King John - Loss of Empire

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Revolt of the Lusignans

  • August 24th 1200 - John married Isabella of Angouleme (daughter of Count Ademar, betrothed to Hugh Lusignan).
  • Seen as a huge mistake; the houses of Lusignan and Angouleme had both laid claim to La Marche since 1177 - the marriage was meant to unite the two families.
  • John ultimately had to accept Hugh as Count of La Marche; he had seized the territory and captured Eleanor in doing so - but he wouldn't allow Hugh to marry Isabella - would have gave the Lusignan's a power block in Angevin lands.
  • Spring 1201 - John confisacted La Marche from Hugh and granted it to count Ademar. He also confiscated Eu from Ralph Lusignan, which couldn't be justified. The family appealed to John but he ignored them.
  • Autumn 1201 - The Lusignans appealed to Philip, who ordered John to his court - but John refused; as Duke of Normandy he argued he didn't have to attend court as a vassal, but the Treaty of Le Goulet stated otherwise.
  • April 1202 - Philip confiscated all of John's fiefs and accepted homage from Arthur for Anjou, Maine and Touraine. Soon after this, Raymond of Toulouse switched sides - he was key to controlling Gascony.
  • Arthur and the Lusignans launched an attack on Poitou while Philip invaded Normandy in May and captured several castles (Boutavant, Eu, Aumale, Drincourt, Mortemer, Lions-la-Foret and Gourney).
  • Summer 1202 - John looked to be winning; captured Arthur and other key nobles at Mirabeau in August and also captured the count of Limoges. BUT within 2 years he would lost both Anjou and Normandy.
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Defeat for John & Attack on Normandy, 1202-04

  • John lost allies to Philip after Mirabeau: William des Roches and Aimeri of Thouars rebelled in September and captured Angers by October; the lords of Mayenne, Craon and Fougeres defected; the viscount of Beaumont also joined Philip; and Robert, count of Sees, handed Alencon over to Philip in January 1203, after which rebellion spread in southeast Normandy. Garissons in Tours held out until 1204, and in Chinon & Loches until 1205.
  • John sent money across (1201-03: £30,00) and stayed in Normandy for most of 1203, but in April he lost Anjou.
  • June 1203 - fortress of Vaudreuil (guarding Rouen) surrendered without fight, John gave orders not to relieve it.
  • August 1203 - John laid siege to Alencon but retreated when Philip arrived. In the same month he lost control of Petit-Andeli and the Isle of Andeli. After this he abandoned the Chateau-Gaillard (held out from August 1203 - March 1204).
  • After the Chateau surrendered in March 1204 many others surrendered also, with only Rouen and Aruqes resisting.
  • Also in March, Eleanor of Aquitaine died; lords rushed to pay homage to Philip.
  • May 1204 - Philip swept through Normandy and took Argentan, Falaise, Caen, Bayeux and Lisieux in 3 weeks.
  • June 24th 1204 - Rouen opened its gates to Philip - John had lost Normandy.
  • John's brother-in-law (Alfonso VIII of Castile) also presented a problem - when Eleanor of Aquitaine died, her daughter Eleanor gained Gascony. In 1204, Alfonso moved to claim his wife's inheritance and secured the support of several powerful barons in doing so. Alfonso's troops overran the province.
  • By Christmas 1204 the Angevin Empire was in ruins.
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Holding the Line, 1205-06

  • 1205 - John suffered further setbacks after making huge preparations to go and retake Normandy which had to be cancelled under humiliating circumstances. The commanders at Chinon and Loches gave up.
  • Some progress was made; the Channel Islands were recaptured and Gascon towns held out against Alfonso. By the end of 1205 the town of Niort in Poitou returned its allegiance to John.
  • Summer 1206 - John returned to the continent and recovered Saintonge, consolidated his hold on Angoulem and drove the last Castillian garrison out of Gascony (after a 2-week siege).
  • September 1206 - John marched north to try and retake Anjou but retreated when Philip's army arrived.
  • October 1206 - John and Philip agreed to a truce based on the status-quo.
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Blame for the outbreak of War

  • Death of Richard I - had died without any sons and 2 possible claimants; hadn't made it clear who was heir. This allowed Philip to invade Normandy and seize Evreux and led the barons of Anjou/Maine/Touraine to support Arthur. John then had no choice but to agree to a truce with Philip - he lost power, and this eventually led to war.
  • Arthur's escape - Aimeri, Constance and Arthur fled from John to Philip; after this, many nobles chose to go on crusade rather than support John (worried about Arthur's absence and John's plans for him). Philip then had Arthur and John had less allies - Philip became confident and built more forces, waiting for the right moment to invade.
  • Treaty of Le Goulet, May 1200 - by signing the Treaty John lost valuable allies and was much weaker. The treaty later gave Philip the excuse to go to war; John was a 'contemptuous vassal' for not attending Philip's court.
  • Marriage to Isabella of Angouleme - traditional view was that John was overcome with passion and marries Isabella; made him seem immoral. But there were advantages to the marriage (e.g. stopped the Lusignan power block and strengthened John's empire), but it led to the Lusignan revolt which then allowed Philip to invade.
  • Philip of France - he had grown in military expertise and confidence after facing both Henry II and Richard before John. A series of reforms left his country in a strong position and he managed to manipulate the clergy, Arthur and many of John's allies into turning against him.
  • Mirabeau, 1202 - war had become full-scale. Had John been more lenient with his prisoners there may not have been such an outcry, which actually gave Philip more power as many of John's allies abandoned him. 
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How inevitable was the loss of Normandy?

  • Dukes of Normandy, after becoming kings of England (1066) always put England before Normandy - reduced control.
  • Henry II had begun administrative reforms in England which were then used in Normandy - known as 'Angevin despotism' - heavy tax and harsh laws passed were done so without consent - older customs slipping away.
  • Gerald of Wales described the anger the Normans felt towards the Angevins and how that under Philip Paris became a centre for art and learning, which fostered a cultural and political feeling for 'France'.
  • The Angevin Empire arguably never had any structural unity and would never have survived.
  • Norman nobles resented the continuous warfare between the Capetians and Angevins, especially the cost of it (barons had to contribute financially) - Normandy was already in debt in 1194 and resumed conflict led to more taxation.
  • Richard could be blamed for leaving John in a weak position and with a weak inheritance.
  • Philip may have been in a better financial position that John when he came to the throne.
  • May felt the war in Normandy couldn't be won by John so they joined Philip. 
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