Editing Henry I of England (section)

=== Rebellion, 1115–1120 ===
[[File:Henry I coins.jpg|thumb|Silver [[Penny (English coin)|pennies]] of Henry I, struck at the [[Oxford]] [[Mint (facility)|mint]]]]

Concerned about the succession, Henry sought to persuade Louis VI to accept his son, William Adelin, as the legitimate future Duke of Normandy, in exchange for his son's homage.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=238}}</ref> Henry crossed into Normandy in 1115 and assembled the Norman barons to swear loyalty; he also almost successfully negotiated a settlement with Louis, affirming William's right to the Duchy in exchange for a large sum of money. Louis, backed by his ally [[Baldwin VII of Flanders]], instead declared that he considered William Clito the legitimate heir to the Duchy.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=239–240}}</ref>

War broke out after Henry returned to Normandy with an army to support Theobald of Blois, who was under attack from Louis.<ref name=HollisterP246GreenP135>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=246}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|p=135}}</ref> Henry and Louis raided each other's towns along the border, and a wider conflict then broke out, probably in 1116.<ref name=HollisterP246GreenP135/>{{refn|The dating of this campaign is uncertain; Judith Green places it firmly in 1116, while Warren Hollister is less certain, opting for it falling between 1116 and 1118.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=246}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|pp=135, 138}}</ref>|group=nb}} Henry was pushed onto the defensive as French, Flemish and Angevin forces began to pillage the Normandy countryside.<ref name=Hollister2003Green2009PP246>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=246–248}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|pp=135, 143}}</ref> [[Amaury III of Montfort]] and many other barons rose up against Henry, and there was an assassination plot from within his own household.<ref name=Hollister2003Green2009PP246/> Queen Matilda died in early 1118, but the situation in Normandy was sufficiently pressing that Henry was unable to return to England for her funeral.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2009|pp=139–140}}; {{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=247}}</ref>

Henry responded by mounting campaigns against the rebel barons and deepening his alliance with Theobald.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=250–251}}</ref> Baldwin of Flanders was wounded in battle and died in September 1118, easing the pressure on Normandy from the north-east.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=251}}</ref> Henry attempted to crush a revolt in the city of [[Alençon]], but was defeated by Fulk and the Angevin army.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=252}}</ref> Forced to retreat from Alençon, Henry's position deteriorated alarmingly, as his resources became overstretched and more barons abandoned his cause.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=253}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|pp=143, 146}}</ref> Early in 1119, Henry's daughter Juliane and son-in-law Eustace of Breteuil threatened to join the baronial revolt.<ref name=Hollister2003P253>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=253}}</ref> Hostages were exchanged in a bid to avoid conflict, but relations broke down and both sides mutilated their captives.<ref name=HollisterPP253-254/> Henry attacked and took the town of [[Breteuil, Eure]], despite Juliane's attempt to kill her father with a [[crossbow]].<ref name=HollisterPP253-254>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=253–254}}</ref>{{refn|In February 1119, Eustace and Juliane, formerly allies of Henry, threatened to rebel unless they were given the castle of [[Ivry-la-Bataille]].<ref name=Hollister2003P253/> Henry promised Eustace the fortress and, to show good intent, exchanged hostages, the couple's daughters being exchanged with the son of the castle's constable.<ref name=Hollister2003P253/> According to the chronicler Orderic Vitalis, Eustace then blinded the constable's son, whereupon Henry allowed the daughters – his granddaughters – to be blinded and mutilated.<ref name=HollisterPP253-254/> Eustace attempted to mobilise his forces and defend Breteuil against an attack by Henry; despite this, Henry took the city and Juliane, after attempting to kill Henry with a crossbow, fled.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=254}}</ref>|group=nb}} In the aftermath, Henry dispossessed the couple of almost all of their lands in Normandy.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=254–255}}</ref>

Henry's situation improved in May 1119 when he enticed Fulk to switch sides by finally agreeing to marry William Adelin to Fulk's daughter Matilda and paying Fulk a large sum of money.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=261}}</ref> Fulk left for the [[Levant]], leaving the County of Maine in Henry's care, and the King was free to focus on crushing his remaining enemies.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=261}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|p=149}}</ref> During the summer Henry advanced into the Norman Vexin, where he encountered Louis's army, resulting in the [[Battle of Brémule]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=263–264}}</ref> Henry appears to have deployed scouts and then organised his troops into several carefully formed lines of dismounted knights.<ref name=Hollister2003P264>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=264}}</ref> Unlike Henry's forces, the French knights remained mounted; they hastily charged the Anglo-Norman positions, breaking through the first rank of the defences but then becoming entangled in Henry's second line of knights.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=264}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|p=152}}</ref> Surrounded, the French army began to collapse.<ref name=Hollister2003P264/> In the [[melee]], Henry was hit by a sword blow, but his armour protected him.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=264–265}}</ref> Louis and William Clito escaped from the battle, leaving Henry to return to Rouen in triumph.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=265}}</ref>

The war slowly petered out after this battle, and Louis took the dispute over Normandy to [[Pope Callixtus II]]'s council in [[Reims]] that October.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=265–266}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|pp=153–154}}</ref> Henry faced French complaints concerning his acquisition and subsequent management of Normandy, and despite being defended by [[Geoffrey Brito|Geoffrey]], the Archbishop of Rouen, Henry's case was shouted down by the pro-French elements of the council.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=267}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|p=157}}</ref> Callixtus declined to support Louis, and merely advised the two rulers to seek peace.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=267–268}}</ref> Amaury de Montfort came to terms with Henry, but Henry and William Clito failed to find a mutually satisfactory compromise.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=268–269}}</ref> In June 1120, Henry and Louis formally made peace on terms advantageous to the English king: William Adelin gave homage to Louis, and in return Louis confirmed William's rights to the Duchy.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=274}}</ref>