Editing Louis VI of France (section)

==War with Henry I over Gisors==
[[File:Chateau-de-Gisors.jpg|thumb|left|Motte and castle at [[Gisors]].]]

After seizing the English Crown, [[Henry I of England]] deprived his brother, [[Robert Curthose]], of the [[Duchy of Normandy]] and quickly took possession of the castle at [[Gisors]], a fortress of strategic importance on the
right bank of the [[Epte]], commanding the road between [[Rouen]] and Paris. This violated an earlier agreement between
Henry and the French King that Gisors should remain in the hands of a neutral [[castellan]], or else be demolished.

This move threatened the [[Capetian]] domain and Louis was outraged, demanding Henry, as his [[vassal]], appear
before him to account for his actions. The two kings met, in force, in March 1109{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} at the borders of their respective
territories at the bridge of Neauphle on the Epte.{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} Henry refused to relinquish Gisors. Louis challenged the English
King to [[single combat]] to settle the issue. When Henry refused, war was inevitable, a war which would last, on and off, for twenty years.

The first years of the war went well for Louis until the influential [[Theobald II, Count of Champagne]], switched to Henry's side. By early 1112{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} Theobald had succeeded in bringing together a coalition of barons
with grievances against Louis: Lancelin of Bulles,{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} Ralph of Beaugency,{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} Milo of Bray-sur-Seine,{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} Hugh of Crecy,{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} Guy of Rochfort,{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} Hugh of Le Puiset{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} and Hugh, [[Count of Troyes]].{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}}

In response Louis formed an alliance with [[Fulk V of Anjou]] and several Norman lords, including [[Amaury III de Montfort]], Guillaume Crinspin and [[Robert of Bellême]].{{sfn|Luchaire|1890|p=78}} Louis defeated Theobald's coalition but the additional effort meant he could not defeat the English monarch as well or force him to abandon Gisors, and in March 1113{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} Louis was forced to sign a treaty recognizing Henry I as [[suzerain]] of Brittany and Maine. Peace of sorts lasted three years until April 1116{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} when hostilities renewed in the French and Norman [[Vexin]]s, with each king making gains from his rival.

By 1119, buoyed by several successes and the capture (through treachery) of [[Les Andelys]], Louis felt ready for a final
encounter to end the war. In the fierce [[Battle of Bremule]], in August 1119,{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} Louis's troops
broke and were routed, abandoning the royal banner and sweeping the King along with them in retreat to Les Andelys. A
counterattack through [[Évreux]] to seize Breteuil failed, and Louis, his health failing, looked for peace.

He appealed to Pope [[Calixtus II]], who agreed to help and met with Henry at Gisors in November 1120.{{sfn|Halphen|1926|p=601}} The terms of the
peace included Henry's heir, [[William Adelin]], doing homage to Louis for Normandy, a return of all territories captured
by both kings with the painful exception of Gisors itself, which Louis was forced to concede to Henry.