Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 26.djvu/20

Henry III offices in the hands of foreigners. The royal castles were in the hands of the men who had received them from John, many of them foreigners, and their power endangered the royal authority (Constitutional Hist. ii. 32). Honorius commanded that the king's castles and domains should be surrendered (Royal Letters, i. 121, 535), and on the day after the coronation their holders swore to obey the command. Henry was taken by his governors to receive the surrenders, and in the course of his progress met Alexander II of Scotland at York on 11 June, and agreed to give him his sister Joan in marriage. At Rockingham William of Aumale refused to give up his castle; its surrender was enforced and another of his castles was taken on the 28th. Henry then went to Canterbury and was present at the translation of St. Thomas on 7 July. He kept the Christmas festival at Oxford in, as it seemed, profound peace. William of Aumale, however, suddenly left the court, and began a revolt by making war on his neighbours from his castle at Biham in Lincolnshire. Several powerful lords secretly sent the earl help. In company with the legate and the Earl of Chester, Henry marched to Biham, and the castle was taken on 2 Feb. 1221. At midsummer he spent four days at York, and married his sister to the Scottish king. Langton obtained a promise from the pope that no more legates should be sent to England during his life, and Pandulf was recalled in July. Soon afterwards Peter des Roches left the kingdom on a pilgrimage. The foreign party which was represented by the bishop had evidently been defeated, and Hubert de Burgh gained the absolute direction of the royal policy. He had many difficulties to face. In Ireland the king's power seems to have been declining, and on the Welsh border there was constant war. After some attempts to persuade Llewelyn ap Iorwerth [q. v.] to keep the peace, Henry was taken to relieve Builth, in the present Brecon, and a castle was built at Montgomery (, iv. 71; Fœdera, i. 166). A more serious danger arose from the insubordination of a party among the baronage, and their constant endeavours to thwart the justiciar and set up a state of anarchy. In the course of an insurrection raised in London in 1222 there were signs that a large body of the citizens felt no attachment to the king, and were ready to welcome another French invasion [see under ]. Henry held a council at London in the second week of January 1223, at which Langton required him to confirm the Great charter, and a dispute arose between the archbishop and William Brewer [q. v.] on the subject. The king ended the scene by declaring his intention to abide by the charter, and sent letters to all the sheriffs commanding them to hold an inquest as to the liberties enjoyed in the days of his grandfather, and to send the return to London. In April the pope, probably in order to deprive the malcontent barons of all excuse for rebellion, declared that the king, though not of full age, was of an age to assume the government, and charged all who had the custody of the royal castles to deliver them up (Royal Letters, i. 430).

The war which was perpetually going on between Llewelyn and the lords of the marches now became of more than usual importance, for the Welsh prince received supplies from the discontented party in England, and acted on their prompting. The success of Llewelyn drew the king to Worcester, where he held a great council. His army met at Gloucester, entered Wales, and Llewelyn was compelled to make peace. At the close of the campaign an attempt was made by Randulph de Blundevill [q. v.], earl of Chester, William of Aumale, and other lords, to surprise the Tower of London, for they were determined to overthrow the justiciar before he could compel them to surrender the royal castles. On hearing that the king was approaching they abandoned their design and retired to Waltham. Some of them appeared before the king and demanded the dismissal of the justiciar. At Christmas 1223 Henry held his court at Northampton, while the malcontents assembled at Leicester; the archbishop interfered, and by threats and persuasions prevailed on them to make peace with the king and place all that they held in charge in his hand (Ann. Dunst. pp. 83, 84). In the September of this year John of Brienne, king of Jerusalem, visited Henry and received many rich gifts from the king and the nobles. A general contribution for the crusade was demanded, but it is probable that the money was not paid. In July Philip II of France died, and was succeeded by his son Louis VIII. Henry sent ambassadors to the new king to demand the restoration of Normandy and the other ancient possessions of his house, apparently on the ground that they were covered by the provision for restoration of lands in the treaty of Lambeth. In reply Louis alleged several causes of grievance (, iv. 86); and when the truce ended in May 1224 invaded Poitou and Gascony, and the English lost nearly all the French provinces. On 16 June Henry held a council at Northampton to consider the state of Poitou, but nothing came of it, for Falkes de Breauté revolted, and the king was occupied in besieging his castle at Bedford until 14 Aug. The fall of Falkes