Falkes de Breaute's Rebellion

Timeline

1. 1223London · EnglandIn November 1223, Falkes, the Earl of Aumale, and the Earls of Chester and Hertford attempted to seize the Tower of London, forcing the king and Hubert to flee to Northampton. After mediation by Archbishop of York Simon Langton, negotiations broke down on December 4, and on December 30 the rebel lords agreed to surrender their castles and sheriffdoms, temporarily easing the threat of civil war.
2. 1224Hertford and Bedford · EnglandFalkes promptly lost Hertford Castle and the sheriffdoms of Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, and by January 18, 1224, his remaining county offices were also stripped. In February the crown ordered him to surrender Plympton and Bedford castles, which he refused on the grounds of his wife's inheritance rights. The crown sent judges on charges of forgery and disturbing the peace, and Falkes lost all 16 unlawful disseisin suits.
3. 1224Bedford · BedfordshireOn June 16, Falkes's brother William imprisoned royal judge Henry de Braybrooke at Bedford, who had been hearing the 16 disseisin cases against Falkes at Dunstable. The king, then at Northampton discussing the defense of Poitou, learned of it and on June 20 led an army to besiege Bedford Castle; Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton excommunicated William and the garrison. Falkes himself had already left the castle, hoping for papal intervention.
4. 1224–1225England · EnglandAfter Bedford fell, William and about 80 knights were captured and executed. Falkes begged the king for mercy, surrendered all his lands and swore fealty, and was exiled in 1225, dying in France within two years. Most of his supporters recovered their lands by paying fines; the rebellion's challenge to royal authority ended with the complete collapse of Falkes's power, and it also indirectly thwarted England's concurrent plans to recover Poitou.