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First Barons' War

Type Event Region Europe Time 1215–1217

After the signing of Magna Carta in 1215, King John, with papal support, repudiated his promises, sparking a civil war between English baronial facti…

Timeline

  1. 1215Southeastern England · EnglandAfter Pope Innocent III annulled Magna Carta and excommunicated King John, John gained papal support and refused to carry out the charter's terms. The baronial faction re-armed, and the two sides fought back and forth in southeastern England; London again fell into rebel hands.
  2. 1216Sandwich · KentThe baronial faction invited Prince Louis of France (the future Louis VIII) to cross the sea and land in Kent. Louis was proclaimed King of England by some barons, capturing London and Winchester and other key places, while royal power contracted sharply.
  3. 1216–1217England · EnglandAfter King John died of illness in October 1216, his young son Henry III continued the fight under the regency of William Marshal. The royal side reissued Magna Carta to win baronial support, and the tide gradually turned in the crown's favor.
  4. 1217Lincoln · LincolnshireAt the Battle of Lincoln in May 1217, William Marshal defeated the combined French and rebel forces; the Battle of Sandwich in August destroyed Louis's reinforcements. Louis was forced to negotiate, and in September signed the Treaty of Lambeth renouncing his claim to the English throne, ending the First Barons' War.

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