Editing Henry III of England (section)

=== Restoring royal authority ===
[[File:Jindra3.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Matthew Paris's depiction of the second coronation of Henry in 1220]]

With the end of the civil war, Henry's government faced the task of rebuilding royal authority across large parts of the country.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=50–51}}</ref> By the end of 1217, many former rebels were routinely ignoring instructions and even Henry's loyalist supporters jealously maintained their independent control over royal castles while illegally constructed fortifications, called [[adulterine castle]]s, had sprung up across much of the country.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|p=1}}</ref> The network of county [[sheriff]]s had collapsed and with it the ability to raise taxes and collect royal revenues.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=70–71}}</ref> The powerful [[Prince Llywelyn]] posed a major threat in Wales and along the [[Welsh Marches]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=321}}; {{Harvnb|McGlynn|2013|pp=189, 223}}</ref>

Despite his success in winning the war, William had far less favourable results when attempting to restore royal power following the peace.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=55–56, 108–109}}</ref> This was in part because he was unable to offer significant patronage, despite the expectations from the loyalist barons that they would be rewarded.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=18, 51}}</ref>{{Efn|The Crown had traditionally relied on gifts and bribes to encourage loyalty and obedience among the barons, but in the straightened, post-war circumstances the opportunities to dispense such patronage was limited. Part of the problem was that medieval law was clear that the guardians of a minor, such as Henry, could not permanently dispose of their ward's property or rights, which meant that the government was unable to legally give any of the King's lands or rights to a baron during the royal minority.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|p=51}}</ref>}} William attempted to enforce the traditional rights of the Crown to approve marriages and wardships, but with little success.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=78–79}}</ref> Nonetheless, he was able to reconstitute the royal bench of judges and reopen the royal [[exchequer]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=64–65, 95–98}}</ref> The government issued the [[Charter of the Forest]], which attempted to reform the governance of the [[royal forest]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|p=62}}</ref> The regency and Llywelyn came to an agreement on the [[Treaty of Worcester]] in 1218, but its generous terms–which saw Llywelyn effectively become Henry's justiciar across Wales–underlined the weakness of the English Crown.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=76–77}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=322–323}}</ref>

[[File:BitvauBedfordu1224.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Bedford Castle]] and the execution of the garrison in 1224 (Matthew Paris)]]

Henry's mother was unable to establish a role for herself in the regency government and she returned to France in 1217, marrying [[Hugh X de Lusignan]], a powerful [[Poitou|Poitevin]] noble.<ref>{{Harvnb|Vincent|2007|pp=198–199}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=304}}</ref>{{Efn|Before marrying John, Henry's mother Isabella had been betrothed to Hugh's father, [[Hugh IX of Lusignan|Hugh IX de Lusignan]]; John's intervention to marry Isabella himself caused Hugh to revolt and ultimately led to the collapse of Angevin power in northern France. Hugh X and Isabella had nine children together.<ref>{{Harvnb|Vincent|2007|pp=171–173}}</ref>}} William Marshal fell ill and died in April 1219. The replacement government was formed around a grouping of three senior ministers: [[Pandulf Verraccio]], the replacement Papal legate; [[Peter des Roches]]; and [[Hubert de Burgh]], a former justiciar.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|p=128}}</ref> The three were appointed by a great council of the nobility at [[Oxford]], and their government came to depend on these councils for authority.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=128–129}}</ref> Hubert and des Roches were political rivals, with Hubert supported by a network of English barons, and des Roches backed by nobles from the royal territories in [[Poitou]] and [[Touraine]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=239, 261}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=304–305}}</ref>{{Efn|Hubert's supporters presented themselves as the rightful local rulers of England, facing up to oppressive foreigners; the des Roches' argued that they were in fact the loyal followers of the King and that it was the treacherous English barons who had rebelled and sided with Prince Louis against first John, and then Henry, during the recent civil war.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=305}}</ref>}} Hubert moved decisively against des Roches in 1221, accusing him of treason and removing him as the King's guardian; the Bishop left England for the crusades.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=239, 258}}</ref> Pandulf was recalled by Rome the same year, leaving Hubert as the dominant force in Henry's government.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=254, 26. 289}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=304}}</ref>

Initially, the new government had little success, but in 1220, the fortunes of Henry's government began to improve.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=146, 157–161, 187}}</ref> The Pope allowed Henry to be crowned for a second time, using a new set of regalia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=187–188}}</ref> The fresh coronation was intended to affirm the authority of the King; Henry promised to restore the powers of the Crown, and the barons swore that they would give back the royal castles and pay their debts to the Crown, on the threat of excommunication.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=188–190}}</ref> Hubert, accompanied by Henry, moved into Wales to suppress Llywelyn in 1223, and in England his forces steadily reclaimed Henry's castles.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=312–313}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=305}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref> The effort against the remaining recalcitrant barons came to a head in 1224 with the siege of [[Bedford Castle]], which Henry and Hubert besieged for eight weeks; when it finally fell, almost the entire garrison was executed and the castle was [[slighted]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=363–366}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=306}}; {{Harvnb|Baker|Baker|Hassall|Simco|1979|pp=10–11}}</ref>

Meanwhile, Louis VIII of France allied himself with Hugh de Lusignan and invaded Poitou and Gascony.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hallam|Everard|2001|p=176}}; {{Harvnb|Weiler|2012|p=20}}</ref> Henry's army in Poitou was poorly supplied and lacked support from the Poitevin barons, many of whom felt abandoned during the years of Henry's minority; as a result, the province fell quickly.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=371–373}}</ref> It became clear that Gascony would also fall unless reinforcements were sent from England.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=374–375}}</ref> In early 1225 a great council approved a tax of £40,000 to dispatch an army, which managed to retake Gascony.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=376, 378}}; {{Harvnb|Hallam|Everard|2001|pp=176–177}}</ref>{{Efn|name=Money}} In exchange for agreeing to support Henry, the barons demanded that he reissue [[Magna Carta]] as well as the ''[[Charter of the Forest]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|p=379}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=307}}</ref> This time the King declared that the charters were issued of his own "spontaneous and free will" and confirmed them with the royal seal, giving the new [[Magna Carta#The Great Charter 1225|Magna Carta]] and the Charter of the Forest of 1225 far more authority than their previous iterations.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|p=383}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=307}}</ref> The barons assumed that the King would act in accordance with these definitive charters, as he would be subject to the law and his decisions moderated by the advice of the nobility.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=2–3, 383, 386}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=307}}</ref>