Editing Louis VIII of France (section)

==Prince Louis==
===Early years===
Born 5 September 1187, Louis was the son of King [[Philip II of France]] and [[Isabella of Hainault]].{{sfn|Bradbury|1997|p=177}} His mother died in 1190, but Louis was not formally invested as Count of Artois.{{sfn|Hanley|2016|p=39}} Instead, his father allowed him a nominal control over the county to learn about governance.{{sfn|Hanley|2016|p=39}} In summer 1195, a marriage between Louis and [[Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany|Eleanor of Brittany]], niece of King [[Richard I of England]], was suggested for an alliance between Philip II and Richard, but it failed.{{sfn|Hanley|2016|p=24}}

On 23 May 1200, Louis was married to [[Blanche of Castile]], daughter of King [[Alfonso VIII of Castile]] and [[Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile|Eleanor of England]].{{sfn|Baldwin|1991|p=364}} The marriage could only be concluded after prolonged negotiations between King Philip II of France and Blanche's uncle John, King of England.{{sfn|McDougall|2017|p=226}}

===Campaign of 1214===
In 1213, Louis occupied two towns in Flanders, St. Omer and Aire,{{sfn|Warren|1997|p=203}} which led to animosity between Louis' father, Philip II, and Count Renaud of Boulogne.{{sfn|Warren|1997|p=203}} By 1214, Philip II of France was facing an alliance consisting of King John of England, Emperor [[Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto IV]], Count [[Renaud I, Count of Dammartin|Renaud of Boulogne]] and Count [[Ferdinand, Count of Flanders|Ferdinand of Flanders]].{{sfn|Barlow|1999|p=335}} Facing a two-front war, the first attack coming from Flanders led by Otto, Renaud and Ferdinand, supported by the [[William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury|Earl of Salisbury]] would march south-west, while the other attack from Poitou, under John, would march north-east towards Paris.{{sfn|Carpenter|2004|p=286}}

Louis was given command of the front against John in Poitou. The first part of the campaign went well for the English, Louis being outmaneuvered by John, and losing the city of [[Angers]] by the end of June.{{sfn|Warren|1997|p=221}}  When John besieged the castle of [[Roche-au-Moine]], a key stronghold, Louis was forced give battle against John's army.{{sfn|Warren|1997|p=222}} When faced against Louis' forces, the local Poitevin nobles refused to advance with the king; left at something of a disadvantage, John retreated back to [[La Rochelle]].{{sfn|Warren|1997|p=222}} Shortly afterwards, Philip won the hard-fought [[Battle of Bouvines]] in the north against Otto and John's other allies, bringing an end to John's hopes of retaking Normandy.{{sfn|Warren|1997|p=224}}

===Albigensian crusade===
In April 1215, Louis, fulfilling his father's vow to crusade against the Albigensians, was cautioned by a papal legate not to impede the crusade.{{sfn|Strayer|1992|p=101}} At [[Narbonne]], Louis ordered the destruction of the town's fortifications in response to the disagreement between Simon de Montfort and [[Arnaud Amalric]] and forced the viscount of Narbonne and other authorities to swear loyalty to Simon.{{sfn|Strayer|1992|p=101}} While at Toulouse, he ordered the city officials to tear down their walls, fill in their moat, and to accept Simon de Montfort as the head of their government.{{sfn|Strayer|1992|pp=101{{mdash}}102}} Louis' involvement in the crusade favored Simon de Montfort at every turn.{{sfn|Strayer|1992|p=101}}

===Pretender to the English throne===
[[File:Arrival of Louis of France in England (1216).jpg|thumb|Arrival of Louis of France in England (from the ''[[Chronica Majora]]'', [[Matthew Paris]], {{Circa|1236}}–1259)]]
In 1215, the English barons rebelled against the unpopular King John in the [[First Barons' War]]. The barons, seeing Louis' wife as a descendant of Henry II of England, offered the throne to him.{{sfn|Harper-Bill|2003|p=312}} While Louis prepared an army to press his claim to the English throne, a new papal legate, Cardinal [[Guala Bicchieri]], who was traveling through France to England, explicitly condemned Louis' plan.{{sfn|Harper-Bill|2003|p=312}}

Louis landed unopposed on the [[Isle of Thanet]] in eastern Kent, England, at the head of an army on 21 May 1216. There was little resistance when the prince entered London, and he was proclaimed King Louis I of England at [[Old St Paul's Cathedral]] with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London.{{sfn|Jones|2012|p=17}} Even though he was not crowned, many nobles, as well as King [[Alexander II of Scotland]] on behalf of his English possessions, gathered to give [[Homage (feudal)|homage]].{{sfn|Daniell|2003|p=59}} At Winchester on 29 May 1216, Cardinal Bicchieri excommunicated Louis and all his followers.{{sfn|Harper-Bill|2003|p=312}}

On 14 June 1216, Louis captured [[Winchester]] and soon controlled over half of the English kingdom.{{sfn|Harding|1993|p=10}} King John's death in October 1216 caused many of the rebellious barons to desert Louis in favour of John's nine-year-old son, [[Henry III of England|Henry III]].{{sfn|Hanley|2016|pp=118–126}} Louis, undeterred by Henry's reissuing of the Magna Carta, besieged and invested the castle of Hertford in December 1216.{{sfn|Hanley|2016|pp=125, 126}} By 20 December 1216, he received a proposal for a truce, from regent William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, lasting from Christmas until 13 January.{{sfn|Hanley|2016|p=129}} Louis accepted these terms and traveled back to London, on the way threatening to burn the abbey at St. Albans for the abbot's refusal to recognize him as King of England.{{sfn|Hanley|2016|p=129}}

After his army was beaten at the [[Battle of Lincoln (1217)|Battle of Lincoln]] on 20 May 1217 and his naval forces were defeated at the [[Battle of Sandwich (1217)|Battle of Sandwich]] on 24 August 1217, Louis was forced to make peace on English terms.{{sfn|Harding|1993|p=272}} The principal provisions of the [[Treaty of Lambeth]] were an amnesty for English rebels, a pledge from Louis not to attack England again, and 10,000&nbsp;marks to be given to Louis – a considerable sum at the time.{{sfn|Hanley|2016|p=176}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Gérard Sivéry|title=Louis VIII le Lion|publisher=Fayard|date=1995|ISBN=2-213-59395-7|pages=187 }}</ref> In return Louis' excommunication was lifted.{{sfn|Hanley|2016|p=177}}