the death of John was publicly known, the Earl of Pembroke summoned the earls, bishops, and barons who had remained true to the late King, to meet him at Gloucester; whither he had taken Prince Henry. He then addressed them, and said: "that, although they had persecuted his father for "his evil deeds, yet the son was innocent of his "father's faults; and that therefore they ought to have "pity on his tender age and make him their King, and

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"expel Louis the son of the French King."5 "Let Henry III. "him be made king," was their answer; and a few days A.D. 1216. afterwards he was crowned at Gloucester: but, the Coronacrown itself having been lost with John's baggage, young a plain circle of gold was used in its stead.

tion of the

King.

tion of the

The first act of Henry's reign, performed of course Confirmaby the advice of his guardian, was the confirmation Charter. of John's Charter. No time was lost in binding Henry to govern according to its provisions.

Military Operations of the French and the Barons
against the King.

At John's The
In full expectation siege Do-

French be

ver, but fail

to take it.

Hertford

Louis carried on the war with vigour. death he was besieging Dover. that the King's death would discourage its defenders, he summoned Hubert de Burgh, the constable of the castle, to surrender; promising him great honours if he yielded. But Hubert replied, that "although his master was dead, yet he had left sons who ought to succeed him;" and he resolved to hold out. Louis therefore raised the siege, and marched to London; from whence he proceeded to Hertford, the castle of They take which he took after a stout resistance. He then went and Berkon to Berkhamsted; where, it is related, the barons of hamsted, his party pitched their tents on the north side " towards the forest." He took this castle also; and then, having secured possession of what were probably the two most formidable castles near London on the north side, he returned to the capital. But, on his way, he forced the abbot of St. Albans to pay him a large St. Albans. sum of money, under a threat of burning the abbey and the town. This was about Christmas time, and a short truce was consequently agreed on.

and levy

money on

Short truce.

Henry III.

Early next year (A. D. 1217), Louis went over to A.D. 1217. France; having been sent for by his father, Philip Louis goes Augustus, who wished to persuade him to give up his attempt on England. The Pope had threatened to interdict, if Louis persisted.

to France,

with more

lay France under an

and returns But he was not to be persuaded, and returned to England with his hands strengthened by fresh adherents.

soldiers.

Henry's friends increase.

Siege of
Mount
Sorel.

Siege of
Lincoln.

During his absence, Henry's party had greatly increased in strength, and the Royalists had regained possession of Marlborough, Winchester, and other strong castles which had been seized by the insurgent barons. When Louis returned, the King's forces were besieging a castle in Leicestershire, called Mount Sorel, and the Londoners urged him to march to its relief. Accordingly, on the 30th April 1217, Louis sent out from London an army of 600 knights, and above 20,000 men, under the command of the Count De la Perche, a young French nobleman whom Louis had brought back with him. On their way, a contribution was again levied on the unfortunate abbot of St. Albans; after which they pillaged the church of St. Amphibalus, near Redbourn. They soon relieved Mount Sorel, and then proceeded to Lincoln, where they laid siege to the castle; the city itself being in the hands of their own party.

The Earl of Pembroke, seeing that the loss of Lincoln castle would be a grievous blow to the royal cause, summoned the loyal barons and their supporters to meet him at Newark, to prepare for its relief. An army of 400 knights, 250 crossbow-men, and numerous esquires and horsemen was soon collected; and their cause was invested with a sacred character by Gualo, the Pope's legate, who also went to Newark to

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